recording area

[ExoGroup]

do you all have any suggestions on how to soundproof a room, im only 15 but i have like 5000 bucks alone and a couple other big contributers to start a recording stuido/company in my basement and i need some advice on how to make a soundproof room for the drums and a soundproof room to mix and master the stuff in so that when im recording the music the sound doesn't come through, im going to be using a computer to record all of the shit but i need some advice on soundproofing, hah i dont know if i could have said "soundproof" anymore than i did, yeah, any advice is a lot of help, thanks

John

 

[jake-owa]

You won't be able to soundproof for that kind of money. You can however cut down on alot of the leakage. First off what kind of room are we talking about? What are the dimensions? You said basement, is it above or below ground? what is the celing/floor substrate? How many doors and windows are in the room?
A floor plan (blueprints) would help.

A better place to include all these details woul be the studio building forum here.

Is that $5000 just for soundproofing or for all the gear?

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Jake's right -- $5000 won't get you anywhere in soundproofing the room (ie, stopping noise from getting to the rest of the house), but you would be able to acoustically treat the area you want to work in so that it is a sonically-usable space. Note that this will not do anything to prevent sound from getting to the rest of the house.

Actual soundproofing would involve "room within a room" construction techniques -- costing far more than $5000!

 

[Track Rat]

Well, if you can do the carpentry yourself you could do a decent job of it for less than $5000 (I did it for much less) but as stated, it won't be sound proof, just sound resistant. You need to build a room within the room that doesn't share structure with the rest of the existing room. The idea is that sound exciting the inside wall (or sound from the outside trying to get in) can not mechanicly excite the outside wall, thereby significantly slowing down sound transmission. Things like double layers of dry wall, calking all seams, double doors, etc. If you want it to be sound proof, it's real easy to get very expensive. Now to the sound proof/resistant equasion you have to ad that you need the space you've created to be acousticly pleasing sound to it. My sugestion to you is to do a lot of reading on the subject. John Sayers has a ton of great info on this subject on hais web site. Go here and do some research.
http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html

 

[Disco_Dave]

I hate to sound patronising but please think very carefully before you spend all that money on a project like this.

When I was 15 I still wanted to be a professional soccer player. I would save that money and go to college. Buy some home rec equipment by all means, learn the basic techniques, tracking, mixing, mastering and all the things that go with it. This has been said to other people like you on this board. Ambition is brilliant and should be nurtured. Just don't rush in and spend all that money only to change your mind in a year when you realise that you won't be able to sustain it.

 

[jake-owa]

Oh, and if this is a rental structure forget it. Don't flush that cash.

Go buy a nice mic and preamp!

 

[PsyCoNo]

ExoGroup - I am a prime example of what will happen to you if you spend all your time (and money) on recording. The reason I say this however, is because I am only 18. The only difference is I know 100% this is what I want to do, and I agree with what Disco_Dave said, make sure this is what you want to do. If I could go back in high school now, I would be spending ALOT more time in sports, etc. . . I also agree with Jake-Owa, buy a nice mic and pre-amp. Thats alot of cash for a kid your age, be careful.

 

[shackrock]

man oh man...5000 dollars!? where did you get that?!! haha.

I also started recording when i was 15 (with about 25 bucks...haha)...and recorded with a radio shack computer mic.

now i've moved onto new computer, delta44, nicer mics (still budget), and crappy beyhringer mixer..etc. tec. - at age 17.

anyway - 5000 dollars is awesome as hellllllllllllllllllllllllllll...and i wouldnt be worried about soudnproofing. get good acoustic sound...and some decent gear - that should be your main focus.

 

[PsyCoNo]

unless he has another budget for that. . .lol

 

[Soundbug]

Sound blankets

You can always try sound blankets, they are not too pricey. I go mine from moverssupplies.com called the Producer's Choice which is the thickest blanket available - they claim they developed it with pros in the sound industry. They are black and white not like other blankets, and dont cost much. Ask them to add holes so you can hang them. They have worked well for me so far as I rent space in a basement, and have a serious landlord issue.