While there are a number of complicated bass traps designed to look like they’re part of your home or studio’s architecture, that’s not always the best method for everyone — especially for people who rent a place.
As such, any budding music producer, especially those who are into a lot of bass and hip hop, would do well to build their own DIY bass traps which are mobile and modular, avoiding the need for permanent installation altogether.
That’s why we put together an easy set of instructions and a couple of videos showing you how to build DIY bass traps.
DIY Corner Bass Traps
Step 1: Measure
The first step for any construction project is to measure the area where the construction will go.
When building bass traps, the important thing to remember is to measure the same distance from the center along the wall, then measure the distance between the two points across the walls along the “imaginary” border of the bass traps.
Be mindful of things like power outlets or other types of utility connections like a cable or broadband connection.
Step 2: Materials
Once you know the dimensions of your corner bass traps, you will then want to figure out what size workpieces you will need for your construction.
While you do not have to prepare all of your workpieces ahead of time, it does help to do so to make sure that the design will work in practice.
For this type, a single half-frame should let you know whether or not the design will work in practice.
Make at least one additional workpiece for each type to serve as a template for later stages.
Step 3: Cuts
One of the most dangerous steps of DIY bass traps is cutting the wood.
You can pay a hardware store to do this for you if you don’t have the tools or proficiency, but doing the cuts shouldn’t be terribly difficult.
First, cut your 2” x 2” planks into 24” lengths and cut a 45-degree bevel cut along the length of the 24” workpieces.
You will then measure the particleboard, bisecting first laterally and then diagonally, and cut it so that it can form a top and bottom to the bass traps.
Step 4: Frame
Once you have made the cuts to your wooden workpieces, you will then assemble the bass trap frame.
This involves drilling a guide hole through the top and bottom of the bass trap into the bisected 2” x 2”s.
Once you have the guide holes drilled into the workpieces, you will fasten the pieces together using your screws.
Be sure to properly brace your workpieces to avoid error or injury, and be mindful that the long face of the bisected 2” x 2” will go along the wall where the DIY bass trap is positioned.
Step 5: Fill
Once you have built the frame, you will next want to fill it with some form of sound dampening insulation.
Roxul Safe ’n’ Sound is a fairly popular soundproofing insulation, but it’s not the only one available. Most single-piece types of insulation will serve reasonably well in this capacity.
Regardless of the brand, you will need to cut the insulation to fit the shape of the bass trap and position it within the completed frame, stacking the insulation layers on top of one another.
One of your template pieces made earlier in the process can provide an excellent stencil to assist the cutting process.
Step 6: Cover
To further dissipate the kinetic energy of sound, you’ll want to use some kind of fabric for the cover of your corner bass traps.
This can be specially treated fabric or even fabric that you personally treat to increase its sound dampening qualities.
When measuring and cutting the fabric, provide an additional few inches of clearance.
Staple the fabric directly into the wooden frame along the back border, with the fabric folded down and across itself along the edge of the bass trap.
Once you have the four corners stapled on the wood frame, you can switch to an alternate form of fastening, like glue, if you prefer.
Make sure not to stretch the fabric too taut as this can lead to it tearing over time.
Finishing Touches
For all intents and purposes, you can stop here and call it a day as the finished project will perfectly function as mobile, modular homemade bass traps.
That said, there are still a couple of things you can do, with the most effective being a DIY acoustic treatment with a dampening compound along with every open space and on top of the fabric cover (if the cover’s material is thick enough to support the weight of the dampening compound).
While we do not recommend entirely closing off the back as you may need to eventually replace the insulation, it’s not a bad idea to build removable DIY acoustic panels for the backside of the DIY bass trap for convenience.
OTHER TECH TIPS FOR PRODUCERS:
- 16 Bit vs 24 Bit: Is There Really a Difference?
- How to Become a Music Producer: Tips You NEED to Know
- How To EQ Vocals Like a Pro
Changelog:
April 27, 2022 – minor content edits
May 21, 2021 – updated title and meta description, updated publish date, tagged primary keyword, added table of contents, added schema, updated product images, fixed and updated article formatting and content, removed 1 internal link, added 3 new internal links, fixed interlinking, updated 1 external link and added 2 new external links
