MRwEV Episode 26 The End of the Acoustic Rainbow!

In this episode, I detail the final stages of perfecting the sound in my new control room. I go over the making and placement of Helmholtz resonators, Limp mass absorbers, and Tube Traps!! There was a lot to cover so this one got kind of long.
At the beginning, I give an update of what's been happening for the last couple of months and explain why I have not been able to post episodes. If you want to skip to the technical stuff, it starts around 20 mins :)

[@TimBuell]

Super thankful you’re alright after an accident like that. Also really grateful this series is back. Thanks so much for all you share about life, music, and everything else.

[@dobbydop]

Can’t thank you enough for this! Very few people have the means and motivation to go this deep and try out everything, and then share all that information freely in so much detail 😮 Truely invaluable!!

[@micahOnGuitar]

So glad you're OK, as well as your family, home, and studio. Your insights into all things recording are hugely valuable and equally appreciated!

[@gavmurray7398]

thanks for documenting this crazy journey Eric you are saving the collective millions of hours.

[@michaelarthurmusic307]

Absolutely fantastic. I worked in the high end home theatre industry for 20+ years so learned a lot about small room acoustics and aesthetics. Love your attention to detail and your tenacity.

[@jdmcdaid]

Very glad you recovered fully and speedily, Eric. Head injuries are no joke.

[@80hertz]

Sterling effort sir! So good to have an online resource covering solutions that work - with all the details on how you got there.

[@burgerguitars]

Glad to see Eric in the audio trenches figuring this out for us!

[@shanegrush]

Hahaha, that poor ATC - that’s great. Smart move on cutting the cylinders, Eric! Thanks for sharing, and I'm glad you’ve recovered after that accident.

[@DMKahn]

My favorite line “sorry ATC…😅” thanks for documenting and sharing the madness that is acoustic treatment. The audio world is better than it was before this video. 🍻

[@user-ix8ph8hw4v]

Huge thanks for taking the time to document all of this amazing and hard work-the fact that you shared this as a resource for everyone is above and beyond. I have enjoyed the many details you observe and the way you approached the entire process. I want to come visit your room! Regards from southern VT.

[@benkrueger]

I learned a lot about Helmholtz resonators and tube traps, thank you so much for sharing all of that.

[@buhlir]

Your channel should be called Valentines Audio Bible. Dude I cant thank you enough for everything, im in a process of a new room build as well, and you probably just saved me a lot of money and time and energy sharing what you have learned! I swear I am always on the same wavelengths as you. its just freaking wild, everything you say, things that happened, your philosophy's. Just on point.

[@samsepiol7191]

Hooray! Eric is back! The saga of the dream barn studio resumes.

[@micahOnGuitar]

So happy to see your tube trap construction! 👍👍👍

[@AndrewCCM]

I am SOOOO glad I didn't have to go through this much PITA to get my room fairly flat. LOL. I ended up with 6" Bass traps in my corners and (14) 2x3 3" 703 based panels. After all the gear got put in along with a 7ft couch (room is 11x16' and oddly shaped), it was a matter of moving my monitors around a bit and using the built in DSP. Very happy now. Was a decently long process, but your project puts me to shame! Thanks for sharing your journey and wish you the best!

[@noiseinthebasement8139]

Incredible journey you've been on! Thanks for carrying us along for the ride. Wow!

[@gustavovellutini4227]

OMG, the breakthrough with the Helmholtz resonator must have felt so good! I'm definitely gonna try here in my room, I've always found them confusing, but you made it feel a doable task. Thank you so so much for sharing this!

[@gustavovellutini4227]

A question: can the tube trap be used as an speaker stand?

[@VoxJ]

Absolutely amazing episode! Was struggling with the Helmholtz thingie, this made all the difference. Thanks! :)

[@angeloboltini]

Yes! Amazing! Has anyone A/B'd tube traps with just big rectangular gobos? Seems like their function is mostly due to them just being large porous absorbers. And what are your plans with a desk or console? Putting a big reflective surface in front of your face will add a lot more problems.

[@RedSpark_]

yeah I'd be curious to know how it compares to just 1-2 ft of low density fluffy fibre. much easier to just frame up and cover with fabric. Awesome breakdown though Eric, this really is a masterclass in practical acoustics. I would have never of thought having the door open would change so much!

[@Studio8Recording]

i'm now more excited to see how you cover all this up! :)

[@franswessels810]

Very informative, thank you so much for sharing. I am in the process of getting my home studio up in our new house. Made me help decide what to go for as first tests.

[@UmasPapa]

Hi Eric, wonderfully informative video as always! If you want to add back decay time in the frequencies that have less, you could build quadratic diffusers. The quarter waveform for 250hz is a little less than 14" so a diffuser of that depth will have a broad spectrum of diffusion down to 250hz. They should be placed with the room modes in mind, as well as angle of incidence from the monitors to the listening position. There are some really interesting designs, and it's possible to use the back side to add additional absorption. You've done tremendous work already, congrats! I loved the tissue paper trick

[@tootory9506]

You're the man, Eric! you really are a DIY guy all the way! if I was in your shoes, I probably would've called Alan sides -but that may have cost way too much and not as much fun doing it yourself ... Uneven walls and a slanted ceiling may have been an easier way to start BUT... then we wouldn't of had this great educational video.. Most of us don't usually have the advantage to have uneven walls. We're more in rectangle and square rooms as well.

[@richfab8667]

Floods, face flops and coughing up construction dust. Glad the end of the rainbow is in sigh!! Great insight on the struggle of low end in the control room.

[@christophersage7868]

Amazing. Thanks you so much for your hard work and persistence. this series on your studio is incredible. so comprehensive and accessible for a fellow like me to apply in my room... thank you from VERNON BC CANADA

[@kellypeterson2625]

So good to see you back. Glad you recovered from that nasty accident. Congratulations on the studio!

[@DougAustin]

4:27 I had a similar experience with a record that I just finished working on recently! One of the few that I didn’t play on, but especially one acoustic track that was a last second add-on, the singer and his dad played together and nailed a perfect take the first time. It was magical, I got goosebumps.

[@seanriley9045]

Wow man. Glad you are ok. Good on your Son for knowing what to do in that very stressful situation.

[@varmintvittles]

Great to see you, Eric! Thanks again for sharing so much helpful info in an amazingly fun way. Cheers!

[@Nick-eo2ol]

A sound treatment mad scientist! Thank you for this wealth of information

[@matthewosborn7507]

Thank you very much for doing all of these videos. So appreciative.

[@jstnfrzr]

You know you have money when you're just casually using an ATC speaker as a cutting jig stop.... Love these videos lol

[@palsheldon6520]

I can't believe you used that speaker like that.. :) maybe a piece of ply in between would at leaste spare it from scratches... Great trick with the paper on the hole..

[@stijnvanrijsbergen8255]

Oh hell yeah! Hope all's well over there! Can't wait to see how it all turned out, and what you learned. (I'm building my own new control room in about 1.5mo so this stuff is right on time!) Cheers! x

[@studiodude1]

Grace's new stuff sounds awesome!

[@RonnieLeBlancMusic]

awesome man! thank you for sharing all your hard work!

[@EricDavidSmith]

Thank you so much for sharing your time and knowledge. I can't wait to build these tubes. I appreciate the experimentations!

[@robertnute1402]

So inspiring, I'm hoping to my own barn studio in the next couple of years however it's much smaller but there is a lot that I will take from this.

[@sdanis]

Awesome video! Thank you for sharing your experimentations. :)

[@fytakytemusic]

So glad you’re a “dog person”, Eric! Dogs are great assistants + as a bonus, they have “dog’s ears”, of course! 😉 Good to see you and Max are ok.

[@georgeg85]

Hey Eric, have you ever tried experimeting with filling the tubes with low density insulation like another company's tubes? They claim that through isothermal properties they're able to achieve better absorption at lower frequencies that way compared to a tube with no stuffing of the same size.

[@Richard_P_James]

I have really missed these videos!!

[@crankfar]

Using a damn ATC monitor as a table saw fence! Now that's gotta be a first!

[@caleykelly]

Watching this a second time and just realizing: There is A LOT of misinformation in this domain. I mean, I kind of had an idea, but, wow! Everyone is trying to sell something, or regurgitating information from someone trying to sell something. These unbiased experiments are pricless to the whole audio community. Tha ks so much Eric, you've saved me a tonne of time, money, and frustration!

[@Andyant]

Besides from being an awesome lecture in acoustics this is a proof that if you do things properly and dont skip any corners you get so much greater results, you are a true inspiration of that! Q: In the first videos telling us about the new studio you talked about having like a "mix with the masters" thing where people can come visit and learn from you. Is that still a possibility in the future?

[@bdunn315]

53:45. This is so Eric valentine. I just love it. I’m watching this whole thing and I couldn’t appreciate it and dig it more. You’re an inspiration brother. Love everything you do.

[@elimgerman]

Did anyone notice the massive dent in the Right Channel Strauss's woofer @ 56:39? Oh eric...

[@korestudios]

Yes!! I couldn’t stop looking at that! Surely Eric is aware of it?

[@hewill2814]

I’m new to this Mr. Valentino, but this is wonderful. I am so grateful I found you amazing amazing work. I am looking forward to doing a Studio the same way. And yes, I’m a perfectionist.😅

[@drewleclair1281]

Thank you so much for this Eric, you have no idea how much I needed this today. You are a wealth of knowledge and experience!

[@drewleclair1281]

And yes, very glad you're ok after the bike incident. I'll also have you know I just produced a band that the opening track was called "Dog", and for many reasons I will think of you moving forward haha.

[@breakburrito]

Eric, you probably covered this in the past, but why is the tube trap more effective than just stacking non-rigid fiberglass or mineral wool insulation on the entire front or back wall? That seems like it would be quicker than building traps. I guess the air space in the tube is more effective than having that space filled with insulation?

[@asdfasdf917]

I'm also very curious. When I put the data into an absorber calculator, just filling all the space with mineral wool seems to be more effective than mineral wool+air+mineral wool like these pipes are

[@robgould152]

Love the new Grace tracks, so funky.

[@mattheap-producer]

You are an absolutely golden human being

[@jasonjenkyns5083]

dear lord you are a genius

[@alexandreprudent2870]

This is invaluable

[@niksnell3857]

We were missing you, glad yr okayyyy✨

[@iamvoltage]

fascinating! thanks for sharing. very inspiring! I just built a studio last year and I'm gonna go back and do some more measuring :)

[@lovebirdsmusic]

dear eric - this whole journey is just amazing. the level of information you´re passing on is so valuable. also the level of debunking) acoustics are definitely a snake oil territory - so many people paid hundreds and thousands for some make belief that barely did anything. i´m just in the process of moving into a new studio space and therefore i can not thank you enough for putting all these guidelines out. i´m from berlin and i already tried to source out these pipes but it definitely is way less common and available over here in germany (if anybody has a tip - i would be forever grateful!!). i won´t be able to achieve that level of detail in my treatment just from a financial aspect but i will surely try to cover as much as possible with tubes. i think i recall from somewhere in this video that the actual diameter of these isnt THAT much of an important factor right? anyway - every video has been an absolute pleasure to watch and just experience your dedication and enthusiasm combined with your positive attitude is nothing but super inspiring. i wish you and your family ALL THE BEST and to some amazing musical moments in the studio of your dreams! maybe one day our paths will cross and i can have a chat or a beer with you - that would be amazing too)

[@seanconnell4710]

Great to see you back Mr V😁

[@johnvcougar]

❤ missed you heaps! Glad you're ok.

[@gregedenfield1080]

thanx Eric, sorry about your spill...always wear a helmet.

[@SPLMixing]

Look up Limp Bag Membrane Traps. They did a great job in my studio in smoothing out the lows. Very easy to make.

[@oceansiderecordingstudio]

It looks so great congratulations ❤

[@sonicpalacevideos]

Great job getting the room pretty darn flat! BTW, the Beatles recorded in Studio 2 at Abbey Road. Pink Floyd recorded Dark Side Of The Moon in Studio 3, an amazing room! I was recently at Abbey Road, I'm putting up a video this week about my recording project there.

[@mrwev]

Ahhh cool thank you for the clarification on that :)

[@sharbono]

just starting this one now. glad you're back!

[@fiddlefolk]

Very interesting discoveries Eric!

[@HenryC7625]

Glad to have you back!

[@lucasloud]

The ATC speaker serving as a sewer pipe cutting fence next to the table saw.... I'M DEAD!!!! 😂🤣

[@lucasloud]

This is the single greatest and most epic flex in the history of pro audio!! I love it 👍 also amazing video Eric THANK YOU for sharing this process with us!

[@timfarrant545]

Membrane absorbers need to be in front of an airtight cavity to work properly. Just putting a membrane between 2 layers of fluffy stuff like those panels on his walls are not going to work.

[@genuinecellophane]

This is incredibly deep information..........

[@danolivier4899]

Eric: "The tool to cut it is crazy expensive, thousands of dollars", Eric 2 minutes later, "I'm using this ATC speaker to hold the tube in place over the table saw"

[@thomaspersson1533]

Welcome back Eric 😊

[@LivingroomGearDemos]

Interesting mic placement on that tweed, sir!

[@dompesceproject]

Nice to see you back!

[@caleykelly]

Great job Eric! I'm team tubes now as well. Haha!

[@OssianOtt]

This is pure gold Eric, thank you! The room mode/resonance at 44 Hz is easy to see in the, but the one at 57 is harder to see imo, do you just expect it to be there due to the floor/ceiling dimension? I'm sad to see that the limp mass absorber didn't do anything for you, I made what Ros Gervais calls a panel absorber with the same math/construction but a hard surface on front (I chose plywood) with good effect, altho I don't remember measuring after the fact but it tightened up my room considerably. I want to experiment with tube Helmholtz resonators, looks like they are cheap/easy to build and very efficient.

[@bent513]

Wow this is awesome. Very interesting that after all of that experimentation you ended up back at tube traps. Is there any documentation about why those work so well?

[@UNPAVEDMusic]

Amazing detailed video, best online! Quick question though. I am going to build the tube traps from the pipe insulation. Should I also stuff the inside with Rockwool? Would that make them work even better? Thank you.

[@darylvanhorn3764]

That poor dust cap on the right Strauss speaker. Let me recommend a simple household tool for a possible fix: the vacuum cleaner. Remove the head, just use the tube itself. I have used this method several times in the past with success - albeit on slightly smaller speakers. :)

[@NavinJ8]

Inspiring perseverance!

[@chriscollins6238]

Happy you're back! I look forward to your videos each week. But I had a big thought: shouldn't you take the spectrum analysis with you in your normal seated listening position? Also I started wondering since you're going down the rabbit hole, how about testing the difference with the air conditioning on verses off. ☺️

[@mthdn]

Thanks for this! Some questions: 1) I see that You know ATC quite well;) how You can compare this sound to Strauss in general? 2) Respect Your DIY adaptation route but have You any experience with pro acousticians? Why not to choose pro. project or even some consultation? 3) Why You do not try simple wool traps of any kind (broadband or hang JSayers style)

[@nonegiven9528]

Absolutely amazing work. So valuable. Did you try by maximizing speaker position first?

[@soulflower8687]

What's the difference in performance of the tube traps between empty tube trap and tube trap filled with loose fill absorber (eg fibreglass) in the cavity ?

[@lmrecorders]

For anyone waiting for the dog that just can't wait, 35:03

[@thomaspersson1533]

😃😊

[@micahOnGuitar]

My hero

[@doczinger]

The dog has a great deal, taken care of the super kool people, a nice place to sleep, gets to hear new music being created and most likely gets fed good too. We should all be so lucky

[@avibortnick]

Fantastic and interesting - thanks for sharing all that you've discovered. Curious if you ever considered the PSI active bass absorbers?

[@kelvinfunkner]

goodness! you've done all the work with all the expense in order to give this amazing information to us!!! It's like a masterclass in acoustics...I'm so curious though...when we were building our facility and we had all the mineral fibre insulation in the control room walls (10 inch walls with offset 2x6 and 2x4 studs) it sounded so much like being outside with no walls at all, that I toyed with the idea of just covering it all with fabric lol....I'm wondering if your tube trap idea is similar in just trying to overcome the constraints that the plywood walls create? I've seen other studios where they do most of their soundproofing on the outside of the room instead and for the inside it's literally insulation with fabric overtop. Do you think that regular mineral fibre insulation that's covered with fabric would do a similar job to the tube traps, or is there a magical thing about the cylindrical shape? Thanks again for posting this all and for the incredible time and cost you've saved all of us by offering this info to the community!!!

[@heychrisgreen]

Eric’s descent into madness 😂

[@antcall6779]

Yesssss!!!! Finally back!!!!! Missed your videos 🤘

[@bobbyjonesAAB]

How do you feel the tube traps relate to the false wall build you did at Topanga Canyon? If room allows, is there a big difference of 20” tubes vs 8”? Any experiments with filling the interior of the tube with more insulation (loose rockwool, recycled cotton,etc)?

[@valentetorrez3398]

I had a similar bike accident when I was 19. Last thing I remember was crossing a road & the next thing I remember is thinking I was in my grandmas back yard & someone telling me to keep still & leave the neck brace alone. To this day I have no clue what happened. The bike was totaled. I had some nasty road rash & came millimeters from cutting my eye.

[@PabloDeBiasi]

Thanks for the journey! In the end a soft soffit was the way to go, what if you made the tube walls thicker? Still think it would have cost you less and performed better to have the room designed by Northward and built it yourself with local carpenters 😅

[@user-qb1yb8fy7k]

Thank you for all the great content, love your videos! Is there a specific reason why you've decided to position the speakers so close to the back wall? Would a bigger distance to the back wall improve the bass response in the room or is it irrelevant because of the way the speakers are designed?

[@natlove219]

Now, in my head, I call you Epic Valentine.

[@markusgraf4782]

Did someone find a reseller of them tubes in Europe/Germany? Or maybe a similar Product?

[@twitterjesus]

glad your back

[@manowire5403]

Welcome back !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@infinaneek]

Fantastic! You answered so many questions I’ve had. One thing i thought was that your sweep was quite short. Only 5 sec. I would’ve gone a lot longer. Give problem freqs time to get ringing to replicate sustained bass notes.

[@owendsidwell]

Starts talking tube traps around 1:23:00

[@jessemazur]

Hey Eric, this is amazing! I have been wanting to see how you personally build your tubes for a while, thanks for show us! Curious if you've done any measurements tube trap size and frequency response. For example, assuming a 2" thick wall, how does a 16" outer diameter compare to a 22" outer diameter etc? Thanks again for all these videos, if you'd answered this elsewhere sorry for the double question, happy to watch a different video :)