DIY Auralex Gramma Pad-a-like

[largo]

Well folks, not long to Christmas (!) and our party run means playing gigs on a boomy, wooden floor for 7 or 8 gigs this December.
Rather than shell out £70+ on a Gramma pad big enough for a 4x10 I wondered if I should try to make my own. I reckon I could do it for at least half that price. Here's my shopping list...

- Auralex Platfoam - one strip - £11'ish
- MDF board, or chipboard - £3'ish
- Carpet covering - £3'ish
- EVO Stick £3'ish
- 2 x 1ft acoustic wedges - £10'ish

A little bit of time & effort and hey presto! I think I'd have some sort of Gramma Pad style thingy ....

So, before I begin can anyone think of why this won't work ? Happy to make a build diary to see how it all goes, although not promising miracles.

[lemmywinks]

I don't see why it wouldn't work, tbh i was a bit gutted when i opened the box to see my Gramma. It definitely doesn't look like £50 well spent although it does work well

If you like i can take some pictures of mine tomorrow and upload them to give you a better idea of what they look like, although it would be incredibly easy to knock one up. It's basically a carpet-covered board on 2 bits of foam with another bit of foam inbetween those

I'm thinking about making one and flogging mine really, i think it's a bit cheeky charging that much for them

[largo]

Superb, some pictures would be great.
The Studiospares website seems to have all the parts used in their desciption of the product, so hopefully that will work fine.
First stop is a piece of MDF, or chipboard and the carpet store !!!

[beerdragon]

I suppose i could google it. but what does the pad do exactly. stop booming?

[lemmywinks]

Basically gives you a consistent sound on any stage. It's an isolation platform, i bought mine after playing a venue with a large hollow wooden stage and getting uncontrollable wolf notes on some strings, making the intro to Under Pressure sound horrible

They do work, played similar problematic stages since i bought it any haven't had any problems

[bassace]

But do you think you need Auralex foam? I would have thought that any foam would do; nothing special about Auralex, I think. I'm using offcuts from rubber stable matting one and a half inch thick strips. Works very well.

[acidbass]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='605999' date='Sep 22 2009, 07:36 PM']getting uncontrollable wolf notes on some strings[/quote]

This is a problem I've only noticed recently with my own setup. In one venue a few weeks ago, every time I played a C on the E or A strings there was this enormous swell of volume. Then, a week later, it happened with every G I played! It has certainly made me consider buying an isolation solution of some sort, but I think I'll hold off until my new amp/cab setup is secured.

[lemmywinks]

[quote name='bassace' post='606084' date='Sep 22 2009, 08:47 PM']But do you think you need Auralex foam? I would have thought that any foam would do; nothing special about Auralex, I think. I'm using offcuts from rubber stable matting one and a half inch thick strips. Works very well.[/quote]



That's what i was gonna do. We've got some offcuts of various types of foam at work so i reckon i've got enough to build a few, even got some of the egg-box type stuff too

[dave_bass5]

I got a strip of the Platfoam and just cut it down and put it under either side of my cab. Seems to work well.
I was going to go the whole route and do the platform bit as well but i dont think i need to.
As we do a lot of social clubs its come in very handy recently.

[Monz]

I've got one... they are superb. As for standing 2 off 4x10s and a GT200 on top of "2 bits of any old foam" not sure about that one

The Auralex is tested to stand the weight (and does)

[Rich]

[quote name='largo' post='605737' date='Sep 22 2009, 04:08 PM']Well folks, not long to Christmas (!) and our party run means playing gigs on a boomy, wooden floor for 7 or 8 gigs this December.
Rather than shell out £70+ on a Gramma pad big enough for a 4x10 I wondered if I should try to make my own. I reckon I could do it for at least half that price. Here's my shopping list...

- Auralex Platfoam - one strip - £11'ish
- MDF board, or chipboard - £3'ish
- Carpet covering - £3'ish
- EVO Stick £3'ish
- 2 x 1ft acoustic wedges - £10'ish

A little bit of time & effort and hey presto! I think I'd have some sort of Gramma Pad style thingy ....

So, before I begin can anyone think of why this won't work ? Happy to make a build diary to see how it all goes, although not promising miracles.[/quote]

I built something just like this a few years back. It works a treat and is well worth the effort.
As regards the board -- [u][b]don't use MDF or chip[/b][/u], they weigh a ton. Get some good marine ply, it's half the weight of MDF and is completely stiff. For a carpet covering, I recommend carpet tiles.
I was going to make another platform but never got round to it -- bloody lazy, that's my problem. But I still have the Platfoam that I bought for it, and some leftover ply that's about the right size, and some more carpet tiles that I [s]pinched[/s] borrowed from work. Anybody want one made?

EDIT: and Monz is right, the Auralex foam is miles harder than 'any old' foam. Don't try using strips of ordinary stuff, the cab will squash them flat and be very unsteady.

[lemmywinks]

Pics up as promised, if you need any more from different angles give us a shout

Like i said, a bit cheeky for £50!

Edited September 23, 2009 by lemmywinks

[beerdragon]

Let us know how it works out. looks good.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='606872' date='Sep 23 2009, 05:41 PM']Pics up as promised, if you need any more from different angles give us a shout

Like i said, a bit cheeky for £50![/quote]

Thanks.
Ive not seem one that close up before.
One question. Wouldnt putting a large or heavy cab on that cause the handles to touch the stage?
Probably a stupid question but thought i would ask.

[lemmywinks]

Mine's only the standard size Gramma as i have a Schroeder 1212r. It's very stable, the foam doesn't compress at all. I'd use it with an appropriately sized 4x10 with no worries

It's pretty well made, although i don't know how someone could mess up sticking some foam to some carpet!

[TheBlueFalcon]

[quote name='Monz' post='606485' date='Sep 23 2009, 10:46 AM']I've got one... they are superb. As for standing 2 off 4x10s and a GT200 on top of "2 bits of any old foam" not sure about that one

The Auralex is tested to stand the weight (and does)[/quote]

I have to agree with Monz. I have 2 of the standard Gramma platforms for my home cinema set up and each one supports a 32kg sub with a 28kg speaker on top of it. Well within the 136kg (300lb) limit that Auralex states, but with £4k of equipment sitting on each one, I wasn't going to risk making my own.

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='608571' date='Sep 25 2009, 12:46 PM']Mine's only the standard size Gramma as i have a Schroeder 1212r. It's very stable, the foam doesn't compress at all. I'd use it with an appropriately sized 4x10 with no worries

It's pretty well made, although i don't know how someone could mess up sticking some foam to some carpet![/quote]

Cheers.
Do you have any pics of your 1212L on it? Ive got the same cab and might consider one.

[lemmywinks]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='608590' date='Sep 25 2009, 01:03 PM']Cheers.
Do you have any pics of your 1212L on it? Ive got the same cab and might consider one.[/quote]


Yeah can take a quick pic over the weekend. I stand the cab on it's end and it's plenty big enough, dunno how it would be with really deep cabs though

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='608714' date='Sep 25 2009, 03:46 PM']Yeah can take a quick pic over the weekend. I stand the cab on it's end and it's plenty big enough, dunno how it would be with really deep cabs though[/quote]

Thanks. anything will do.

Ive been thinking about getting one of these since this thread started. If nothing else it will help make my rig look taller.

[Rich]

I'll put up some pics of my DIY effort too, just for the sake of completeness

[warwickhunt]

I use one (the 30"x19" one) with my pair of Aggie DB12's and aside from the isolation benefit it lifts the cabs that bit extra off the floor which does help with such diminutive cabs. The guitarist in one of my bands laughed when I first used it but wasn't laughing so much when we played on a big hollow stage and he struggled to control the bottom end on his guitar amp... I had no such problems! I have to confess that I thought I'd be losing some bottom end but that doesn't seem to be the case, I'd love to hear the science behind why that doesn't happen.

[lemmywinks]

Yeah i tried my Schroeder on a stand and the bottom end went walkies, on the Gramma it's right there and nice and tight. Maybe it's the magic pixie dust in the Auralex foam? So that's where my £50 went!

Btw i got all the p1ss taking when i started using it, especially when i foolishly told our singer how much it cost. You sound like a total clown trying to justify spending money on wood and foam

[TheBlueFalcon]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='608772' date='Sep 25 2009, 04:50 PM']Btw i got all the p1ss taking when i started using it, especially when i foolishly told our singer how much it cost. You sound like a total clown trying to justify spending money on wood and foam[/quote]

I know exactly how you feel. I tried many times to tell people how good they are, but everyone looks at you with a blank stare and thinks it's all just geeky tweeky BS. I eventually gave up trying.

[WalMan]

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='608768' date='Sep 25 2009, 04:44 PM']I have to confess that I thought I'd be losing some bottom end but that doesn't seem to be the case, I'd love to hear the science behind why that doesn't happen.[/quote]
I picked up a Gramma Pad at LIM this year for around £25-30 as I recall. I used it once for one set and it has sat in its box ever since. The trouble was it isolated so well that the bass just disappeared and my drummer who was sat right next to it was complaining he couldn't hear (and feel) the bass.

Perhaps I need to give it another go as without it I am presently barely tickling my rig in an attempt to stop the rest of the band and sound guy moaning at me for being too loud. The combo is sitting at 10 o'clock input, barely 8 o'clock output and I have had to roll all the EQ's back to around 8 o'clock as well to keep the level in check. Bizarre really as the equivalent combo I used in Andertons during the week while trying some pedals out was set at around 12 across the board in a tiny "quiet" room and was no problem at all!!

[Etienne]

I bought a GRAMMA Pad at the beginning of this year, and have used it ever since- it's become an indispensable part of my set-up now! Yes, it's undoubtedly expensive for what it is (and I must admit I was sceptical initially), but the concept most definitely works! The best thing about it for me is being able to get a consistently solid sound in lots of different venues quickly- it saves a lot of fiddling with the EQ to dial out problem frequencies IME. It's definitely worth a go, whether you buy, borrow or make your own!