drum acoustic divider

J

JohnBalich

New member
This is not a recording question per se, but deals with a rehearsal space in a three car garage. Our problem is drum volume. WE don't need total isolation so a complete enclosure is not sought. I was thinking of a four high by eight feet wide barrier. Construction proposed is two sheets of 3/4 plywood sandwiching a sheet of Homosote 440 soundblock. Applied to the out faces of the plywood would be owens corning rigid insulation over the entire surfaces. The outward surface of the rigid insulation covered in turn by auralex "wedgies." Is it overkill? Will provide significant attenuation to the drums? Weight is not an issue as plenty of manpower will on hand and the wall will be rarely moved. Answer, comments suggestions are welcome........I realize there will be tons of "leakage, we are just looking for some level of volume control.
 
I have 4 office space dividers (the modular ones like in the movie) that actually work quite well for stopping direct sound transmission. I use them more to stop square wall reflections by hanging from the ceiling at angles. They were free on Craigslist.

In an open space, you are not going to be able to contain the drums, but you can at least keep the cymbals out of your face. Sounds like you have a good idea by building the wall. Forget the Auralex. Waste of money for this situation in my opinion.
 

Attachments

  • Office Space Panels.jpg
    Office Space Panels.jpg
    6 MB · Views: 16
Though, if cant find the office panels and want visibility, these could be just about the same cost as you are looking to build.
 
jimmys69 said:
I have 4 office space dividers ...
Click to expand...

You too? :D

I have some panels I dragged home from work when they were tossing out some office setups.
They can be "beefed up" with some backing, and most of these types of panels seem to have basic fiberglass insulation, wrapped with some kind of woven cloth...so they can work well.

Necessity - the mother of invention. (Hey, great name for a band! :p )
 
4 feet high is not going to contain the cymbal noise - I know from experience. We practiced in a single-car garage. One of the guys built a plexi shield like the one Jimmy linked (much cheaper to do it yourself, if you can) PLUS we added some trapping directly above the drums to help with the cymbal splashback. Helped a lot. Office dividers are great, but you can no longer see the drummer (and he can't see you, obviously)
 
I have a plan to just build a couple half-walls. Pretty much just frame it out like you would a stud wall in a house, except cut all the studs in half first. The trick then becomes leaving one side soft and putting all the rigid mass on the other (just like building a studio wall). Install craft faced insulation and then install your plywood and/or Sheetrock on that same side. Put some kind of cloth over the other side.

My stumbling block has been the feet. How to make them actually free-standing but still sit on the floor and be able to put two beside each other with as little gap as possible?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top