Too many bass traps?

[henryrobinett]

Generalizing, of course, I'm putting 10 bass traps together. 2x4 pre made frames, two 2" OC 703. Also two bass traps gobos. Suddenly I'm wondering if that's too many bass traps. I was going for a few corner traps, and I still probably will. I can't do all corners because there's simply not space. That's why I got those moveable gobos. But I hardly have any regular acoustic panels. Those would be 2x4 OC 2", for example?

Can you go overboard with bass traps? And what's the effect of that? I do have other rooms so I can spread them around. I'm going to use REW or Spectrfoo to measure later today, I hope.

[Soundman2020]

Can you go overboard with bass traps?

Without knowing more about your room, it's not easy to comment, but in general it's is REALLY hard to have too much bass trapping in a small room. In the vast majority of cases, the room ends up with insufficient bass trapping.

However, it certainly IS possible yo have too much absorption in the room. The problem with bass traps is that they don't only trap bass: they affect the entire spectrum, doing harm to the ids and highs. So you need to design and/or tune your bass traps so that they ONLY affect bass frequencies, without also affecting mids and highs too much.

two 2" OC 703.

2" of OC-703 is not a bass trap! It's a mid-high absorber. Bass traps are DEEP. VERY deep. A properly built superchunk is 36" deep at the edges. The basic treatment for a small room on a very tight budget starts with superchunks in the rear corners and 6" of OC-703 across the entire rear wall in between them. But that's just the start, and would not be nearly enough. In most control designs that I do, there's usually a couple of feet at the rear wall that is dedicated to bass trapping, in one form or another. Here's an example: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... 68&start=0 .

Also two bass traps gobos.

Gobos are not bass traps either!

I was going for a few corner traps, and I still probably will.

Definitely! The corners are the most effective places in the room for bass trapping, for many reasons. But placing 2" of OC-703 across the corners is not very effective. It helps, but not enough, by far.

I can't do all corners because there's simply not space.

There are twelve corners in a room: How many of them can you treat? How deep can the treatment be?

But I hardly have any regular acoustic panels.

What do you mean by "regular acoustic panels"? A 2" thick layer of OC-703 in a frame is what many people would consider a "regular acoustic panel".

Those would be 2x4 OC 2", for example?

I'm not sure I understand: Placing 2x4s studs along the wall spaced at 2" On Center would mean that you are leaving gaps of just 1/2" between them. That might work as some type of diffuser, but the effect would be rather strange. Maybe that's not what you mean to say, and had something else in mind?

I'm going to use REW or Spectrfoo to measure later today,

Use REW. Here's how:

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... =3&t=21122

Post the results some place we can download them, and help you figure out what your room needs. Also, post more details about your room: dimensions, layout, furniture, speakers, etc. And photos!

- Stuart -

[henryrobinett]

Yes, that's what I was referring to as regular acoustic panels - 2" 703 framed. I was not saying that was a bass trap. I am putting together 10 4" bass traps in frames by combining TWO 2" 2x4s. Sorry I wasn't more clear.

[henryrobinett]

The idea here is there are a few corners where there's simply not enough room for a tri-corner trap. Either a closet or window is in the way. So I can have a tall, gobo - 4" trap that I can move depending on my application. I'm getting two of them. IOW when I'm recording drums I can move two into naked corners in that room, or if I'm mixing or doing critical listening I can move them into appropriate corners in the control room.