How To Make Your Own Acoustic Panels - DIY Professional Acoustic Treatment for Home Studio
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มิ.ย. 2024
- How to build your own affordable high-performance acoustic panels for a home studio or home office. This DIY professional acoustic treatment will make your recordings sound better by reducing the reverb and echo in your room and controlling background noise.
The total cost per panel is about £20/$25 and weighs 5-6 kg.
0:00 - Introduction
1:00 - Overview
2:00 - Building the wooden frame
4:05 - Attaching the sides
5:30 - Sealing the back
6:25 - Acoustic materials
8:56 - How to wrap the fabric
10:40 - Hanging panels on the wall
11:28 - Optional external frame
12:30 - Before and After
13:00 - Thanks for watching
🪚 Materials and Dimensions 📏
Frame:
Material: 2 x 1800mm x 18mm x 34mm timber. 4 x wood screws 60mm.
Final size: 120cm x 60cm planed timber frame.
Cuts: 2 x 1200mm + 2 x 530mm cuts
Sides:
Material: 2-3mm fibre/plyboard.
Cuts: 2 x 1200mm x 110mm 2x 600mm x 110mm
Change the 110mm to whichever thickness you want.
Filling:
Recycled denim insulation
Hemp/wood fibre insulation
Cellulose batt Insulation
Recycled foam/fabric slabs
Check the spec sheets and feel free to send a comment on this video and I'll check it out too.
Fabric:
Update 2023 - Camira and other fabric sellers are raising the price of Cara (possibly due to this video or possibly just price gouging).
I no longer recommend Camira if the price stays high (£16 per meter right now).
Original - I use Camira fabrics. There sell lots of suitable options and my favourite is Cara in Black (code EJ138). You can find it much cheaper from local suppliers (hence why my price is lower in the video and I made an edit!)
Additional tools:
Mask and gloves for woodwork
Stapler
Hand saw (or get the timber cut at the shop)
Hammer and nails are optional
Electric drill
Countersink and drill bits
🌍 My Website / Contact / Hire me - michaelwynneaudio.com
🎧 Become a member of this channel: / @inthemix
📱 Join My Free Discord - / discord
#DIY #acousticpanels #musicstudio - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
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Update: last week I finished my eight panels using this design. The inner frame makes wrapping and stapling easier, and the outer frame keeps the fabric clean and scratch free - I was able to use a lightweight white muslin without worrying about it getting shabby over time.
Based on what I know now, I’d use 5/8” or 3/4” Baltic birch plywood instead of pine for the inner and outer frames. Pine was too fussy to flatten and thickness-plane.
One modification I’m glad I made: I added a 2-foot 1x2 pine strip across the middle to prevent the panel from bowing out.
One mistake I made: I cut all the inner and outer parts first. Then I assembled the inner frames and the outer frames. But I failed to adequately account for the 3/16” hardboard dimension around the inner frame, so the first wrapped inner frame didn’t fit into an outer frame. If I did it again, I’d cut the outer frame members a little long until after I wrap the inner frame. Then I’d cut them to fit the wrapped inner frame. I was too focused on batching all the dust-producing table saw operations before moving onto the clean fabric work in my limited work space. To fix it, I had to unscrew the hardboard sides from all the inner frames and trim off about 3/16” from the 1x2 pine frames and the hardboard parts, then screw the hardboard sides back on. Good thing all that got covered up by the muslin and outer frames!
Notes:
1) I used Rockwool 3”x2’x4’. I do recommend gloves, but with care I don’t think a mask is necessary.
2) Corner wrapping. My first panel, my prototype, came out with two pretty good corners and two bulky ones. After that, I got serious and developed templates for trimming off a specific shape out of the corners of the muslin before wrapping. The other seven panels have tidy, professional looking corners. If I knew how to make a TH-cam video, I'd go into detail about the trimming templates. I think they make short work of the wrapping and I'm proud of the innovation.
Total material cost: about $340, including detachable hinges, or $43 per panel (California, 2023). I think Michael's $25 estimate leaves out the outer frames.
Time investment: don’t ask.
Finished quality: outstanding. Smooth and waxed with softly eased edges. Chose the color I wanted.
Satisfaction from DIY: incalculable.
I’m so glad this worked out for you and for your detailed advice! This is exactly why I love TH-cam. I’ll pin this comment so others can see and learn/modify my design a little.
@@inthemix Michael, I’m honored. I’ve also been advocating your design on the Acoustic Guitar Forum, and one member is going to build his panels this way, too. If you’re interested in my corner trimming templates, let me know and I can email some photos to you. Thanks again for the elegant inner frame idea!
@@b1jI’m interested!
@@mattwhite399 I'm not sure how to add any images here.
43 dollar per panels seems like a good deal, panels with properties like shown in the video are going here for 90 dollar (Euro in my case but its basically 1:1)
Panels of less density or width are not useless but not worth the price. such things you can get for 40-50 Euro/ Dollar here.
hvaing made acoustic panels before, I can definitely day this is one of the best tutorials out there. He adresses a lot of the common problems people run into when making panels for the first time. Great job!
Thank you so much Josiah. That’s high praise!
Cayenne Peppers
idk man you're just like the most respectable, non-arrogant or overly confident, yet most helpful and enjoyable person to watch among anyone that makes music related tutorial videos
Absolutely agree. There is something so effortlessly altruistic about these videos and whatever intention that goes into seems 100 percent pure.
baked af
Dude, Michael is such a rare person. He always goes out of his way to make videos that really help people, in all different ways. Not pushing sponsors, or merch, or anything - sharing everything he knows out of the interest of others and his own good will. Because that's what he loves doing (I hope!). Round of applause for everything you do. You are an inspirational figure.
Yes he does. It's the Irish way. Good people
The kindness of your comment has made my day. Thank you very much! p.s, I’m Scottish but often mistaken for an Irish accent!
@@inthemix Of course! No need to thank me. I've had many, many people come and go from my life, so those that I really appreciate, deserve to know :)
@@inthemix Oops... I should have checked that. My family bloodline is Irish and...Scots, so my Western lack of candor. Peace!
What a coincidence, last night I was talking to a guy in music store about how to make your own acoustic panels and today we have a video 😂😂
It's not a coincidence, they're listening, always 👁️ hehe
As a training finish carpenter by day, before I found producing, I appreciate your attention to detail when you recommend counter sinking. I also appreciate you educating people about the frame and which way the wood should be framed. You've framed the foam the same way the faceframe of a bookcase would be framed. Well done.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I knew I wanted to make my own panels but I'm renting at the moment and I was putting it off because I couldn't think of lighter ways to build the frame that would hold the foam. I was stuck in the "Robust" carpenter mind set lol. This is brilliant!!!
This is such high praise, you've really made my day!
I havent actually watched the video yet but would it work to build the frames ect and just place them against the wall instead of mounting?
@@buskingforlife absolutely. The reason for hanging/mounting them on the wall is to get them up to my ear height and roughly in the middle of the wall which increases the performance slightly.
@@inthemix 3:48am and I just gotta say thanks for what u do man… all your videos are extremely helpful and knowledgeable and tbh idk where I would be without ur channel cuz it’s helped me understand a lot from fl studio plugins all the way to headphones
@@954DYLN Thank you so much for the kind words. I’m happy to help.
This was the tutorial I needed to confidently build my own panels! My studio sounds so much better now. Thanks for the top-quality content Michael 🙏
You are the most humble, pleasant, practically orientated and hugely knowledgeable production expert on all TH-cam channels. Thanks a lot!
You are the best, Michael! A major part of my music making process is watching your videos and rewatching them! Your channel has helped me a tonne! Thank you! 🙏🏻❤
Last vid, I mentioned the consistency of your audio from scene to scene (seat to seat) and WOW… the very next vid you explain how you’ve accomplished it. You deserve to be right where you are, on the precipice of 1 MIL!!! The quality, efficiency and relatability of your videos honestly deserves 10 MIL…. Keep it up bro. You’ll be the premier TH-cam channel leading the pro-audio revolution in no time.
The most knowledgeable, insightful, & deeply compassionate audiophilic educator in the video- internet all things audio dimension. Love your work.
Great video. I’ve been wanting to make some panels of my own for quite awhile now but I watched too many videos which left me with too many options and too many questions. These panels look super clean, practical, easy to make, affordable and easy to mount, which was always something that left me with uncertainty with heavier build designs. Thanks for this, Michael.
Best panel build guide yet👍🏻 thanks for sharing!
Worked on roof construction for a few weeks as a summer job... no safety at all and lots of rockwool insulation. Came home every day itchy literally everywhere.
But hey. It stopped itching now:')
This is a beautifully produced video presented by a uniquely bright and personable young man. I think of how much better my day would be if there were more people like this. I am grateful for the efforts and knowledge that this young man has shared with the rest of us. Well done!
But he's not discussing absorption coefficient curves and the importance of having the best absorption coefficient curves for mid and high frequency absorption to reduce reflections. as well as low frequency pressure problems.
. I would suggest going to Acoustic Fields' site. They have, IMO, the best open cell foam on the market and they cater to the DIY crowd that wants the best treatment. They have DIY build plans to make the best low frequency pressure absorption, and you can add their foam to the front to make a full range absorption box. Also, they have build plans for Quadratic Diffusors. They can also design a barrier and treatment wall for those that need to build their own room. It gets expensive, but the results are of the highest quality.
Everything about this video is super high quality, thank you for putting this out there. My favorite part was the audio comparison, I could really understand what is happening in my room because it sounds similar to your audio without the acoustic treatment. Appreciate this very much!
This is one if not the best make you're own acoustic panels tutorial I've seen so far, you have basically answered any question I can come up with.
Amazing explanation and video, I liked and subbed to support you because you really earned that Michael!
Michael, this tutorial was both unexpected and hugely helpful. You've shown this is so quick, easy and inexpensive to do, now I can take my studio space to the next level. Thank you!
I just finished making 5 panels, 5.5" thick. They turned out (relatively) light, solid, and visually beautiful. Acoustically, the difference is night and day. Thank you, sir!
great job! would you please be able to post what websites or shops did you source the materials from?
@@Muravchix, thank you! I bought the wood, MDF, and insulation from Home Depot (in USA). I bought the acoustic material online from ATS Acoustic, and any miscellaneous items from Amazon. They turned out 10x better than I had hoped for, both acoustically, and visually. (I went with 5.5" / 14cm insulation, and I have sizable airgaps behind the panels, so that really helps.)
@@xyzct amazing thank you! Enjoy!
Best video, description and tutorial for building Acoustic Panels EVER!!! Thank you so much!
You are the GOAT of online mixing/producing/recording advice. Thanks for all you do for the community!
Wow. You always explain everything to perfection, really appreciate it.
What a gem of a channel. Always such thoughtfully planned content.
This was fantastic. I had never seen someone explain how one can save money on wood but also explain the true stress point for the frame itself. Panels can be daunting with wood prices because as you mentioned, everyone goes for 3/4” thick, 3.5” wide frames. That adds up FAST. Anyway, loved this approach and idea. Thank you.
This is one of the gentlest and pleasant tutorials I've gotten to watch, on any subject.
Well done! I love this channel, I have been making music for a little bit now and this channel has been friendly, extremely helpful, entertaining, and just overall incredible. Big up to you Michael 🙌
his tutorials are ok for beginners, this isnt ideal, fire hazard is real, when you need more you need to learn from The BEST like Bobby Owsinski, he did a masterclass of 2 hours over insulation and treatment for everybody, and its on youtube for free. its covers everything you need. Rockwool is what he recommends, he manipulated it and he says its no health hazard. you can play with rockwool all day long. its not more dangerous than dust etc go watch the masterclass all
My friends and I just finished decking out our new music studio with 12 of these panels, and they make a WORLD of difference! Relatively easy to build (we built all 12 of them in a day with the 3 of us including getting the materials), and so much bang for buck! We came out to approx. 500 euro for the 12. Thanks so much for a great video!
Brilliant! The way you explain is easily digestible and quite doable for anyone! Thank you!
The results at the end... wow.
Amazing. Dude wasn't kidding about DIY being superior.
This is fantastic! My aunt recently disassembled a "music room" that the original owner didn't want anymore, and they had gone super overboard with the materials. Each wall panel requires like 6 people to lift up because they're made out of sheetrock and thick plyboard. And the worst part is, when it's all put together, the acoustic inside the room are just awful. thanks for the tutorial, this'll come in handy.
this is such a great tutorial, I'll definitely be coming back to this when I've gathered the materials needed and it's time to do some acoustic treatment
also I am really thankful for your insights into the insulation materials you used, because otherwise I'd probably have used rockwool or something like that
Awesome video. Your instructions are fantastically easy to follow and the finished product is excellent quality. And it makes an ENORMOUS difference to the quality of recordings!
Thanks for taking the time to make this video. You were very thorough and that really added to how helpful it was. Well done.
Thank you so much! And finally there's a DIY acoustic treatment video on TH-cam making clear that rockwool, stonewool and fiber is bad for your health!!! Really great video! 🙌By the way, great channel!
Thanks. Someone had to be the first to say it, I hope it doesn’t get me in any trouble! I’m sure they are okay as cavity insulation but definitely not in panels.
Excellent tutorial. I've got to admit that the reduction in reverb/resonance of your voice and the claps in the before and after recordings was greater than I expected, so after initially dismissing the idea of making/installing panels in my room I'm now thinking I should do something about it.
A very nice and straight forward tutorial with all the required information. Thank you for taking the time to create this.
As someone who self taught before going to college for sound engineering then having too stop due to life getting in the way, i have recently picked back up my obsession with music/sound.
I just want to say man, this channel is an absolute treasure trove of information ranging from complex too entry level stuff and its all articulated In a way that us meer mortals can understand, Honestly man i salute you and i urge you too never stop teaching in some kind be it on here or becoming an actual lecturer you're killing it dude one of the best sound related channels i have found, you have my support and my gratitude.
Keep it up man, if you ever see this give yourself a pat on the back, Phenomenal work.
Edit: I just noticed as well, you have a great ability of laying out the foundation for something but not straight up telling people the way to do it, you show them how then explain how important it is too express you're own creativity and figure it out for youself this dosnt happen enough in this day'n'age. awesome stuff
An Bass Trap Tutorial would be appreciated as well!
Bass trap is a description of a specific type of absorber. For best results, determine the frequencies of nodes and compute the trap volume vs material to match those nodes. Just building a random box full of absorption will never work. You may tame a frequency that was helpful and that will only exacerbate a frequency that was the real problem. These things are instruments and bass traps are typically large and expensive. Find out what you need first, then do the research to specify them. I’ve found the info readily available and generously shared.
I LOVE this. I see a few commenters upset that you didn’t whip out an SPL or RTA meter to do before and after measurements (I get it, treating specific frequencies is important) but something tells me that wasn’t the goal here. The goal was to DIY some affordable and decent acoustic treatment using dense, absorptive materials. Honestly, this is an excellent solution for reflections and for those higher frequencies (and, depending on the materials the individual has chosen, one could target mids and potentially even lows). You achieved that goal, well done!
I’m so happy that this is how the video came across to you. It’s precisely what I wanted to do. Hopefully people can see that treatment is accessible and doesn’t need to be too scientific to be helpful.
Very helpful video. Thanks for all your suggestions & time. Yes, big acoustic differences. You not only dampened the reverberations in the room, but you also a more pleasant tonal quality, which in all, is another important aspect. Good work.
Bruh the fact that this popped up on my feed after me and the guys at the yo was literally just talking about building panels we just finished the lights you’re a godsend thank you
This is a really good tutorial! Thank you for your concern and advice on structural strength, healthy materials, price - and overall efficiency of the whole design! Great job and great video!
Awesome timing, I was actually looking for an affordable solution when it comes to treat my room. Thank you Michael! 😊
I hope this works for you. Maybe share how your build goes with our Discord community?
@@inthemix I'll definitely share the work on the Discord server :)
Same for me. Perfect timing, and great instruction.
Same
Seriously, I was just looking at tons of options for acoustic panels and DIY solutions.
I love this DIY video! Thanks for making improving my home studio this easy. Great content!
This is so, so good! I wish you a good and productive time today. Thank you so much for your time, work and energy to create this beautiful content.
Great video. Often I found it difficult to find easy understandable videos about this topic and this one here is simple and easy to understand. Also nice you make the room test afterwards. Great video. And thanks for the tip about don't use rockwool or other unhealthy materials.
Amazing video! Very helpful 👍🏼
Could you do another one explaining how to positioning the panels on your room correctly?
Crystal clear instructions and presentation, many thanks for this most helpful tutorial.
Love this video! Thank you for showing a great, budget way of getting acoustic treatment in the home studio! With just a little bit of work and elbow grease, exponential improvements can be made!
Just as your tutorials on mixing are better than most, more concise and to the point, so is this tutorial on acoustic panels making.
One possible alternative to avoid wall mounting, is to built a larger base or some kind of "feet" so the panels would be freestanding, and would be movable around the room and double as gobos, if necessary.
Thank you for the kind words. Making stands is an excellent idea especially if you want to use them in a recording space. I have to admit, I haven’t thought much about how to design the legs but I’m sure there are some good designs out there.
Nice rich informative video as usual! Thanks, Michael! Will definitely incorporate some of these ideas to our own, especially the health and safety aspects. For some of you folks who find it somehow a burden to DIY, feel free to hire us! Variety of acoustic panel products and very flexible services so you can customize materials to your taste!
Yes! Neptune is the best! I LOVE their vintage style panels! And very affordable.
brilliant mate... you've just saved me hundreds of quid and helped me realise that I can not only pull this off quite easily but also get exactly the bespoke panels I need for my space. Cheers.
this is exactly what I was looking for. your step by step is just exceptional. thanks mate.
You’re welcome! I hope the build goes smoothly for you :)
A friend and I spent a few weekends building acoustic panels after watching an older guide of yours! One thing we realized was that-at least in the United States-the cost of lumber from hardware stores can add up really really quickly. If we were to do it again, we'd probably try buying direct from a mill.
And I'm glad you mentioned safer fillings. We ended up reluctantly using Rockwool with a lot of precautions, just because it was difficult to find information on alternatives.
This is one of the reasons I removed the old video, it just doesn’t make sense in these times to use that much wood or use dangerous materials.
You can use any material that's strong enough for the job. Doesn't have to be wood, and can certainly be recycled, like saving old Ikea panels from the trash for example.
I know in some part of the world, more and more people building tiny houses, cabins, sheds or even full blow houses have switched to steel (light steel framing) because it's cheaper (while usually being stronger, lighter). Especially if you can borrow a good drill and an angle grinder, you can go very inexpensive this way by buying longer pieces of metal on sale, and adjusting to your dimensions.
Just a warning: for _some_ applications, don't buy to thin a metal piece, you don't want them to start to resonate with your audio.
Old towels as a filler do a great job as well! 👍
I've watched a lot of tutorials and so far this seems like the most safest and best way to make these panels. I am from Cape Town, and I've been looking for recycled denim slabs online, unfortunately it seems there's mostly rock and glass wool around here. Will have to wait until I find the right material, because would really like to make something similar like yours and not take any chances especially considering one's health. Thank you for this !! Great one !
This is great! Your videos are always packed with so much helpful information. I'm not sure whether I need panels in my room yet, as I'm still finalising the way it's laid out - but I'm definitely bookmarking this video to return to, just in case. Very clear and useful, thanks so much.
great video!
quick tip which makes a very big difference:
I suggest making the frame about 10cm wider than the panel, so you leave an air gap between the actual panel and the wall. This drastically extends the frequency range which your panel will absorb towards the low end of the frequency spectrum.
Does this mean that hanging such panels from the ceiling instead of drilling them right in benefits the absorption too?
@@Nearest_Neighbor yes, absolutely!
I'm trying to wrap my head around how this all works as I hear up to make a few panels for my room: so if I'm using 4cm panels I should want there to use 15-20cm sides so I have the +10cm extra distance from the wall?
@@felixmarques if your panels are only 4cm thick, I'm pretty sure making the frame 10cm wider is a bit over the top. I'd say around 5 cm more is enough. So in your case, your frame should be around 9cm thick, that way you have 4cm of space for your panel and another 5cm air gap.
hope this helps :)
Would this be the same as the external frame? I am a little confused of you making the frame wider and how that increases the air gap... wouldnt increasing the frame size leave space between the insulation and the frame now?
Thank you for converting everything to freedumb units.
And yes i have watched so many of ur high quality vids buddy on buying audio gears for home studio.. and now this on buildng ur own acoustic panels. Man u r simply amzing and ever so genuine. U cud so easily create paid courses on music/audio and make hell lot of money..😃😄
Might be the best video I've seen on acoustic panels. Thanks brother.
Yet again another professional video! Always puts some much detail into his work & always covers the need to know basics!
Would be interest to know where you picked up the denim slabs? (Website wise)
Love the insulation alternatives. The health & safety implications are important but it's also important to note that the denim, hemp, wood and recycled insulation are much more environmentally friendly and sustainable too. Doing your part for you, your room and the planet!
but do they insulate better than the more dangerous materials??
I haven't personally tried them but I've spoken to those who have (and seen some studies/tests) that are extremely positive. Recycled denim and hemp seem to perform extremely well!@@Mrcheesydancer
@@Mrcheesydancerso as the video says the higher the density the better the panel. Wood fiber has a density of 50kg/m^3 (at least the one I just bought). The glasswool isolation (very common one) had only 12kg/m^3
I never tried anything else, but I’m very happy with my wood fiber panels
Bro!!! This is beyond generous and awesome. Thanks so much for sharing this and helping people out!
I need to do these in my house. I have vaulted ceilings and the echoes are insane. Great job on the ending demonstrating how well these things work. I've watched several builds and I actually quite like these.
I just want to share my experience with building my panels (after watching this video)
I found it difficult getting a hold of acoustic treatment materials like the recycled denim, which was my preference.
I settled for Rockwool. Used gloves to install, didn’t have any spillage or any of the material falling out or getting everywhere, it’s not like the messy stuff you find in lofts. I bought them in slabs (1200x600mm) and they worked amazingly. They’ve killed all reverberations and reflections in my room from 6 panels.
So if you’re wondering if Rockwool works ? I can’t recommend it highly enough, I’ll deffos use it again.
Thanks for this video Michael, it was a huge help.
Rockwool is absolutely fine to use. No health issues unless you try eating the stuff.
@@fluphybunny930 If you inhale it, it stays in your lungs forever.
I absolutely love this, people don't talk enough about how dangerous fiberglass and rock wool are to work with. I've even used old towels stapled into a frame before (SHOCKINGLY effective) but fiberglass isn't worth the risk. Recycled denim/fabric is a brilliant idea. Thanks for the great content!
you should fear fire hazard more than rockwool, besides those materials you listed are very different. fiberglass has many kinds old and new. rockwool is a different beast its an industry standard
@@MrFree-vj8qj Sure, rock wool is commonly used and cheap. But there is no need to worry about fire hazard with cellulose based products; they are all chemically treated to be fire retardant and they comply with fire codes.
yeah i see a lot a recycles cotton. and DIY perks uses towels. i think im just gonna use that for stuffing boxes and sound panels.
@@tjblues01hey I saw cellulose at my local Home Depot and couldn’t find anything else.. is that safe as well.. don’t know what it really means .. couldn’t find the ones listed
@@benjaminmeirelles5120 Yep cellulose is pretty safe to use. It's basically wood pulp of the same sort you'd see in paper production. The biggest issue is inhalation, so use a respirator when working with it. Commercially available cellulose is treated with a boric acid compound that makes it fire resistant, which is the larger issue with DIY recycled denim or cotton batting. Cellulose can also settle when used in tall vertical applications like this, so you'd want to check after a while to see if there's a gap towards the top.
Michael has seen me through the first step and now he's simply telling me to initiate this step and be where I should be. Thank you.
Best build method Iv'e ever seen thanks for sharing!
Really great DIY for accoustic panels just came at the right time. You covered the panels here, what would you recommend regarding the room corners? Would you stick with triangular basstraps made of this accoustic foam or something else?
Thanks. For the corners, I would recommend making a panel with 45% angles to the front so that they fit into the corner nicely. They do not need to be floor to ceiling height.
You can make triangles but it requires a lot of material and becomes very heavy. That is good for acoustics but very difficult to move if you ever have to.
Where did you get the filling material? I don't see a link in the description. Plan to use this fabric over a window. thx
Extremely helpful and insightful tutorial. Thank you very much for sharing!
Holy Smoke! This video is precious. Will you have another video on how to arrange them?
If the demand is high enough I think I will make a video about how many you might need and effective ways to position them.
@@inthemix I can assure you the demand is unprecedented. I'm wondering how you go about the acoustic treatment for the ceilings as well...
@@inthemix can confirm, demand is high
@@inthemix would be awesome to see!
+1 request for suggestion of count and location of acoustic panels, although I’ll just start experimenting.
With the first claps I was thinking I can still hear your room, then the panels went off and I my jaws dropped. Good job upgrading a mansion to a bachelor apartment! :P
Hi michael! Great video and advice on acoustic panel building, especially like the lighter frame design. One question for you: I have been hesitant about using Rockwool as I have had a bad experience in the past working from a studio that stung everyone's eyes from the moment you walked through the door lol. Regarding alternatives, I live in Vietnam so sourcing the alternatives you mentioned is not easy, however I have come across a product made from Polyester fibres that is apparently a safe, environmentally friendly, dust-free, hypoallergenic material. It is sold in densities from as little as 10kg/m2 all the way up to 100kg/m2 with plenty of choices in-between. Do you think this would be a good option? I was thinking of using 80kg/m2. Appreciate the help.
he said everything above 30kg/m2 ist hard to work with.
what did you end up buying?
This is great, thank you so much for saving me an absolute mint! Great instruction - clear, concise and authentic. Super job!
Impressive!!! Thanks for the test of with and without the panels at the end!
There is another consideration that factored into me using rockwool in the end - the fire rating. I will caveat that by saying I treated the entire interior surface of my room though, so fire considerations were part of that element of the design. I did make floating panels like these to go over the main reflection points, so in retrospect I probably would have used something easier on the skin/body for those, but I had spare rockwool knocking around and it made sense. Cheese cloth is another incredibly cheap option for the back fabric. I ended up completely covering mine in cheese cloth before using an aesthetically nicer fabric for the finish.
It sounds like you did what made most sense. I want to quickly thank you for sharing advice in replies to another comment. I noticed that and it was really great to hear you chip in to the conversation.
My main issue with mineral and glass wool is that a lot of young folks (like myself when I first used it) are simply not aware of how dangerous it is when handled incorrectly.
@@inthemix Indeed. And other fiber insulation, like hemp for example, as even easier to work with, no always more expensive, and can also be found in fire retardant version. Well hemp is extraordinarily fire resistant by itself, it's not a lot of work to make hemp wool or panels official fire certified for construction.
@@inthemix we're all here to help one another! Also, I agree. I'm a bit of a stickler for looking things up before I do anything, but that's probably because I come from an engineering background. You've done the right thing by highlighting the risks of rockwool, getting that stuff in your lungs is no joke.
Are you saying rockwool is more or less fire retardant than other solutions?
@@SeanofAllTrades it was more a case of being able to find comprehensive information from the rockwool suppliers on properly certified fire resistances. Quite a few of the alternatives have decent fire retardant properties, but I couldn't find as much information on the alternatives as I could the rockwool. I'm not by any means shitting on the alternatives for fire retardance, rockwool just looked like less of a gamble given the information available to me at the time.
For vocals, and general purpose this would work great. But the material used for professional studio panel are usually much denser (form 40 up to 80 kg/m3), and that's because 20 or 30 kg/m3 just won't do much to tame really low frequencies from acoustic drum sets or a bass cab, or even for making bass traps.
Although for most home studios I'd say your design would work nicely.
Great video!
Easily best video on the internet for panels. Thank you!
Hi Michael. It’s just a bit more than one year after your video, and today I began the build of what will become eight 2’ x 2’ x 4” panels using your clever inner-frame design. Using the 1/4” board for the inner frame keeps the panel solid but still light, while a sturdy outer frame keeps the fabric on the sides clean and free of scratches. I’m opting to include the pine outer frame so I can hinge panels together to use as moveable gobos around me when tracking. The outer frame will take the scuffing. They’ll also double as wall hangers when I mix. If I was only going the hang them on walls, I’d skip the outer frames. I have the insulation and wood, and I made the first cuts today. Still need to get the fabric. I’ll start with one panel to work out the bugs. Thank you for the design inspiration. You got me off the fence I’ve been on for two years.
One modification: I’m going to use pocket-hole joinery (Kreg system) for the 1 x 2 frame, and for the 1 x 4 outer frame. This avoids both screwing into end grain and visible screws! Also, I plan to add a cross piece of 1 x 2 joining the four-foot sections, to reduce deformation when carrying the panels around.
Great video, thank you so much!
One question: would you have a #panel/m² ratio (and I mean how many panels per m² of room) and mounting distance from one panel to the next to suggest?
Thanks. That's a great question. I do not have a formula and believe that each room has different needs. Some rooms might need a more lively sound for recording and other rooms might need to sound controlled and large (a mixing or mastering studio for instance).
I would focus on first having some sort of coverage on each surface to cut down the slap echo. In a small/medium room, this could be 2 panels right, left and in front of your desk.
If I look around my room, around 30% of the walls are covered in bass traps and absorbers. The floor is carpet and rugs so the room is naturally smoother sounding than wood or solid floor. There is also a lot of furniture and a big couch to soak up and diffuse more sound. I think many rooms will get a significant improvement from 4-6 of these panels, more than that is a luxury. I hope that maybe gives you some ideas!
@@inthemix thank you for the super-quick and very useful reply!
Keep up the amazing work! :)
you will need to figure this out on a room by room basis, it's a huge faff and unless you have access to acoustic modelling software, it's quite a difficult thing to get right without some trial and error. You definitely can't go wrong by working out the reflection points in your room and starting with some decent depth treatment at those points, then a thick cloud panel. Once you go beyond that, I'd leave it unless you are designing a proper studio space from the ground up.
@@squoblat I have to admit most of your reply went right over my head ^^"
I am in no way/shape/form even an amateur audio designer or musician, I just dabble in podcasting and video recording, but in general I like to "sound good", and I try to minimize the sound processing needed to achieve that
I'll do some research on the things you mentioned and see what might apply to my needs, than you for all the info :)
@@TheLeK00 it's worth googling reflection points, but that's usually more important if you're mixing in the room. If you're using headphones and recording on a microphone for podcasting, it will matter a LOT less where these panels go on the walls, you'd be better suited covering as much of the hard reflective surfaces (like bricks or plaster) with these as possible.
Hey man! For the isolation material I can choose between recycled cotton or hemp fibre. In my country (The Netherlands), the recycled cotton plates are 120x60x4,5 cm, so I probably need two of them per panel. The measurements of the hemp fibre plates are 120x58x10 (but can get them in different thicknesses). The recycled cotton has a density of 45 kg/m3, whereas the hemp fibre plates have a density of 37 kg/m3. What’s better, having two of the recycled cotton plates (which make them 9 cm thick) or should I stick with one hemp fibre plate of 10 cm per panel? What’s the ideal thickness of the panels? I am also considering to make two bass traps, should I make them twice as thick as the other acoustic panels? The sad thing is that the recycled cotton is much more expensive, but I prefer working with panels that are 120x60 instead of 120x58.
Thanks for the video by the way! This video came right on time, since I have been looking for afordable options to threat my room!
Hey man, can I ask what you ended up buying? I also live in NL and want to build panels and I'm looking at the Métisse acoustic isolation panels (45 kg/m3) Did you end up using those and what's your experience?
@@LukeBlunton I chose the 60 x 120 cm recycled denim panels by Métisse with a density of 45 kg/m3. Ensure you apply 2 layers of 4.5 cm (so 9 cm without the air gap) for the broad band absorbers and consider using 3 layers for the bass traps. I would also recommend one of that Camira fabrics that has been used in this video. I personally crafted 10 broad band absorbers and 6 even thicker bass traps for my studio. Don't forget to incorporate an air gap into your design. Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions!
@@omarz7301 Thank you so much man! That's really helpful
Such a brilliant video, the attention to detail and care in helping us to complete is appreciated. Thank you
Thank you so much for this!!!! I just came back from the hardware store with all the material cut!!!
I spent around €50 to make 8 wooden frames with this method. I would have spent €100 to make 4 frames with the hardwood exterior. Such a life saver!!!!!! half the price for double the amount of panels. I'm happy!
Fantastic! I just had to show people this method because timber prices are so high at the moment. I'm glad they cut it for you too.
Remember that these panels will not soundproof a room, this is purely to control the acoustics of the room. The more you have in your room the lower the reverb time will be. If you want know what frequencies your panel will absorb, you can calculate it. To treat a frequency you need the absorbing material to be 1/4 the wave length of that frequency, and it will treat every frequency up but not lower. For example if you want to treat 800 hz and up the absorbing material will need to be 4.24 inches. Also place your panels based on first reflection points to help with reflections. Sit in your mixing position and look at the walls and think if I put a mirror on the wall what parts of the wall would I be able to see the monitors and then put a panel there.
i wonder, if you choose a thicker version, will that absorbe BOTH the higher and lower frequencies So if im after controlling both higher reverberation and control real low frequencies A thicker material will do both? Cheers
@@eddiexx thick should do both
@@eddiexx leave an air gap behind the panel as it effectively makes the panel a little thicker as far as the sound is concerned. A couple of inches is ideal.
From what i have seen and read, 4" Rockwool panels will absorb pretty well down to around 200Hz.
How do you know what frequencies you need to treat?
First person
You are indeed first!
you are seriously great at making tutorial videos and informative content. This is the best video I was able to find for building acoustic panels, thank you so much!
Just one word: Fantastic!
Thank you very much for this really nice tutorial!
I am by no means planning on making any kind of acoustic panels but i did enjoy this video thoroughly, very well made, easy to take in and straight to the point!
I could listen to you all day long. Amazing video !
Great new and novel tips here, especially using the thin sides to save money and weight, and using the gardening fabric. Thanks.
Great video, thank you. Really helpful and informative. I'll watch again before I build mine!
Simple and easy to understand brother. Well done. Very informative one. Thanks
THANK YOU Michael for this excellent tutorial! I‘ve spent a day building 6 panels with zero technical skills whatsoever. Can‘t believe how easy it was (apart from folding the corners properly lol)
Amazing video. Great quality. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your generosity and kindness! Great teaching! Great video! :-)
The difference is insane.
Also great build. I modified it slightly to make wood front frame so I can hang it on the sealing on something load bearing. Thanks mate
you really make some of the best videos on youtube
I love that you used the healthy kind of insulation for your safety.
I built a few of these today. Really solid construction, much better than just smacking a bunch of 2x4s together and calling it a day.
Thanks for the video!
Thorough and helpful. Thanks for making this.