Sound Absorption on the cheap

[polarmystery]

if you were local to me (rochester, ny) i have a ton of acoustical foam that's about to get trashed. rebuilding the anechoic chamber at work and the old stuff is still in decent shape.

Over in Tobyhanna army depot they have one of these for testing out long/short wave radar. It was SCARY quiet in that room.

 

[Jesusthewererabbit]

Wow, great read. And I'm not even considering building a sound room.

yep has another thread in that same forum called "Why do your recordings sound like ass?" that's pretty amazing as well.

Soundproofing a room that wasn't designed to be soundproof is next to impossible, and really really expensive. Do the best you can do with the budget you have, and don't plan on jamming late at night. The easiest thing would be a set of electronic drums and a jamhub if noise really is an issue.

 

[brblx]

Now we're talking. To soundproof something - you gotta add MASS. MLV sheets in between 2 layers of sheetrock, or a concrete wall covered and finished as if it were the normal wall are probably the only other options likely to make a difference.

this isn't car audio. you add mass to deaden the vibration in sheetmetal. closed cell foam or similar then goes on top.

unless he's opening a dance club, his big issue is noise bleeding through the walls, not vibration.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Ahhh

I'm talking about sound absorption. Not so much to make it quieter per se, but for acoustics. Music stuff is in a small room and I want to reduce the sound bouncing around on the walls.

 

[Jesusthewererabbit]

Owens-Corning 503 is pretty much the standard stuff used for acoustics. Other names are rockwool, fiber board, and others I'm forgetting, but it's the stuff used to insulate ductwork in buildings. It doesn't have to be 503, any stuff you find that's of a comparable density will work fine. The denser the better really, especially for bass frequencies.

Put on some music in the room at a volume comparable to what you play at, and walk around and listen to how the sound changes in different parts of the room. Stand in a corner, and more than likely you'll find that it sounds a little bass heavy, maybe even muddy. Low frequencies love to build up in corners. Bass traps are your friend. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, even an old couch standing on end can make a huge difference (if you have the room).

When it comes to acoustics, (almost) anything is better than nothing. The comforters will help, but for $100 you could do a lot better.

 

[Humpy]

this isn't car audio. you add mass to deaden the vibration in sheetmetal. closed cell foam or similar then goes on top.

unless he's opening a dance club, his big issue is noise bleeding through the walls, not vibration.

You may want to re-think that. "Noise" bleeding through walls is "vibration". The pressure wave hits the wall, it vibrates, and creates a new pressure wave on the other side. In general, a wall with more mass vibrates less.

 

[brblx]

You may want to re-think that. "Noise" bleeding through walls is "vibration". The pressure wave hits the wall, it vibrates, and creates a new pressure wave on the other side. In general, a wall with more mass vibrates less.

my point was that the vibration is not creating new noise. since the structure of a house is much sturdier than a car, absorbing the sound with lighter weight materials is a better solution, i would think.

 

[whattaguy]

Look for offices liquidating their cubicles. Often cubicles are made out of rigid fiberglass. You might get lucky.

Also, your local Home Depot sells moving blankets that are pretty heavy duty for about $20.

 

[Humpy]

Ahhh

I'm talking about sound absorption. Not so much to make it quieter per se, but for acoustics. Music stuff is in a small room and I want to reduce the sound bouncing around on the walls.

Another good source of information is the gearslutz studio building / acoustics sub-forum. You may not like the truth when you read it, but it is there, and it is free. What you do with it is up to you.

 

[nutxo]

egg crate

 

[Humpy]

my point was that the vibration is not creating new noise. since the structure of a house is much sturdier than a car, absorbing the sound with lighter weight materials is a better solution, i would think.

The post you quoted was referencing soundproofing a room, which is difficult, expensive, and often requires mass. Especially with something like drums that can reach 140 db.

It is easy to confuse that with sound absorption, often used to improve the acoustics inside of a room. It is not nearly as difficult or expensive to get good results. Rigid fiberglass panels are the go-to solution. Cardboard, blankets, and carpet don't really do much.

Not a big deal but they are two different things.

 

[EvilYoda]

So you're not trying to treat the room to make it sound better, you're just trying to absorb any and all frequencies of sound to prevent leakage to your neighbors? There are a lot of threads on audio forums, just search for "DIY sound absorbers/diffusers" - the basic ones revolve around framing rigid fiberglass panels wrapped in cloth.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Trying to make it sound better. Don't care if anybody hears it.

 

[Humpy]

Trying to make it sound better. Don't care if anybody hears it.

Just to add one more thing. I've gone down the path of hanging blankets and whatever free/cheap stuff I could find on the walls in the jam room.

The high and high mid frequencies were absorbed somewhat, causing the guitar player to turn up a little because now he couldn't hear his instrument as well, which in turn lead to everyone playing louder, defeating the purpose of hanging stuff on the walls.

You guys may have more self control with the volume knobs, but it illustrates the importance of well thought out, broad band absorption in small rooms.