Home Studio Acoustics: “I’ve done some treatment, but I need to fix the low end!”

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So I get some form of the following question with a regularity that I could set my clocks by it:
“I've done quite a bit of treatment in my room. I've got my speakers and my gear set up. I'm quite comfortable in the room and I've got enough panels to reduce the reverb and control early reflections.
But now I really need to fix the low end!”
Are you in that same situation? Was that you who sent me that email? ;)
But it wouldn’t be surprising!
I mean, the way we tend to start treating our studios is by looking online for some acoustic panels, putting them on the wall and then figuring out how to deal with our gear and speakers.
We tend to settle into that a bit, work with it until we realize: “You know what, the low end really doesn't work for me!”
And of course it’s also just a daunting task so it’s easy to keep pushing it up.
But there's a fundamental issue with approaching it this way.
Or rather, there's a mindset that I need you to get into in order to be successful on this journey of getting your low end under control.
Let me show you in this week’s video.
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[@willcurry9590]

Thank you for making these videos. I love the common sense approach to the "voodoo". I had the same experience myself, as I treated the room with 703, the low end resonance and modes stood out much more. Bass trapping, speaker placement, and a slight bit of 1/3 octave EQ really have smoothed out my listening space. I used 4 inch 703 fiberglass in the 2' X 4" bass traps and covered them with 8 inch wide strips of peg board, 6 inch gap between strips.

[@loxpower]

Thank you for this video, you answered to so many questions I had about treatment. I was shocked watching your reaction video to Eric Valentine's "journey" because I thought «if Eric had to put this much treatment to substantially improve low end, how pointless is to buy maybe 4 or 8 bass traps and put them in the corners?». I don't know if other home-based mixing engineer feel this way but I often struggle with the idea of getting some treatment (the focus is on the word "some"). I'm confident with my listening environment which, I know, is against every acoustic common sense - I have big speakers on desk, they are very close, I have windows behind the desk with just two soundproof curtains, but it works for me. But I would be lying if I didn't admit that having a better low end wouldn't be beneficial for my work. But I guess you go big or it's rather pointless (and also, I would have to re-think my whole listening position).

[@JackDenning]

So thankful for these vids, I wish I could explain the years of frustration you're helping me with, but I'll just say this - you're the man haha

[@seanb3303]

If people would take their panels off the wall and create air gaps equal to thickness of their panels, they would get low end absorption. A two inch thick panel won’t absorb low end until you add a 2 inch air gap…then you are getting low end absorption down to around 80 or 100hz, depending on your materials.

[@djhmax09]

I think the key things here are rate and level. You get a lower rate with that air gap but you don't actually get enough of it (ie. the level)

[@seanb3303]

@@djhmax09 according to acousticians you do. You do lose the edge though. So an air gap is like 98% as effective as the actual panel…assuming the edge is 2% of the surface area.

[@djhmax09]

@@seanb3303 if we're referring to low end absorption, what about everything below 80hz? You can't treat that with a simple air gap, you need depth (a lot of it) and horsepower with materials (rate and level). These low frequency wavelengths are huge, it's not possible with an air gap alone. As jesco said, not many are willing to sacrifice the space to fully treat the low end.

[@seanb3303]

@@djhmax09 below 80hz your best bet is multiple subs and PEQ cuts…or headphones to keep it simple 😉

[@djhmax09]

@@seanb3303 ha, exactly that's why I'm into headphones! But for the sake of discussion, it seems that diaphragmatic absorption can get you pretty good results, assuming you have the space

[@LukeIcardMusic]

It was me who sent that email! Lolol thank you

[@nikolaudio]

Thankyou brother:)) Can you do a video maybe on nearfield subwoofers?

[@aussernllc]

I have two problems with the low end Nellis Air Force Base: the jets produce SPL that goes through everything in my house. Neighbors subwoofer: every Friday and Saturday night i get to listen to the sub 40hz noise in a 4:4 beat. Aside from moving or building an underground bunker, are there other options?

[@tomd72]

I have seen people online making bass traps with 2 layers, fluffy and then a layer of rigid. Is there a benefit to doing this and in what situations?

[@majamusic14]

Hey Jesco, thanks for the great video! Does the density for absorption material matter? What is the right density for the absorption material ( stone wool, fiberglass)

[@alinenunez4270]

in general add more bass traps everywhere ha

[@johnhricko8212]

I didn't learn anything about how to "fix the low end". My understanding was that unless the room is large and has a tall ceiling, you'll always have bass problems.

[@sudd3660]

the way i think of bass absorption: you need to cover 30% of the walls with absorption that are thick enough to absorb bass to start getting some results below 100hz. if you search online for: acousticmodelling porous you get a porous absorber calculator, general rule i use is have air gap equal to the thickness of absorber, and 8"/200mm total panel thickness. Woodfibre insulation i like to work with.

[@patriciareedy7967]

Thanks. What kind of air gap should one have if the bass traps are pyramidal? Should I go by the deepest measure, which would be about 12"?

[@sudd3660]

@@patriciareedy7967 pyramidal is not recommended

[@SunnySkiesInAZ]

Does your framework work with multi channel home theater?

[@jan_07]

Doing acoustic treatment and not improving bass issues is like going to your car full of expensive gas and then realizing you accidentally dropped your keys somewhere. 😂