How To Acoustically Treat Low Bass Frequencies

[@soundproofyourstudio]

FREE Home Studio Acoustic Guide - www.soundproofyourstudio.com/acoustic

[@katrinaallikas2028]

Great video! Thank you from Sonarworks for featuring our softwarein your video! :)

[@soundproofyourstudio]

Happy to give the shout out. Im a fan of sonarworks!

[@TobyConrad]

Great video, thank you

[@soundproofyourstudio]

Glad you liked it!

[@chrisriffs]

I have a door in one of the corners that will be behind me in the listening position. Thinking of putting a broadband trap from the top of the door frame to the ceiling in that corner. I might make another one that can go in front of the door when needed.

[@soundproofyourstudio]

Hey Chris! Doors and closets are often placed in corners. Unfortunately for us that can be a pain for our bass traps. GIK acoustics makes some nice moveable traps that sit on the floor or you could build your own and move them when not in use. It is just part of the home studio life. Thanks for watching.

[@MajorGRecording]

There are twelve corners in each room. So if you can't treat that one corner, there are others that you can treat. Moveable treatment is the alternative as the author of the video suggested. GIK and Real Traps are two very good resources. Check out arqen.com/bass-traps-101/placement-guide/ for an illustrated explanation on bass trap placement.

[@soundproofyourstudio]

@@MajorGRecording Great link! Thanks for sharing. Learned some new stuff in there.

[@thesilencer6736]

some broadband bass traps that you’d recommend?

[@MuzdokOfficial]

What about diaphragmatic resonator that is also combined with high density oc 705 on the front and with an air cavity between its apparently good for sub frequencies. Primacoustic Maxtrap as an exemple.

[@tomburden]

What happens if there is a doorway opening where a corner would be in a room? Would the bass flow out there?

[@soundproofyourstudio]

Bass flows through walls and doors. Soundproofing will stop or impede the flow of low frequencies. Are you planned by on building a home recording studio?

[@tomburden]

@soundproofyourstudio Just improving the current studio. There is a large opening directly in the back connected to a kitchen and a door at each of the back corners. 16x13x8

[@soundproofyourstudio]

Do you feel confident you won’t make any mistakes?

[@GurvanBHC7]

Hello, what your RT60 looks like below 100hz?

[@soundproofyourstudio]

I haven't tested the reverb time below 100hz yet. Thanks for watching.

[@hehmda678]

great videos. subscribed

[@soundproofyourstudio]

Thanks for the sub!

[@Oneness100]

It's better if you started to define what a bass frequency is, where these problems exist first. you should discuss Axial modes as that's the biggest problems with low frequency pressure problems and they are typically against the entire surface, NOT the corners. Corners are usually Oblique and Tangential and are usually not as significant.

[@soundproofyourstudio]

Yes this is a big part of treating low end. This video definitely needs an update to a degree, but all modes terminate in corners including axial modes. It cannot hurt to use bass traps in corners and bass traps on side and front and back walls. Then you can use pressure traps to fix any remaining low frequency problems.

[@rabarebra]

If you want to picture low frequencies, they are sphere like, and they are omnidirectional. It would look like a huge ball going out from all directions from your speaker's woofer (yes, from behind the speaker as well, and above, below, and the sides). Mid frequencies are thinner spheres, and treble is more straight lines.

[@Oneness100]

@@rabarebra Here's how I look at this. First, I put the dimensions of the room in a room mode calculator and then look at the Axial modes FIRST. You can put the cursor on each Red Line and it will show the 3D render of the affected walls in that room. You can also perform a pressure mapping of the room, but you'll need a sine wave generator set at a specific SPL at the listening position and then you measure from 20Hz on up to 100Hz, and then measure every 5Hz. Then you go to different positions in the room and measure the SPL of the same frequencies and you go from one corner and along each wall approximately ever 2 or 3 feet until you have mapped out the entire room. You'll see which frequencies have a "+" or "-" dB compared to the listening position SPL for each frequency. Now, as far as pressure mapping a room, here's a link to another video about discussing pressure mapping. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jarbkH-OiL1pd7s Here's a sample room in Amroc Room Mode Calculator to see Axial modes. amcoustics.com/tools/amroc?l=16&w=12&h=9&st=false&so=false&ft=true&r60=0.6 Axial modes are the largest and most difficult/costly to manage and I would recommend focusing on those first. Treating reflections above 100hz is relatively easy and inexpensive compared to low frequency pressure problems. Treatment for reflections typically just requires about 2" to 4" thick material, and a good acoustic foam will do just fine, but you still need about 50% to 70% surface coverage to get a RT60 that's within reason to cut down distortions caused by reflections. But to get the best bang for your budget for those on a limited budget, it would be best to start from the front of the room first because that's where the highest amounts of low frequency pressure from the bass drivers of your speakers. Also, don't place a sub against the wall or against a corner, worst positions for a sub woofer. You want to place the sub as far away from a surface and to even elevate it above the ground on a stand would be better. You'll get better definition.

[@Oneness100]

@@soundproofyourstudio I've seen measurements of essentially what you're talking about and it did essentially nothing to lower the peaks, it just cut off a little of the decay and that was about it. "it cannot hurt..." is not a way to treat a problem. You fire have to define the problem in dB, frequencies and location, and then apply the best treatment to cover those locations. Depending on the application and the amount of pressure you are putting into the room will dictate how much treatment you'll need, but for the majority of small room problems, you'll typically need at least 50% to 70% surface coverage. Spring absorption isn't that powerful, hence it's not going to absorb that much compared to other types of pressure based absorption. Helmholtz are frequency specific, but do not necessarily absorb that much. I would suggest diaphragmatic, and use a dense and porous "fill material".

[@ognightrider8730]

Thank you

[@soundproofyourstudio]

You're welcome

[@holywaterandgreentea]

thanks

[@soundproofyourstudio]

Welcome

[@eds4754]

That dip between 100-150hz is likely caused from boundary interference from the floor, no panels will fix that. Even the best rooms on the planet will have this. A video like this should really be more focussed on the time domain rather than frequency. All of these absorbers are designed to work on the time domain, sonarworks can’t shorten decay times or correct boundary interference cancellations.

[@bachelorgamer8001]

can you help me please

[@soundproofyourstudio]

Try reaching out over my website with questions.

[@andynonimuss6298]

I agree. Most DIY people build ugly-looking panels. All of my panels are from GIK Acoustics.

[@soundproofyourstudio]

Yeah it’s hard to get them perfect without lots of practice.

[@arcadepiano]

measure 20 to 40 hz exclusively. you will realize that your fancy bass traps DO NOTHING. the only way to stop the lows is with ACTIVATED CARBON.

[@bonzology322]

too bad you can't let some of those bass freq's pass through the wall to be captured outside of the room?😂 Helmholtz absorbers have an astonishingly high failure rate for a reason, we don't live in a frequency specific world

[@soundproofyourstudio]

You can build bass traps in your walls. But yes, you always need the soundproofing first then acoustic walls.

[@bonzology322]

@@soundproofyourstudio I really appreciate your vids and most of what you state is helping others, but what you are saying in your last post ^ is NOT the case ime, I’ll explain further as of later today I’ll be posting a comment on another one of your vids about this topic exactly, it’s a long winded post but important for me to say as a studio builder for 30 years, I’ve learned some things that should be shared and they don’t fall in line with tradition or the RG studio build bible, they fall in line with the laws of physics and lived measured reality of a professional building contractor who’s built more that 100 personal home studios in the La area, keep your eye out later today

[@soundproofyourstudio]

@@bonzology322 I’m always learning, so I really appreciate new ideas and techniques. Also, with all your experience and knowledge I would be happy to interview you for the channel if you are interested. I’m sure many people would find it helpful.

[@bonzology322]

@@soundproofyourstudio Hi, yes, that would be great! I decided not to post that other comment for this reason, i am moving into a new house in SoCal in May, i am going to video document a full garage studio conversion(I am a musician as well) incorporating all the techniques i've picked up over the years as a building contractor, I think that would be a good time to do a vid talk with you on what went into the build and why, that will provide context and real world results that i can actually measure in front of the camera, I will DM you when i'm getting it done, my name is Tony btw

[@soundproofyourstudio]

@@bonzology322 sounds good Tony. Keep me posted on the build. I would love to hear more about it.