Sound proofing

MrUserNameIV

MrUserNameIV

SenselessActsOfCreation
I'm relocating my studio into a garage that is very leaky with sound (from having my studio inside a really well soundproofed home). I have the usual sound treatment for the sound within the room, but have not yet had to worry about the sound getting to the outside world (or the outside world invading my mic when recording).

I was looking around the net at some different solutions, and I found some that were VERY expensive, but then I also saw some rolls of dense material like this: Peacemaker® 6.4mm Diy Sound Deadening Material - Audimute Soundproofing If I enclosed the studio with some standard insulation and something like that, am I on the right track? Is this the best bang for my buck? I can't tear the place apart (renting) but I can do a room within a room sort of thing (or at least enclose it from the sonically leaky garage door) as long as I can remove it when I eventually move out.

Thanks.
 
Oh and P.S. if that's the kind of thing I need, is it overkill to get the thickest one (6.4 mm) or would the 2 mm thickness suffice (halves the price)?
 
From their specs, it appears the 6.4mm stuff is for doing things like floor underlayment, or as an isolation barrier between stud wall and floor or ceiling joists. They give STC numbers for their 3.2mm and 2mm and not this stuff (which they say is not as dense).
I've never heard any of the experts who visit here weigh in on this loaded vinyl stuff and it's practicality.
 
I had a look at the site, and was not impressed by their descriptions. For example, what does this actually mean: "Peacemaker 6.4mm diy sound deadening material serves as a resilient channel for low frequency applications."? A "resilient channel"? Content-free language makes me nervous.

I would be getting second and third opinions on this stuff.

.
 
Yeah, that's kind of what I thought . . . seemed to be very sales pitchy (hence why I asked). I at least need something to stop sound from escaping from the garage door for the time being. Any suggestions? Would regular fiberglass insulation work, or should I be looking for something better than that?
 
The problem with stuff like sound-proofing material is if sound can find a way around it, it will. Your leaky garage will always be leaky unless you do a true room within a room.

But, there are alternatives that might work. Scheduling, DI, Amp Sims, ITB. And how much noise should you really be concerned about.

1) Scheduling - If you're going to be loud and it's a problem, do so when others aren't around. Or, try not to be so loud. Do you really need a loud guitar amp? or scream you vocals?

2) DI/Sims/ITB - Do what you can in the computer. Fake drums, amp sims, VSTi's, etc.

3) Is noise really a problem? - Do you really need to keep noise out? I used to have a window a/c unit mounted permanently in the wall of my studio. It was loud and this is Texas so it was always running. Sometimes I forgot to turn it off when I was recording and it would be in the background. But on a typical rock song, it couldn't be heard in the final mix. Half my songs have that stupid a/c unit blasting away on vocal and acoustic guitar tracks. You can't hear it.
 
Well, I don't usually record full bands off the floor, so it won't have to be as sound proofed as, say a band practice space (though I will have a drum kit set up). I may play the drums once in a while for sampling or personal enjoyment/practice, but my studio is geared more toward synths, vocals and DI stuff most of the time. As far as the mic picking up noise, I'm not so worried about it when I'm doing something that's loud, but sometimes I record music that's dynamic in nature, so I could really run into problems in the quiet parts.

The side and back walls (and ceiling) of the garage are enclosed and insulated like a normal house (so if I walk around to the sides I can't really hear anything outside), but the garage door does little to nothing to block sound, so if I'm standing in front of the house it's almost as loud outside as it is inside.

What I think I'm going to do is to build a temporary wall between the garage door and the studio (room within a room type of thing), but that's going to take some time, and I'm hoping for at least a temporary solution between now and then so I can move in there and start recording fairly quickly.

What I was thinking of doing is to line the inside of the garage door with some sort of sound proofing material (I was looking at the rolls of stuff I linked to in the first post, but I'm getting the impression that it might not be the best stuff to use). I had one person (a non-sound engineer) suggest stuffing it with fiberglass insulation, but I was reading from a google search that fiberglass insulation does little to nothing to attenuate sound (true?).
 
MrUserNameIV said:
but I was reading from a google search that fiberglass insulation does little to nothing to attenuate sound (true?).
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Well, true in the application you are talking about. What you're technically looking for is transmission loss; the higher, the better (google STC). It takes mass to stop sound. Drywall is the cheap and effective material. But you can't have any air gaps. A sound isolation system is as good as its weakest link.
 
Just build the temporary wall. You could do it in less than a day. 2x4 frames on 24" centers so you can stuff it with Roxul or OC703, sheet rock both sides of it. Use that 6.4mm stuff for the wall-floor, wall-wall, wall-ceiling joins.
 
If this is Lead loaded vinyl we are talking about it does work, I have used it on my studio doors (thin version) to decrease sound through the door, and it worked well. I have also used it at an industrial site where there was machinery on the other side of the wall that produced a droning noise in the office, it reduced the drone by a large margin.

By the way, this stuff also can be used to make bass traps link.

However if you are sound proofing a garage it may be way cheaper to build a frame wall within the garage and use a fibreglass and particle board construction, that way you can take it apart later and reuse the materials, I have done this twice over the last 25 years.

Alan.
 
And for better isolation, think 2 layers of 5/8" drywall per side. Or, if think a possibility of reusing materials later - I like witz idea of particle board. Density is the key. Just the fluffy pink stuff in between was recommended by J H Brandt for my isolation room barrier wall to my control room. Not a need for OC703 or rockwool for isolation. As far as I understand, in an isolation wall (hollow) you are just trying to stop the wall from resonating itself.
 
But wouldn't using rockwool remove some of the need for acoustically treating that wall in the studio room itself?
 
jimmys69 said:
No, because it's encased in drywall. That wall will still need acoustic treatment inside the studio.
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Makes sense to me - it's just I've seen quite a few guys here use rockwool IN their walls when they're constructing new studio rooms.
 
mjbphotos said:
Makes sense to me - it's just I've seen quite a few guys here use rockwool IN their walls when they're constructing new studio rooms.
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I suppose it depends on the situation, or the cost of rockwool in any given location. I would assume that the density of rockwool would be better in an isolation wall, though as I understood Mr. Brandt, it was not of much worth in my build.

This was an isolation room on the far end of my control room. With Mesa Dual Rect cranked at full volume, the bleed from the room is negligible. More a bit of low end comes through the ceiling joists as they are continuous through both rooms. Can barely hear vocals in there at all.

Man, it would be nice if there were a way to say 'this is exactly what you need for every space'. :)
 
This is timely...

I had been considering a "mass loaded vinyl" product to use in a type of windows shade setup in my studio I'm putting together; something I can hang down during recording and mixing sessions but that can be moved out of the way otherwise. I figured I could fabric-cover a piece of OC703 that fits snugly into the window opening, and then flop the MLV down in front of it so it is touching the interior stops (wood trim) all the way around and form a bit of a seal.

I wish I hadn't bought new windows days before deciding to build a home studio - I would have at least gotten the laminated glass option for this room!

Anyways, am I all wet with this idea? I am not too worried about low frequencies escaping the windows but things like loud guitar and vocals might be an issue for the neighbors. Then again I keep making sure that I am playing guitar VERY loudly whenever people are over looking at the house next door - the bank owns it now and not having neighbors 20' away has been nice the last six months since the foreclosure! :D
 
Another option could be external soundproofing. You don't have to soundproof the building if you soundproof the yard. It's usually cheaper to build an 8' double fence than to try to isolate your room. Something to google and consider.
 
So, I've got the studio partially put together in the garage. It's actually pretty decent on sound within the room. From what I've experienced so far, it's almost all low frequencies getting out of the studio (not-surprising), though it's not as bad as I thought. I'm going to head to Lowes to see if they have something I can stuff into the slats of the garage door to cut down on the low frequencies. I may be rethinking building a wall as I don't want to lose functional space if I can (it's just a 1 car garage, so just a bit bigger than a normal room).
 
Rick Finsta said:
This is timely...

I had been considering a "mass loaded vinyl" product to use in a type of windows shade setup in my studio I'm putting together; something I can hang down during recording and mixing sessions but that can be moved out of the way otherwise. I figured I could fabric-cover a piece of OC703 that fits snugly into the window opening, and then flop the MLV down in front of it so it is touching the interior stops (wood trim) all the way around and form a bit of a seal.

I wish I hadn't bought new windows days before deciding to build a home studio - I would have at least gotten the laminated glass option for this room!

Anyways, am I all wet with this idea? I am not too worried about low frequencies escaping the windows but things like loud guitar and vocals might be an issue for the neighbors. Then again I keep making sure that I am playing guitar VERY loudly whenever people are over looking at the house next door - the bank owns it now and not having neighbors 20' away has been nice the last six months since the foreclosure! :D
Click to expand...

I used to live out in the middle of nowhere farmland, where my nearest neighbors were crop fields and a house down the road. I miss that. I could make noise all night and day and nobody would even hear it. Neighbors are a pain. lol
 
I have seen them advertise rockwool between drywall for noise reduction in construction projects. Better than the pink stuff I would think. Still need the rockwool on the outside for sound control.
 
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