The Importance of Bass Traps for Sound Absorbing

Blog provided by The Foam Factory

Acoustic treatment is a basic necessity for recording studios, concert halls, and other performance venues where high sound quality is essential. Most people balance out the sound waves in these rooms by installing acoustic foam panels, which eliminate excess echoes and reverberations. These foam pieces reduce the amplitude of sound waves by absorbing their energy and dissipating it as heat. However, placing acoustic foam panels on your walls may not be enough to deal with low-frequency bass sound waves that are prominent in smaller rooms.

Room modes refer to the prominent tones or resonances created by a room’s shape. Sound waves are always reacting with the environment as they travel to our ears or into our recording equipment. Every room has its own set of dominant room modes, and for smaller rooms such as recording studios, low-frequency bass waves tend to be the most dominant. This makes acoustic treatment challenging because the common types of acoustic foam panels are not the best at absorbing low-frequency waves.

With this in mind, what should you do to achieve a more balanced sound? No matter how much you adjust your recording or performing technique, a musical performance will still sound different in an untreated room, since all room modes are unique. Luckily, there are special acoustic foam products made for balancing the bass inside a room. Corner bass absorbers are specifically designed to absorb low-frequency sound waves. Low-frequency sound waves tend to build up in a room’s boundaries and corners, so placing bass traps in your corners can provide the right amount of resistance to dampen excess bass. Keep in mind that bass-heavy rooms may need thicker bass absorbers and additional wall bass traps to fully balance their dominant tones.

If you’re tired of bass-heavy tones ruining your recordings, be sure to browse through The Foam Factory’s collection of acoustic foam products, including corner bass and broadband absorbers. You’ll also find traditional acoustic foam wedges, drop ceiling tiles, colored panels, sound barriers, and monitor isolation wedges for all your soundproofing needs. Contact them today for more information at 586-627-3626 or by email at info@foambymail.com.