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Factual Questions
1

Hi! I’m about to move into my first house. It has a basement that I’m hoping to convert into a basic recording studio/practice space. The basement is totally unfinished, so I will need to create some walls to make a makeshift room. I’m planning on just building one room, to house all the equipment and recording gear. I’ll need to soundproof the room on account of my neighbors. Here’s where I need help. What are the cheapest and most sound-insulating materials available? The walls don’t necessarily need to be permanent or load-bearing, only soundproof. I’ve heard many suggestions for sound-deadening material (egg cartons, mattresses, etc) - what’s the best for the money?

Thanks for the help!

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      • Egg cartons are a fantastic fire hazard and offer little sound attenuation at all.
  • Mattresses work the best and are the cheapest–go to a large mattress store and ask if you can have the old ones they haul off for customers, they should give them to you for free because otherwise it’s trash they’d have to pay someone to haul off. Nothing else works nearly as well as mattresses, except lots and lots of acoustical foam, but that would cost lots and lots of money. -Mattresses do present a fire hazard however, so you don’t want any wiring running around or underneath them at all–but generally, stand up mattresses around all the walls, and then pile up mattresses two or three high in the corners of the room to use for “chairs”/“equipment stands”, etc. The more mattresses, the better.
  • The neighbors will still be able to hear you, but that’s not quite the point. Mattresses absorb outside sounds as well as in-studio sounds, and that’s what you want–a room as absolutely sound-dead as possible. The reason that most amateur recordings sound “amateur” is because of the background noise and reverb, so you want as little background noise and no reverb. Record with no effects–if you want reverb add it later with a computer. Some people like to say “yea but sometimes having natural reverb can sound cool” but they are doing it wrong: a real pro studio is absolutely quiet, and has NO echo–it it totally sound-dead.

Also: do your “good” recording only at night or early-morning, to avoid “street noise” of passing vehicles. Try this: run an open mic and record a couple minutes of -silence-, then turn the recording way up to hear what it’s picking up…
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3

Egg carton and mattresses et al. will not soundproof your room. At best, they might cut the high-end frequencies, which don’t really travel that far anyway. No, it’s the low-end frequencies that you need to worry about, as they travel the furthest. The previously-mentioned egg carton, mattresses, etc. will make your room sound better, however. Unfortunately, soundproofing a room isn’t too cheap (depending on how soundproof you want it), unless you’re not using instruments such as trap drums and bass guitars and your playing isn’t too loud in general.

In order to soundproof, properly insulated walls are needed, with any gaps leading beyond the sound-deadening insulation closed, as the slightest gap will leak sound and render your attempts at controling sound superfluous. Offhand, I’d say that you’re in a good position since you need to build walls.

Most soundproof rooms are “rooms-within-rooms”. Basically, this means a main wall, a few inches of air space (isolated air helps with sound-deadening), then the actual interior wall, which is insulated as well. Oftentimes, the floor is built in the same fashion, as common structures (floors, A/C ducts, etc.) will conduct sound (the low frequencies, really) as a wire conducts electricity. You might also think of building a soundproof room as you would if you were making it to hold water for extended periods of time. Water, like sound, will leak throuigh cracks, holes etc.

Here’s a good site I found.

Of course, if you just want to cut high-end frequencies and have a flat, neutral-sounding room, the egg-carton, mattress padding, blankets, and such will undoubtedly help.

4

Thanks for the link Joe K. As the article describes the sometimes tradeoff between sound-deading and acoustical conditioning (sound bouncing around inside the room) I feel the need to clarify further. I’m not terribly worried about sound bouncing around in the room, or external noises getting in. I play in a very loud band and we record all instruments simultanously (no overdubbing or isolation). So I’m not terribly worried about external sounds getting in - but rather sound getting out. Thanks for the ideas and keep the suggestions coming!

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Well, I wonder if in your case, since you say you’re a very loud band, that it’s a better thing to lower the volume in addition to soundproofing measures? I’m assuming that your band includes amplified guitars, in which case it’s a simple matter of turning down the volume. Drums are a bit different, seeing as they are loud instruments by nature, so lighter sticks, thinner heads, and a lighter playing style are in order, as well as isolating the drumkit with some type of barrier.

You may balk at the idea of playing quieter, but I assure you that it is quite normal to engage in such a practice, even with the recording of heavier music. In a controlled enviroment such as a studio, the excess overtones created by loud playing have nowhere to go but the walls, and thusly they are bounced around until they collide with another instruments necessary harmonics, effectively deprecating the sound quality. Loud playing has its place, and that is in a large room or outside, where the sound has to reach a large audience (hopefully!). Recording-playing is markedly different than live playing, and this is something that most musicians have to live with. (It also explains studio musicians replacing bandmembers in the studio, but this is a different matter.)

Of course, you may say “But, that’s why we have the soundproofing up!”. As far as the room’s sound quality, that is a fine argument. But, there is also the issue with the recording equipment itself; mainly, the microphone. At worst, loud music can damage the diaphragm of the microphones, and you’ll end up with a distorted sound at best, nonetheless. If you do wish a distorted sound, it’s a simple matter to turn up the mic’s sensitivity and play at a reasonable volume. It’s far easier to work with the cleaner sounds you’ll get as a result of playing at a resonable volume, as well. They can be made to sound “loud” in post-production.

Remember: the less sound, the less sound-proofing you need. Plus, it’s easier on you in general.

Okay, now that I’ve said my piece on the advantages of not playing loud (especially while recording), here are some tips I’ve just thought of:

– It will be in your best interest to isolate the instruments, at least minimally. Amplifiers can be sat on a few old books with a towel underneath (or better yet—an old beverage flat or milk crate) and baffles on the sides. Drums will do best with the front bass drum head removed (although keeping the front head is an option with a bit of tweaking, it will sound cleaner this way), good tuning with appropriate dampening, and a baffle at least 4’ high. Something good can be cobbled together with plywood, two-by-fours, and old carpet/towels/bedding on the side facing the noise source, or even a blanket draped over chairs.

– Carpet padding (the cheap stuff is very cheap) can be used with good success on the walls as a way of ‘drying’ up the room. I don’t know how flame-retardant this stuff is with respect to smoking, etc., but you oughtn’t be smoking around the equipment anyway. Never mind those photos you’ve seen in the 70s and before; they didn’t know better back then. Better yet, hang carpet (used, remnant or otherwise) on the walls (and the ceiling and floor) for an ultra-dry sound, if it’s within your budget.

– Incense, lamps (take fire issues into mind), posters and general ambiance aids help. Don’t skip here! (though I’m sure you know what to do here :slight_smile: )

By the way, how damp is this basement? This is definitely an issue, as I’m sure you know. Are there any other details that may affect any further suggestions?

In conclusion, for a low-budget soundproofing solution, it’s much cheaper to play quieter while relying on these minimal measures. A truly soundproofed room is out of reach for those without a proper budget. I hope all this helps.