Q: Can I cover the panels with cloth or hessian without affecting the acoustic performance?

A: Panels can be covered with open weave fabric without compromising performance. Take care to check the material you are using is not highly flammable.

Q: Is all foam "acoustic foam"?

A: in some chain stores foam is marketed as "acoustic foam", such as eggshell foam. Usually less than 40mm thick, this type of foam will only absorb higher frequencies and is unsuitable for critical listening environments. The ability of acoustic foam to absorb a broad audio spectrum is directly related to the thickness of the foam. That is why SoundAcoustics broadband panels are required to be 75mm and 150mm thick. Acoustic grade foam is high quality, open cell, high density and combustion modified (will not catch fire). Lower quality foams often break down over time where as SoundAcoustics acoustic foam products are manufactured from the highest quality foam, and carry a 10 year warranty. Also, closed cell foams have poor acoustic performance.

Q: Will acoustic panels stop the noise escaping from the room? Is it soundproofing?

A: No, acoustic panels control reverb and reflections within the room, but do not prevent sound escaping from a room. In a normal house sound is transmitted through the physical structure of the house to the outside environment, as well as through the air. To soundproof a room to a very high level (such as totally stopping the sound of a drum kit) requires construction of a purpose built room that is "decoupled" from the surrounding environment. That is, a room not physically linked to the surrounding environment by utilising an airgap, and by sitting the structure on rubber blocks. A room within a room. In a normal house there are a multitude of ways of significantly reducing the sound escaping: double glazed windows, airtight solid core doors, double layers of plaster separated with rubber spacers (works quite well), just to name a few.

Q: Do bass traps reduce the bass I will hear? I like to hear plenty of bass!

A: The aim of bass traps is to reduce the natural resonance of a room. This can make some bass notes appear louder, and other frequencies disappear. The aim of bass traps is to even out bass frequencies (room modes) and improve bass definition.

Q: In my studio I have already installed foam I bought from a rubber store on all the walls. What more do I need?

A: Widespread wall coverage with thin foam is unfortunately a mistake. Also check that the foam is not flammable by testing a small piece outdoors. Remove the foam from the walls and layer it up into sections approx 80mm thick. Make some improvised broadband absorbers approx 1m x 1.5m and place at the first reflection points. This will work better than widespread coverage with thin foam.

Q: How should I treat a voiceover booth?

A: A voiceover booth should be an acoustically dead space. A voiceover booth for the purpose of 'close mic' voice recording can generally just be treated with a standard acoustic panel (AT600/40). A voiceover booth for the purpose recording singing, particularly a loud vocalist who may sing back from the mic, requires broadband treatment to absorb lower frequencies (SA600/75). Otherwise the recordings can sound 'boxy' due to uncontrolled 200 - 300hz frequencies. Some bass trapping can be helpful if the booth is to be used as an isolation booth for guitar amps. Coverage should be in the range of 70%, the more the better.

Q: What is a diffuser and do I need one?

A: Diffusers re-distribute the sound in a room without absorbing acoustic energy. This can be useful to break up the dimensions of a room. Furniture that is irregular in shape can work as an improvised diffuser. A bookcase full of books on the rear wall makes a great diffuser (with some absorption characteristics!)

Q: What is the best acoustic treatment for a room used to record drums?

A: For recording drums it is nice to try and capture a sense of space by keeping as much "liveness" in the room as possible, particularly for acoustic styles of music. When recording a drum kit it is the overhead and room mics which capture that sense of space. A good example of this is the drum sound on John Butler's "Sunrise over Sea" album which has plenty of room mic in the mix. A room with uncontrolled low freq. resonance will impact on the quality of sound recorded by the mics some distance from the kit. Drum rooms tend to benefit from a reasonable degree of bass trapping to control resonance, as well as some first reflection absorbers on the walls nearest the kit. A purpose built drum room without parallel walls is the exception, as it is unlikely to suffer from resonance issues. Alternatively, a small drum booth may be best treated with almost total wall coverage, resulting in a totally dead space. Reverb can be then added in post-production to achieve whatever sense of space you need. This approach was popular in the late 70's, and given the quality of reverbs in most home studios, is probably a valid approach today.

Q: Can I paint the panels?

A: It is possible to spray paint the acoustic panels, but it will have some effect on acoustic performance if the paint is applied too thickly. It is best to apply two light coats of water based paint.