Drum studio?

[Steverycher156]

I am currently set up in the garage. I am not looking to soundprrof as I do not have the funds to do so at this time. What I would like to do is absorb enough of the sound so that it is not tremendously loud outside the garage. I have neighbors on both sides and across the street. I have accoustical panels that I was thinking about setting up around the kit. Any other recomendations for sound absorbtion? I'm not worried about people hearing it, just not so that it is a nuiscance.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

What I would like to do is absorb enough of the sound so that it is not tremendously loud outside the garage.

You would be wasting your time even for partial transmission loss. Impact noise is not absorbed by resistance absorbers. Maybe some frequencys more or less, but only mass and decoupling will stop it, and even if you only want partial transmission loss, it still takes mass. Play your drums in a bedroom that is sheithed in sheetrock and listen in the next room. You will see what I mean. If a two leaf wall with one layer of drywall won't stop it, then a resistance absorber certainly won't as it has air between the fibers that allow sound waves to enter and unless there is a boundary behind it to reflect, its coeffecient will drop dramatically for mids and highs, and low frequency and impact noise go right through it.
fitZ

 

[GABritton]

Use 705 Rigid fiberglass covered in fabric as a portable sound wall. It won't be perfect by any means, but it'll do a good job of getting most of what you're looking for. Being in a garage, it's always going to be loud.......

 

[knightfly]

Steve, (nice name, BTW :=) I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no acoustic treatment (absorption, diffusion, etc) done INSIDE a room will make any useful difference in the amount of sound that ESCAPES the room; the ONLY thing that works more than a TINY bit is Mass-Air-Mass construction, which as you're already aware is NOT cheap - it's also not often easy to design, especially AFTER the basic construction has been done (as in existing buildings)

Are you trying to build just a practice room for your drums, or a room for an entire band to practice in, a small studio to record/mix in, or what?

Also, is your garage a wood-framed, un-insulated room, or concrete block, or what?

I'm not offering any "magic bullets" here, just trying to see if there's anything you might be able to do that would actually HELP... Steve

 

[Steverycher156]

Knightfly,

I'd like it to be a room where my entire band is able to practice. The garage is wood frame, detached from the house, sheetrocked, but not insulated walls, cement floor. Thanks for your help.

 

[Steverycher156]

Use 705 Rigid fiberglass covered in fabric as a portable sound wall. It won't be perfect by any means, but it'll do a good job of getting most of what you're looking for. Being in a garage, it's always going to be loud.......

Thanks. I might try that. What is the cost appx?

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Use 705 Rigid fiberglass covered in fabric as a portable sound wall.

I'm sorry, like Steve and I said, 705(resistance absorber) will do NOTHING for sound transmission loss. It will however, absorb some mid and high hz frequency, and IF it has a boundary, such as a wall or panel behind it, works for that purpose very well. If used as gobos, low frequency and impact(drums) simply flank over and around them though. Your alternatives for transmission loss through the garage walls and roof are few. The garage door acts as a drumhead itself, which is where most of the sound transmission occurs.
If you have NO budget for building isolation construction, I have two suggestions. Move, or turn it down. If you have a LITTLE budget, I would build a wall in front of the garage door and build a booth for the drums out of MDF and run the bass through the board and monitor in headphones. Build isolation boxes for guitar amps and mic them for monitoring in headphones. If you have a larger budget, and don't want a booth, then mass and decoupling is the way to go. Multiple layers of drywall on Resiliant Channel on both walls and ceiling(with a wall in front of the garage door) and insulation are about the only way to do it for a whole band practice room playing live. All leaks around doors, windows, etc MUST be caulked, sealed etc. But since you said you have NO budget, I don't know what to tell you, as isolation is NOT cheap.
And sound TREATMENT devices such as foam or rigid fiberglass will NOT solve your problem.
fitZ