YoBeatMaker

When I moved into my new condo and set up my “computer/studio” room I noticed that when I would record rap vocals there would be a ton of reverb and flutter echo in the recording making it impossible to fix in post-editing. To make matters worse I was recording in a fairly small room about 12 feet x 9 feet. To make matters more “interesting”, the room I record in isn’t rectangle or square but rather different lengths on each side (which turned out to be somewhat of a positive). I needed a solution fast and didn’t want to shell out the $200 (plus shipping and handling) for acoustic panels, so I decided to make my own. The dimensions for my panels are 2 feet wide and 4 feet in height.

Here’s what you will need to make your own acoustic panels, keep in mind it would be a good idea to calculate all your costs before hand, otherwise it may be cheaper to just buy the real acoustic panels. Also if you are not handy at all, you probably want to get someone who is to help you.

Tools needed

• Measuring tape
• Saw
• Drill
• Staple Gun

Materials needed

• 2×4 Lumber Wood
• Owens Corning 703
• Burlap fabric
• L Brackets
• Drywall Srews
• 3M 77 Adhesive Spray
• Staple gun staples
• Plastic sheet wrap

1. Build the frame
To make one panel you’re going to need 3 pieces of 2×4 lumber wood, the third piece you’re going to have to cut it in half so it makes the top and bottom of the frame – the other two pieces will make the left and ride side of the frame. You connect the pieces of wood together by screwing in an L bracket inside the frame between the pieces of lumber. You are going to need 4 screws per L bracket, so you will need 16 screws for one whole panel and 4 L brackets. If you want to make your panels super tight, you can screw in another L bracket on the outside of the frame.

2. Cut Your Burlap Fabric and Plastic Sheet
Hopefully, you we’re smart enough to get a roll of burlap that will correspond to the amount of fabric you will need for however many acoustic panels you are building. If so, you probably have a huge roll of burlap that will need to be cut to the frame, leaving enough fabric on the sides to be stapled to the back of the frame. At the same time take out your plastic sheet, it will look like a garbage bag material and measure it to the same size or a little bigger than your sheet of burlap.

3. Use the Adhesive Spray to Connect the Fiber Glass to the Frame
Take your sheet of Owens Corning 703 and spray it with your adhesive spray ensuring you cover the entire sheet evenly. Quickly but carefully place the wooden frame to the Owens Corning, holding in place for five minutes. You now have your acoustic panel minus the fabric/plastic sheet.

4. Staple the Burlap and Plastic sheet to the Wooden Frame
Lay out the burlap and plastic sheet on the floor and place the wooden frame/fiber glass on top of it and staple the backside of the fabric/plastic sheet into it. Congrats you have just built your first acoustic panel.

I Need to Hang My Acoustic Panel!
If you would need to hang it, you can choose a couple options. The method I choose was to place eye hooks into the backside of the frame and just thread wire between similar to a picture frame. You need to keep in mind that your acoustic panel will weigh as much as 15 pounds, so you will need to make sure you get eye hooks and wire that support that weight. It’s pretty easy to get some heavy duty stuff for cheap that will support much higher weights.

I didn’t get to take pictures while I was building them, but here are some pictures of the finished product.

Why Did You Choose Owens Corning 703?
After doing a ton of research, I choose Owens Corning 703 as it was highly recommended in many forums for dampening sound. Keep in mind, we can’t make a sound proof room, we CAN make a room in which sound is absorbed so that it doesn’t reflect back into our microphone.

Why Did You Choose Burlap?
Burlap is a rather tough fabric to work with it and isn’t as pretty as satin. The thing with burlap is that it is good at absorbing sound as it is porous. You can choose cotton or some other material as long as it is not tightly woven as it will reflect some higher frequencies.

Why Did You Choose the Plastic Sheet?
This is optional, but highly recommended as the Owens Corning can cause an allergic reaction and it wouldn’t be wise to have fiber glass particles floating through your air. I also recommend you get a air purifier in your home studio to keep the air fresh from weed/cigratte smoke and sweaty musicians.