got a band room, where to start..

[ondaone]

Hey guys,

Wife and I bought a house and low and behold I get a finished 10 x 12 room in the basement,(rest of the house is hers )

It is in a sub division and I really don't want the cops over every practice but I am looking at using it to practice /record.

where do I start....I am looking to do it right , decent sound proofing , I have a pa and am picking up a drum kit .

The room is drywalled and carpeted , I am looking at some of the room kits for a few suppliers bass traps and sound boards that kinda stuff , any must have and not neededs ?

anybody set up a room , any and all advice is needed


thanks guys , I am probly going to do a progression thread once I get started.

cya
jim

 

[bolophonic]

My garage is covered in layers of carpet remnants inside. It cuts the sound down outside a little bit, but I guess my neighbors must like heavy metal because the cops have never been called. I will watch this thread with interest.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

The only way to get real isolation is to build a room within the room, preferably with no parallel surfaces.
absorption materials are key but usually do little for low frequencies.
You can build corner traps for bass problems

 

[KingRazor]

I'm interested in this subject as well.

 

[DarkShadesBill]

We're doing the same thing in our basement - so I'm interested as well.
Sounds like you've given it much more thought than I already.

 

[80'sRocker]

My band once built a room about 15 x 15. The walls were 2x12 studs loaded w/ thickest insulation we could find PLUS 2" styrofoam, then plywood then carpeting head to toe. Even the door was 1 foot thick. Although you could hear some "rumble" outside, we never had a complaint (and we were in a neighborhood). Never enough insulation (insu, styro, carpet etc.)!!

 

[martyman5000]

I've seen a few jam rooms built...mine is in a basement and I filled the walls and ceiling with sound proofing insulation. Jam room I've seen built above ground I've seen Walls inside of walls with mattresses or on sites where they use double drywall with green glue....

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Exploiter8]

I have a 12x12 room over here. I have two tall cabinets and a desk squeezed in, too. I still have the drums I started on back in the 70's. I did MAJOR muting to them along with "Moon Gels" to take some of the sting out of the cymbals. I have two floor monitors mounted at the wall/ceiling behind us, in addition to the 10" PA speakers pictured. These are strictly for vocals, of course. Our drummer has good self-control, which allows us to play at a comfortable volume level. I play 4 and 8-string (4+octaves), no low B. I go for more of a clean/defined sound...no mud and little boominess to rattle the walls. I've never had a complaint, but we've never played past 10:30. My wife says she can hear the TV over us, so all is right with the world!

 

[KingRazor]

I plan on having some nice thick pads on the drums, so the drummer doesn't have to worry about hitting them more softly than usual. This way we won't have to turn everything else up so loud to be heard.

 

[dose]

sub'd

 

[BluesWalker]

I have played in basement practice rooms for years without a need for sound insulation. The last one was in my Michigan house where we had neighbors close on three sides and neighbors across the street. We never had a problem, you could barely hear anything outside the house. I would test it out before you spend $$s on sound installation. Luckily my wife and sons also did not mind the music that would play through the house

 

[Hellbastard]

^+1. Find out the dB levels allowed in your area, then get a dB meter and measure how loud can one hear outside the basement.

Building a room within a room is the most effective way to achieve sound isulation, but it is no the only one. Unfotunately most isolation methods cost a lot of money and are usually not something one should attempt without the guidance of an expert in acoustics and an architect.

There are many solutions that could help you reduce the dB levels of a room, like Audimute absorption sheets.

 

[FretlessMainly]

My wife gave me the third bedroom to use as a music room (ahh, the love of a gracious woman). I went the sound insulation route. I bought the one-inch ridged foam sheets and corner edging for all four corners and wall/ceiling intersections.

The one-inch stuff isn't ideal for sound-proofing (the three-inch is allegedly much better), but I was concerned about the weight of the material and the effectiveness of the spray adhesive. Good thing; I've had some drooping issues (keep the viagra jokes to a minimum, folks) even with the one-inch. I've been able to make it work, but I had to use some small tacks to reinforce the adhesive in several places. Since I plan to die in this house, screw it, that'll be someone else's problem.

The spray adhesive is pretty heady stuff; I'd recommend opening all windows and closing the room up otherwise. Use a respirator if you've got one. If you go this route, buy more adhesive than you think you'll need and take your time to make sure you cover the walls and foam properly. Obviously, the ceiling is the biggest problem with contact adhesive.

Overall, the room sounds great inside; really punchy. As for sound insulation, I can still hear a fair bit outside the room, so one-inch is great for creating a nice room for listening, but use thicker foam if you really want to damp out the sound. The eggcrate design may work better than the triangular ridged material I used. This meets my needs, as we have a real rehearal space elsewhere, but if you're going to make the effort, make sure you get what will do what you need. And don't breathe those vapors from the adhesive!