Super Chunk Bass Traps

I'm building superchunk bass traps. The face will be 24" across. I want to do a really good job and have the fabic nice and tight. I don't want any sagging. What are some of the ways others on this forum have attached their fabric across the face? Thanks!

Hi Brad, A common approach is to build a separate frame for the cloth.... think giant speaker grille.... and attach it to vertical framing on the wall, probably with diagonal cuts so the frame sits flat on the support boards. This way the frame can be as tight as you make it and the absorption will be totally hidden behind it. Since the frame is separate, you can pull the cloth nice and tight and attach it from the rear. If the fabric stretches or ever loosens for any reason, it's a reasonably quick fix (pull the panel down, tighten the fabric, and reinstall).

As JWL said build yourself a nice frame front for it. If you really want it to look nice, I would recommend Guildford of Maine fabric. If you want something kind of vintage looking take a look at the following. http://www.marshallparts.com/products/6 ... -Cloth.htm We just did some custom panels for a guy out of this stuff and it look SUPER NICE. Glenn

BradJacob wrote:

I'm building superchunk bass traps. The face will be 24" across. I want to do a really good job and have the fabic nice and tight. I don't want any sagging.

I found that doing material attachment is a lot like installing porch screen Brad. I staple one of the short sides first. Then pull the opposing short side tightly to place and staple that. The longer sides can then be stapled, one then the other. Watch your fabric when placing the first longer side so that any visible design lines in your fabric are not pulled so tight that the design warps;)

xSpace wrote:

BradJacob wrote:

I'm building superchunk bass traps. The face will be 24" across. I want to do a really good job and have the fabic nice and tight. I don't want any sagging.

I found that doing material attachment is a lot like installing porch screen Brad. I staple one of the short sides first. Then pull the opposing short side tightly to place and staple that. The longer sides can then be stapled, one then the other. Watch your fabric when placing the first longer side so that any visible design lines in your fabric are not pulled so tight that the design warps;)

Gotchya...

Oh man, tweed grill cloth! What a great idea. Probably not fire rated though. I wouldn't put it on the ceiling, or cover entire walls with it, but that would look awesome in a box on the wall. Even better, wrap the "frame" portion in brown tolex and get an old style Fender cabinet logo and stick it in the corner. Now that would be the bee's knees! Or a Marshall "basket weave" grill with the big old white logo in the middle and piping around the outside. I called it first. :D

One problem I've encountered with DIY bass traps is the cloth cover being ripped in the lowest 8 inches by people not really looking where they place their feet. Might wanna use some sturdy material to place behind the cloth for the first 8 or so inches...

Sigert wrote:

One problem I've encountered with DIY bass traps is the cloth cover being ripped in the lowest 8 inches by people not really looking where they place their feet. Might wanna use some sturdy material to place behind the cloth for the first 8 or so inches...

I kick-plate... Great Idea! 8)

Sigert wrote:

One problem I've encountered with DIY bass traps is the cloth cover being ripped in the lowest 8 inches by people not really looking where they place their feet. Might wanna use some sturdy material to place behind the cloth for the first 8 or so inches...

A kick-plate... Great Idea! 8)

Has anyone here got pics of their traps/panels with vintage fabric on them? Myfipie, do you have pics of the units you made for your client?

I used 50% cotton 50% polyester. It seemed quie thin but did the job very well. I bought it in a dress-makng suppliers though lol... cost $15 for 2.5x2m Im defenetly getting more though... I got some pics but not as many as others have so I dunno wheher theyll be worth a look and by the way I just netted in the fibreglass with plastic mesh stapled to the wood to get it pretty tight and then jst stretched the abric over it quie tight to look good. I started with the corners - 2 staples in each then I went crazy with 50 more staples! Better safe than sorry ;) The trap I made was 2.5m tall (to fill the full corner height), 45cm wide and 11cm thick edit-I had no decent-looking wood available so I never planned to make any sort of frame. The panels look really good though

i take it some rigid insulation cut into triangles would do the job here?

How do you guys strech the fabric aesthetically? Do you use a staple gun to strech it to the supporting wood strips which hold the rectangules and then cover the staples with something decorative? What other options are possible?