Soundproofing - how to?

[11 Gauge]

Need some input here -

I've always had a sort of cobbled together personal studio, but nothing significant or well thought out...

...That's about to change. I expect a significant amount of recording, and quite a few musicians at any given time.

This will occur in the basement of my house - I've got ample room for your typical sized band. The most racket will come from the drums.

Obviously, the sound level is going to increase. I have a drop ceiling to work with, and can do anything to the walls that I wish (the paneling is something I've been meaning to replace).

I'm not expecting silence, but I do want to be mindful of my neighbors, and anyone else who is present in the house.

Is there a way to get the space significantly quiet? Or does significantly quiet come with a hefty price tag? Or would I be better off renting a space somewhere?

[djinn1973]

I am just about to start sound proofing one of my rooks as well, this is as far as I have gotten....
Auralex

[woodman]

i'm no expert, but i did a lot of research when i was building my little studio. one fairly effective way, without going into engineering overdrive at huge expense, appears to be the "walls-within-walls" method -- build another stud wall inside the existing walls and chock it full of insulation. that way, you're buffering the sound but can still have some live surfaces in the room. you could stuff the drop ceiling with attic insulation too, to help keep the sound out of the house. bass traps in the corners will help too.

this won't soundproof it, but it'll help a lot. i'm sure others will have good suggestions, but this is something that wouldn't break the bank and could still help.

[winny pooh]

Plenty of info on recording sites about this
-Room within a room, insulated.
-Air cavities
-mineral wool

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by djinn1973

I am just about to start sound proofing one of my rooks as well, this is as far as I have gotten....
Auralex

With few exceptions Auralex do acoustic treatment, not sound proofing.

We need to differentiate between the two before spending the cash.

Acoustic treatment can be done for a few hundred dollars.
Rockwool basstraps work great- either traps from places like Realtraps or GIK Acoustics or self made.
Don't bother with foam- it doesn't work at a low enough frequency to do serious mixing work, you simply end up with a room that has a poor performing bottom end even if the mids and top are treated well.

Soundproofing is expensive, difficult and expensive.
Now I realise that I mentioned expensive more than once, but it is such an important fact that it is worth mentioning twice.
The only efficient and effecting way to do it is to physically de-couple the room.
If you have people below you, then forget it.

If you search my username you will find a long post about soundproofing.

[ne4tt]

Egg crates. Like HeeHaw's KORN studios.

Back to the subject at hand, used office cubical dividers may be an inexpensive baffling.

May help with isolation of amps and drums too.

jamie

[djinn1973]

btt