Sound Proofing

[zad0030]

Ok I know some of you audio wizards think you know everything about making things louder (spharis), well, what do you know about making things quieter. My neighbors just started bitching about me having a drum set, so Im planning on doing a little soundproofing. I wanted to make like a plywood booth just big enough for me and my drumset. Obviously im going to soundproof it and I wanted to know if anyone knew any inexpensive ways to soundproof other than those foam boards and stuff. Thanks

[spharis]

Order it in sheets from McMaster Carr. They have all the stuff you need. This is what I have used in the past in audio recording.

http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?pagenum=3394

Foam Polyeurathane over a backed absorber works best. It will be expensive, but cheaper than ordering the stuff like FatMats and Dynamats. It also doesn't stink like using backed roofing materials. The items in that link are specifically made for sound rooms.

[wannabewakeboarder]

Zad, I have a whole bunch of that foam board stuff laying down at the shop, I think its 3/4 inch sooo.... I don't know if I can rid us of it, but if I could would you want it?

[zad0030]

Thanks spharis. Well I just measured and it will probably need to be about 6x7x?. $11.93 x 26' = $310.18!! More than I wanted to spend. I may do that but not until after the summer when I make some more $$$$. If anyone knows any other ways please let me know.

[Tequilasun]

Zad, have you thought about drum pads?

I have no idea what they cost anymore, but I had a set when I was younger.

They are thick rubber pads that go over your heads, very little sound.

[zad0030]

Zad, have you thought about drum pads?

I have no idea what they cost anymore, but I had a set when I was younger.

They are thick rubber pads that go over your heads, very little sound.

Yes I have and I would like them, because they would protect my heads and sticks from "frustration hour" Problem: none of the sets i have found have the sizes i need ( 12", 14(2), 16, 22, high hat, Crash(2) and a ride), although I have not looked very hard for individuals, i figured it might add up.

After doing some researching i found someone who sells the individuals and it would cost about $100.

[Paublo]

The old saying in solving noise and acoustics problems is "add mass and decouple". In other words- add a heavy mass barrier and decouple it so that the new outside surface doesn't become a speaker cone type surface.

If you are making a booth to practice in, you can make it out of whatever material you want- plywood is fine. I would then cover it with one or two layers of sheet rock or gypsum board. For the money it is the cheapest mass you can buy. Be sure to mud every joint very carefully and if installing two layers, stagger the joints. If it isn't air tight, it isn't sound proof. The bigger problem is the door and door seals. Use a solid core door and weather-strip the edges- especially the bottom.

This sounds like a lot of work- but if you built this in your garage, I can assure you that your neighbors won't hear you in their houses. Foam and other lightweight materials will only help a little with the higher frequencies.
Good luck

[Tanner]

For the money... you might look at melamine foam (yes the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser material). It has pretty good sound absorbing quality.

Nevermine.... guess it's on the link that Spharis posted.

[sparky216]

um....hit the drums softer



or start playing the recorder.....all the cool kids are doing it


Like Tequilla...I had the drum pads

[zad0030]

or start playing the recorder.....all the cool kids are doing it


Like Tequilla...I had the drum pads

Hey I played the recorder from 3rd to 5th grade. (it was like a school program thing, THEY FORCED US!!)So you know I can play jingle bells and thats about it.

Im going to look at home depot tomorrow and see what the cost of some of these supplies will be. Do you think house insulation would work at all? Maybe it will just keep me warm. Idk just a thought.

[Tanner]

NO! Insulation does hardly anything at all! I get into this quite a bit w/ my houses and theater rooms. So about 6 years ago, I talked w/ the insulation company about this. They said not to waste my time or customers money. They did a test, hoping they would have a new market, and it only showed a 1 db reduction in sound after insulation. This was a blown in 2x6 wall.

There is a way to do it right! You would have to have a VERY thick wall, and have tons of offsets, to allow the sound waves to cancel each other out. I built Sony Recording's top sound engineer's house about 15 years ago. We did a VERY elaborate set up for his HVAC system upstairs b/c that's what he wanted. He said it was what they do in their recording studios. He told us what to do, and we did it. I was skeptical at first, but it worked. Thing was QUIET!!! But this really isn't cost effective!

The foam is probably the most cost effective route. $300 honestly isn't that bad!

[mtnsmith]

That was going to be my cheaper alternative idea, the 4X8 foam sheets of insulation from home depot??? It is not acoustically as good, but should cut down on a lot of the ability for the sound to really travel. If you really want to make the neighbors happy, join the marching band and have the entire drum line over for a BBQ and practice, that's what I did when I played bass drum and toms in high school. The best part is that our house was right beside the builder's model with the sales office.

[xpjim1]

Hey back in my day we just lined the walls with egg cartons. No one ever complained after we did that, they were most likely too busy from laughing to complain.

[zad0030]

Yeah, main purpose is to eliminate sound from traveling outside the house and maybe through the house as well.

My drums are in the center of our unfinished basement, mostly concrete walls, neighbors complained the other day, nice neighbors havn't said anything but have young children who probably take naps and go to bed early and stuff during the day.

I like the pads because they will protect my heads and sticks, but then I can't hear myself play. Booth would be nice because total isolation and then I can hear what im playing with no one else comlaining about it.

[Tanner]

I built Sony Recording's top sound engineer's house about 15 years ago.

Actually, I say me. Should have said my father. Although I did the framing on what he wanted