Acoustic room treatment advice

[aellison62]

Ok, now that my kids are grown I am finally able to move my keyboards/studio from the basement to an upstairs bedroom. When I was in basement I didn"t need to worry so much about soundproofing. Now, I do. I know I need acoustic panels at least to start with but when I look on Amazon, there are tons of different types and prices.

 

What affordable yet effective acoustic treatments can any of you suggest I look at? What brands or examples? I appreciate suggestions of what has worked for you, or if you had to do yours over, what would you buy, thanks!

[Reezekeys]

Soundproofing is one specific kind of "acoustic treatment." It has not much to do with making a room "sound good", which is what most acoustic treatment is geared towards. True soundproofing can involve some pretty expensive things like floating floors, double doors, ceiling panels, etc.... something most mortals with bedrooms can't or won't do! The basic premise is to seal any air leaks and isolate vibrating things from passing those vibrations to the inside walls, studs & beams. Basics like bass traps and absorption panels can help tame reflections and make a room sound "tighter" but are not gonna keep the sound from escaping into the rest of your house.

 

This page is a great resource. Ethan Winer is the man when it comes to this stuff. He maintains a forum where you can ask questions too: https://the-audio-expert.freeforums.net/board/3/acoustics

[Jonathan Hughes]

Are you looking to keep sound from escaping or for making the room sound better, or both? Like Reezekeys says, they're two different things. The main way to keep sound from escaping is with mass. Double drywall and things like that. Making a room sound better is generally simpler (although not necessarily cheaper).

[Konnector]

Only sure fire way to "soundproof" a room is to build a room inside a room with a floating floor, etc. like Reezekeys mentioned. Hanging acoustic panels on the walls will do nothing to soundproof a room. They are meant to tweak the room acoustics for a better mixing environment. Depending on the size and shape of your room, that can be fairly straightforward or difficult.

[aellison62]

Yes, I think I am mostly interested in keeping sound from escaping the room. Most of my recording will be from keyboards with occasional vocals so no acoustic. I intend to double drywall a room in our next 'downsize' house but since we will be selling this one in a few years I am not considering that option for this room.

[KuruPrionz]

Yes, I think I am mostly interested in keeping sound from escaping the room. Most of my recording will be from keyboards with occasional vocals so no acoustic. I intend to double drywall a room in our next 'downsize' house but since we will be selling this one in a few years I am not considering that option for this room.

 

Use headphones for tracking. Run keyboards direct or use them as MIDI controllers and play plugins. For vocals, use a decent dynamic microphone with a foam windscreen so you can sing closer. This will reduce or eliminate any bleed into the mic including room reflections. Your vocals will still be heard outside the room. If there is a closet in the room, hang some heavy coats etc. and put the mic out about a foot from them so you are facing them when singing.

 

Quick, inexpensive "solutions" for a problem that won't change the room (and won't need to be changed back).

 

If the room is too reflective, a throw rug will help somewhat. Heavy curtains on the windows will help. I've hung a few heavy quilts/blankets on a photography backdrop stand more than once, that can reduce reflections and to a certain extent bleed from the room to the outside. If your closet is full of clothing, opening the doors will reduce reflections too.

 

You'll have to add any ambience either in your signal chain or in the computer.

 

Yes, there are better ways to do these things if one wants to throw money at the problem. Bearing in mind your intention to sell and move, the less you do that changes the room, the better.

[Biggles]

Your 'affordable' tag is not compatible with a successful outcome.

 

My day job was Buildings and Building Services for more years than I care to think about and the guys above have hit the nail firmly on the head with their advice.

 

Achieving that is very unlikely without a sizeable budget.

 

Take a look at this for an idea of what is involved.

 

https://www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/studio

[KuruPrionz]

Your 'affordable' tag is not compatible with a successful outcome.

 

My day job was Buildings and Building Services for more years than I care to think about and the guys above have hit the nail firmly on the head with their advice.

 

Achieving that is very unlikely without a sizeable budget.

 

Take a look at this for an idea of what is involved.

 

https://www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/studio

 

I don't disagree with you, please read my last two sentences. The OP made it clear in his second post that he is not considering a total solution right now.

Nothing I mention "solves" the problem. These are all things I've done before with a measurable improvement. Sometimes something is better than nothing, even if it is not as good as going "all in."

 

When he gets his new home he can put more effort into it. Cheers, Kuru

[aellison62]

Great, thanks for links and the reality check. I will do what I can for now as Kuru suggested as ' something is better than nothing '. I was under the impression that the acoustic panels helped reduce the sound leaving the room but I am now understanding they are more for changing the sound reflection in the room, not reducing the total volume.

[Steve Nathan]

Creating a good and true sounding space is an art form onto itself, and as others have noted, definitely not something I would call affordable.

However, since you are only trying to reduce the escaping sound, I'd suggest a couple of things.

1. Is the door hollow core or solid. If the former, replace it with a good solid door. Their not to bad at Home Depot/Lowes

2. You can get long, heavy drapes at places like Bad Breath and Beyond. Hand them from ceiling to floor where you can.

3. Moderately priced panels are available from several suppliers. Look at https://www.acoustimac.com/acoustic-panels/acoustic-panels-dmd-series/acm-acp-all-1

[Steve Nathan]

Just saw this. One day only

 

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/stupid?source=3TP5DNB&dtm_em=bcf98709ab17004462f4ebd54a22ad82

[cphollis]

Very good advice here. "Soundproofing" (minimizing and/or eliminating sound that escapes a room) is incredibly difficult and expensive, especially for bass frequencies. I've found it a lot easier to find a space where escaping sound won't cause a problem.

 

Giving your bedroom/studio a nice acoustic treatment is not only more cost-effective but more pleasing to your ears. My usual goal is to minimize harsh reverbs, but still have a "live" sound in the room.