DIY Bass Traps: How Lazy Can I Go?

[wildfire99]

I'm mildly curious... just what is the most effective way to make a corner bass trap/absorber, with the least amount of effort (yeah I'm lazy).

Can I just lay rolls of fiberglass, still in the plastic packaging, in the corner? Should they be unrolled and wrapped around a hollow chicken-wire cylinder? Or would it be even more effective to try to build one of those form-fitting corner traps that is triangle shaped?

[warnerwh]

You can just lay three or four rolls on top of each other in the plastic bags. The bags have holes that you should tape up but this will work.

Or you can take 3 rolls of fiberglass on top of each other with mdf end caps and some burlap and it will look decent.

[---k---]

Cheapest, ugliest method: yeah just stick the plain bags of R30 in the corner. Will work great. But, note that the plastic will reflect the highs, which may be preferable anyway. Shape, I don't believe, matters much. It is all about getting the most surface area and volume of absorption.

Though, techniques like putting it across a corner, so that you have an air void behind is an effective way to use less material and get good results.

[JonP]

How lazy? Beanbag chairs in the corners...

Just kidding.

Seriously, the fiberglass will work much better, being fiberglass... and being taller and thicker. I like the top and bottom end cap idea. Shouldn't take too much more out of the lazy factor to cover them in some cloth to look a bit nicer.. maybe put a waterpipe or PVC pole up the middle of the stacks, to give the encaps something solid to attach to, then the cloth could be stretched smoothly for a better look...

Uh oh, starting to sound like a bit of work.... ;-)

[wildfire99]

Thanks... it's not that I can't be bothered by making a nice wrap for them, I was just wondering if as a fun experiment I could just buy a half-dozen rolls and stack them without going through the effort of setting up a big project. That way, if they do nothing, at least they're still sealed and returnable (or useful somewhere else).

[---k---]

I've done that.

http://racarris.com/HT/fun_w_insulation.htm