Treating An Open Basement

I am about to begin treating my basement and have a few questions. The basement has concrete floor and walls. The ceiling is open to the floor joists above. Isolation is not an issue. The dimensions of this space is roughly 20x25. The purpose of this space will be mixing soundtracks. I plan to stuff all of the vertical corners with superchunks and build gobos to create a reflection free zone. I Will also hang a gobo overhead to stop floor to ceiling reflections. My question is regarding the open floor joists. I know stuffing them with insulation will help trap bass frequencies. But due to difficult ducting and plumbing I'd rather leave them open. Do the right angles created by the by the joists create an opportunity to trap more bass or cause more bass that needs to be trapped? I have searched the forum and couldn't find an answer. Thank for the help.

The joists aren't going to have much of an effect on the bass. If they are the standard 16" spacing, then they won't have any effect whatsoever on any frequency longer than 16", which equates to about 847Hz. Frequencies above 847Hz will reflect from the wood. You ask whether "the right angles created by the by the joists create an opportunity to trap more bass." The answer is yes, if you put an absorptive material between the joists. :wink: Therefore, my advice would be to rethink the insulation in those gaps between the joists. You have space there that is perfect for adding some bass trapping; you may as well use it especially given the typical low ceilings in a basement. Even if there are ducts and plumbing there, stick insulation in where you can. You can cover the ceiling below the insulation with cloth.