Dear Eric, The only way for you to know and feel the appreciation and gratitude I feel for all the knowledge, experience and experimentation of going through all these processes you are sharing with us would be a Vulcan mind-meld. :D We, as a community, are forever in you debt and we will forever cherish your existence. I wish you and your family all the best there is, was or ever will be. Live long and prosper
So much to unpack (literally) but for me the biggest lesson of these videos is the value of documenting the entire process, not only for your own scientific growth as an engineer and understanding the complexities of building and treating a critical listening space, but also for the value of the recording environment moving forward. Showing the world the time, expense, and meticulous effort that went into designing, building, and tuning the space to perform sonically as you (the engineer) need to have, sells the space to all who will ever visit it.
Hi Eric, I'm looking intro building my own tube traps and I'm wondering what materials you've used here/ any building plans you may have followed?? Sorry if you've made a video of this already but I've been having a tough time finding a link with your explanation on building your tube traps. Thanks for all the amazing info and insights you provide us!!
In the middle of treating my "acoustically challenged" room. Looking forward in building these panels!! (also a DIY thread on Gearspace) Details on thickness metal sheet etc. would be awesome 🙏
It looks like what Jürgen Strauss was referring to was a VPR (Verbund-Platten-Resonator) panel which indeed has a suspended plate and you got a BKA (Breitband-Kompakt-Absorber) panel which has the plate basically sandwiched in between porous material. Thank you for sharing Eric!
YES! This is a very timely episode for me. Just spent three days measuring, moving speakers subs and panels around, getting frustrated with life, the universe and everything... One thing to note is your 100-something Herz null. I have the exact same thing happen. Part of it is indeed the SBIR with the front wall, as you demonstrated. But there is a second null happening slightly higher, which is comb filtering with the floor reflection. You can 'prove' that by dragging the measurement mic back - the further back the mic is, the higher and deeper this null will be. I'm still unsure how to tackle this problem myself. I'll probably end up stashing some absorption there, but am also considering separate low frequency drivers. If those are lower to the floor, I could potentially have a cleaner response.
That panels seems like it's two pieces of Akotherm D40 (best polyester foam in Europe) sandwiching a metal sheet, which is indeed a simple idea. Eric what's the thickness of the metal sheet in between if I may ask?
Amazing Eric, can’t wait to see the next few videos. Curious if you’ve listened to a Northward acoustics FTB room before and how you’d compare that setup to yours? Also I’ve seen version of what you are planning to create - I believe John Brandt has done rooms with resonant panels wrapped in fibreglass (however they are usually installed hanging from the ceiling) same concept slightly different implementation. I wonder how this would affect the sound? I think Northward use panel traps, where the insulation doesn’t touch the panel.
Can confirm hanging stuff on res channel is a PITA. I hung two sheets of 5/8" drywall on res channel in my control room. It worked well for basic isolation, but you have to be SUPER careful to mark your studs and not accidentally screw through the channel and into a stud. Even a single screw can reduce the isolation of the wall assembly quite a bit bc of flanking.
Hi Eric! Thanks for the endless effort and making educational value. Appreciate it! Could you include a visual of the waterfall plot of the before and after measurements of the metal plate absorbers? Looking forward to your diy versions of this. I’m currently working with an acoustician who wants to implement this too for the construction of the backwall in my mixroom. *also! Where do you find your pipe isolation for the tubetraps? 😗 I’ve gotten into the nickel creeck album and it sound AMAZING!!! Thanks, Jussi
? Hi Eric. Love your Episodes! 2 questions: 1) Have you tried the Kirchhoff EQ vs FabFilter? 2) Where's a good Carl Sagan place to start? A particular show or book? Thanks!!!
Hi Eric, I know you've mentioned making a faraday cage before to shield against hum leaking into single coil pickups. Can you talk more about how you did that? I wonder if the tuned absorbers help a little bit since there's a sheet of metal inside. I'm dealing with some hum/buzz from a water heater power supply in my basement below my recording setup which I would love to fix!
Hi Eric, I knew you would take apart a ceiling absorber! :-) ...that you show us how it is set up was absolutely awesome. ...the white material below and above the steel plate looks like Caruso-Isobond, or what is it? Best regards from Germany! (I actually had to look up Renz)
Hey Eric, I had some questions about your production on Astro Lounge! Was the space theme and aesthetic already chosen by the time you got to recording? Or did that come up during the recording/production process? A lot of interesting sound FX were used (the lasers on Stoned, the radio dialogue in the bridge of All Star, the theremin on Whose There?), were those generated in studio or sampled? Also, I hear a variety of organ sounds on the record (especially on Roadman). Did you have an array of organs or was it one with the settings/overtones tweaked? Also, just saw Nickel Creek live over the weekend and they had a barn "backdrop" displayed on stage, made me think of your barn where you recorded some of their vocals, haha. Great stuff!
Great. Happy that you finally achieved what you wanted. The commercial product must have costed quite a bit. It would be cool to compare the cost between them and the ones that you have diy. Hope you didn't strain yourself and took a break while you could. 👍
I was studying the history and math behind helmholtz resonators and it included figuring out diameters of holes, distance of holes on the sheet of metal, and then the various properties of the metal. With your panels, is that internal sheet-metal solid (other than that top corner hole)? I wasn't sure if the white exterior metal covers handled the perforated holes part or not. Thanks for any additional info. Very intriguing and hopeful stuff for taming a room. Thanks!
Hello Eric, thanks for the videos! One question, I’ve heard you comment on those tubular shaped absorbers as being the most efective in low frequencies. Are those behind you in this video from Renz Acosutics or another brand? Or are they made by you? Maybe you’ll talk about them in a future video. Thanks!
Hey Eric, do you have recommended specs for the tube traps (max diameter & insulation thickness)? You've mentioned Johns Manville pipe insulation, but I'm having a hard time tracking it down. Do you have any experience with Rockwool pipe insulation or other manufacturers? Thank you!
Congrats dude! Question for your next Q&A: how long of a walk is it from the house to the studio? Kinda looks like a nice commute from your snow walk there early in the vid.
Newbie Question. I’ve an SSL12 interface, I want to use a golden age 1073 pre amp which I can connect to the ssl but the ssl has preamps…so it’ll be a preamp into the Ssl12 preamp…is that crazy or what ppl do? Totally gone down the EV rabbit hole and it’s been so so helpful.. I’m just starting putting a garage studio together so thanks for the information Eric, it really makes a difference.
What is thickness of the steel sheets that you used vs the German sheets ? Also, I'm wondering to what extent the use of a brief, lowish-volume, single rising frequency sweep can inform us about how a room will act when energized with multiple frequencies simultaneously and over time. Is there any way for amateur non-acoustician studio owners to measure these energized room nodes in relation to time ?
FASCINATING! Tube Traps - How thick is the fiberglass? Thicker better? Hollow inside? Sealed ends? Open ends? Foil wrapped vs no foil? Brand? Costs per diameter? What diameter and why? Results?
Eric, I don’t know if this is the right place but on your next Q&A session could you talk about panning? I know that’s basic but my question is on hard panningas opposed to three or four notches back towards the center. Sometimes I wonder whether it’s better to hard pan or it’s better to move it slightly bact to C and to fill the side up more. How much actual hard panning is done in most mixes and is there some secret sauce there that I don’t quite understand with that. Thank you and congratulations on the studio build… It’s been fun watching it come together.
Is there a reason foam is used instead of rock wool? Have you thought of making a panel that is rock wool with the sheetmetal or a panel with rock wool,foam, and sheetmetal? Thanks Eric been waiting on this one 🤘
I guess the company is much safer using the ideal foam: fire resistant, density, clean no dusty stuff etc. Probably more of an indutrial convenience decision, but some people have done them , DIY, with mineral or vegetal wools. I certainly will try that way! with Hemp.
Hi Eric, Can you tell us why you didn't include glass windows between your control room and live rooms? Won't video screens provide the same amount of reflective surface in your control room? BONUS QUESTION: Do you still have the masters of the Persephone's Bees album? There are some incredible tones on that album, would love to hear a mix breakdown! Amazing studio and amazing videos! 👍
I think it’s more about isolation from room to room. And the material of the front wall behind the speaker wouldn’t make a noticeable difference from glass vs tv vs drywall.
just because I haven't seen it in the comments: the sheet metal absorbers are called VPR which is short form for Verbundplattenresonator (German) which roughly translates to "composite panel resonator". depending on the thickness of the plate you get varying efficiency at different frequencies. Common thicknesses are 1mm, 1.5mm and 2mm. The company Renz has the licence to manufacture these panels which are patented by Fraunhofer, a research institute in Germany. One can find the corresponding patents online and it is not hard to build these yourself, the tricky part is definitely mounting them to a wall or ceiling with the steel plate having minimal contact area.
wow. so much of this brings back memories of building our facility. (which is still an ongoing process haha) I was surprised you could wait a month before opening up those crates though! I'd be so concerned about making sure they arrived without damage (just in case I needed to report it to the shipping company) that I would have cracked those baby's open as soon as possible lol! Pretty cool that you made your own for the walls too! Just curious, are you planning on covering the tube traps with some acoustically transparent fabric? Or was there another way you were going to hide them away in the back?
Careful with starting to use an unfiinished room, you might end up never finishing it that way (though is a operating studio ever finished or just constantly evolving and adapting). Also interesting to see your SBIR experience; one of the problems where soffit mounted speakers are really the only "perfect" solution (when done properly).
Here’s hoping that the glue process for the thin metal sheet doesn’t actually serve a resonant function. Seems to me that the design calls for the metal sheet to be suspended by that top cushion so it doesn’t fully rest on the thinner bottom cushion. But the splodgy gluing, and the fact that it came loose during transit, smacks of the “Cherman engineeering” we’ve all become so fond of in many products served out of that region, like chitty BMW cars (I won’t start).
In my mid video research break it did seem that uniform glue coverage was a thing but who knows. Ultimately the metal is the mass catching the energy wave and the foam is damping it. A gravity sandwich might be sufficient enough to be as effective as glue.
Base on this, it would seem that literally placing a sheet of steel against regular insulation against the wall would dramatically help. Why do they even need to be in panels.
Who knew magic eraser could also erase resonance? I had no idea this miracle material was such a powerful sound treatment tool as well as very expensive. I wonder if there's a bulk price breaking point?
Dear Eric,
The only way for you to know and feel the appreciation and gratitude I feel for all the knowledge, experience and experimentation of going through all these processes you are sharing with us would be a Vulcan mind-meld. :D
We, as a community, are forever in you debt and we will forever cherish your existence.
I wish you and your family all the best there is, was or ever will be.
Live long and prosper
Your vocal impression of forklift truck driver is both interesting and impressive ✊😂 cheers from London 🇬🇧
Hey Eric. Could you talk about the tube traps behind you as well? ❤️
So much to unpack (literally) but for me the biggest lesson of these videos is the value of documenting the entire process, not only for your own scientific growth as an engineer and understanding the complexities of building and treating a critical listening space, but also for the value of the recording environment moving forward. Showing the world the time, expense, and meticulous effort that went into designing, building, and tuning the space to perform sonically as you (the engineer) need to have, sells the space to all who will ever visit it.
man, this theme song has been a total earworm for me lately while I'm working outside lol. 😂
Congratulations Eric, lovely to see it coming together and good work on getting those absorbers unloaded!
Hi Eric, I'm looking intro building my own tube traps and I'm wondering what materials you've used here/ any building plans you may have followed?? Sorry if you've made a video of this already but I've been having a tough time finding a link with your explanation on building your tube traps. Thanks for all the amazing info and insights you provide us!!
I love your new studio, your channel and everything you do, congrats on the new studio. It’s seriously awesome!!!!
Congratulations on getting to work in your awesome new studio!
In the middle of treating my "acoustically challenged" room. Looking forward in building these panels!! (also a DIY thread on Gearspace) Details on thickness metal sheet etc. would be awesome 🙏
It looks like what Jürgen Strauss was referring to was a VPR (Verbund-Platten-Resonator) panel which indeed has a suspended plate and you got a BKA (Breitband-Kompakt-Absorber) panel which has the plate basically sandwiched in between porous material. Thank you for sharing Eric!
Best (and weirdest) unboxing video on RUclips; and that’s no small feat!
No way to thank you for sharing all this information. Excited to one day visit the facility and say thanks in person.
This is so helpful Eric. Did you build the tube traps yourself? If so can you explain how?
This is so interesting! Thank you so much for documenting and sharing everything in such detail!
Omg this is getting reeeeeeallly interesting, can't wait for the next video
Glad we're getting more into absorption!!
Amazing place! Well done
yes yes yesssss loley stuff eric so excited and happy that things are ticking along! big love from london
This was really interesting, loved the longer build footage as well :)
Hey Eric, maybe I didn't catch it in the video... did you make a room measurement with all panels installed?
YES! This is a very timely episode for me. Just spent three days measuring, moving speakers subs and panels around, getting frustrated with life, the universe and everything...
One thing to note is your 100-something Herz null. I have the exact same thing happen. Part of it is indeed the SBIR with the front wall, as you demonstrated. But there is a second null happening slightly higher, which is comb filtering with the floor reflection. You can 'prove' that by dragging the measurement mic back - the further back the mic is, the higher and deeper this null will be.
I'm still unsure how to tackle this problem myself. I'll probably end up stashing some absorption there, but am also considering separate low frequency drivers. If those are lower to the floor, I could potentially have a cleaner response.
Cool stuff, looking forward to the black magic of the next one.
That panels seems like it's two pieces of Akotherm D40 (best polyester foam in Europe) sandwiching a metal sheet, which is indeed a simple idea.
Eric what's the thickness of the metal sheet in between if I may ask?
Nice to see Alex :) These panels are wild 😮
You are living my dream life man, hopefully will i catch up to this some day but Kudos to you guys 🙂
Amazing Eric, can’t wait to see the next few videos.
Curious if you’ve listened to a Northward acoustics FTB room before and how you’d compare that setup to yours?
Also I’ve seen version of what you are planning to create - I believe John Brandt has done rooms with resonant panels wrapped in fibreglass (however they are usually installed hanging from the ceiling) same concept slightly different implementation. I wonder how this would affect the sound?
I think Northward use panel traps, where the insulation doesn’t touch the panel.
Can confirm hanging stuff on res channel is a PITA. I hung two sheets of 5/8" drywall on res channel in my control room. It worked well for basic isolation, but you have to be SUPER careful to mark your studs and not accidentally screw through the channel and into a stud. Even a single screw can reduce the isolation of the wall assembly quite a bit bc of flanking.
Heck Yeah!!! Looks wild already!!
Hi Eric! Thanks for the endless effort and making educational value. Appreciate it!
Could you include a visual of the waterfall plot of the before and after measurements of the metal plate absorbers?
Looking forward to your diy versions of this.
I’m currently working with an acoustician who wants to implement this too for the construction of the backwall in my mixroom.
*also! Where do you find your pipe isolation for the tubetraps? 😗
I’ve gotten into the nickel creeck album and it sound AMAZING!!!
Thanks,
Jussi
Hey Eric also, did you know about RPG velocity based absorbers? Why didn't you go for one of those?
? Hi Eric. Love your Episodes! 2 questions: 1) Have you tried the Kirchhoff EQ vs FabFilter? 2) Where's a good Carl Sagan place to start? A particular show or book? Thanks!!!
I like the ominous construction sound around minute 24. Makes it sound like a horror scene about to start :D
Watched this video from front to back and can’t get over the fact that you look like you’re in front of a green screen of your control room lmao
Hi Eric, I know you've mentioned making a faraday cage before to shield against hum leaking into single coil pickups. Can you talk more about how you did that? I wonder if the tuned absorbers help a little bit since there's a sheet of metal inside. I'm dealing with some hum/buzz from a water heater power supply in my basement below my recording setup which I would love to fix!
Hi Eric,
I knew you would take apart a ceiling absorber! :-) ...that you show us how it is set up was absolutely awesome.
...the white material below and above the steel plate looks like Caruso-Isobond, or what is it?
Best regards from Germany! (I actually had to look up Renz)
Hey Eric, I had some questions about your production on Astro Lounge!
Was the space theme and aesthetic already chosen by the time you got to recording? Or did that come up during the recording/production process?
A lot of interesting sound FX were used (the lasers on Stoned, the radio dialogue in the bridge of All Star, the theremin on Whose There?), were those generated in studio or sampled?
Also, I hear a variety of organ sounds on the record (especially on Roadman). Did you have an array of organs or was it one with the settings/overtones tweaked?
Also, just saw Nickel Creek live over the weekend and they had a barn "backdrop" displayed on stage, made me think of your barn where you recorded some of their vocals, haha. Great stuff!
Great. Happy that you finally achieved what you wanted. The commercial product must have costed quite a bit. It would be cool to compare the cost between them and the ones that you have diy.
Hope you didn't strain yourself and took a break while you could. 👍
I was studying the history and math behind helmholtz resonators and it included figuring out diameters of holes, distance of holes on the sheet of metal, and then the various properties of the metal. With your panels, is that internal sheet-metal solid (other than that top corner hole)? I wasn't sure if the white exterior metal covers handled the perforated holes part or not. Thanks for any additional info. Very intriguing and hopeful stuff for taming a room. Thanks!
Best reality show ever
Eric, can you share the details about how you made those absorbers? Like depth, density, materials. Thanks
Hello Eric, thanks for the videos! One question, I’ve heard you comment on those tubular shaped absorbers as being the most efective in low frequencies. Are those behind you in this video from Renz Acosutics or another brand? Or are they made by you? Maybe you’ll talk about them in a future video. Thanks!
Hi Eric, I remember you saying that you would cover all the walls with tube traps, what is the reason that made you change your mind ?
Hey Eric, do you have recommended specs for the tube traps (max diameter & insulation thickness)? You've mentioned Johns Manville pipe insulation, but I'm having a hard time tracking it down. Do you have any experience with Rockwool pipe insulation or other manufacturers? Thank you!
Congrats dude!
Question for your next Q&A: how long of a walk is it from the house to the studio?
Kinda looks like a nice commute from your snow walk there early in the vid.
Q:did you re-glue the metal sheets to the foam before hanging??? did you use "green glue" to do so?
I believe he said he centred them in the panel/box and then gravity would hold the sheet in place.
Newbie Question. I’ve an SSL12 interface, I want to use a golden age 1073 pre amp which I can connect to the ssl but the ssl has preamps…so it’ll be a preamp into the Ssl12 preamp…is that crazy or what ppl do?
Totally gone down the EV rabbit hole and it’s been so so helpful.. I’m just starting putting a garage studio together so thanks for the information Eric, it really makes a difference.
Have you looked into PSI Audio active bass traps? they seem interesting
What is thickness of the steel sheets that you used vs the German sheets ?
Also, I'm wondering to what extent the use of a brief, lowish-volume, single rising frequency sweep can inform us about how a room will act when energized with multiple frequencies simultaneously and over time. Is there any way for amateur non-acoustician studio owners to measure these energized room nodes in relation to time ?
FASCINATING!
Tube Traps - How thick is the fiberglass? Thicker better? Hollow inside? Sealed ends? Open ends? Foil wrapped vs no foil? Brand? Costs per diameter? What diameter and why? Results?
Tube Traps are a mistery we will never understand
If these panels work and are easy to build, it’s going to be bigger than Covid
Eric, I don’t know if this is the right place but on your next Q&A session could you talk about panning? I know that’s basic but my question is on hard panningas opposed to three or four notches back towards the center. Sometimes I wonder whether it’s better to hard pan or it’s better to move it slightly bact to C and to fill the side up more. How much actual hard panning is done in most mixes and is there some secret sauce there that I don’t quite understand with that. Thank you and congratulations on the studio build… It’s been fun watching it come together.
this room looks so groovy!!
Is there a reason foam is used instead of rock wool? Have you thought of making a panel that is rock wool with the sheetmetal or a panel with rock wool,foam, and sheetmetal? Thanks Eric been waiting on this one 🤘
I guess the company is much safer using the ideal foam: fire resistant, density, clean no dusty stuff etc. Probably more of an indutrial convenience decision, but some people have done them , DIY, with mineral or vegetal wools. I certainly will try that way! with Hemp.
Hi Eric,
Can you tell us why you didn't include glass windows between your control room and live rooms? Won't video screens provide the same amount of reflective surface in your control room?
BONUS QUESTION: Do you still have the masters of the Persephone's Bees album? There are some incredible tones on that album, would love to hear a mix breakdown!
Amazing studio and amazing videos! 👍
I think it’s more about isolation from room to room. And the material of the front wall behind the speaker wouldn’t make a noticeable difference from glass vs tv vs drywall.
just because I haven't seen it in the comments:
the sheet metal absorbers are called VPR which is short form for Verbundplattenresonator (German) which roughly translates to "composite panel resonator".
depending on the thickness of the plate you get varying efficiency at different frequencies. Common thicknesses are 1mm, 1.5mm and 2mm.
The company Renz has the licence to manufacture these panels which are patented by Fraunhofer, a research institute in Germany.
One can find the corresponding patents online and it is not hard to build these yourself, the tricky part is definitely mounting them to a wall or ceiling with the steel plate having minimal contact area.
wow. so much of this brings back memories of building our facility. (which is still an ongoing process haha) I was surprised you could wait a month before opening up those crates though! I'd be so concerned about making sure they arrived without damage (just in case I needed to report it to the shipping company) that I would have cracked those baby's open as soon as possible lol! Pretty cool that you made your own for the walls too! Just curious, are you planning on covering the tube traps with some acoustically transparent fabric? Or was there another way you were going to hide them away in the back?
love it !!!!
Any idea what your materials cost per panel ended up being when building the wall panels?
47:49 Hell Yeah!
The sounds of the power tools upstairs would make Trent and Atticus jealous.
Careful with starting to use an unfiinished room, you might end up never finishing it that way (though is a operating studio ever finished or just constantly evolving and adapting).
Also interesting to see your SBIR experience; one of the problems where soffit mounted speakers are really the only "perfect" solution (when done properly).
this is so dope
❤
Here’s hoping that the glue process for the thin metal sheet doesn’t actually serve a resonant function. Seems to me that the design calls for the metal sheet to be suspended by that top cushion so it doesn’t fully rest on the thinner bottom cushion. But the splodgy gluing, and the fact that it came loose during transit, smacks of the “Cherman engineeering” we’ve all become so fond of in many products served out of that region, like chitty BMW cars (I won’t start).
In my mid video research break it did seem that uniform glue coverage was a thing but who knows. Ultimately the metal is the mass catching the energy wave and the foam is damping it. A gravity sandwich might be sufficient enough to be as effective as glue.
What’s the manufacturer name of these panels?
Why 1/12 smoothing vs 1/6th?
Base on this, it would seem that literally placing a sheet of steel against regular insulation against the wall would dramatically help. Why do they even need to be in panels.
Sonic Forest? Sounds like a blue hedgehog who runs across country and just keeps on runninggg.
Who knew magic eraser could also erase resonance? I had no idea this miracle material was such a powerful sound treatment tool as well as very expensive. I wonder if there's a bulk price breaking point?
Bags the crate wood for some speaker boxes!
LFG!! 1st!!!
Andy beat me to first viewership…
YES
OMG.... the dad joke!
Capt. chair should sound best...agreed.
20g Galvanized sheet metal glued between foam shouldn’t be inordinately expensive
I fix the room by mixing on headphones. Take the room completely out of the equation. My room lies to me, my headphones do not.
I BEAT MATT TO THIS VIDEO
2nd