Sound Proofing

[dagosto]

I am moving into a new apartment next week. My roomates and I are looking to use the basement as a practice/recording space and we will probably need to soundproof. I've never had to do this so any creative solutions would be much appreciated. I wanna do it cheap but still do it well.

[Shameless]

i've probably spent a good $500 on auralex over the last few years, and it has made a world of difference... i've got an army of the 12x12 panels, about 15 of the corner wall bass traps, three T-fusor diffusors, and a few of the 4x2 feet panels (for the ceiling).

if you're going to do a basement... chances are a rectangular room made of concrete... you're got your work cut out for you.

1) visit your local thrift stores, get your hands on as many rugs as you can find. the floor will be a tough enemy for you, but cheap rugs or left-over shag carpeting can make a big difference.

2) build your own baffles. very easy, just build a frame with two by fours (as simple as a 3 foot by 7 foot high rectangle). staple some heavy fabric to it, like industrial canvas/wool or otherwise (on the cheap). You can a) insert a large piece of foam with an egg-carton pattern or b) stuff it with alternative home insulation material (NOT asbestos or that pink stuff you have in your attic). Last, staple some heavy fabric to the other side, and you've got yourself a baffle. [ a very flammable baffle, so be safe! ]

3) egg-carton foam is your friend, and its super cheap. this is helpful on walls, remember to leave some places un-treated. while you want to cover up what you can, you don't want an entirely "dead" sound. maintain the natural ambience of the room, dont' destroy it completely.

4) seperate control room? remember, "live end, dead end". the wall behind the mixing engineer is live, the wall in front is dead.

5) beware of standing waves and ugly reverberations. do a poor man's acoustic test-- clap! walk around your room clapping, use your ears to pinpoint ugly reverbs/waves. estimate the cause, cover it up with foam.

good luck Dagosto, let me know how it turns out!!!

[fargone]

The great thing about a basement is you've got a good start at sound proofing for anything outside. With concrete walls and earth around that, you're main concern will be the upper half. Carpet is a great idea. If you can, carpet the ceiling. Bass traps are going to be your biggest needs. Bass waves travels so much further and easier than hi end waves. They tend to propagate The biggest investment would be in bass traps.

You can also fax Auralex plans of your room and they'll give you ideas as to what to do with it. I found them to be extremely helpful when tuning my little mixing/recording suite.

[dagosto]

Thanks Shameless. Great stuff. The basement is actually drywall over cement and the floor is carpetted(sp?).

Unfortunately, I may have to rethink this apartment since I was just informed that one of my would be roomates is very allergic to cats and there ain't no way I'm living without kitty.

Your post will still come in handy since I am still looking for a place to play music.

[909one]

One thing to consider is that people frequently get the term soundproofing confused with sound treatment. If you are looking the treat your room to tame reverb reflections inside the room, the suggestions listed will do the job. However, if you are looking to soundproof your room, in other words, isolate sound from leaving or entering your room, thats another beast. The methods listed, i.e. egg crates, carpets, or bass traps will do hardly anything fot that purpose. Its nearly impossible to prevent sound from leaking in or to a space, but you can come close to isolation by mechanically isoating the room and making it as airtight as possible. The best way to do this to actually build a room within a room. This helps to stop transmission of sound waves through walls, which can act like a membrane similar to drum head, vibrating at the own resonant frequencies. When you build a room within a room you usually put a couple inches of dead airspace between the new frame and the old frame. howver for most people its too expensive or not physically possible to build a room. Other things you can do is try to plug up any holes or gaps in walls, and add as much mass to the areas where the sound would leak the most, iI.e. put up the thickest drywall you can find on the walls or ceilings.

[dagosto]

Originally Posted by 909one

One thing to consider is that people frequently get the term soundproofing confused with sound treatment.

very true. Mainly the proofing is to keep my roomates happy. I am not looking to build a great sounding room either. There have been some great comments on both so far so keep them coming.