What type of soundproof setup would I need for this?

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What type of soundproof setup would I need to have band practice without bothering the neighbors?

I need to be able to play at loud volumes any time day or night.

Is it necessary to have a house, or can I accomplish this in a condo or townhouse?

If I need a stand alone house, how far must it be from the neighbors, assuming it's soundproofed properly?

What would the cost be of the soundproofing?
 
Well, if you are talking about a $100k budget, it should be no problem. True soundproofing requires floating a room inside another room with acoustic isolating materials, which is not cost economic. Putting sound barriers between you and your neighbors (like dense material between two tall fences) is cheaper, but not as effective. It'll knock down SOME of the noise, like a good fence between your house and the freeway. If you're talking about playing in a condo or townhouse, it's practically impossible.

Your question is a bit broad to give an exact estimate.

Other options include renting a space in a commercial area (band rehearsal space, or even a self storage with 24-7 access). Much cheaper.

Depending on where you live, even buying a piece of property in the woods and building your own practice space away from civilization could be cheaper than trying to soundproof a practice room...
 
Typical condo or townhouse - you can't even play an acoustic guitar and sing without the neighbors hearing.
 
A condo or townhouse is out of the question.

A detached single family house is doable, depending on your neighbors. If I'm your neighbor, I don't want to hear anything coming from your house. But other people here can blast drums and marshalls all day without anyone complaining.

With my "no noise" specification, if you can find a house with a basement, it's a great start, then add distance to your neighbors. If you have an unfinished basement, you can build it out to stop most of the noise. It can and probably will be expensive.

You might find some old threads here that discuss how people built their studios, but also check out the John Slayer studio forums.

John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum • Index page
 
BroKen_H said:
Other options include renting a space in a commercial area (band rehearsal space, or even a self storage with 24-7 access). Much cheaper.

Depending on where you live, even buying a piece of property in the woods and building your own practice space away from civilization could be cheaper than trying to soundproof a practice room...
Click to expand...

I've tried using rehearsal spaces before. The problem is there are other musicians next door and the sound bleeds over. I can't write music in that situation and I don't want other people hearing me practice because I get self conscious. Hence, building a home studio.

Self storage space idea is interesting. I wonder if they would allow that though, and what the acoustics would be like in one of those. Wonder if they'd even have an electrical system to handle that.

Building a property in the woods. Ha! That's thinking out of the box. I'll think about how that could work.

But really I think I would get a lot more done if my studio was at home, where it takes 15 seconds to walk to it instead of a 30 minute commute each way. Namean?
 
Trade offs come at you all around. Like I said, with enough budget (and a proper space) you can make this work. The cheapest solution will be to put up a soundproof fence between your practice space and your neighbors. Use a diffusive surface on your side and something pleasing to you neighbors' sides. Put some form of dense insulation between and cap it. If you build it yourself, each 10' of fence you need should cost somewhere in the $150-200 range, but $300-500 is probably more realistic.

But building a room in a room is problematic on a few fronts. You need a space big enough that the inner room will still be good. Double soundproof doors (those things run around $2k apiece), lots of green glue, time, timber and you'll still need all the dense insulation to absorb sounds, and sound absorbing sheet rock would be a great bonus. Google Soundproof Cow and Surfacingsolution for a start...
 
Basement with as much sound-absorption material as you can squeeze in is the easy solution - it won't be "sound proof" but will go a long way to keep the transmitted noise down. Keep the windows and doors closed when the music's going. Be considerate of the hours (no midnight practices). Do you really need to be at 120dB? Nope. Practice at reasonable volumes.
 
Something else to consider besides disturbing the neighbors ....

I live out in the country and my neighbors are far enough away that they likely can't hear my playing, but I am on a main road, probably set back about 80'. Harley's, large trucks, and some loud cars randomly going by in the middle of a recording usually can mean a retake and no guarantee the next take won't get interrupted. Some times of the day or evening are quieter, so I usually try to record at those times.
 
arcaxis said:
Something else to consider besides disturbing the neighbors ....

I live out in the country and my neighbors are far enough away that they likely can't hear my playing, but I am on a main road, probably set back about 80'. Harley's, large trucks, and some loud cars randomly going by in the middle of a recording usually can mean a retake and no guarantee the next take won't get interrupted. Some times of the day or evening are quieter, so I usually try to record at those times.
Click to expand...

80 feet? You're lucky! My house is 20 feet from a main roadway. The Harleys and ricers will cause me to do a retake, but I keep the low cut on my mic for recording, seems to take care of the truck rumble.
 
I'm at the end of a 3/4 mile road into a community. My driveway is literally an extension of the end of the cul-de-sac. If I'm unlucky, there may be 15 cars drive by outside in a day. Other than package delivery and 4 school buses before 7AM and between 4 an 4:30 PM during school, there's literally no one who drives by.
My nearest neighbor's son is learning to play drums. When he kicks in, I have to stop recording. But we're on good terms, so I won't dissuade him from practicing. :)
 
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