Sound proofing

[TMe]

Are you saying concrete transfers sound?

Think of a concrete slab as a big bass resonator. The better the quality of the slab, the better it resonates. You'd think it would block sound, because of its mass, but not so much, because of its rigidity.

 

[SmoothOperator]

I recommend trying to figure out if your neighbors actually hear your drumming. I used to be much more concerned, but one day I realized they couldn't hear me yelling across the yard.

That being said, if you want to play at arena rock volumes...

 

[lefty2]

Think of a concrete slab as a big bass resonator. The better the quality of the slab, the better it resonates. You'd think it would block sound, because of its mass, but not so much, because of its rigidity.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Because it's so thick and heavy, it probably doesn't vibrate. Therefore, I assumed it's blocking the sound. Thank you

 

[yammyfan]

I had a great deal of success treating a room using an extra layer of drywall with "Green Glue" sandwiched between the layers. Windows and doors will need a separate treatment but as far as sound dampening goes, Green Glue and drywall works remarkably well.

 

[Supergrobi]

While building the Klangwerk am Elm one day I had to remove some screws from the ceiling. I was standing in one of the fully soundproof room-in-room constructions - except that we hadn't done anything to the (concrete) floor to date. In the next but one room(-in-room) my colleague was doing some other stuff. While loosening the screws above my head, they just fell to the floor, one after the other. My buddy in the other room immediately got startled, because there was stuff made from metal, falling constantly onto the floor directly behind him. It was the moment we decided to do this:

So yes, concrete is the perfect material to carry sound of whatever frequency to places one wouldn't expect.

 

[Jeremy Bender]

Markus, just watched the video of the studio build. Beautiful work! How shocking it must've been to walk in and see that water damage.

In hindsight if you had the chance to do it all over again would the roof have been addressed first? Not being a construction guy, I'm curious.

 

[Supergrobi]

Markus, just watched the video of the studio build. Beautiful work!

Thank you very much

How shocking it must've been to walk in and see that water damage.

For a split second, yes. But my first studio burned down the night before we wanted to roll out the carpet, including all my gear at that time. And a few years later a few hundred liters of water came down together with 2m² of the ceiling - directly above my drum set. So I'm quite used to this kind of f-up. The feeling was more like "Dammit. Aaaand here we are again." - while already calculating the additional costs and time in my mind.

In hindsight if you had the chance to do it all over again would the roof have been addressed first? Not being a construction guy, I'm curious.

We weren't aware of the problem. If we would have known it beforehand, I certainly wouldn't have invested 6 digits and three years of my life. Fortunately this year the roof is getting repaired, so this kind of problem will not happen again. But who knows - our cleaning lady already managed to leave an incense stick in one of the bigger plants right before leaving, which started a bog fire inside the (plastic) pot, which rendered the place into a smokehouse but fortunately was detected by one of our tenants before the whole thing burned down.

Sh*t happens. That's what life is all about basically.

 

[Spreggy]

I looked around and didn't see what I was looking for, I probably missed it. If I did let me know. I basically want to sound proof a room a little bit. It's an upstairs bed room. I don't want to go all put, but what it a little quiter for the neighbors.

Great idea, your neighbors and your own ears will appreciate your consideration. I think for what you're trying to accomplish you can think in terms of echo control and a bit of muting.

Soundproof/acoustic blankets, or even moving blankets, over the windows and on all walls will take a lot off.

I had good results putting 2" thick panels on the wall directly behind the noise source. They're on Amazon fairly cheap.

You can see the kit in the pic in nearly silent mode, for when I want to practice something pretty late, or if my ears are just tired. The snare almost always has a bandana over it, or two, depending on the level needed. Band volume really seems to follow snare volume.

I'll go as far as pads on each drum, which opens up all 24 hours to practice time. I actually use them that way almost every day.

Those round bandanas made for drumkits look like a good idea, and if they get the prices in line I'll try some. Right now they're priced like a premium drum pad, lol.

 

[A J]

I'm in the middle of building a "band barn" right now, so this thread is very helpful. At this point, I'm still probably months away from seriously trying to do any sort of sound proofing. Right now, the priority is just getting the shell built.