Has anyone had any experience soundproofing a drum practice room?

[mikemo]

I am thinking of getting some DIY soundproofing materials from [URL="http://soundproofingforum.co.uk/"]http://soundproofingforum.co.uk/[/URL]

Has anyone any advice or recommendations about soundproofing?

[tenchijin2]

Just to be clear... you really want "sound proofing" and not a better sound in the room, right?

Real sound proofing is very expensive and requires special construction techniques to essentially build a room like a bubble inside another room.

[TrevCircleStudios]

Aric's got the nail on the head. Soundroofing requires a LOT of mass. It's possible to reduce spill with layers of plasterboard, mdf and limp mass membrane but it aint gonna be easy or cheap. To put it in some context a 1mm hole in your construction will reduce soundproofing by up to -30db!

Here's my attempt to soundproof a room:

Circle Studios

PS I think this post should be in the acoustics forum.

[modz1]

Originally Posted by TrevCircleStudios

edit:

PS I think this post should be in the acoustics forum.

Done Trev

[FrankGIK]

Originally Posted by mikemo

I am thinking of getting some DIY soundproofing materials from http://soundproofingforum.co.uk/

Has anyone any advice or recommendations about soundproofing?

Tons of mass. Take a look at these wall assemblies from the STC website. That will give you some idea of what you'll need to do in terms of real sound proofing.

Frank

[xSpace]

[QUOTE=mikemo;31939]I am thinking of getting some DIY soundproofing materials from [URL="http://soundproofingforum.co.uk/"]http://soundproofingforum.co.uk/[/URL]

Has anyone any advice or recommendations about soundproofing?[/QUOTE]

You have a series of things that must be checked in order to produce a well isolated drum room.

You should know at what sound levels you are playing first.
Then you should have an idea of what level of sound is going to be outside your drum room.

Once you have this information you will have a better idea of what you are trying to sound proof from an internal and external point of reference.

Most everything you read will reference "STC", sound transmission class. This is a good barometer to start but in the end the "TL" transmission loss of the wall system is going to be the defining factor for if your drum room can do what it is you require from it.

If your drum level is around 90dB, which is pretty loud, and you simply add several sheets of sheetrock(wall board, gypsum, et. al.) to an existing wall, this will not help you as much as you had hoped for.

Everything matters. If you have a 16cm concrete wall, this can have an STC of 55, which is a good start. So 90dB is what you are trying to isolate, you have reduced it by 50dB with the existing concrete wall. You still have 40dB that is getting away from you from the inside and 10dB that can enter from the outside(or higher depending on the exterior ambient sound levels).

It's a lot more then a wall or a bunch of materials.

You have to develop a plan.

[FrankGIK]

Right...*everything* matters, not just walls. Flanking paths, mechanical transmission...everything. Building a soundproof room is all about the details.

Frank

[ecc83]

"Building a soundproof room is all about the details."

Yeh verilly,
I remember reading in a book about acoustics many years ago that if you drill a 1/2" hole in a 20'x10' (can't remember the exact dim') single course wall, you might as well not have the wall!

Dave.

[TrevCircleStudios]

Originally Posted by ecc83

"Building a soundproof room is all about the details."

Yeh verilly,
I remember reading in a book about acoustics many years ago that if you drill a 1/2" hole in a 20'x10' (can't remember the exact dim') single course wall, you might as well not have the wall!

Dave.

Indeed. As I said above:

To put it in some context a 1mm hole in your construction will reduce soundproofing by up to -30db!

[ecc83]

OOPS!
Sorry Trev!
Must be true then!

Dave. (aka, old git with reading difficulties and on meds).