DIY Ideas for you drummers looking for portable isolation..

K

Kapo_Polenton

New member
ClearSonic MiniMega Isolation Booth - YouTube

This demo got me thinking.. I'm a drummer and I'm currently treating my basement recording space with acoustic tiles. If I am on the main floor, I can def hear someone playing my drums... this could cause problems for my or ny of our relationships down the line. Screaming nagging girlfriends or wives.. so given that a 10db decrease is perceived by the ears as 50% decrease in sound, I was thinking this demo gives me a great idea to put up a 8 plywood surround sheets attached by hinges two at a time, built on a base that is flush to ground, lined with roxul insulation, and with one plexi glass window in front for communication purposes. rails secured along the top and then similar "roof" strips that are insulated fit over top. Not perfect isolation but certainly effective in taking a dent out of the perceived volume and probably making it much more comfortable to track more than one instrument at a time.

What do you guys think? I'm assuming those grey pads they attach to the plexi glass are nothing more than stuffed with insulation.
 
plywood surround sheets attached by hinges two at a time
Click to expand...

The gaps between the ply sheets will put a serious dent in your "sound proofing". I am not even close to being an expert, but sound is basically vibrations, traveling through air. So the more space that the air has to pass, the less sound resistant. Sure, it will help some, but I don't think as much as you think it will.

Drew
 
I think you should buy and electronic drumset instead.
Click to expand...

I love it when people think they are being witty and mention the obvious.... if I wanted an electronic kit and I wanted my drums to sound well... like samples or a drum program, then yeah, i'd get an electric kit. Clearly I want to play real drums and record real drums. ;)

As for leakage.. if you look at the demo, it seems to me that not all sides of the plexi glass or shield are joined. There is a front and back section. Furthermore, the fact that there is a hinge there, must mean that there is some leakage there as well. That structure is put together in sections. If I can find a way to close my gaps, then I'm probably in business. I've got my bro looking into designing something. Those engineers can get crafty with CAD and structures, the first thing he thought could be improved upon was a door of some type.
 
I've seen people build their modular sound booth DIY style on one side, then these Clearsonic panels on the other side.

They used regular door hinges as their connection points. Had some steel rods bent in an L kinda like Allen wrenches. Just shove em in, hinges stayed together. So the back setup was some 2ft by 6ft panels with hinges facing outward.

If you get creative, I bet you could build the whole thing using this hinge-pin method, to build a whole box, with a glass panel in the front. But having felt or weatherstripping around the edging of every panel would certainly be helpful to seal it shut.
 
That's fair BUT would I really need to mention that I am not interested in an electronic kit if I was looking for a solution for real drums? A good kit costs 2K+.. I'd rather spend that on a real replacement kit. Then you factor in that I want to record... with real drums. Clearly electronic is not a solution. That's all I'm getting at.
 
Okay, that sounds reasonable, but you just talked about "drums," you didn't mention any specifics. It sounded like you are focused on maintaining domestic tranquility- a worthy goal.

Now we know. I'm sure there won't be any more suggestions for e-drums.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled thread. :D
 
I'll be blunt:

Soundproof means airtight.

There is no inexpensive way to tame a drumset. It will take careful construction of a structure with lots of mass, physically decoupled from the structure in which it sits. You'll also need to get air in, which has the side effect of letting sound out. You'll also need to have light and access for cabling - all a tall order for "portable isloation".

You can build all sorts of nifty baffles and deflectors, but they aren't going to do what you want them to do.

And all of that sidesteps the issue of how drums might sound when recorded in a little box.
 
I hear you.. the more I have thought about it, the more it is not practical. I think it would decrease volume slightly but really, that isn't an issue for me right now so until someone moves in, I'm all good!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top