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You sir are more intuitive than you think. This is absolutely not a joke: I was wearing a ministry of silly walks T-shirt when I went in to the DPD office. My wife bought it for me last year, and I put it on that morning without even considering the implications. How fitting!
I had a brown hoodie on over the top of it, so it wasn't readily apparent, but still... I think it counts as an act of rebellion on my part
It was this one:
Congrats on getting a project going. Hopefully you don't run into the permitting headaches that I have. @peterpalmieri hit on some key points already.
Two layers of 5/8" Type X drywall with Green Glue in between provides two out of the three main measures for sound isolation. Mass (doubled-up drywall), and dampening, which is the process of converting acoustic energy into thermal energy (Green Glue). What you haven't hit on is decoupling. The same company that makes Green Glue makes a product called Whisper Clips. You attach the Whisper Clips to the studs, resilient channel to the clips, and then hang the drywall off of the channel. You have to use specific screws so that you don't go too far and connect a sheet of drywall to a stud. You also have to keep a 1/4" of separation around all sides of each wall/ceiling which you then seal with a flexible sealant made by the same company. You're trying to create a freely vibrating wall that's not connected to the building studs in the conventional way. So now the sound hits this big freely vibrating mass that's decoupled from the structure which removes a lot of its energy, it has to go through a hunk of mass (first sheet of drywall), a substance that dampens the sound and converts a lot of it into heat (Green Glue), and the remaining energy has to pass through another layer of mass (second sheet of drywall). What's left then has to make it through an air gap (your insulated wall cavity), potentially a layer of plywood, building wrap, and siding. You can see how it all stacks up and how it creates an effective sound isolation perimeter.
The type of insulation you put in your attic (typically blown cellulose or pink fluffy batts) doesn't really do much for sound isolation. You need to do it for thermal purposes, but don't expect any gains in terms of isolation. Your ceiling should be constructed in the same way as your walls (drywall, green glue, drywall, resilient channel, clip, stud) if you want to see improvements.
You can build your own "super door" using methods outlined in Rod's book that I linked to previously. You can also buy pre-built sound isolating doors. I believe @peterpalmieri installed one for his project last year. They're incredibly heavy, have specific door seals, and heavy-duty hinges to carry the weight. They're also quite expensive, but well worth it. If you don't use one (either DIY or off-the-shelf) your wall/ceiling isolation isn't going to be very effective since everything works as a system.
No windows is a good move for sound isolation. A split HVAC system will be great for conditioning the space inside the studio, but realize it is a major weak link in terms of isolation. You'll need to use lots of frequently turning ducts that change size erratically, combined with pounds and pounds and pounds of acoustic sealant, and diffusing baffle boxes if you want your sound isolation perimeter to be effective. HVAC contractors won't know what you're talking about because all of this stuff will make the system less efficient and goes against all of their training which has basically nothing to do with sound.
Anything to bring? Yes... A large bank account
