Ro wrote:
James, do you have any (more) detailed pix on how you made those corner basstraps? The cloth and trim work for example..
Hey Ro, sorry I did not respond earlier... Now that my build is complete, I am pretty wrapped up in recording and mixing again (as I should be!) and not much attention gets paid to studio builds any more.
Most pictures have been posted here, but if you give me a bit more info on what you need specifically, I can try to post something that might help clarify.
Here is a quick summary using some of the older pictures:
1) 1" x 2" furrow strips are attached along the length of the wall so that the distance from the corner point to the inside edge of the strips is 17".
2) Furrow strips are also attached to the ceiling and floor. The ends of these pieces will obviously need to be cut with 45 degree angles so that they fit nicely between the existing wall-mounted strips. Next, the fiberglass triangles are stacked and packed tightly
3) I used some stretchable fabric that is breathable, which here in the States it is called "Ponte Roma". I was able to buy it in fairly large quantities at a place called "Joann Fabrics", which is a nation-wide chain over here. Not sure what would be the equivalent over in Europe, but the stretchiness made it easy to get it nice and taut without any drooping. On my ceiling cloud, I used burlap, and that was a real pain since it does not easily stretch. I know others have used cotton broadcloth, but that does not really stretch either, and would not work in the same way.
I start out by cutting out the fabric to the approximate size that I need. These traps are 2 feet across the front, so I cut my 56" wide sheets in half lengthwise, giving me two long pieces that are 28" wide. This gives me a few extra inches that will need to be trimmed once I have hung the fabric. Unfortunately, in the next picture below (the only one I could find), it does not look like I had pre-cut the fabric. This is a picture of the first trap that I did, so I was probably still learning the best way to go about the process.
When hanging the fabric, I started at the top, and using my pneumatic staple gun (the only way to do this is to go pneumatic!), and I would set a few staples into the outside of the furrow strip on one side, then stretch the fabric across the front of the trap so that it was tight, and then staple a few times on the other side. All of the staples are going into the OUTSIDE edge of the furrow strips AWAY from the fiberglass (basically, on the OUTSIDE of the trap). These first few staples are the most difficult, and you need to really make sure that the fabric is hanging straight. I used the weave pattern in the fabric to make sure that it was "level".
Once I got started, I just kept going back and forth a few staples at a time, making sure to stretch the fabric in a horizontal and a vertical (downwards) fashion.
4) Next, I trimmed away the excess fabric. You can see that the staples need to be pretty close together since the fabric is stretched, the gaps between the staples need to be small otherwise you will see gaps in the edges into the traps. It is pretty difficult to trim this fabric once it is stapled to the furrow strips, especially right up against the wall. This picture is from one of my first attempts and is pretty ugly, but that is OK since it will be covered by trim pieces anyway. I did get better at it as I learned some tricks to make the cutting easier, but it is a pain no matter how you do it!
5) Next, I cut, sanded, stained and polyurethane coated some 1/4 round trim pieces. I nailed these in place on top of the fabric, right into the corners where the furrow strips meet the wall.
6) Here are a couple of pictures of the completed traps:
Not sure if any of that helps, or if it is just some of the same old information rehashed again. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Take care!