# Whats everyone using to "soundproof" their practice area?



## ekim (Apr 18, 2018)

We're moving to a new house next week and I'm going to be using a spare bedroom as a practice room. I've already started to make 12 acoustic panels. I think I'm going to need more tho. What are you doing around doors? Going to put a carpet down and speakers on isolation pads. Any more ideas?


----------



## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Describe these panels. Do you intend to cover the whole room and ceiling?

How quiet does it have to be? A tight sealing door is your best bet.

Rug and iso pads? How do they keep sound in the room?

Don't forget the heating vent. Its an acoustic amplifier.


----------



## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Do you have something like this? How well do they work? Look good... 









Auralex Acoustics BabyGramma v2 Isolation Platform for Amplifers, 1.75 x 15 x 15-Inches : Amazon.ca: Musical Instruments, Stage & Studio


Auralex Acoustics BabyGramma v2 Isolation Platform for Amplifers, 1.75 x 15 x 15-Inches : Amazon.ca: Musical Instruments, Stage & Studio



www.amazon.ca


----------



## ekim (Apr 18, 2018)

Yeah I was thinking something similar to that. One for my amp and a couple of smaller ones for my monitors. I know they wont keep the sound in, but they should reduce the vibration to the desk and floor. The panels I'm making are 47x17x3 with rockwool in them. I have 12 so far. It doesnt need to be silent, just toned down


----------



## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

My guitar room is quite small so I used double drywall with a layer of Green Glue noise proofing compound in between. Kept the original door & added a second solid core door. I stuff a towel at the bottom of the door & some foam or a towel in the air vent.


----------



## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Roryfan said:


> double drywall with a layer of Green Glue noise proofing compound in between... added a second solid core door... I stuff a towel at the bottom of the door & some foam or a towel in the air vent.


Perfect. 

The panels you are making are for absorption within the room and will not add to the sound proofing. They will cut down reverberation andcstanding waves in the room making it more pleasant for you. Put them high on the walls but still at ear height. If you can get some of them on the ceiling, especially in the corners, that will be most effective. Your furniture and gear will diffuse sound at lower level. If the room is too dead remove the rug. 

A lot of small rooms are almost cubes. Square rooms will double the resonant frquencies of the dimensions, but cubes will TRIPLE the resonant frequencies. So a "dead" sounding room may be your only hope of avoiding feedback. My bedroom is virtually a cube but volume is so low that all I do is close the door. 

Here is my garage/studio that I like to brag about: 









Studio-from-scratch progress.


Lucky me. I am retired with the resources to build, from scratch, a custom practice building. This building will be re-purposed as a small garage for the next owner. However, I am sure the interior space can be designed to be acoustically neutral without the need for expensive acoustical...




www.guitarscanada.com


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

You won't like this one.

Headphones.


----------



## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Here's a rabbit hole to go down....

The Recording Manual

On the right there is a column named "Studio Design". Get through that and you will have your head spinning. Isolation (not soundproofing) is the goal, which usually leads to a bad sounding room, so then you have to treat the room.


----------



## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Jim DaddyO said:


> Here's a rabbit hole to go down....
> 
> The Recording Manual
> 
> On the right there is a column named "Studio Design". Get through that and you will have your head spinning. Isolation (not soundproofing) is the goal, which usually leads to a bad sounding room, so then you have to treat the room.


That reverb calculator is fabulous! The Helmholtz calculator is for low-mids resonance problems, I guess, from adapting less than ideal room dimensions! Room mode calculator should go to eleven not just four? I suppose the Helmholtz slats are supposed to stop phase problems before they develop at higher freq's?


----------



## Fred Gifford (Sep 2, 2019)

in the presence of High Sound Pressure Levels (noise) typical residential construction ie. wood framed drywall and chipboard or plywood walls will behave as a tympanic membrane ie. drumhead and vibrate like crazy adding loud reverberation/boominess which will travel throughout the entire house. As another member mentioned you have to mass load the walls, floor and ceiling if possible. Double drywall layers with staggered seams or a second layer of drywall (walls, ceiling) which could be decoupled from the structure using a resilient Z channel fastening system ... the biggest difference will be from a pretty much air-tight heavy solid core door with a tight, gasket type seal. Usually when you go the this extend you will then have to add a venting system to introduce a fresh air delivery system to the room.. you could also go with floating walls, floor or ceiling system ... it's a rabbit hole, putting it mildly ... we had a room and were quoted 86 grand by a highly regarded acoustician ..


----------



## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

Good info by @Fred Gifford

It is info I wanted to share but didn't want to come off as any more of an internet know-it-all than I already am.🤓

$86,000 is probably what the guy needs to get to stay in business.

My garage, DYI built from scratch to be a practice studio, was $20,000. Forty grand woulda got me a two car garage with a control room as well.

Two words for you @ekim :

The door.

Okay, the vent also and I am intrigued by @Roryfan double wall


----------



## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)




----------



## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Tell everyone to put up with it.


----------



## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

This guy likes the Green Glue Compound.


----------



## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

Boss Waza TAE is the best sound proofing I’ve ever had


----------



## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

My room is L-shaped and has 2 outside walls. Although I didn’t hire a professional to design the room, 2 factors that consistently came up in all the research I did were:

1) MASS to absorb sound waves (this is why I used 5/8” drywall for the second layer).

2) DECOUPLING to reduce transfer of sound waves (this is why I chose Green Glue over resilient channel). 

I also stuffed Owens Corning Quiet Zone insulation in between the ceiling joists and studs of the interior partition walls (it was less than 1/2 the price of Safe ‘n’ Sound). My father is an upholsterer and cut up some old sofa cushions to size for the windows (5” foam in a nice fabric bag). 

As long as the vent is plugged & both doors are closed, I can crank it up without annoying my wife. This being said I should probably grab some type of wall treatments (foam panels, etc.) for the room itself.


----------



## Fred Gifford (Sep 2, 2019)

KapnKrunch said:


> Good info by @Fred Gifford
> 
> It is info I wanted to share but didn't want to come off as any more of an internet know-it-all than I already am.🤓
> 
> ...


actually the 86K quote was for a downstairs "party" room in our Condo complex not a residential bedroom, my bad .. regarding the whole sound proof, listening/practice room bit with no standing waves, equal reverberation/decay time across the entire frequency spectrum ... etc,etc, my biggest piece of advice that I could offer anyone is that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, people, myself more than anyone, latch on to a bit of knowledge ie. building a prefect Helmholtz Resonator for a certain narrow frequency band in you room, only to discover down the road that in the big scheme of room treatment that that particular item was largely irrelevant and a waste of time and money ... Knowledge is your friend, acoustic treatment is expensive and trial and error as you learn is not really the prudent way to go .... enjoy


----------



## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

There is always an economical way to DYI, if that "little knowledge" includes an understanding of the basics and some common sense. Most guys prefer to just monkey-see-monkey-do without a "little knowledge". 

And if significant money was spent, then it's gotta be good. 

Or if "I heard a difference" it's gotta be good. 

And here's the best one: "Looks cool!"

FIRST: determine what the friggin problems are.
SECOND: find the best solutions within the required budget and aesthetic. 

It's all here (for the hundreth time 😠😤😝): 



Account Suspended


----------



## Dave B4 (Jan 11, 2020)

What are you guys using to temporarily plug up the HVAC duct? Mine is in the ceiling. Seems to have a direct shot to the master bedroom, lol. But, I need to unplug it when not playing... so, suggestions?

thanks


----------

