Basic acoustic treatment help?

[Ermz]

I do appreciate the difference that makeshift treatment makes to an entirely untreated room.. believe me, I can hear the retarded flutter echo every time anything 'clicks' in here. The thing is that, sourcing the cloth, insulation, wood, cutting it all up to size would take me longer than a few hours, and my house isn't outfitted to do any DIY stuff, so I'd need to go buy a drill as well. It's just not something I can commit to, effort and time wise, with everything going on at the moment.

 

[Benny H]

Great thread!

Thanks everyone.

 

[unsilpauly]

I do appreciate the difference that makeshift treatment makes to an entirely untreated room.. believe me, I can hear the retarded flutter echo every time anything 'clicks' in here. The thing is that, sourcing the cloth, insulation, wood, cutting it all up to size would take me longer than a few hours, and my house isn't outfitted to do any DIY stuff, so I'd need to go buy a drill as well. It's just not something I can commit to, effort and time wise, with everything going on at the moment.

i dont understand why you think that for now you just cant get some mineral wool and any old fabric that you can breathe through well(king size sheet?) and "gift wrap" the panels. use a safety pin on the back to hold it closed. it will work as well as what you think you need to do. and you can still do it the way you want later if you choose. it is super easy and you can do it at your house in five minutes per panel max. you will save time on your mixes in the long run so it would be worth the time now. plus if you build like 6 or 8 traps it will be super cheap. i could build eight here in the states with fabric for under 150.00usd. it is still the besy money ive spent on this stuff and when my check from uncle sam comes i am going to make probably 8-12 more(just with the fabric covering, no frames) for the live room. i cant wait.
anyway i just think that it would totally make your mixing life easier.

 

[iekobrid]

Stupid question ahoy:


Could one use PVC pipe for the frames instead of wood, or would that just introduce a bunch of little enclosed air pockets for sound to reverberate in and/or extra hard surfaces for sound to bounce off of? I notice that Primacoustic's Freeport gobos use PVC, but at ear level the pipe is inside the foam instead of framing the outside.

The reason I ask is because I'd already been meaning to build some DIY soft boxes / flash diffusers with PVC frames and stands and elastic-cornered fabric covers, and I would be well chuffed if I could kill two birds with one trip to the hardware store and use the same frames for both applications. Just pop the foam pieces in or out depending on what I'm doing from day to day.

 

[iekobrid]

el bumpo

 

[AudioGeekZine]

So the benefit of making them out of PVC pipe is what?
More expensive than wood?
You still need a saw?
You still need a drill?
PVC is less rigid than wood?

right, good idea.

 

[Metaltastic]

Well no need to be a dick about it, I'm sure in his mind there was a benefit, and I'm curious as to an actual answer to the question as well!

 

[iekobrid]

My idea wasn't to use PVC; my idea was to take the DIY light box projects one finds here and there about the internet (which just happen to use PVC) and make them dual purpose. Why the original designers used PVC instead of wood I couldn't say for certain, but I imagine that it makes for a stronger frame better suited to withstanding the heat of (and, in some cases, supporting the weight of) professional lighting gear.

Also, these are meant to be free standing, not mounted to or hanging from walls or ceilings. PVC makes for sturdy bases/legs without the need for ridiculous amounts of weight. (That part I can speak to personally. I tried making some lighting stands out of wooden dowels and planks once, and nothing less than the thickness of an unabridged large print dictionary at the bottom would prevent them from tipping right over.)

Also, the fabric in a light box is meant to be tight (taught?) to allow for even, predictable diffusion, so the frame has to be pretty stiff. I'm not certain a few sticks and some nails would be up to that (shitty picture frame memories from school). In an audio application, the fabric isn't strrrretched over/around the frame so much as it is a slipcover or pillowcase of sorts, right?