Achieving great acoustics is everyone’s aim when setting up a home recording studio. Using acoustic treatment panels for trapping sound is essential to your recording studio design and in turn the result of your recordings. Traps typically come in two styles, square foam panels (sometimes known as absorbers), which are designed for the wall, and corner bass traps which as the name suggests are designed to line the corners of the room.
The role of these two unique styles of foam panel differ. The square panel absorbs the middle to high range frequencies because it is not thick enough to absorb the low end. Bass traps are able to absorb much lower frequencies due to their thickness. Designed specifically to target the bass tones which usually build up in the corners, they have an angular, triangle shape.
With the goal of minimising as many 90 degree corners as possible, placing bass traps in all room corners will also help to scatter and diffuse the sound waves in your room.
Whilst keeping in mind that you do not want to deaden a room with wall-to-wall panel absorption (unless you are creating a completely dead recording space like a vocal booth), it is not the same with bass traps. It is perfectly acceptable to line every corner in your room to manage your bass.
Like anything to do with acoustics, you should experiment with what works for your set up. The certainty is that if you give your attention to your room as much as your equipment, you will find it much easier to get a professional mix as a result.
