Making a studio for cheap - require soundproofing

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devilz_soul1979

New member
Good afternoon all

I'm a newbie who is trying to create a studio for playing classical music (violin, viola, piano) and also teaching classical music.

I have leased a space that has dry walls and carpet flooring (your average northern california house space basically) and is almost 200 ft.².

My first priority at this stage is to understand how to soundproof the studio in a way that there is no one outside the studio can hear the music and also that the sound of instrument inside the studio is as close to the level of recording studios or larger Symphony Hall. The reason I am trying to create that level of soundproofing is that I would like to audition for professional position in classical music and having a good soundproofing will not only help the neighbors but also my playing by creating just the right note for practice by not reverbing/echoing

The studio is in Northern California and needless to say that I have a limited budget for soundproofing. I looked into the acoustic foam but wasn't sure how to use it so what I am hoping to get help from the community is as follows:

- good Reading material on soundproofing basic and how to go about
- suggestion on the materials that I can use on the drywall to make it a soundproof space
- where to buy this material for cheap/good price
- any other resource link that you think I should be reading to create a very good space

i will be extremely thankful for your help

Regards
 
Well...you can start by getting a bulldozer, knocking down the house...and then building a soundproof studio.
You will need a lot of cement/mass to soundproof so that no sound comes in or goes out.

There is no such thing as cheap soundproofing.

Also, to avoid echo and poor sound in the room ...you then need to apply good acoustic treatment, which is separate from the soundproofing process.

Find a place where the outside noise is not an issue and where you have no neighbors to complain...then at least yuo can just focus on the acoustic treatment.
 
miroslav said:
Well...you can start by getting a bulldozer, knocking down the house...and then building a soundproof studio.
You will need a lot of cement/mass to soundproof so that no sound comes in or goes out.

There is no such thing as cheap soundproofing.

Also, to avoid echo and poor sound in the room ...you then need to apply good acoustic treatment, which is separate from the soundproofing process.

Find a place where the outside noise is not an issue and where you have no neighbors to complain...then at least you can just focus on the acoustic treatment.
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thanks miroslav

any good resource/links for acoustic treatment ? all i know about that topic is the acoustic foam :/ I m sorry for having no knowledge on the matter - so any thing will help

outdoor noise is not that big of a problem, I am more focused on containing the music sound to go out and making the music sound as nice inside as possible. I would totally buy a decent place but everyone ask lot of money for it :P.
 
devilz_soul1979 said:
any good resource/links for acoustic treatment ?
Click to expand...

Yes...this forum. Look at the Sticky threads at the top...TONS of info.


devilz_soul1979 said:
outdoor noise is not that big of a problem, I am more focused on containing the music sound to go out...
Click to expand...

Same difference...sound coming in or sound going out will require the same kind of soundproofing, and it's not cheap.
I think you have to ask yourself how much containment is good enough...?
If you want 100% soundproofing = $$$
But look...if someone going by the room can hear a little bit of music, how bad is that?
You could double/triple up on the sheetrock to create more mass/density, and seal all the joints as you go...but it will still not be 100% but maybe enough for classical strings, as opposed to a Rock band playing.

devilz_soul1979 said:
...and making the music sound as nice inside as possible.
Click to expand...

That's more about acoustic treatment.

Again...read through the Sticky threads...there's info on how/what/where and how much $$$.
 
Miro gives good advice; you can't soundproof adequately on a "cheap" budget. Acoustic treatment is a different story and you can get decent results for not a lot of money if you're a DIYer. But acoustinc treamtent won't prevent sound from going out or coming in the room. It will only make the room respond better.

Browse through this forum for lots of discussions. Also check out John Sayer's site.
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php
 
Chili said:
Miro gives good advice; you can't soundproof adequately on a "cheap" budget.
Click to expand...

This is true, but you can improve things,

Stage 1) Good window and door seals, fill any gaps in the building construction, etc.

Stage 2) Maybe make up some window plugs to cover the windows when you need to be sound proof, change out the doors to solid core construction, Insulation above the ceiling.

All these things help reduce the sound transfer, they won't sound proof on their own but can help.

This does not compute: "Making a studio for cheap - require soundproofing"

Alan.
 
Most folk sound proof to keep outside noise from getting into the room...that being said...you can build a room...inside a room that can achieve this without tearing down an entire house and rebuilding from scratch...
BTW...room treatments kill echo and solve room issues...may help a little in the area of less music escaping the room...other than that wont help with the sound proofing...
 
The best analogy I ever heard was to think of air like water, and imagine what it would take to put water in your room and have none get out. That's what you're looking at with soundproofing, and it's like 250k and up last i checked. So unless you're bringing in money and doing this as a career don't do it. You can diminish/adsorb the sound for a few hundred probably.
 
I have had great success on soundproofing for cheap. It's not total sound proofing but DRASTICALLY reduces sound coming in and escaping.
It's those vinyl strips....That hang in front of commercial cooler doors in restraunts and grocery store cooler.and freezer doors. They changed them out in our stores and our maintenance man saved the old ones for me. I mounted them so they hang about an inch from the interior wall. Well, just far enough away so they don't touch the wall. It's amazing how much sound leakage they cut out.

I got the idea to use them because I have them in my meat market entrance door (for keeping the cold air in). You can damn near scream at someone in there and they can hear you. you can hear the walls vibrating from the meat saws running in there but can barely hear them at they door.

So, for me it is soundproofing for cheap...because I got them for free. I dunno how much it would cost to buy the stuff new. It comes in a big roll and you cut the lengths you need for each strip (the strips are 3 or 4 inches wide. I don't have any acoustical foam treatments in the room...but I don't see why you could use the vinyl strips and acoustical treatments both.
 
The rug on the floor is likely doing more for reflections than the overpriced Auralex you wasted money on for the walls. Just my experience and opinion though....
 
jimmys69 said:
The rug on the floor is likely doing more for reflections than the overpriced Auralex you wasted money on for the walls. Just my experience and opinion though....
Click to expand...


Oh yeah, but the Auralex looks SO professional to those who don't know better!
 
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