You can't have too many bass traps...

i am the poster child for too much bass trapping. and it only took me 10 years to figure it out.

i did a clean sheet of paper built room in 2004 in a barn. it was a room inside a room. with bass trapping along the front walls (15’ x 9’ x 1’) and the rear wall in 4 places (2’ x 9’ x 1’), and the whole drop ceiling was a bass trap (21’ x 29’ x 18"). my designer said he would add all the bass trapping i might ever need, and i could remove it as i needed to.

what i did not know is how much i would need to learn to understand what i needed to do. i removed the front side wall trapping in 2010-2011 and some of the ceiling trapping. then in 2015 i removed the rest of the ceiling trapping. only the rear wall trapping now remains.

i had to evolve myself to be able to get it right.

the good news is i have been happy for the last 5 years, and fully satisfied now. the room breathes and has the most awesome bass you would ever hear.

but.......you can have too much bass trapping. but don't forget that 'you' and your understanding of what you are hearing is an essential part of getting it right.

Good advise given already.

First you have to define what a bass trap is, to answer the question. If a "bass trap" reduces 60hz by 5% of what's needed but reduces 30% of 2k level, then what would happen to your sound after installing the 20 bass traps you need for the 60hz? "Bass trap" is a tool. Use the right tool for the job.

Bass traps are actually not the right tool for 60 Hz. The right tool for 60 Hz is a Helmholtz resonator. A big one. I built a fifteen foot long S-shaped Helmholtz resonator from 6” diameter PVC for a stubborn 60 Hz standing wave. That’s the way you get rid of a 60 Hz standing wave. 🤗

Bass traps are actually not the right tool for 60 Hz.

Well, that's why in my original post I said one needs to define what a bass trap is. Generally speaking, people buy "Bass traps" to tame all that low  bass output. Whether they are right or wrong, that's what people do..... 

Bass traps are actually not the right tool for 60 Hz.

Maybe not the best tool given infinite money and space, but I disagree they are not a very good tool. First, some specs:

https://www.gikacoustics.com/product/gik-acoustics-soffit-bass-trap/

As you can see, these traps are very effective in the range of 40 to 100 Hz, and plenty effective at 60-ish.


Mind you, a Helmholtz resonator is certainly the most effective at specific frequencies, but a bass trap doesn’t have to be perfect to work. All it has to do is tamp down the ringing a little (like placing your finger on the side of a bell). You only need it to be partially effective, and then you can EQ the rest. I think that bass traps can be a lot easier to install and move with you than a HR.  The combination of bass trap + EQ is a room mode assassin.


This is what the pros say. De-energize the room modes just a little and EQ can suddenly become effective, and I’ve proven it in my own spaces repeatedly.

Best,
E