RealTraps - Customers Page

Quotes and photos galore

..REALTRAPS CUSTOMERS..

 

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CUSTOMER PHOTOS AND QUOTES

Below are photos and praise we've received from some of our many customers. If you'd like your studio included here, please email us some photos. If you have a web site, include that too and we'll add a link. Many thanks to all of our customers!

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NILE RODGERS

We recently installed eleven MiniTraps in the private studio of producer Nile Rodgers. Nile and his recording engineer Richard Hilton were both thrilled with the results, and they sent us this quote:

"Our control room at Le Crib Studios needed serious help. After installing MiniTraps the room sounds better than we believed possible, with clear, round bottom and vastly improved imaging. Fantastic product, great company."

--Nile Rodgers and Richard Hilton

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DAVID SCHWARTZ

David bought six MondoTraps and 7 MiniTraps for his large production suite. He wrote, "The MondoTraps are Mondo effective. I have a great room, but I was never positive with certain frequencies below 100hz ... until now. Mixes are translating accurately. Now my room is the reference, not the car."

David Schwartz has been nominated for an Emmy in the "Outstanding Main Title Theme Music" category for his Main Title theme from HBO's Deadwood. David is also the composer for the Fox series Arrested Development. His many other credits include The Ellen Show, Northern Exposure, The John Laroquette Show, and Beverly Hills 90210. Top

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BETHEL CHRISTIAN CHURCH

"After installing the MiniTraps I could hear the singers clearly in my monitor, and the low end rumble was gone."

--Jim Jansen, Worship Leader, Bethel Christian Church, Bristol, CT Top

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BRIAN HAZARD - RESONANCE MASTERING

"While Googling for acoustics information, I discovered a series of very informative posts from Ethan Winer of RealTraps. This guy knows his stuff! I spent hours reading through his site and watching his videos before e-mailing him for advice ... After three months of nearly constant attention, the mastering room was done! It's by far the most accurate room I've ever worked in."

--Brian Hazard, Resonance Mastering, Huntington Beach, CA Top

 

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JASPER SANFILIPPO & JOSH RICHTER

"We LOVE how they sound."

--Josh Richter, engineer, Barrington, IL Top

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PROXY MUSIC

"I got a call from the engineer this morning just raving about how clear the room sounded, and how ambient noise was much less. A great investment I think. What a pleasure to be able to walk ten feet back in the room and still be able to hear details and a relatively balanced mix - it was pure mush before. I like the bit of liveness that's left. Never really liked the super dead control room that you could hear your blood circulating in."

--Craig Zarkos, Proxy Music Productions, Oceanside, CA Top

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ALAN SILVERMAN, ARF! MASTERING

"The room sounds incredible. Far better than it has a right to. I've never heard my Dunlavy's sound so good. Bass, mids, top all there. I'm hearing aspects of my gear I never full appreciated before. Everyone LOVES this room."

--Alan Silverman, Arf! Mastering, New York City

Alan Silverman is a top mastering engineer with numerous credits including Chaka Khan, Cheap Trick, Norah Jones, Alison Kraus, Ricky Skaggs, Art Garfunkel, and far too many others to list here. Top

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ANDY HONG

"I immediately noticed tightening of the bass response. I heard more bass and less mud. With their angled fronts coming off the wall by about six inches, the RealTraps also provided a good deal of diffusion, reducing some of that small-room phasing caused by reflections interacting with the primary sound sources. My ADAM S3-A monitors, already punchy and clear in the low end, sounded even clearer. It's now much easier to make decisions about the low end than it was before, and tracks heard in my control room translate better when heard elsewhere because my room imparts less of its acoustic signature to what I hear in the room. For the price of a few good mics, you could outfit your studio with RealTraps panel absorbers, and the benefit to the sound of your recordings would be far greater than what you'd gain from spending the same money on gear!"

--Andy Hong, TapeOp Reviews Editor and RealTraps customer Top

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BRIAN LUCEY

Brian Lucey recently bought two roomfuls of MiniTraps and MicroTraps for his professional recording studio in Columbus, Ohio. Here are some of his comments: "The Control Room got four MiniTraps in the corners, four MicroTraps directly above the mix position (at various angles) and four more on the walls. Now the room has a great balance of openness and usefulness. I'm totally satisfied."

"The studio's main tracking room was a washy mess if wide open - too wet for most things. It has a dramatically vaulted ceiling and a two story, tile floored atrium with a 2-1/2 story glass wall at one end. For vocals or strings this tile atrium is terrific, yet for most things it's too wet and too nasty in the mid/highs. We lined up five HF MicroTraps on stands at the knee wall eight feet from the large windows. This was very effective at tightening the room while eliminating all the glassy reflections."

"Then we added three MicroTraps directly behind the drums and placed two more MicroTraps on stands, just floating around. These ten MicroTraps (at various heights) allow the studio to be set up differently for whatever is needed. Great product and great patience from Ethan with my many questions."

--Brian Lucey, Magic Garden Mastering, Columbus, OH Top

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KEN PORTER

"I got my MiniTraps installed and not only do they look fantastic, but they are great too. Thank you!"

Ken Porter, Intuition

Ken Porter is also a senior DSP design engineer, Research & Development, for Fender Musical Instruments Corp. Top

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DAN FITZGERALD

"The MiniTraps make a remarkable difference. I had an enormous bell-like 200/400Hz ring in the room centre, and installing four MiniTraps nuked the problem spectacularly. Cushions, Duvets, Foam blocks, were never this convincing. You are on to a winner and I hope you continue to develop in this line." --Dan FitzGerald, Cork City, Ireland

Dan Fitzgerald has received several awards for his engineering on CDs by legendary Irish singer Mary Black. He also recorded and mixed the recent televised Planxty reformation concert, and created the surround mix for the Columbia/Sony DVD. Top

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LARRY CRANE

These photos are from Larry Crane, editor of TapeOp magazine and owner of Jackpot! Studio in Portland, OR. The upper photo shows the front part of his control room, and the lower picture shows the ceiling and rear wall. Larry told us, "The control room sounds much better than it ever has."

In the November/December, 2003 issue of TapeOp Larry wrote a formal review. Here are some excerpts: "We were able to hear the control room before treatment, with its homemade foam and plywood absorption panels, and after treatment, with 14 MiniTraps placed in strategic locations. Better? Yes, the low end was certainly cleaner and more controlled. RTA tests showed a fairly flat response as opposed to the previous skewed low end peaks. The bottom line? The MiniTraps work, they kick ass over any foam treatments I've heard, and they made treating my rooms easy (and portable if I move)."

Thanks, Larry! Top

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MIKE WAGNER

"I've been enjoying my listening room for 3 months, and I must tell you that I am delighted with the MiniTraps and the SoffitTraps. The bass is balanced and clean, and the vertical mounting of the soffit traps in the corners was highly effective. The custom lengths you offer allowed me to maintain great aesthetic appeal when mounting the soffit traps. I mitered a piece of trim where the traps joined, and caulked and painted where the traps meet the wall, and, Shazam, a natural, appealing look!

"The wall-mounted MiniTraps help the side walls disappear so I can keep my speaker placement wide for great surround listening, as well as 2- channel listening. The MiniTraps really control reflections and provide even frequency response so I have a huge soundstage whether listening to digital surround sound or good old 2-channel analog.

"I researched numerous alternatives while shopping for treatments, but no product offered the effectiveness, flexibility, and aesthetic appeal that your products offer. The proof is in the pudding, and the audiophiles and home theatre buffs that have heard the room have offered nothing less than rave reviews. I concur. Thanks for all of your advice, and for making a great product!"

--Mike Wagner, Brownsburg, IN Top

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JON GORDON

"After getting my console back into place, I sat down and listened to a couple of multitrack sessions, and about 20 of my mixes from various projects. What a pleasant surprise! Everything sounded tighter and more detailed, with more precise stereo imaging. It was also easier to pinpoint problems of EQ and balance. From the moment I started searching your website, through the sale itself, you were a real pleasure to deal with. Your videos, in particular, made the whole subject of room treatments a great deal less intimidating to me. Please count me among your fans."

--Jon Gordon, Jon Gordon Music, New York City Top

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PERRY PERONE

"I continue to be impressed with how good the RealTraps look - especially after having [another brand] for so many months. The RealTraps look much better, very professional and well-built, and I think actually do a better job of absorption. I really appreciate your technical feedback too, which I feel is authoritative. --Perry Perone, Chevy Chase, MD Top


"I put up three MiniTraps and it made a huge difference. The fourth is going up today but I am already satisfied." --Tim Lau, Lansing, MI

"I installed the bass traps in my drum room. I am totally impressed! They made a huge difference. I noticed my snare drum sounding much better as well as the rest of the drums. I am completely satisfied with my purchase. I was skeptical at first, because spending that much on acoustic treatment seemed a bit scary for someone with no experience with it. Now it seems quite IN-expensive for what it did!" --Tom Maag, Red Hill, PA

"[Your MiniTraps] made a bigger difference to my work than any other equipment in the studio, including high end converters." --Jackson Burks, San Rafael, CA

"I am floored at the amount of improvement these MiniTraps made. It sounds like a totally new system. Imaging is much improved. The articulation is fantastic. What was passing for bass and lower midrange before is so much different from what I am hearing now. I am now getting the type of sound that exceeds what I hear in the best show rooms in my pretty small room. Best $800 I have spent on my system." --Bob Wilcox, Marlborough, CT

"The darn traps are working almost too well! I had actually started getting used to the mid-bass emphasis in my system/room, even though I realized that it wasn't natural. Still, it provided quite a bit of bottom end authority. The traps completely removed this, to the point where I'm tweaking some other things to bring a bit of it back! It seems like the one pair behind my Magnepans is certainly sufficient. Thanks so much for the great product." --Mike Greene, Niskayuna, NY

"Your products are top shelf! My control room sounds awesome!! I chose your acoustic solutions and they make all the difference. Thanks for such great products. You are a small studio's lifesaver!" --Dan Mullins, Long Island, NY

"The difference is literally unbelievable. Super tight low end and incredible clarity. I can't believe I mixed anything in that room that sounded decent. I pulled up some old mixes and could instantly hear problems I missed before. It will be a pleasure mixing, instead of a chore. Thanks so much!" --Aaron Graddy, Kearny, NE

"The traps are up and I've been working in the room - I am very pleased with the results, though not surprised, since I knew the improvement would be significant. My partner was amazed and shocked at the improvement. My HR824s sound like HR824s again! Also, the HF absorption is perfect - just enough to keep the room balanced, but not dead. Expect a warm review." --Rip Rowan, editor www.prorec.com

The traps made just such a huge difference. Really unbelievable. When we hung the first six, even with a naked floor, it was just amazing. Thanks for making the traps affordable. --Bruce Colgate, EagleVision, Stamford, CT

I bought a room kit a few weeks ago. I have them all up now and the room sounds awesome!!! I just played back my CD which was recorded at a very high quality all analog pro studio, with a 35 year veteran engineer. It sounds as good in my room as it did in the studio. I'm very impressed. Thanks!!! --Dave Kline

I'm amazed by the way these things perform. I knew I had problems in my room, but I never would have believed that a few of these traps could have made such a profound improvement. --Chris Putnam, Montclair, NJ

Installing RealTraps has easily been the biggest upgrade to my music system yet. Bass is deeper, tighter, faster, more dynamic and better defined. The biggest surprise is in the midrange where the extra detail is astonishing. A great product backed up by excellent advice and service. --Ricky Dasler, Nelson, New Zealand


"MiniTraps really made a difference in my studio and they are relatively inexpensive compared to many of the other tuned bass traps I compared them to. I previously also had foam corner 'bass traps,' but they really seemed to have no affect. It wasn't until after I added the MiniTraps that my low end evened out. Thanks so much for making such a great product. I'm very satisfied with the results." --Charles Dye, Miami, FL

Charles Dye has mixed hits for Ricky Martin, Sammy Hagar, Julio Iglesias, and Jon Bon Jovi, as well as recorded artists such as Aerosmith, Hanson, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Lauryn Hill, and Gloria Estefan. Top


"Wow!!! What a big difference the RealTraps make. I don't see how anything else could be better for the price. They were so easy to hang and they changed my "too live" room immediately. I know this sounds like an endorsement note, but that's the way I feel." --Lee Levin

Lee Levin is based in south Florida and is a drummer, producer, engineer, and arranger. His clients include Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias, Christina Aguilera, Michael Bolton, and many others. Top


"As soon as I put up the four MiniTraps I hit the kick drum several times, and noticed an immediate improvement in the room. The whoosh of the kick drum was replaced with a much tighter, more immediate response. My room still sounds live, but the bass build up that I was experiencing in the corners is now gone. It's much easier to play in the room and the overall articulation makes it much easier to hear the music. Thank you!" --Andrew Behla, Woodland Hills, CA

"I was pretty smug about room treatment and what it would do to my 'ideal' room. And boy was I wrong!!! After deploying the 4 MiniTraps and 2 MicroTraps, and filling my corners with built in bass traps, my system has been transformed. The saying 'you don't know what you're missing' is soooo true. I thought, and other people that have listened thought, that my room and system was top notch, and it was. But nobody really heard my top notch system until yesterday, and those that came over were blown way with the improvement." --Bob Benn, Old Hickory, TN

"The traps arrived yesterday morning, and as soon as I had the first two set up I began to notice an improvement in the bass response in my studio. Once all four were set up the improvement was considerable, and I was hearing frequencies that just weren't present in the room before. All in all, I'd say that's the best $1000 I ever spent on my studio." --Stephan Sechi, Greenwich, CT

"The room sounds SOOOOOOOOO much better it's quite remarkable. I was glad my friend was over to help and then sit in on the initial listening session or I would have thought my reactions were tinged with some placebo effect or buyers justification. But it was too obvious. The room seems calmer, yet there is more power and depth to the music. Bass is tighter and more well-defined." --Ted Brady, Westlake, OH

"I've totally been a DIY kind of guy when it comes to acoustics. I've built every bass trap and broadband absorber in my entire studio. I've read all of Ethan Winer's articles. I sleep with the Master Handbook of Acoustics underneath my pillow at night. I eat Owens-Corning 703 for breakfast. All the things I've made have had varying degrees of success in my control room. However, after years of struggling, designing, and constructing, I finally decided to take the plunge on two MondoTraps after reading a lot of good reviews from users here and on other sites. I have to say that made more of a dent in controlling low end frequencies in my control room than everything else I've done over the last three years. It seriously has got to be one of the most cost-effective purchases I've made for my studio ever. Since installing the MondoTraps I'm getting much better tones up front and my mixes are going together with much less fuss and EQ. I can actually hear the pitch of toms and bass guitar in my room for once." --Brad McGowan, Palo Alto, CA (post on GearSlutz.com)

"I was smart enough to find RealTraps and RealTraps was smart enough to have a very effective product at reasonable prices. I am enthusiastically recommending your products to all of my audiophile friends." --Mike Langer, St. Louis, MO

"I'm completely blown away by how effective your products are - wow!! Even though we've just installed four MiniTraps and two MicroTraps, the difference in the quality of our mixes and their ability to translate has been nothing short of astonishing! Having been in this business for fifteen years as a musician and producer I can tell you that this has been one of the most important and satisfying purchases I have made. Thank you so much for making such a great product in an all too often neglected and overlooked aspect of making and enjoying music." --Nasser Sharaf, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Just wanted to drop you a line to say that the response in my room is now much better. It also LOOKS better! As soon as the RealTraps went up, my current clients booked more time and started taking their projects AND my time more seriously. $3k was a lot of dough to shell out, but I am pretty sure I've made it back already with more bookings and client mass hysteria. --Evan Brubaker, Tacoma, WA



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DARLA POWELL

"I got all my traps installed and even though I don't have my system calibrated and completely set up, I can really tell the difference. They look really sharp also. They 'sound' most excellent. This is such a great upgrade and I can't thank you enough." --Darla Powell, Miami, FL Top

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WAYNE YENTIS

"I've installed most of the twelve MiniTraps in my home audio/video project studio - seven of them in the control room, three in a voice-over vestibule, and the remaining two will be used in another room later. The results are astonishingly good. I've been using this room for the last fifteen years in various states of acoustic treatment, and now it finally sounds right. The MiniTraps are a truly effective and original invention. Thank you for providing an effective solution to my small room acoustic problems." --Wayne Yentis, Sylmar, CA Top

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MARK HISCOCK

"The improvement at all positions is quite dramatic, with the mid-bass resonances dropping substantially. Right after I got them up, I think I spent 2 hours in there just zipping through 20 or 30 audio tracks and walking around the room. Overall the lows are now much tighter and the boominess throughout the house has actually decreased." --Mark Hiscock, Houston, TX Top

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ROSS WHITNEY,
UCI ARTS MEDIA CENTER

"I've just re-done a couple of mixes after installing your RealTraps Room Kit, and man what a difference! I shouldn't have procrastinated as long as I did. They work and look great. Thanks a million!"

--Ross Whitney, manager UCI Arts Media Center, Irvine, CA Top

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TED ST. PIERRE

"Here's a shot of our control room after we put in eight MiniTraps. We had all eight traps up in about an hour. It was interesting, as we installed each one we could hear the room acoustics tighten up and improve. The end result is greatly improved imaging and bass response from a product that looks great, is easy to install, reasonably priced, and performs as advertised. I have to say you really have a great product that solved my low end problems, and I would recommend MiniTraps to anyone. I plan on getting more in the near future. Please don't raise the price!" --Ted St. Pierre, Producer/Engineer, The Outlook, Bethel, ME Top

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CHRIS HUSSEY

Chris Hussey in Reynoldsburg, OH sent us these photos of his home theater treated with MiniTraps. As you can see in the lower photo, Chris wrapped the traps with Guilford fabric to match his decor and reduce light reflections when the room is darkened. Below are some of his comments.

"I can't imagine playing music or movies in my theater room without the MiniTraps in place. After I installed the MiniTraps and re-calibrated the bass output from my main speakers and subwoofer, I'm now hearing (and measuring) much smoother bass response in every listening position in the room."

"The mild mid and high end absorption that the MiniTraps provide is helpful, too, and doesn't overdamp the room as I feared it might. Bottom line: MiniTraps are one of the most useful and cost-effective tweaks I've ever come across. Anyone who hasn't heard what their room can sound like with genuine bass trapping (and those multitudes of foam pretenders don't count!) should look into the MiniTraps, pronto."

"I decided against mounting the MiniTraps high on the walls - you'll see in the pictures that they are basically leaning against the walls. They still do their job, though! Again, thanks for making a great product. The MiniTraps have really made a difference in the level of sound quality I'm experiencing, and that's something I can enjoy every single day. You guys rock!!" Top

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ETHAN WINER

These photos show Ethan Winer's living room (and the RealTraps showroom). At 16 by 25 feet with an 11 foot ceiling at the peak, this is a fairly large room which, before treatment, had been very boomy with severe bass peaks and nulls. Adding 43 bass traps and four diffusors has turned it into a truly awesome listening room. Not that you need that many traps to get good results!

According to Ethan, "Before I set up our home theater and added all these traps, my wife Elli used to complain I play the music too loudly. Now she's the one who grabs the remote and cranks the volume!" Top

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MARC & CHRISTA DORSA

"We've installed the traps and they sound great! We love our RealTraps."

--Marc and Christa Dorsa, Felton, CA Top

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ENCHANTED GARDEN DANCE STUDIO

Noah Hirt-Manheimer bought a dozen MiniTraps for his family's dance studio in Ridgefield, Connecticut, then bought a half-dozen more for his project studio. The dance studio treatment was a big success, and Noah also sent us this about the improvement in his own recording studio:

"Let me tell you - the difference is huge. The stereo image, depth, and overall clarity are much better and I am hearing details that my old setup did not allow for. I just finished my first CD tracked and mixed beginning to end in my newly Real Trapped environment. I have to say that the result has very accurately translated from my control room to consumer stereo, car stereo, and to my ipod." Top

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DAN NASH

"I wanted to thank you for your product!!! The real traps are excellent!! They have improved the sound of my room immensely, and they look great. This is a great looking and sounding area thanks to your traps. Keep up the good work!!"

--Dan Nash, College Station, TX Top

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RUSSELL MAYMI

"I regret not getting your products much sooner. They have been one of the best upgrades to my project studio."

--Russell Maymi, Sonrisen Recording, Brooklyn, NY Top

ZULU RECORDING

"Thanks for the your amazing product and support. To say my room sounds 100% better would be an understatement. I just can't believe the difference proper treatment can make. I seriously regret not making this investment years ago (now I have a ton of remixing to do)."

--James Grace, Zulu Recording, Modesto, CA Top

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