Acoustical foam vs Egg Crate Foam for bedding

[Kronos]

Is there much of a difference? Granted, I think the egg crate foam is a little bit softer, but I can double up on it for a lot cheaper.

I would like to hear everyone's opinions on this stuff, and whether or not it's worth the investment to buy the real deal over the bedding stuff.

[agreatheight]

The bedding stuff is gonna be pretty worthless, HOWEVER... before you go and spent big money on Auralex tiles look into other maufacturers, like Foam By Mail. By all means, if you have the money get the Auralex, their stuff is top notch, probably the best. But if you are looking to save a few bucks you can get similar products elsewhere that work nearly as well. I treated my studio for about $80 through Foam By Mail, if I had gone with Auralex I'd have spent $200 to get the same amount of coverage. Now, I did have to cut smaller pieces out of a big sheet, but it worked well for me.

Good luck!

[DemoKing]

May as well make my first post a useful one...
DO NOT EVER BUY FOAM FOR ACOUSTICAL REASONS.

There. Best advice you'll get all day. Foam sucks. Aurelex foam sucks too. Its foam. Why does it suck? Because it doesnt really touch the bass that you want it to touch. Foam has crappy acoustical properties, period.

"What do I want then" you ask? Mineral wool. Rock wool. Rigid fiberglass (ie Owens Corning 703 or 705)
Mineral wool is cheap (cheaper than foam in some cases) absorbs at least an octave lower, doesnt create a fire hazard, and many others.

For more info, I'll be glad to post it, but express some interest in a better way before I waste my time and preach about it.

Peace
Paul

[Edwcdc]

Foam, the Auralex kind will help with some of the high reflections but as mentioned will do nothing to help out in the bass dept. It will not sound proof. I don't care how much you use it will not sound proof.
I treated my studio with mainly bass traps and panels made of rigid fiberglass insulation. I also used some foam but the main thing that made the room sound better was the fiber glass. Go to www.homerecording.com and do a search on bass traps, acoustic treatment, or just plain foam. You can learn some cheaper DIY ways to treat you room. Many of the threads even have pics.

[Kronos]

Man, you guys are the reason why this is my favorite messageboard. So many people who know about things that I'd like to know about. Thanks for the info!!

[agreatheight]

Some thoughts...

#1 - acoustic foam is not intended to sound proof, it is intended to acoustically treat a room.
#2 - you can use acoustic foam to treat bass related issues - most acoustic foam manufacturers make corner bass traps which work well.
#3 - there are lots of ways to treat rooms other than foam, yes, however most of these require some amount of knowledge, research and construction skill. Part of the attraction to foam is ease of set up. Building your own bass traps or acoustic panels takes time, and time is money, it may not be worth it to you.
#4 - Every high end studio I have been in, probably 10 or so, use some acoustic foam, as part of their acoustic treatment.

[DemoKing]

I agree with everything you said except the foam making great bass traps. I dosagree. Even reallt thick foam has poor bass trapping qualities.

If you buy mineral wool (which is SOOO frigging itchy its not even funny, wear gloves and long sleeves) in 2 foot by 4 foot panels in the 2 inch thickness, there are a few simple ways to do it quick, easy and cheap.

They 2 things I did....
1st, I ran up to Home Depot after I got my 2 bundles of mineral wool, and had them cut me a bunch of 1x4's into 2 foot and 4 foot pieces and picked up up some small nails. Ran it all home, nailed together some 2 foot by 4 foot frames, thumbtacked some burlap (from Walmarts fabric section, cheap as hell) to the back of it stretched kind of tight. Loaded 2 panels of mineral wool into them (4 inches thick for bass traps) and then covered the front with burlap and wrapped it around to the back and staple and/or thumbtack it. They look very nice and hang right on the wall like a picture or stand in the corner. Oh, for corner traps (which you always put diagonally so there is an air space behind them) I used 6 by 2 panels just to cover more height (had a few piece of 6 foot 1x4 cut too)
The other thing I did which was even cheaper, and I use this for reflections off the wall and behind and over my mix station... cut a piece of thick cardbaord 2x4 wide, lay a 2 inch panel of mineral wool on it, cover the mineral wool with burlap and wrap it around. Glue it and let it dry, and then glue a couple of picture hangers on the cardboard. Hang on the wall like a picture. Works so well its almost funny. The bass trap with the 4 inch in it are like blackholes when it comes to sound. Scream into one with your nose almost touching it and its like a vacuum. Nothing comes back at all. Good stuff.
For bass though, you want your panels at least 4 inches thick.
FOr treble stuff, foam will be fine, but mineral wool or rigid fiberglass is still better there too.

[DemoKing]

Oh, and one I came up with myself.... I bought a couple of small pipe hangers in the plumbing section. They are designed to hang pipes on walls by nailing them on. I nailed them upside down on both sides of 4 of my panels, off center towards the top. Now, I have moveable baffles by using mic stands as baffle stands. The stands will hold them anywhere you want (but it takes 2 of them) and you can make makeshift vocal boths, put them around drums to deaden the room sound, etc. I put them behind me when mixing to stop reflections bouncing back off the wall behind me. Works like a charm.
You have to take the mic clip or wahtever off. The hangers hook right down into the hollow tube of the mic stand. Fully adjustable height.

[OrionManMatt]

x2

burlap covering with wood frame