Attaching foam to wall alternatives to glue?

cragginshred

cragginshred

Fractal Fanatic
I have seen several videos on alternatives to gluing foam to wall in studio but have not come up with the best way to do it yet. Some sort of double tape seems best -suggestions?
 
At first I used double tape but it has been a nightmare to remove when I changed studio layout. Now I made some wooden frame and they look and work great.

These are the ones I did for my basotect panels (work in progress):
C6C30732-E191-421F-BE12-D520CBCFF4F4_zpscyiiwdvl.jpg

Do you see something familiar ? ;)
 
Go for what does the least damage as foam isn't great so you'll probably upgarde eventually.

I used cloroplat sheets for the backing and screwed them into the ceiling.

For walls, I just used so small t-pins dirrctly in the foam.
 
@acidfrost your T-pin suggestion is $,..thanks! Others are great but I am just filling in sections and am not going to doing any gluing or building of frames.

See pic I already have a bunch of sound absorption panels and foam on the walls just need to bolster what I have.
 

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I've got Roxul in framed panels mounted like paintings, but with standoffs for better bass absorption.

In the past I've used foam stuck to poster board, a.k.a. 'foam core', that were hung with picture hooks and wire hangers. Worked great with just a few small nail holes to patch when the time comes to remove them.
 
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I use T-pins directly through the foam panels (Auralex panels). I am in the process of packing up my studio (moving). I just pulled the T-pins out of the wall last week. Can't even see where the T-pin holes are. No wall repair needed. Me likey.
 
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I did a lot of homework on it- and surprisingly realized.

Foam is useless
Foam does nothing
Foam is a waste of money

You need ACOUSTIC PANELS not foam

And they're not that expensive

The foam isn't worth the paint on the walls your going to destroy with them
 
Jeries said:
I did a lot of homework on it- and surprisingly realized.

Foam is useless
Foam does nothing
Foam is a waste of money

You need ACOUSTIC PANELS not foam

And they're not that expensive

The foam isn't worth the paint on the walls your going to destroy with them
Click to expand...
Not to be argumentative, but foam is not useless, it clearly does "something" and may or may not be a waste of money.

If by "foam" you mean packing material, egg crates, slip sheets and the like, then I would agree with you that it is not a very effective acoustic treatment. If you are implying that all foam is useless, then I disagree. Many professional ACOUSTIC PANELS are constructed from high density foam. A preferable treatment would be rigid fiberglass (due to the increased density), but many commercial and "home" studios use acoustic foam panels. The panels I put in my studio are "acoustic foam panels" and they are constructed of high-density foam. The shape of the panels contributes to breaking up standing waves, flutter echoes, and the "reverb" effect of the bare walls. The foam is available in various sizes, shapes, and densities to meet a variety of room treatment needs. I have seen this material used in countless large venues and recording studios all over the USA. Most of the professional studios I have recorded in have bass traps in the corners. They are constructed of foam.

Any material that reduces the sound energy does "something" to improve the clarity of the sound in the room. It may, or may not be sufficient to address the acoustics of the room to make it a more suitable recording environment, but to say that it does nothing flies in the face of physics. The acoustic foam panels I put in my home studio made a yuge difference, especially for live room recording such as vocals, and acoustic instruments. I have recorded all sorts of acoustic guitars, violins, hand drums, kalimbas, flutes, and vocalists in my studio, and get commercial quality results.

As I said, Jeries, not to be argumentative, but your post left the me with the impression that foam acoustic treatment is useless and a waste of time and money. Perhaps I misunderstood the point you were making, but foam treatment is used all over the civilized world to address acoustic issues. If you were cautioning the OP not to use cheap foam as a substitute for proper material, then I'm inclined to agree.
 
Foam panels will indeed tamp down high and mid reverb, but will pretty much fail to do anything under ~500 Hz. There's an argument to be made that dispersion treatments are preferable in that frequency range, but that stuff is damned expensive. Fiberglass is effective down to much lower frequencies, depending on the thickness. What you don't want is a room that is dead to reverb yet still afflicted by bass modes. At the very least, it's worth using fiberglass for corner bass traps and first reflection points, then maybe you can use foam to adjust the overall liveliness of the space.
 
I tried the tape that came with my foam and it didn't work. Went to Foamtak and it was good. I don't think it will tear up the walls if I need to remove the foam but you might want to do some research on that.
 
I've built a lot of high end studios in my day, and not a single one of them had one bit of foam in them. In any room you'll have access to short of a gymnasium, foam will only work against you at the end of the day. The low end is WAY more important to a good sound, and all foam will do is give you a tubby boomy mess. Go broadband all the way, and even do bass trapping in the corners. That just can'e be accomplished with foam.
 
Do what makes you happy, there is always someone telling you that your wrong, be creative! I like to deaden the space I work in. Concentrate on what's important
 
Here's what I've used in my vocal booth and these are being assembled for an amp room (closet). Foam panels like these aid in reducing reflections within the space and are effective on mid to high frequencies. In my main monitoring room I use primacoustic panels and realtrap bass traps. These pyramid grid panels are effective in the context I use them. Some foam is probably useless, but these auralex panels are effective within their stated parameters.

These are the panels: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PYR2in22CHA. I used the auralex adhesive tubes and the unpainted side of regular pegboard I bought at Home Depot. Home Depot has 2'x4' panels so I bought six and cut them in half with a jigsaw. Now these can be hung on any standard drywall with just two small picture nails and no damage to the paint/drywall. They can be moved/adjusted with ease. I hung a few from the ceiling with small hooks as well, very easy to use.

If you're working on your main control room, I completely agree with the other comments that your low end is probably the most important and hardest to tame. These won't have any effect on the low end. I have big (think mass/density) corner bass traps for that reason but I still have to make some adjustments after testing the room because it's a 12 x 15 residential room and standing waves are unavoidable (but tameable).

 
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As with most things in life, it's all relative.

There's a difference between an acoustically designed high-end recording studio, a media listening room, a mixing/master room, a rehearsal room, vocal booth, etc.

Foam is useful for taming certain frequencies. A guitar-centric rehearsal room will benefit from low end absorption. Also diffusion is useful for killing some standing wave problems.

Again, it's all relative to the room, sound pressure and frequency. And budget.

Having said that, the OP wanted to know about different ways to mount foam.
 
To a degree I... agree?

But I also know foam is one of the most regretted decisions many home enthusiasts make.
Think of it this way, when you first started playing guitar were your first ideas, purchases and attempts at creating a good tone successful? Or were you (like me) dead wrong in thinking a no name, solid state practice amp combined with an arion distortion pedal and fed by your clapped out Hondo would finally make you sound like Eddie? Foam is the acoustic treatment version of First Act walmart instruments. It looks like it's the real thing, and it does do something, but it's going to wind up holding you back before very long.

But if you just can't stop yourself, use these toput them up. https://www.gorillaofficesupplies.c...CnJwkgOEBxhRS0syIMsfoaAt1K8P8HAQ#.WQzTeyMrKiY
 
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