Advice in Room Treatment/Bass Traps

[ruckus328]

Hey guys, finally breaking down and treating my room. Ordering about 20 2" 2' x 4' sheets of OC 703 today. I'm planning on making 4" thick panels for all the standard reflection points. Below is a rough plan on my room layout.

2 questions - for the wall panels is there a noticable improvement going with 4" thick or will 2" suffice?

My other question is regarding the Bass traps. My Ceiling is 8' high, so I'm going to make giant panels and go from floor to ceiling, I'm not sure what I should do though because of a hump-out in one of the corners. In order to keep the bass traps at 45 degrees and clear the hump I have to make 32" wide panels. Should they be pressed against the wall like they are in my pic though? Or should there be a gap between the edges of the bass traps and the wall? If there should be a gap then I could go with only 24" wide which is what I was hoping to do.

EDIT:

Also, would I benefit from putting any additional absorption material behind the bass traps or is it better for that to be empty space?

 

[Wolfeman]

That windows to your right is probably going to cause some problems.

 

[006]

+1 to that. You would probably be better off flipping your desk to go on the opposite side of the room, with the window in front of you. So that the window that is currently to your right will then be further down the wall from your mix position.

 

[ruckus328]

Got a heavy ass curtain to put over it and will be completely covering it with panels. I can board it off if I have to. Can't move to the other side - ceiling slopes down to the point where it'd be hitting my head (which I imagine is a good thing in my current plan). That and the door would hit my desk when you try to walk in.

 

[006]

Ah actually, good call, I didn't pay attention to the door's position when I was replying. Seems like you are prepared to do whatever to make the window situation work, that's cool.

Only other thing is I would recommend the bass traps not only where you have them located in your proposed plan, but also in the back corners as well, and one straddling the wall and ceiling behind your desk. I think 4" is good for traps, 2-4" for reflection points (I would probably do 4"). The wall panels are supposed to work better when they have a small gap between them and the wall - the bass trap I believe (but could be wrong) should be right up against the wall.

 

[ruckus328]

Ah actually, good call, I didn't pay attention to the door's position when I was replying. Seems like you are prepared to do whatever to make the window situation work, that's cool.

Only other thing is I would recommend the bass traps not only where you have them located in your proposed plan, but also in the back corners as well, and one straddling the wall and ceiling behind your desk. I think 4" is good for traps, 2-4" for reflection points (I would probably do 4"). The wall panels are supposed to work better when they have a small gap between them and the wall - the bass trap I believe (but could be wrong) should be right up against the wall.

Yea, when I realized exactly where that window ended up I just said "DAMNIT!" But, no issue, like I said, I can board it off if I have to.

I should have elaborated, bass traps are going in all 4 corners and 4" thick 2 x 4 panels are going in all the reflection points (left and right, on the ceiling, and the wall in front of me, and behind). Diffusers will be going behind me if I need them. I didn't show them on my drawing because there's no issues with their placement, the only issue I have is with that kickout in the corner and if the basstraps should be against the wall (which I believe like you said that they should be how they are in my drawing). Also, I'm hanging my wall panels and spacing them off the wall by 4".

I just lucked out, called around and found a local insulation distributor. They deal with my local lumberyard so managed to get 24 2 x 4 sheets of OC 703 at $9.00 a panel, which includes tax and shipping. From the prices I've seen on-line, that seems like a steal woohoo! So going with the 32" wide in the corner is not an issue.