Acoustic foam

[Tom Servinsky]

John
There is a big difference between foam mattress material and acoustical baffle foam.  Recording studios having been using this material for years to insulate the interior space against outside noise. Can't say I have ever seen a recording studio pad the walls with mattress foam. I'm not sure how the acoustical/physical characteristics plays into the egg crate shape, but it does contain sound extremely well.
That being said, any material (be it foam, blankets, or anything) is going to aid in retarding sound from the bottom of the piano. The question is how much containment of sound are you hoping for. We've experimented with just about everything and for the extra money, the high grade acoustical baffle foam is well worth the extra cost. 
Tom Servinsky
----- Original Message ----- 
  From: John Formsma 
  To: Pianotech List 
  Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2007 6:47 PM
  Subject: Re: Acoustic foam


  On 11/3/07, Israel Stein <custos3 at comcast.net> wrote:

    I am not sure that so called "acoustic foam" is worth the expense.
    From what I read on the results of a "Google" search the concerns
    being addressed are mostly architectural - fire resistance and 
    appearance. These are not considerations when installing foam in a
    piano - it's out of sight, and the piano itself is not
    fire-resistant...  So next time, try the simple foam mattress - it
    will do the job. Or give your client the choice - are they willing to 
    pay the extra fifty bucks for pretty, fire-resistant foam?


  On the job that I mentioned before, I tried a foam mattress pad that I bought from Wal-Mart.  This was after both top and bottom foam from Edwards was in place, but it was still too loud.  So I drove to Wal-Mart since it was very close by...it was worth a try just to see if more foam would help.  It made some difference, but not enough. 

  So I ended up doing the voicing, which did the trick in conjunction with the foam.

  I remember doing a lot of looking online at acoustic foam after this job.  If memory is correct, it is much thicker than one you can buy for a mattress (at least at that one WM).  And, the acoustic foam is quite a bit denser, which theoretically will reduce sound more.  If it's worth the price difference might depend on the situation ( i.e., what level of sound reduction is needed). 

  But for $20 or so, it would be worth a try if you didn't need to reduce the volume too much.

  JF

  I found this out this year, and it angers me terribly!  Did you know that the Federal Reserve is a private bank controlled by the banking elite for their own benefit? 

  Check out www.themoneymasters.com
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