"soundproofing" a jamspace - help

[Johnboy_Ice]

From searching the site I found a few old topics kind of related to my question, but not really that clear... a lot of them turned into arguments about what soundproofing meant, or what the best ways were to do it..... So I will try to be very clear in asking my question.

Me and my drummer friend have been jamming together for a few years, nothing really serious, but recently we want to try to actually start being a little more serious when we jam and actually write songs etc etc. However, it's been really hard to find time to jam at his house, we works full time, and I'm going to university in the area starting in the fall. Also, his parents sometimes tell us we can't jam because of the noise and they are busy, etc. which is perfectly understandable.

So I was talking to him yesterday and he suggested that since one of the rooms is opening up in his house with one of his brothers moving out, we could potentially move his drums into another room, and asked if I would be willing to help him soundproof it. But we don't know what the hell we're doing. We were throwing ideas out like egg cartons, hanging curtains or carpets close to the wall, foam of sorts, etc etc. But obviously we don't know what to do.

So my question is: If we want to make less noise come out of the room we're jamming in, what would be the best method to do this? Also, I know I cant have the best of both worlds, but neither of us really have much money to spend on it.

Thanks.

 

[SerratedSkies]

Foam egg crates. Doesn't cost a lot of money, and you can staple them onto sheet rock. A mattress in front of the door always helps too.

Granted, that's a cost efficient way that I've tried before. There's obviously better methods.

 

[eaeolian]

...except for the fact that they do nothing about the sound escaping from the room. The only *real* way to do it - double walls and sealing the airspace in the room - is probably impractical and too expensive.

 

[SerratedSkies]

I set up a jam space/studio in my friends basement a few years ago. As far as I'm concerned, the egg crates worked pretty god damn well, as it completely solved our problem with jamming late at night.

 

[Crucified]

I set up a jam space/studio in my friends basement a few years ago. As far as I'm concerned, the egg crates worked pretty god damn well, as it completely solved our problem with jamming late at night.

You can be concerned as much as you want but it doesn't stop the laws of physics from operating as per normal.

ZING

c'mon. that was funny.... no?


shit.

 

[jymellis]

im pretty sure the egg crates will dampen some of the sound but wont "proof" it. alot of times the egg crates are used to quiet harmonics or "echoes" in a room and not to keep sound from escaping? i may be wrong. i have been out of the whole "band" scene for over a decade lol.

 

[Johnboy_Ice]

Well I realize that the best way to do this is to build another wall filled with insulation inside the room, but that is too expensive and impractical for our needs.

Would putting up curtain rods around the perimiter of the room and hanging thick curtains do anything maybe? could it act as a sort of second wall?

 

[jymellis]

Would putting up curtain rods around the perimiter of the room and hanging thick curtains do anything maybe? could it act as a sort of second wall?

prolly not brother.

 

[SerratedSkies]

It all depends on the original insulation of the actual house. You want egg crates to really do the job? Rip the walls down, and force that shit in there. Sheet rock doesn't cost all that much. Trust me, I've been to Home Depot like 100 fucking times this month due to the rebuilding of my uncle's house, and I wouldn't suggest an idea that doesn't "work."

 

[jymellis]

Sheet rock doesn't cost all that much. ."

but the mud,tape,nails,scrapers,sanders,primer. do. your way DOES work if you stuff stuff in the walls and rebuild. but hes talkin cheap and quick they do make sound insulating board but its expensive. its usuually used in industrial buildings, bout 100 bux a board. made by dow-corning
you could use it and you would not have to actually insert it into the walls (even though that is how its supposed to be installed) . but it will not be PROOF unless you fill the gaps.

 

[Rev2010]

Cheapo foam egg crates will not be a solution and if anything would create a serious fire hazard. Do NOT bother with that shit. Look at the various clubs that have had devastating fires putting up that shit.

Blankets won't help much either. Even Auralex, which is not meant for sound proofing. Auralex and all the other stuff will dampen high frequency reflection. You know when you go into an empty room and everything is echo'y and bright? Clap your hands and it's ear piecing. That's what Auralex rectifies.

For real sound proofing you would need to do some real work and spend a lot of money. Honestly, you two would be better off using an electronic drumkit with drum amp so you can control the volume. Auralex and some other companies offer rolls of sound proofing sheets but they too are very pricey and I'm not sure how much they'd help by themselves.


Rev.

 

[rectifryer]

EDIT^^^ I got sniped! lol

The cheapest way to sound proof your room is to buy an electric drum set. Samples are too good now-a-days for anyone to bitch about that.

That way, you can have an entire 20 piece band in there and no one would have an effin idea. Thats the way we do it, it is awesome. My neighbors are always confused as to why some angry guy is always singing but they cant hear it inside so no harm, no foul.

 

[SerratedSkies]

but the mud,tape,nails,scrapers,sanders,primer. do. your way DOES work if you stuff stuff in the walls and rebuild. but hes talkin cheap and quick

Cheap? Arguable. Quick? Hmmm. Are you or any of your immediate family members immigrants/did you find any whilest buying your sheet rock at Home Depot? I seent it. Like a 10 hour job done in 2 hours.

 

[Johnboy_Ice]

Well, he does have an electric drum kit... I guess that is a cheap alternative, but is there really no way to do anything about sound leaving the room for a few hundred bucks?

 

[jymellis]

Amazing Sound Stop Foam Sound and Heat Insulation Foam: eBay Motors (item 120427155899 end time Aug-21-10 11:56:50 PDT)

 

[cryogen]

...except for the fact that they do nothing about the sound escaping from the room. The only *real* way to do it - double walls and sealing the airspace in the room - is probably impractical and too expensive.

^ This. Egg crates will only stop a very minimal amount of sound from escaping the room, mostly high end frequencies, your bass frequencies will go right through them. If you really want to "soundproof" you need mass. Drywall, concrete, mass loaded vinyl, etc.. The basic principle is: "If the material doesn't weight much it's not going to stop much."

I'm actually starting construction on a studio/jam room in the basement of my new house and have decided to go with a double layer drywall technique using green glue. Green glue is a damping product you use between the two layers. You can also apply green glue plus an additional layer of drywall to an existing room with decent results. If that interests you at all you can find more info here: Green Glue Noiseproofing Compound Cases and Buckets

 

[jymellis]

check this out

Acoustiblok, Sound proofing Materials

 

[cryogen]

Well, he does have an electric drum kit... I guess that is a cheap alternative, but is there really no way to do anything about sound leaving the room for a few hundred bucks?

An additional drywall layer is cheap but may be pretty labor intensive depending on your knowledge of building techniques. Look through the site I posted above as it has some good into. here's a link to adding drywall layers. Improving Isolation In Walls

If you're goal is to actually stop sound you are going to be very disappointed with the results of foam, so I highly advise against going that route.

I've built/modified three different studios/jam spaces myself, working on my fourth. Done it the wrong way a few times but i'm learning from my mistakes..

 

[brodjentle]

cover the walls with mattresses find some cheap ones on craigslist or some shit and try to cover all the walls with them especially the door it should be a big help you might lose some space but the amount of sound you block is worth it

 

[eaeolian]

You can be concerned as much as you want but it doesn't stop the laws of physics from operating as per normal.

ZING

c'mon. that was funny.... no?


shit.

It's not only funny, it's true. I've lived it - the egg crates do nothing aside from, in some cases, helping control high end reflections.