VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

Lee Gordon · Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 1:01 pm Post subject: Would I Just Be Wasting $27

I'm still not 100% happy with the sound of my booth. There is still a little hint of hollowness, due to the combination of its square footprint and small (approx 39" x 39") size. I have two big bass traps in each of the back corners, Auralex and other acoustic foam on three walls and the ceiling, and custom ATS panels on the doors.

So I'm thinking of adding even more bass traps, this time, small ones along the junction where the ceiling meets the wall I face when I'm working. eBay has lots of choices, including several like these from China:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Professional-Acoustic-Foam-8-PCS-in-Charcoal-Soundproof-Bass-trap-foam-/262008542983?hash=item3d00ed1707:g:7E4AAOSw9N1V0YIM

They ain't exactly Auralex brand, and they're kind of tiny (only about 4½" on a side) but I don't have the space for anything much bigger. So, is it worth a punt?

Another option I'm considering is ordering a custom panel from ATS 30" x 12" x 2" and hanging it at 45° down from the ceiling as a cloud above and behind my computer monitors. That would be only around $60. Possibly a better allocation of funds?
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todd ellis · Posted: Wed May 25, 2016 3:42 pm Post subject:

i've spent more money on dumber stuff.
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Mike Harrison · Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 4:40 am Post subject:

Just a thought, Lee: are there any hard, reflective surfaces nearer the mic (such as a desktop, etc.) that might be bouncing your voice back toward the mic? This could produce a hollow-ish sound that no amount of absorption on the walls would help. Wink

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DenaliDave · Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 9:31 am Post subject:

I remember waking up one Saturday morning to the doorbell ringing. Groggily, I trudged to the door, my tiny dog yapping and nipping at my heels.

When I opened the door, and my eyes finally adjusted to the sunlight that was now assaulting them -- I stood there dumbfounded at what I saw before me.

On my welcome mat (it actually says GO AWAY) was a large grey rectangular brick wrapped in plastic. The 'grey surprise' measured two feet long and one foot high. I then chuckled to myself as I remembered that I had ordered a set of 4 bass traps a bit ago.

I was still shocked at the sheer size of the package. When I purchased them, I had no idea how utterly massive they were. I didn't pay any attention to the dimensions when I ordered them!

I ended up using 3M general purpose 45 spray adhesive (in the blue can) to affix them to my walls. It's my home, so I'll just have to deal with how to remove them when I sell the place.

From what I've hypothesized I might be able to use a hair dryer on a high setting to loosen the adhesive and remove the foam without damaging the drywall. After that? Mr. Clean Eraser to the rescue! I have no idea what kind of dark magic those things were created with, but they clean everything.

-dried grease on the wall behind your deep fryer? Check.
-soot from a grease fire on your ceiling? Check.
-paint from a "parking lot incident" that's rubbed off onto your car's finish? Check.

Just make sure to wear rubber gloves...

How well do they work? Hard to say. Not all foam is equal, and not all rooms have the same acoustic signature. I know for me it helped a bit. If I clap my hands now, all I hear is a muted "whomp" instead of a sharp crack. That could also be due to the over 60 sq. ft of acoustic foam on the walls, ceiling and door though.

Oh, protip: If you're going to be working with spray adhesive, open a window and COVER anything delicate or electronic.
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vkuehn · Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 10:24 am Post subject:

Lee Gordon · Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 4:14 pm Post subject:

DenaliDave · Posted: Thu May 26, 2016 5:08 pm Post subject:

Yup, you can get a ballpark idea on the quality of foam by looking at it's NCR rating. Although, it's not a be-all-end-all kind of thing.

I have been slowly piecing together plans for my own custom, insulated booth. After all, those WhisperRooms are just made from MDF, the same as speaker boxes people put in their cars. In fact, WhisperRoom booths are even covered in the same fabric as the sub woofer enclosures we used to build in high school for our cars.

Back then we'd take the recommended specs for the sub woofer to Home Depot and they'd cut the MDF particle board to the right sizes and shapes for free. Not sure they still do that anymore.

Some liquid nail and screws are all you need once you get the MDF cut to the shapes and sizes you want. The tricky thing is going to be finding the right kind of window and door...and I haven't decided how I want to ventilate it.

And I'm surprised no one uses Dynamat for sound deadening with their booths either. If you're on a budget high-temp mastic for roofing could also be used. You could use non-expanding spray foam, Dynamat, and acoustic foam all together for their different strengths to build a great booth.
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Lee Gordon · Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 12:35 am Post subject:

Last time I checked, Home Depot will give you one cut on a 4x8 sheet for free and charge something like 50 cents for each subsequent cut.*
FYI, if you are joining pieces of MDF with glue and screws, it's best not to use standard wood screws or drywall or deck screws. The fasteners of choice are called a confirmat screws. http://www.rockler.com/confirmat-screws-select-size

When I built my booth, I bought several sheets of 5/8" drywall for the interior, but the only way I could slide a 4' wide sheet through the back door of my van was on the diagonal. And then the wheel wells prevented me from being able to lay them flat. So I grabbed one of this style of cart (minus the plants)

and brought my T-square and utility knife with me, and stood in the parking lot, next to my truck, cutting the sheets to size.

I've also wondered why nobody seems to suggest using Dynamat. They do make architectural products, in addition to their automotive ones. Dynil appears to be just their brand of mass loaded vinyl. But they also make a product for floors called DynaPad.

*If I were going to do this, I would go to Lowe's, rather than Home Depot, only so I would get to hear Connie Terwilliger announce, "Customer assistance needed in the lumber cutting area." cool

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Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
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Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

paulstefano · Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 5:14 am Post subject:

[quote="Lee Gordon"]

yarg28 · Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 2:41 pm Post subject:

Here are my thoughts. Bass control is about mass (for the most part) which results in thickness (for the most part). For example, anything on GIK or other reputable acoustic sites that qualifies something as a "bass trap" is almost always 4" thick or larger, more dense than foam, and they have some more instructions for mounting to achieve anything worthwhile.

Also, if you look at Auralex and assume that they are the most reputable acoustic foam manufacturer, even though most of us would agree that foam is inferior (for the most part) to other acoustic materials, and notice that all of their foam bass traps are larger than those, i think its pretty safe to assume that while those small versions may not be worthless per se, they are probably, most definitely, certainly, probably, not going to do squat for low frequencies.

What I would probably do is record something and look at the wave form as it plays and look for something that is a low frequency that stays up higher than the rest of the frequency. What frequency is dominating/causing the issue? Then look for a solution. If it's in the lower frequency range, 100-250, it could be a very different answer than something in a slightly higher lowish frequency.

Also, consider mic placement. When I first built my booth I had to move my mic to find the best spot. When I had it slightly closer to the ceiling (in a standing position) it was boxier sounding than when I moved it down to a sitting position.

One last thing; Look at your current acoustic strategy. If you are pretty close to happy, then maybe you just need to change what you have slightly. For example, If I was having an issue and I had 2" panels all the way around I may make one set of panels 3" and one 1" to try and catch some of the lower frequencies. Also, if I had foam of any kind i'd immediately replace it with something more dense like ultratouch denim or OC703. My booth is all ultratouch 2" panels except for one wall that is 6". I have no other "trapping" panels. I just made sure that one wall could absorb as much low energy as possible.

Good luck. Taming a small space can really suck.

yarg28 · Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 2:55 pm Post subject:

DenaliDave · Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 3:30 pm Post subject:

Yep, 3/4" MDF is what we used to make subwoofer enclosures.

:thumbsup:
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Lee Gordon · Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 1:33 am Post subject:

yarg28 · Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2016 6:25 am Post subject:

DenaliDave · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 10:09 am Post subject:

Is it like a muffled sound, or a slight reverb/echo sound?

I agree...if it's that slight, you might be able to polish it out with some very, very light EQ. Put a itty-bitty boost or decrease in part of the spectrum and see if that helps? Sometimes a light touch with some high-shelf EQ can help that boxy sound...
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