soundproofing

[guitar420]

ok i want to reduce the volume of my drums to my neighbors, with my drums in my second floor bedroom. I know complete soundproofing isnt really an option but im wondering how effective those foam eggshell panel things are in reducing volume. Anyone have any idea?

[chorter]

Although they'll cut the sound some, they're more for mellowing acoustics in a room. I've played in studios with 2ft thick walls, and the sound still comes out, especially low end.

[strat0tele]

give your neighbors ear plugs. problem solved

[guitar420]

hmm so i should also ask is there anything besides those foam pads that is at least somewhat practical for helping to keep volume levels lower outside my bedroom?

[HulkBlood01]

Originally posted by guitar420 ok i want to reduce the volume of my drums to my neighbors, with my drums in my second floor bedroom. I know complete soundproofing isnt really an option but im wondering how effective those foam eggshell panel things are in reducing volume. Anyone have any idea?

 

Before you go dropping money....there's a huge difference between sound treatment and sound control. Most foam is used to get rid of reflections around a room, just for 'touch up' work before recording.

 

But soundproofing......well...thats another beast!

 

The cheapest way I can think of is old carpet, or layers of dense crap on the walls. Some guys will recommend building a room within your room so to speak....but thats a lot of money and commitment. Essentially making walls a few inches in from the existing ones, so theres some dead space that acts as a buffer. Like I said, $$$ !

 

So yeah.....I would load up the walls with crap. Or buy them earplugs, I like that idea.

[SublimeOi]

yeah just duct tape scrap carpet on ur walls that sounds like a good idea

[ulank]

Originally posted by HulkBlood01 Before you go dropping money....there's a huge difference between sound treatment and sound control. Most foam is used to get rid of reflections around a room, just for 'touch up' work before recording. But soundproofing......well...thats another beast! The cheapest way I can think of is old carpet, or layers of dense crap on the walls. Some guys will recommend building a room within your room so to speak....but thats a lot of money and commitment. Essentially making walls a few inches in from the existing ones, so theres some dead space that acts as a buffer. Like I said, $$$ ! So yeah.....I would load up the walls with crap. Or buy them earplugs, I like that idea.

 

Indeed. No sense in spending money on pro stuff when you're just looking to kill the room as much as possible. At my guitarists house, we did the carpet thing. On one wall, we just nailed 2x4's to the the top, middle and bottom and tacked carpet to them so there was that couple inch "buffer" between the carpet and the wall (one piece of carpet cut to fit the size of the wall). Then on other walls, between the windows (boarded up), we hung more carpet, but with several "ripples" like a washboard, in essence. Having some air behind your sound proofing does help. If you have soft carpet on a hard, flat surface, it will deaden it somewhat, but will still allow for reflection. Having that air behind it allows the sound to travel through the sound proofing and get trapped.

 

Good luck.

[Old Steve]

Do the drums have to live in the 2nd floor bedroom? The point being that you've got 6 relatively thin, relatively un-massive walls surrounding you on a 2nd floor (floor, ceiling, 4 walls). You'd cut your sound a TON if you could move to the ground floor, or even the basement. For example, if you practiced in a basement, you'd have 5 surfaces surrounded by earth (walls and floor) so the only way sound could escape would be upward through the house.

[BarneyGumbel]

I'd argue the the carpet won't do much of anything, as far as keeping the sound contained in the room. There are numerous websites that address soundproofing in detail - just do a google search.

 

b

[rumblebelly]

Yeah, carpet won't do much at all...especially for folks below you. Might make a small difference if you put several layers on all the walls and the ceiling and floor but who would want to do that.

 

I managed to dampen the sound in a trailer house using soundboard but it took about 4 layers of the stuff to keep the neighbors complaining. Even then the low frequencies cut through like a knife....couldn't hear the cymbals at all though;)

[ulank]

 

Originally posted by rumblebelly Yeah, carpet won't do much at all...especially for folks below you. Might make a small difference if you put several layers on all the walls and the ceiling and floor but who would want to do that. I managed to dampen the sound in a trailer house using soundboard but it took about 4 layers of the stuff to keep the neighbors complaining. Even then the low frequencies cut through like a knife....couldn't hear the cymbals at all though;)

 

 

That is true, you'll still get some of the low-end rumble, and the highs will indeed be the first to go. You could always stuff a pillow or two in the kick. Not ideal, but a possibility.

 

In the end, if possible, the basement idea is the best solution IMO. I live in a regular hood, houses close together and constantly play at 2am with nary a problem. Nothing more than a finished basement sans windows...no extra treatment.