mrjones200x Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 My neighbours complain of the bass vibrations that they can hear and with wooden floors it transmits quite alot. Are these any good for reducing rattles and shakes when playing at home? Could i make one myself and save 50 quid? Cheers I know its not epi related but someone may know about them or something similar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Jonesy: There's a lot of misinformation and misconceptions when it comes to room acoustics. Structure-borne vibrations are nearly impossible to isolate unless you are willing to tear down walls and rebuild them with high-mass materials such as concrete, stone, brick, etc. "GRAMMA yields nearly total acoustic isolation, resulting in a purity of tone that has to be heard to be believed!" Yeah right. The Auralex Gramma product will (partially) isolate the amp/cabinet from the floor, but it will not reduce any vibration transmitted through the air and into the walls/floor/ceiling and into your neighbor's abode. So it's unlikely to improve the real problem, unless your neighors are specifically complaining about structure-borne vibration in the 20 to 50 Hz region, and don't seem to notice the throbbing 50 to 200 Hz noise that's rattling their windows and chandelier. You could just as easily buy some closed-foam pads from the local hardware store for the same "improvement". So.... it's likely to help a very small bit, but it won't "solve" the problem at all IMHO. Think about how much structure-borne noise will actually be reduced on this rig when it's cranked up to a nice crunch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Ok cool. Now i understand how it works a bit. Have never though about room acoustics before so this is a new to me. I didnt wanna spend out on something that wasnt really gonna do to much. If its gonna help to a certain degree then i'll make my own one. Obviously i cant tear down my walls and perform a proper isolation overhaul so a isolation matt is about the best i can do so any slight improvement in tone and vibration would be good. What sort of foam should i use? (what are closed foam pads?) The misses wont let me putt them about our room so i'll have to live with a platform for the cab to sit on for now. Someone said that the foam the use in gardening stores is good?? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peeper Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 NO FOAM!!! Many reasons here, first off, it won't work. Second, it's flammable, third, when it burns it lets off toxic fumes. Do you wann burn all your guitars and die in the fire? You need real acoustic treatments, something like these guys make. I made some DIY panels from rockwool and burlap in wooden frames and they work GREAT. Lot of work though. Check out this site here, and stay far away from anything auralex or foam. GIK Acoustics If you have any tech questions, Frank is the man to talk to, he's a very helpful chap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Again, the stuff GIK and all the rest of these "acoustic treatment" companies make are for attenuating the reverberation time (RT) inside a room, not for isolating one room from another. For that you need mass and lots of it. You can add all the foam, fiberglass, shredded denim or whatever to your walls, and your neighbors are still going to hear everything below 200 Hz, a fair amount below 500 Hz, and some of the <1,000 Hz stuff too. If you want to make an isolation pad, just take a piece of 3/4" plywood slightly larger than your cabinet, cover the top with carpet, and glue a few pieces of relatively stiff, 2 or 3-inch thick foam (not styrofoam) underneath. 4 large pieces at the corners or two strips like the Gramma design should do it. I said closed-cell only because it's a little stiffer than most bedding/pillow foam. The foam needs to be rigid enough to support the weight without compressing much, but soft enough to absorb most of the deflections from the cabinet. Let us know if it makes a difference.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted November 24, 2009 Author Share Posted November 24, 2009 Any ideas on where to get the right type of foam? As long as its fire retardent and upto the weight can i use most stuff? Is it possible to get from diy shops? Or internet order from acoustic sounding websites? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 Don't get hung up on fire retardency. That's really only a concern if you're covering walls, which you're not. Folks are very nervous about fire and wall treatments because in 2003, some morons at The Station rock club in Rhode Island covered the back wall and ceiling around a stage with it, and then the equally brilliant stage crew decided that a crowded pub with low ceilings was a great venue for pyrotechnics. The resultant fire and poisonous smoke killed 100 innocent people and injured even more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Station_nightclub_fire In any case, you should be able to find small pieces of isolation, NOT wall treatment foam at any major hardware store, in discarded packing boxes, or the dumpster of your local big box retailer. PS: Did I mention we are not talking about wall treatment here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjones200x Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 Yes thatnks. I have no plans to do any walls at all so be sure of that. Just a platform and thats it! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianh Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Something like this, cut into 4" strips and doubled up under a piece of carpeted 3/4" plywood would decouple a guitar or bass cab from the floor fairly well: http://www.gemplers.com/product/148078/Extra-tough-Kneeling-Pad It won't do a thing for air-borne noise, but it should significantly reduce low-frequency structure-borne vibration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwalin Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Stack some under carpet pads up to the thickness you want...you wouldn't even need to use a piece of plywood likely. Or, go to a fabric shop like Jo Ann fabric, or Hobby Lobby, or an upholstery shop for pieces of foam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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