urgent home studio problem: must kill the BASS!!!

[catnap]

hi, i live in a large, open studio-style building. on one hand this is pretty cool, allowing me a huge amount of room to spread out my workspace. unfortunately, the building is old and made of wood, and conducts sound really well. complaints from the neighbors have gotten to the point now where i could get evicted.

the main problem is BASS. i mostly DJ and do computer-based music, and i monitor my setup with two double-10inch PA speakers @ about 200watts each. while they aren't the cleanest sounding, they are exellent for the bass-heavy DJ work i do (dance music & hiphop). when the neighbors complain, they don't complain about hearing my music - rather that i am shaking the walls and floors with bass vibrations.

i need to come up with some way to absorb this bass so that it doesn't drive the neighbors crazy. right now the speakers sit on top of heavy wood shelving units that are full of records. my budget is about $700 and some of my ideas are:

1. place the speakers on pedestals made of cinder blocks and sandbags.

2. build a second, raised floor and fill the space in between with sand.

3. build a few portable diffusers out of wood frames filled with fiberglass insulation.

so... can anyone give me some suggestions? this is something i plan on doing IMMEDIATELY, and i have to do it for $700 or less. here's a pic of my current studio setup:

peace,
sim*n

 

[catnap]

it seems that more than one other person has already warned me against the sand-filled floor idea, so i guess that's out of the question.

can you explain to me the principles behind "decoupling" the speakers, and what sound absorbent products might help with that?

FYI, i have already tried keeping the volume down and filtering out the bass using an EQ. the problem is my house just conducts too well, and while I can get an acceptable listening and monitoring levels without bothering anyone, rehearsing and practicing are out of the question. the level i need the sound at to "feel" the bass (standing 2-4 feet from the speakers) is NEVER okay with the neighbors. again, they don't report being bothered by the sound of my music, rather that they can feel the bass vibrations.

peace,
sim*n

 

[laptoppop]

can you explain to me the principles behind "decoupling" the speakers, and what sound absorbent products might help with that?

I hope it helps a lot -- it may just help a bit. At the volume levels you are talking about seems like everything in the blasted room will start shaking!

I'm a dad, so I have to say...
/Dad mode on/ Be VERY careful about your ears with exposure to loud levels for long periods of time. Look for info on tinnitus (ringing in the ears). You can't mix if you can't hear!! I've seen some very sad postings in other groups where folks have killed their hearing over a long time of rock and roll -- and this music sounds even louder. /Dad mode off/

One product made for isolating speakers are the MoPad from Auralex. You can get them at many places online or many music stores such as SamAsh or Guitar Center for about $30. for one set of speakers. They are special foam that allow the speaker to vibrate seperately than the surface that they are placed on.

-lee-

 

[knightfly]

Absolutely NONE of the above bandaids will keep your neighbors off your back, because if YOU can hear the level of bass you want, that means that it's everywhere in the room, (except for nulls) and ESPECIALLY in corners where two or three walls come together. The ONLY thing that will help is tight construction and BASS TRAPS.

Basic acoustics: Sound is basically a moving pressure wave. At any given point in a room, no matter what the frequency, a specific frequency is loudest (maximum PRESSURE) where the velocity is LOWEST. The velocity is lowest where the sound cannot move any farther, which means at a WALL, or a floor or ceiling. These points are where the sound has to stop and go back the other way (reflect)

What this means, is that the bass will be loudest at walls and in corners, which, unfortunately, is where your neighbors are -

So, what you need to do is to beef up your walls (using proper techniques, or it's useless) and install BASS TRAPS.

Go here -

http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html

and start by clicking on absorbers (left column choices), and then read everything you can click on.

The way bass traps work is that they actually CONVERT some of the bass energy into HEAT. Since you can't hear heat, you have less bass.

There's a ton more, but this should get you started... Steve