Super small apartment, broke girl, hears neighbors-STUDIO POSSIBLE????

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vocal_stacie

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Obviously, I'm a newbie here. Hi everyone! :)

I live in a super small second floor apartment alone. I'm also 5'3 and 102 lbs. So building a studio out of wood or doors is pretty much impossible because of the weight of the objects. I have all of the recording equipment needed. Mic, vocal shield, shock mount, pop filter, Live 9 program. The biggest problem is the walls are super thin. I hear my neighbors phone go off.....on vibrate. I also get woken up by him peeing in the morning ( sorry so graphic ) I mean literally, I have sneezed and they have said bless you through the wall.

I tend to sing pretty loud and find the car as my only outlet nowadays because of this. I was thinking of making a booth but need opinions. I was gonna build a 4ftx4ftx8ft booth out of pvc pipe, double cover the entire thing with corregated cardboard, except for a window. I was also thinking of covering the outside with maybe moving blankets(?) and maybe the inside with the cheap wal mart egg crate foam. Remember, I'm poor. lol

The entire purpose is not for quality, it is strictly for my own privacy and the neighbors. I want to mute me as much as possible. Any input would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks in advance!

Stacie :thumbs up:
 
I know what its like not to be able to practice what you love. Its a real blessing to have a place where you can make noise without bothering anyone or being bothered. I built an 8x8 room one time with a friend, we made walls out of plywood 4" thick, packed with carpets. It really didn't work, it was steaming hot inside after 15minutes, and the guy in the other apartment was still pissed off at the noise. So, I wouldn't spend too much time on it, or expect to much. Maybe someone else here has had proven success they can share, otherwise I would look into possibly seeing if someone will let you use a space somewhere that wont bother anyone, or look into moving if that's at all possible. Sorry I don't have better news.

There is one other solution, find out when the other tenants are not home and find a way that you can be home during that time to play. Like getting one day a week off during the day to play and work at night or a weekend. Work it out with the other tenants. Even one hour a day, you can make noise is enough to get stuff done. Good Luck!
 
Your booth won't keep anything in or out, sadly. Sound travels pretty transparently through cardboard - as if it's not there. Your walls are made out of plasterboard, probably, and even sound makes it through two layers of that, as you can hear!

Anything you make needs mass to work at reducing the energy of sound going through. Mass means solidity and weight. Lightweight means no good for sound. If your walls are this hopeless, then it's going to be tricky. If you have the space, there's no reason you can't build something - like an old fashioned telephone box. If you can saw, screw and glue, it's not beyond an average DIY'er. It will be very heavy, but you could make it collapsable. Theatres make sets with pin hinges. They are like a normal metal hinge, but the pin comes out. You could build something using these to keep the edges together. It would be hot and sweaty, but if you built it in say 1m (3ft) panels with a 1m square base and top, it could be usable in short sessions. MDF, with a layer outside and in of plasterboard will be heavy, but although not totally soundproof, it could prevent your singing being heard next door, and you inside hearing them shout. If you could hide the tall panels somewhere when not being used, maybe it would be worth a go?
 
Rob's suggestion is helpful, but probably too much for a petite girl like you to construct. Move or find a boyfriend with a better place! (sorry!)
Moving blankets will muffle the sound a little (forget the cardboard and walmart foam) if you construct a cage, but it will be hot and stuffy, and the neighbors will still hear you, just not as loud.
If its just for singing/playing, not recording (quality), just practice during normal waking hours and ignore the neighbors.
 
On the old 1960s Star Trek series, Scotty the Chief Engineer used to say, "Ya cannot beat the laws of physics!"

SoundPROOFing takes mass and lots of it. You cannot 'beat' sound waves with cardboard or blankets or foam.
There is a reason big studios spend millions to construct acoustically isolated studios and it's not to look cool.

You can produce a lot of music in the computer with headphones but you can't make a lot of noise in a paper-thin apartment. Period.
 
Perhaps a stupid idea - but could you put decent wall, ceiling and floor treatment into a cupboard (closet??) or even the toilet, if it's not in the bathroom. In the UK, we'd never dare say "probably too much for a petite girl like you to construct" - event though perhaps true. They get pretty fiery here on what they see as sexist statements. At school now, girls learn woodwork, and boys do cooking - radical stuff!
 
I have never told a good singer to shut up so, pick the farthest away place from your neighbors walls , hit record and go for it ! Im guessing you will have no problems as long as your good and not singing at midnight on a Tuesday!
 
rob aylestone said:
In the UK, we'd never dare say "probably too much for a petite girl like you to construct" - event though perhaps true. They get pretty fiery here on what they see as sexist statements. At school now, girls learn woodwork, and boys do cooking - radical stuff!
Click to expand...

The OP said it herself!
 
I built something similiar last week out of pvc pipes and a moving blanket (a gobo) for about 20 dollars. It does reduce the sound a little but my advice to you is to talk to your neighbors. The first thing I did when I bought my house was talk to the neighbors. You would be surprised how big of a difference this makes. Few weeks ago I was recording death metal and I saw a man walking his dog I asked "is the noise a problem I can turn it down/off?" He replied "I was actually enjoying it." Maybe I just got lucky but this always seems to work for me.
 
Here's what I think, and drieb thinks so too...

Just sing. Close-mic yourself so you can keep the gain lower to help avoid capturing noise from the neighbor. Then let it rip! If you listen back and notice some noise, try to get rid of it, or just record again.
I mean really...if you have to put up with listening to somebody have a piss in the morning, then they can put up with you singing every once in awhile.

Don't waste your time or money trying to make soundproofing. You won't accomplish anything other than spending your precious money.
 
pegger said:
Don't waste your time or money trying to make soundproofing. You won't accomplish anything other than spending your precious money.
Click to expand...

Yep. Save your money for more important things. Just sing and record in the biggest space you have.
 
at the risk of sounding defeatist - is it possible to ascertain your neighbor's general hours and work around their schedule? Alternatively, you could pay for them to go the movies. Sounds expensive, but possibly cheaper than a vocal booth or moving.
 
gecko zzed said:
Yep. Save your money for more important things. Just sing and record in the biggest space you have.
Click to expand...

I agree about saving your money and using it for something important. Soundproofing is a difficult and pricey task, the best you could hope for as far as cost efficiency would be some sort of acoustic treatment for your recordings and hoping that they'll yield some sort of sound reduction.

Anyway, the blankets yielded a good 8 - 12 dB of reduction, and I'm sure your vocal tones are at a higher frequency than a drumset so you may be more successful...
 
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