I booked an entire 5-day stretch to finish building my studio. With cinderblock walls, the sound was brutal. I couldn’t record anything without boomy echoes ruining every take.
I bought 48 Auralex Wedgies and spent a couple of weeks planning the locations and methods to mount them on the walls. The plan was excellent, the execution was not. My plan was to mount wood strapping up near the ceiling, and hang the 12”x12” panels like artwork from the strapping. I borrowed a hammer drill, and bought tapcon screws and a drillbit. Nothing would go into the cinderblocks. Plan#1: Fail.
I headed back to Home Depot, to purchase some industrial-strength tape. Taping the strapping should hold, after all the weight of the wood and foam might be 1lb for each horizontal foot of wall. The tape wouldn’t grip. Plan#2: Fail.
I went back to Home Depot for the third time, to buy some hardcore glue that was “guaranteed” to work on wood, concrete, and foam. Guess what – it wouldn’t hold either. Plan#3: Fail.
Then I had a brainwave: the tape would hold for a few hours before falling off, and the glue probably didn’t have enough time to get a grip before falling off. So I put tape on the wood, and then glued the tape to the wall. The tape should hold long enough for the glue to set. Plan#4: SUCCESS.
That only took about 3 days to work out.
Then I had to mount the foam wedgies on the wall. I bought 100’ of 1” wooden strapping, and had it all segmented into 12” lengths. The plan was to mount each foam square onto two 12” pieces of wood, one vertically on each side. Then I would put a picture-hook into the top and hang them from the wooden strapping like frames. As the entire 24-pack of foam weighed a total of 4.5lbs, I wasn’t worried about strain on the adhesive. The industrial-strength tape looked simple enough, run a foot of it along each 12” piece of foam frame, and stick the foam to the frame. I tried this, and the foam dried out the glue on the tape. No go. Plan#5: Fail.
I tried putting the hardcore glue that was “guaranteed” to work on wood, concrete, and foam. Guess what – it wouldn’t hold either. Plan#6: Fail.
I gave up – I contacted Auralex, and was convinced to buy their proprietary glue spray. It’s the only thing guaranteed to work. Unfortunately you can’t buy it locally, but must purchase online. I ordered it from LAMusic on a Friday, and it was delivered to me on the Monday. Great turnaround time. This worked like a charm. Plan#6: SUCCESS.
I also bought a KRK ERGO unit, to address any remaining sonic deficiencies. I spent yesterday configuring that and testing the room. It’s sounding much better. There was a lot of frustration, trial and error, but the end result was well worth the struggle.
Now I’m ready to start recording the new album!
