Creative acoustic treatment

[alex1fly]

Wondering what folks are using for inexpensive acoustic treatment. I priced out acoustic treatment for my basement music room and staircase to the upstairs (since noise travels extremely well from upstairs to downstairs through the staircase) and it's well over $2000. Ain't going to fly. All I need to do is absorb some reflections - not trying to soundproof or make a perfectly accurate room.

Do heavy blankets/curtains really work?
Any good options that don't require constructing frames?

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Heavy curtains and blankets won't soundproof. They will absorb very high frequencies only, and possible make the acoustics even worse. If you have an open staircase, then whatever you do won't really work for soundproofing.

You can however acoustically treat the room without paying too much using acoustic treatment materials. A bookshelf with books works great as a diffuser, and some couches make good bass traps.

 

[seamonkey]

Maybe close the door at the top of the staircase?

 

[And I]

sound absorption requires porous material with high mass / density. dense but porous materials are more expensive than light ones. this is one area where cutting costs may mean you spend less money to accomplish absolutely nothing.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Try building your own? This guy explains how. I used his instructions to make what's in the photos. I'm no woodworker and it was pretty straightforward. You can color coordinate the cover fabric to match your home studio's decor. Happy spouse and all that.... The foam corner bass traps were purchased online; I keep them in one corner when not in use since this room doubles as an office.

 

[silky smoove]

I priced out acoustic treatment for my basement music room and staircase to the upstairs (since noise travels extremely well from upstairs to downstairs through the staircase) and it's well over $2000.

This sentence is confusing. You say you want acoustic treatments, but then indicate an issue with sound transmission.

All I need to do is absorb some reflections

This sentence fragment adds to the confusion since reflections would indicate acoustic treatments, which is counterintuitive to your stated problem of sound transmission.

You will get more appropriate answers if you state clearly which problem(s) you're trying to solve. Is the issue sound leaving your basement music room and entering the rest of the house? Is the problem the sound of the basement music room itself? Is it both conditions, and if so are you trying to improve both or just one of them? If the latter, which one?

 

[alex1fly]

This sentence is confusing. You say you want acoustic treatments, but then indicate an issue with sound transmission.


This sentence fragment adds to the confusion since reflections would indicate acoustic treatments, which is counterintuitive to your stated problem of sound transmission.

You will get more appropriate answers if you state clearly which problem(s) you're trying to solve. Is the issue sound leaving your basement music room and entering the rest of the house? Is the problem the sound of the basement music room itself? Is it both conditions, and if so are you trying to improve both or just one of them? If the latter, which one?

All I need to do is absorb some reflections - not trying to soundproof or make a perfectly accurate room.

 

[alex1fly]

Heavy curtains and blankets won't soundproof. They will absorb very high frequencies only, and possible make the acoustics even worse. If you have an open staircase, then whatever you do won't really work for soundproofing.

You can however acoustically treat the room without paying too much using acoustic treatment materials. A bookshelf with books works great as a diffuser, and some couches make good bass traps.

Thanks. Would love to spend as little as possible (within reason). Of course then you run into the issue of...

sound absorption requires porous material with high mass / density. dense but porous materials are more expensive than light ones. this is one area where cutting costs may mean you spend less money to accomplish absolutely nothing.

Being penny wise and pound foolish!

Maybe close the door at the top of the staircase?

Yep lol definitely, want to also capture some vibrations before they make it up the staircase.

Try building your own? This guy explains how. I used his instructions to make what's in the photos. I'm no woodworker and it was pretty straightforward. You can color coordinate the cover fabric to match your home studio's decor. Happy spouse and all that.... The foam corner bass traps were purchased online; I keep them in one corner when not in use since this room doubles as an office.



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Looks great! May end up doing that. I'd love to find that perfect blend of not-DIY but not-expensive... not sure it exists though.

 

[tothemax]

This might be helpful, due to space considerations I have my bass amps stacked in the corner of my studio (Ampeg B210 and B115, both v2's). At first it really sounded crappy, so I took a large moving blanket and hooked it in on the wall in the corner like a cape around the stacked combos. The difference was instant and pretty amazing. Since it's hung loosely around the cabs the padded blanket seems to provide good reflection control and the dead air space helps a bit with noise control (Bass boom). These blankets go on sale all the time at Harbor Freight, I usually grab a couple when they are on sale as they are good in the studio and for padding gear for transport to gigs. The large ones are on sale now for $7.99, the smaller ones for $4.99 each. Not pretty but might help out.

Cheers

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[Egg250]

For acoustic treatment (in the corners, on the ceiling over the drums, on the ceiling over the amps):
Acoustic tiles
Foamboard insulation
Sound dampening blanket - available on amazon
Moving blankets or quilts

As has been said, the acoustic treatment is going to help with echos in your studio, it won't necessarily quiet your sound throughout the house or prevent other household sounds from getting into your studio.

 

[hbarcat]

There are two ways to control reflections

1) Absorption
2) Diffusion

Usually, your best results come from a combination of the two.

It's fairly easy to absorb sound in the upper and middle frequencies. It becomes very difficult to do so in the lower frequencies. A few bass traps in the corners of the room is usually the best way to absorb the most problem areas of low frequency sound. They're not cheap, and trying to save money with DIY products is rarely useful.

There are lots of options for middle and upper frequency absorbers, including DIY options. Some are cheaper than others. How well they work is all over the place.

Commercially made diffusers are very expensive. DIY versions can be made more cheaply although you need to know exactly what you're doing and there is a lot of time and effort involved.

A few shortcuts:

Thick carpeting (like shag) will absorb sound but only in the upper and mid frequencies. It won't do anything at all for lower frequencies. The floor is obviously a good place for it, but also try the walls.

Furniture can make good absorbers and diffusers. A big, stuffed EZ chair, or better yet - a sofa, will absorb a lot of sound, including some low frequency sound.

A full bookcase makes an excellent difussor. I've got two bookshelves in my home studio (about 5'x5' each) filled with books and they work great. They best place to locate them is on the wall opposite the sound source.

As a hobbyist musician with limited funds, my strategy has been to spend some money on a very basic commercial kit with a couple of bass traps, a half dozen absorbers and 2 - 4 diffusers (total cost maybe $500 - $1,000. Then supplement that with carpeting and furniture.

Some advise making do with improvised household materials like egg cartons and such. That's pretty much useless and a waste of your time.

 

[BeMoreFrench]

Cheap DIY soundproofing, sorry, echo and reverb cut instead ? go get cheap used towels in some thrift shops and put some multiple layers of them in, you'll be surprised how much efficient it can be ! less than 100 bucks with wood crafting ;-)

EDIT: Oh sorry, you don't want to build the frames neither... well simply ask someone to do that for ya or sew the layers of towels and attach them to the walls.