And said room is a 20/9 bedroom (yeah weird I know) with 9 foot ceilings.
HOWEVER, since I am a recently graduated student (and the job market for humanities majors SUCKS) my living situation is kind of constantly in flux.
If I were to have around 2-300 to spend on MOSTLY PORTABLE (as in I can uninstall... will work in most bedroom/small space environments) treatment options, what would you recommend? Bass traps? etc?
I guess I'm looking for suggestions as to the things that tend to be hardest/least effective DIY.
Slutzers you guys are the best!

I'll be in the same boat as you in about a week or so.

Might want to try to post it in the Studio Acoustics sub-forum. They have guys Ethan Winer and GIK techs over there.

For under $150 you can order corning 703 or 705 with some colored burlap and some 3M adhesive and you'll have 6 amazing 2' X 4' absorption panels.

Fro another $150 or about you can order another 6 of the 703 or 705 and double a few up for bass traps.
You don't need the fancy frames. The frames actually take away form the absorption, cause the block the audio waves from the panels.

All you need is some thing plywood for the back of them so you can hang them to your walls with hooks.

For under $300 bucks you can have 8 broadband and 2 bass traps.

Get the 2" 703 or 703
http://www.readyacoustics.com/index....&cPath=26_3_21

http://www.readyacoustics.com/index....&cPath=26_3_22

For the burlap:
http://www.fabric.com/home-decor-fab...ap-fabric.aspx

For the wood for the back and the 3M adheasive go to home depo

I found that there is no need to use wood for the owen corning, they hold themselves up well, just wrap them up well, and make a hanger from the fabric, so it's nice.

Personally, I'd recommend making frames for ANY absorption panels... but if you're place is in flux quite often (unsure the time frame), you're going to really hate putting up / taking down panels on a consistent basis. Especially if you are going to take the time to measure where 1st reflections are going to be etc etc.

Thats awesome

Definitely acoustic panels and build them yourself. Here's how I did mine:

How I Built My Acoustic Panels

Thanks all!
Great suggestions

I'm making some broadband traps at the moment.
I'm using this design...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=***********
Well...if someone can tell me how to link the youtube vid...
It seems to be the simplest way to do it.
The fact that you use a very small backing frame which leaves almost all the insulation exposed for absorption is a plus as well.
The 3lbs/cubic ft rigid fiberglass cost me $100 for 10 2x24x48 panels.
Framing wood 1x2x8 furring strips costing $0.77 each.
I already had the fabric, glue, screws and staples.
This is the dirt cheap way to make traps.
I've made 3 so far.
Pictures to come.

Some I built last year. I did 10 of them. 2x4x4. I think they came out really nice. Very cheap to make. Used owens corning 703, 1x2 board for the backing. Muslin fabric was used for the backing on the frame, and I can't even remember the other fabric for the fronts. Here is what I went by to build them.
http://www.basstraps.net/DIY-BASS-TRAPS-MADE-EASY.pdf

Hey Gharper,
Those are stills from the video I couldn't link to.
Great plans for easy to build traps.
Nice job.
Here are a couple pics of mine.

First off, I'd say follow Liquid Shadow's advice to check out the studio-acoustics forum. There is a lot of great info there from some real pros (Ethan,Glenn,etc.). Knowledge is always your greatest tool, whether you're treating your room or trying to get great tracks/mixes.
Secondly, you are blessed with the 20' length and (especially) the 9' ceiling. I'm stuck in a 14'x9' room with a 7' ceiling myself and it's been a real adventure, to say the least. Ideally, you want to create a great sounding room. In my case, the only real option was to create as acoustically dead a space as possible (between the 4 walls and ceiling I have over 60% coverage, all 4" thick). So, all that being said, here's what I have to share that may help:

The first step should always be 4" thick bass traps in the 4 corners of the room, floor to ceiling. You should make the framed versions if you don't plan on a somewhat permanent installation, otherwise you'll be doing a lot of repair work on those walls when it's time to move. The next step is to address your monitoring (first reflection points,front and rear walls). You can find all the info to determine these reflection points on Ethan's sight, among others, so I won't go into it. I will say that the 9' width will likely require more treatment on the side walls. If the room was another 4-5' wide you'd have an ideal room with minimal treatment.

Now, as far as materials, you basically have 2 choices:rigid fiberglass or rockwool. Rigid fiberglass is easier to work with (cutting,etc), bonds to the adhesive better, and works better for free standing (unframed) traps, due to its rigidity. On the other hand, rockwool is much more cost effective (more absorption per $) and if you're using frames would probably be the best choice. I bought all my rockwool and 703 from ATS Acoustics, since I'm in the Midwest and shipping on this stuff is not cheap. There are several other good sources you can find on the web. For fabric, I either buy from a local surplus fabric store or Walmart ($2.49/yard for 48" wide burlap). Lumber and adhesive from your local building store (as has already been stated in previous posts). And, lastly, make sure you protect yourself (long sleeves, some sort of respirator, gloves) when working with this stuff. And do it outside. The fumes from the adhesive are hell on your lungs. Best of luck. Let us know how it all works out.

Larry

+++Some great tips. thumbsupthumbsup

Personally, I'd forgo the adhesive.
Just not necessary if you follow the plans that Gharper and I did.
Course, whatever works.
I'm going to get 4 corner (4" thick) and 2 wall (2" thick) 2'X4' traps for the price of 1 pre made.

OI like the adeasive, because I do not like using wood frames. Yea, they look nice, but your panels will lose some obsorbtion areas. A sound absorbtion panel with no wood frames will do a better job, becuase the wood isnt blocking any of the sides of the sound absorbtion.

For that fact alone, I'll never frame my panels. The only way to make the burlap adhere to the 703 or 705, is to spray 3M adheasive on it. The adheasive I use doesn not ruin or block any of the obsortbtion properties. It just smells bad for a week or so..LOL

But to each their own.
Cj

I wanted to make panels myself, but I couldn't find a place selling 703 so i just gave up and ordered GIK panels, which were the cheapest pre-made panels I
could find.

I think most people grossly exxagerate how cheap it is to build panels themselves. Theres the great hassle of buying the 703 (hard to find) the cost of burlap, wood, hardware, and any tools you might need.

I'd say it's something like $25-$35 per panel IF you have the hardware to do it, and most people do. You might have to buy a staple gun and staples I suppose. If you're framing it (inside or out) you can have the wood pre-cut. Then there's your time, but if you've got that to spare then it's not really a cost I suppose.

For most people it doesn't really end up being a cost thing in the end. It's like changing your own oil. Everybody can do it, but most people pay somebody else to because it's a pain in the neck.

when I priced it out it was substantially more than that. I remember the fire ******ant burlap was especially pricey.

Huh...maybe prices have gone up.

I'd like to thank everyone on Gearslutz for getting me motivated enough to build my own acoustic panels. There is SO much amazing information out there these days on acoustic panels! I love it and can't believe it took me 8 years to build these.

GO BUILD SOME PANELS! Your rooms deserve it

I wanted to chime in about the frame. I've had some friends build panels without a frame and they all regret it. They aren't as sturdy and are a bit amorphous when compared to the sleek look of frame panels. The furring strip is only about 1/2 inch deep and IMO is well worth the trade off of just the smallest bit of reflection. The furring strip also gives you a place to put hanging wire and bumpers to keep it off the wall a bit. After building mine I can't imagine not having a frame! I'm far from an expert though....

I wrote up detailed plans in a blog post. It's got prices, parts, and tons of photos to help you along the way. I also consolidated lots of useful links to places on the web with others talking about their process!

If you are building panels I highly recommend reading through this post. The panels I built work well for panels, baffles AND a portable vocal booth!

The Audio Aficionado

Word of advice...wear long clothes while doing anything with that nasty stuff, and when you're done throw them immediately in the washer...or burn them (sort of kidding)...but not really. Wear gloves and don't get that crap on your hands.

Sent from my Nexus One using Gearslutz.com

First, working with stiff fiberglas is not very itchy... At least, I did not find it to be so.

Second, the reason to use some sort of perimeter frame or backing sheet of plywood/luan/whatever (another option to frame) is that it provides stiffness when handling, and a solid mounting material.

703 or 705 by itself has a limited frequency response. To get low without eating a lot of space, you need to do more than just stack up fiberglas. The panels that I built were of three different kind, and complimented the two different types of membrane traps I had built.

Walmart sells unbleached muslin for 88 cents a yard. Far better than nasty burlap.

I used Spray 77 (a 3M tacky spray glue) to wrap the panels like Christmas presents, which gave a very clean look. Keeps the fabric from ever sagging, too.

In my home music room, I broke down and bought an Ethan Winer RealTraps Room Kit. Very portable, easy to hang, and worth every penny. I've had them in three different rooms now, moved them across the country, and they still look new.

703 is what I used...and I still wore gloves!