Simple questions.. not getting answers. Someone answer these unsearchable answers..

Hi,

1) is acoustic foam on sidewalls enough or is it necessarry that there's another material between wall and foam. If yes - what material?

2) I want to build corner traps for the backwall of the room. (Wood/fiberglass/cloth construction). There's a door that makes it impossible for one corner. Does it make sense to attach the bass traps vertically directly to the outsides of the backwall ? That way I can still open the door.

3) How do you attach acoustic foam to a wall with paper wallpaper. Doublesided tape OR kit?

Thank you.

I'm not an expert, but I don't believe a bass trap will work not being in the corner orientation.

However, there may be alternative treatments to a traditional trap.

You may also want to consider re-orienting your workspace to avoid the need to trap that corner with the door.

premade stuff, a la auralex, may seem exp... but just wait until you have bought/built all the stuff yourself... it will seem like a deal. lol

Yes I agree, just buy a kit from auralex and mount the bits on wood or partical board so you can move it around if you need to. It's way easier. I built some sound dampeners but it's an exercise. If you're handy go for it though. If you want a building plan for what I did I can let you know.

Spencer

Fly,

Foam is okay for mid and high frequencies, but you can do a lot better for bass traps. I know you've been at my MusicPlayer forum, so read my Forum FAQ because it explains all of this in detail.

--Ethan

As we keep telling you in your dozens of other posts, foam is not going to do ANYTHING for low end issues.

You keep asking the same questions over and over like magically the answers are going to change.

That's NOT true.

THIN foam won't do anything for low end issues, which are indeed the biggest issues.

Thin panels won't do anything about bass either, if you mount them flat against the wall. There's a lot more to this than just saying "Foam BAD, Panels GOOD."

Notice Ethan's careful reply: "Foam is okay for mid and high frequencies, but you can do a lot better for bass traps"

Better yet, take Ethan's link and go read his website, then go to www.auralex.com and do the same. Anything they both agree on, you can take to the bank.

Terry D.

My point is this poster keeps asking the same questions over and over, on multiple forums, gets the same answers and yet keeps asking the same questions.

I'm starting to suspect a potential troll.

Walters, is that you in disguise?

I guess he could be, or maybe he's one of those folks I mentioned that relies on wishful thinking and is going to keep on asking until he gets the answer he wants.

Terry D.

What the heck is a troll anyway?

Spencer

Remind you of someone?

0

Where you just don't read what I'm asking.. and then I get another answer about SOMETHING ELSE.. and then I ask the question AGAIN.. and I look like the idiot.

The question is:

Is foam enough for the sidewalls.

Not: Is foam enough for the entire acoustic treatment.

SIDEWALLS WHERE.... SIDE.. WALLS.

Now u make me look like the d*ckhead.. while ur the one not reading and making me post again and again and again and again... instead of just giving me the straight answer.

I do not think anything will magically happen that's why I'm posting and taking action. First u were totally right when u said I haven't done a thing in months, take action.. thanx for that cuz that made me DO something..

now I need CORRECT INFO.

So don't say 'u idiot - foam won't do {censored}' it's 'Foam on the sidewalls is enough OR not enough... add this'

Im tired of posting the same question 50 times.

AND

I UNDERSTAND that foam is not enough for bass traps...

I do not want some b.s. answer, I'm not 10 so don't patronize me. I read these websites and definitely take as most knowledge as I can get

BUT

Im also on a tight budget.. I can't afford to f-ck around and just buy something and put it on the wall - done.

Auralex, Realtraps... I DO NOT HAVE THAT TYPE OF MONEY FOR THAT NOW.

Instead of saying: well he's persistent Where and buddies think Im a f-cking idiot.

So 'is foam enough for sidewalls' means

Is that enough for that part of the room or should I put something between the wall and the foam.

Think about it - it's not a stupid question. I'm trying to do this step-by-step like the New Kids On The Block

And yes I post WAY too much.. but that kind of says something about the answers I'm getting too. Im not perfect, but I'm also a person who makes MUSIC.. not someone who treats rooms. So this is NEW to me and I am just collecting info.

Translation: Im no idiot, answer the QUESTION.. don't let ur imagination about someone you do not know run wild.

That felt good.. let's get some coffee

p.s. I do RESPECT all you guys - just don't treat me like a loser when I put all my time and money into making improvements.

You may not be an idiot... but these are not "simple questions" that lend themselves to "instant answers".

A proper answer can only be made from an 'on site inspection' by a qualified 'acoustician'.

Acoustics is science and math [heavy on the Physics and Calculus] coupled with a discipline in architecture.

Foam on the wall will work for highs and mids... and also make your room feel like you're working in a coffin if you use too much of it... and a reverb chamber if you use too little of it.

The dimensions of your room [height, width, depth] all play a major role in the bass response of your room. Putting {censored} in the corners, hanging "bass traps" on the wall can certainly help absorb some of the low frequency energy but they're really in that "band-aid on a head wound" kind of "fixing the room" category.

You want a simple fix that won't cost you a lot of money?

OK. Keep buring mixes and listen to them while you're driving your car around the block... come back make the appropriate changes, and take another spin around the block. With gas averaging $2.39/gal. you should be able to get a mix pretty damn close to perfect for under $10-... other than that you're pretty much screwed.

Best of luck with it.

Then save your money until you can do it right, or, using the info on the many sites we've linked you to, build your own.

For mid-hi absorption, yes, for full room correction, no.

But then you already know that don't you.

Here's some more cheap tips.

1.) Read the articles that we told you about. They have the answers to your problems, including DIY projects.

2.) Since you can't hear the bottom end anyway with your system/room but can be pretty well assured that it's there anyway, use a high-pass filter for most of your tracks. That's right, get rid of all that rumble on your vocals, keyboards, guitar, whatever. You're basically left with kick and drums. Use a very gentle high-pass filter on these, say, around 40Hz. Bang. You've just fixed a large part of your bottom end problem. For free. Not all of your bottom end problems, but a large part of it.

3.) Play yer mix on as many speakers as you can. Yes, including the car (see Fletcher, above). Boombox. Your sister's stereo. Yer buddy's car stereo. Whatever. Make sure it sounds good on all of 'em.

:D

Best laugh I've had all day, thanks as usual Fletcher.

I can't front - I do ask some questions 21 times instead of taking the time to first inform myself properly.

So I have been getting up on my reading and have done the following:

1) covered parts of the sidewall (so not all!) with the acoustic foam for the high (and maybe mid) frequencies.

2) Did this -> Built my very own cornertrap!! (For those infamous low frequencies in the back of the room!!)

I'd love to hear from all you guys and the tips are MORE than being read and written down in my mental notebook.

Appreciate the interaction.. and Fletcher that hi-pass filter was mad funny hahaha..

If you need broadband bass absorption, the corner treatment is your best option. However, if you have problems centered on 1 or 2 frequencies, you can build effective bass traps on a flat wall. Simply mount an absorbant material (rigid fiberglass works well for cheap) so that the back of it is a distance of 1/4 of the problem frequency's wavelength from the wall. Ethan Winer's site has some more specifics.

For the foam on your sidewalls and ceiling (mid/high freq) - save some money and only treat the areas that need it most - not the entire wall. Use a mirror to find your monitors' primary reflection points and treat those - again, Ethan's site is a great resource for more information.

Did you check out my 'Building my own cornertrap' post yet?

Tonight I'll have 2 corner traps. I want to treat the rest of the backwall as well. I selected to do equal parts of both sidewalls. From behind my speakers it's 300 cm long (10') and 100 cm (3')high. It's placed in a way that the monitor's tweeter's exactly in the middle of the 100cm in height. I'll put some pics up tonight!

Thanx for ur tips and yea - Ethan's the man!