brak
Junior Member
Posts: 52
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Post by brak on Nov 23, 2020 18:18:16 GMT
I was watching videos last night on YouTube, and one of them (I don't remember which, but I can scan through my history to find it if need be) said that there is no need for symmetry with bass traps. The video claimed that you can have more bass buildup in some corners than others.
Is this a valid claim? Could a person put a 5" trap in the right corner, and a 7" trap in the left corner?
On the surface (with my limited knowledge) this seems to make sense since bass isn't directional.
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Post by Hexspa on Nov 24, 2020 1:53:35 GMT
Symmetry matters - especially from your ears forward. However, sound behaves differently above a cutoff known as the Schroeder Frequency. Above this point, modal density is high and sound moves more like a wave than a static resonance. Much of this bass is non-localizable i.e. you can't tell where it's coming from - but not all of it. Above 80Hz or so, you can localize it and Schroeder frequencies tend to be around 200Hz.
But broadband works on the whole audio band. So, unless you're specifically talking about resonant absorbers, the broadband treatment will affect how localizable frequencies behave. In other words, the symmetry will matter because the sound will reflect from walls behind you and get to you eventually. That's unless your room is totally dead, which it's probably not.
Why not test it? Put all your absorption on one side of the room and see whether your stereo image is balanced.
Bass will build up more where there are three surfaces (trihedral corners) as opposed to two. Different frequencies will build up depending on the distance between diagonal corners. Whether that's 'more' or 'less' bass probably depends on several factors like whether the walls are lossy or if any dimensions counteract.
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brak
Junior Member
Posts: 52
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Post by brak on Nov 24, 2020 21:53:08 GMT
Thanks for the info Hexspa . I'm beginning to hear (read actually) a common theme - that you won't really know until you try it. But at the same time I don't want to waste time, money, energy, resources on something that would be moot. So to explain what I am thinking: I saw a video where a guy made acoustic panels out of towels! So I am thinking about making bass traps with a bunch of random items. I got some PCV pipe to make a frame. I don;t know if any of you are familiar with the "clothe" bags/sack that guitar cases come in when you order from Guitar Center - but they are the perfect size for the project. And I got various clothes, comforters, pillows, etc that I plan on using as the filling. So basically build the PVC frame, put the frame in the sack, and then stuff it with random material. I won't be surprise to hear you all say that this is the dumbest idea in the world. So I am bracing myself for that. lol Maybe such a project would work for just absorbsers on the back wall where the symmetry is broken anyways due to the shape of the wall and the drums being back there. So maybe randomness would be ok on the back part of the room? Just kind of thinking out loud here. Any info, critique, face-slaps back to reality, cold water being dumped on my head,etc ........ would be appreciated. |
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Post by Hexspa on Nov 28, 2020 22:13:54 GMT
Have fun.
All I can say is that, yes *you* won't know until you try. But, as you know, none of us were here first. Boomers already invented the wheel. We can either go for a ride or say, "You know what, I think there's a new fire to be disovered."
Besides, maybe you're less interested in the result and more in the process. That's fine. If every guitarist only wanted to shred, who would fix my set neck instruments?
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