Soundproofing advice needed.

[Meat]

Hey all, i have a situation that im sure some of you have come across in the past. My band has recently started practicing in the attic of our guitarist's garage. His parents (we are still young) have been very lenient and not said anything, but we practice late, and im sure it would be easier on them if we soundproofed. SO, i was wondering what you all might suggest as an effective, cheap soundproof-er.


Sorry in advance if i put this in the wrong section.

edit: yea... i did put in wrong section. sry

[Samsound]

There is no cheap way to soundproof a room. You have to build a room within the room that is decoupled from the outer room. This includes HVAC modifications to both allow air in and keep sound in/out of the room.

[onionpuzzle]

in the 70's, KISS used Restaurant-sized Egg Crates all over the walls. Dennys (and the like) has them. I've known people to use a layer of these with hanging carpeting (in the rafters too---if it's an attic)

Raise all speakers off the floor (plastic milk crates)

If you are ambitious, it really doesn't cost alot to build a drum riser out of wood.

[Stick_Player]

in the 70's, KISS used Restaurant-sized Egg Crates all over the walls. Dennys (and the like) has them. I've known people to use a layer of these with hanging carpeting (in the rafters too---if it's an attic)

A TOTAL waste of time and effort. And a serious fire hazard.

If you are in an attic it'll be nearly impossible to do much. The bass frequencies will travel throughout the house and to the neighbors.

See the suggestion about a room within a room.

Since there is no such thing as 'sound proof' (unless you are in outer space) the best you can do is sound control. And you most likely do not have the funds to undertake a successful project on the scale to fulfill your needs.

[Bassamatic]

An attic is going to be REALLY difficult, as the vibrations can easily spread throughout the house. By the time that you get done with all the proper soundproofing - like 2 layers of 5/8" drywall, heavy insulated floor, heavy door, etc. The weight might be too much.

the egg crates do nothing, by the way. They just look like acoustic foam, which only affects the high frequencies. It takes MASS to absorb the lows.

[onionpuzzle]

Originally Posted by onionpuzzle

in the 70's, KISS used Restaurant-sized Egg Crates all over the walls. Dennys (and the like) has them. I've known people to use a layer of these with hanging carpeting (in the rafters too---if it's an attic)

Raise all speakers off the floor (plastic milk crates)

If you are ambitious, it really doesn't cost alot to build a drum riser out of wood.

sorry, I should have been more clear....all that I heard is that egg crates have been used, not that I recommend them or have used them.

Best bet in all --- if you are in a major city, find a rehearsal pad. Monthly rental places are awesome, esp if you split it 4 ways.

[Rocks]

We used to get carpet remnants and we used a few layers of carpet on the floor, all the walls and ceiling. It didn't stop all of the sound but it did reduce it a decent amount.

["T"]

I'm assuming this is a detached garage?

Good thick carpet with padding over the entire floor will go a long way.

Keep the windows tightly closed while you are playing.

Keep all the speakers up on chairs closer to everyone's ears so no one needs to play as loud to hear themselves.

If you can get some good sized wool blankets, tack them up on the wall. Wool is more fire resistant than most other carpet or blanket materials.

If it's an unfinished attic without insulation, install insulation.

If the police ever show up, blame the drummer.

Have fun!

[Chris K]

I soundproofed my studio, which included:

• damping materials between beams and walls everywhere
• double layers of plaster board on walls and ceiling
• glass fiber blankets in all hollow spaces
• triple pane window
• two doors behind one another with a small space between them, rubber strips all around

etc. etc., there's still more to it, and any detail you forget about in the process will nullify the results. I was lucky, it worked.

Egg crates or the like will only damp the sound inside the practice room and do nothing at all for the neighbours.

Possible solutions:

1. Play much less loud; good for results, but maybe less fun; the drums will allways be trouble, whatever you do.
2. Buy a jam hub http://www.jamhub.com/

and an electronic drum set - ask parents/neighbours for a donation.; decorate the attic nicely and rent it out to other bands to earn back the money!

Jam hubs are worth every cent! They allow you to make yourself heard in your own personal mix.

[Meat]

i have left out that we are in the middle of nowhere tennessee, so neighbors arent a problem. and it doesnt need to exactly soundpoof, just sound resistant.

[onionpuzzle]

like I said, in an attic....lift stuff off the floor.

drum riser for drums
milk crates for speakers

[tearalong]

Earplugs for the parents?

[change-jug]

We did the the whole carpet hanging thing back when I was young and went from practicing in a basement to another members attic. Carpet hanging did nothing.

[Pacman]

The general instruction forum is about Music, not soundproofing.

Moved to Miscellaneous.

[Downunderwonder]

Use mufflers on the drums and get him to play with little sticks. Then everyone can play with less volume.