Newbie with some basic questions

[Frogcorder]

Just signed on to the board today. We bought a new (to us) house and I finally have a room to myself. I've been a musician (classic rock) for 40 years or so and would like to transform this room into a space to listen to music, play acoustical and amplified guitar without killing everyone within 100 yards and hopefully get into some basic recording. The room used to be a porch so the floor is a 6" slab, walls are cheap paneling right on the studs and the ceiling is plank-style paneling. The room is only 10' x 11'. I plan on putting shelves on one wall with a computer station in the middle. I also want to put in a floating floor. I'm thinking tongue and groove pine diagonally on the walls with fiberglass insulation behind it and a drop ceiling with acoustical tile. I then hope to buy some of the auralex 2' x 4' panels, cut them in half for 2' x 2' squares and place them around the room for some absorption. Sound like a plan??? Would appreciate any feedback as I have very limited knowledge on this subject.....basically just shootin' from the hip!

[cincy_kid]

From one noob to another, the best advice I can give you if you haven't read it yet is to check this article by Ethan out:

Read it here

Other than that, just browse some posts in here and I am sure you will get some good ideas, there are some very experienced people in this forum.

Good Luck!

[pandamonk]

Instead of Auralex, you'd be better off getting rigid fiberglass, and covering it with material. It'll be cheaper and more effective, especially at bass frequencies. The thicker it is, the lower frequencies it will absorb, and even more so with space behind it. Do a search for bass traps, in this forum.

[Frogcorder]

I've also seen discussions about rock wool. Is it used as acoustical insulation behind the wall material (drywall, paneling) or is it also covered and used in place of the fiberglass panels, Aurelex, etc. inside the room (Really, I know next to nothing about this subject)? Also, are there any books, literature on this subject for DIY's?

[bpape]

Just be realistic. The 3 uses you described (recording, listening, and soundproofing to the outside) are very different things that require different solutions. There are some things that are common to the 3 but there are also lots of differences.

If you really want isolation, the best thing to do is:
- put up a solid exterior door with seals in the room.
- plan on doubling up the drywall

[pandamonk]

Originally Posted by bpape

Just be realistic. The 3 uses you described (recording, listening, and soundproofing to the outside) are very different things that require different solutions. There are some things that are common to the 3 but there are also lots of differences.

If you really want isolation, the best thing to do is:
- put up a solid exterior door with seals in the room.
- plan on doubling up the drywall

Doulbing the dry wall will only improve the performance by 6dB. A staggered stud wall with the cavity filled with insulation, it will have an STC rating of 48. So If you are trying to isolate your room, be prepared to building a floating floor and a stud wall. Sae is a good source for info on the subject. To make the room good for recording, and mixing you should construct rigid fiberglass, or rockwool, bass traps. Do are search here on how to do that. I'd suggest reading as much as you can in this forum, reading Ethan Winer's site on acoustics, Sae, and once you know what you're looking for ask questions in here and search the net.

[bpape]

Panda,

I agree totally that a double stud wall and floating wall is superior to simply double drywall. I was just trying to provide some relatively easy, cost effective things to get a decent improvement without wholesale destruction/reconstruction. If the OP is willing to do something more major, then your suggestions are absolutely a better way to go.

[pandamonk]

That's cool. Even though I've seen you around here often i had a total lapse and thought you were suggesting it as "the best thing to do" , lol. I agree that seals round the door and doubling the drywall will make a noticable difference though. But with a little more effort and money a much larger difference is possible.

[Frogcorder]

I haven't even started and I've already done a 180 degree turnaround. The room originally described will continue to be my "man' room and I still want to upgrade the acoustics. I have over 1,000 square feet of unfinished basement and I think I'll go the route of building isolation boothes down there using a floating floor and staggered 2x4 walls. I'm looking at a main 10x12 area divided into two rooms, probably 8x10 for drums and 4x10 for keyboards (Leslie, etc, etc., then three spaces on the other side (have to contend with heating ductwork, etc.) for guitar amps and vocals. Two more questions, though: 1) is there kind of a stardard "no smaller than" space requirement for guitars amps.....could it be a lower ceiling to just have space for the amp or do you need room to get a good sound? and 2) are there any numbers out there to show the effect of compressing the standard home fiberglass insulation into a smaller space such as 6"/R19 compressed into 2x4 3 1/2/R11 space, etc. or is it just more effective to bite the bullet and go the OC703/rock wool route?