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   Guest_ | Aug 16, 2000 07:36pm | #1

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   Hire an acoustical consultant. Establish what is acceptable criteria with owner and help of acoustical consultant and then let acoustical consultant show type of construction and details necessary to meet criteria. "Sound proofing" is not a matter of selecting the right materials and is only as good as the weakest link.

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   Guest_ | Aug 16, 2000 08:18pm | #2

   *I have worked in sound studios that were simply insulated sheds on rural property to anechoic chambers in university building basements. What you build and what you use for materials depends on the degree of sound isolation you need from outside sources and the degree of dampening or "liveliness" that is required for the operations that are to be performed in the sound studio. Most sound studios I have used have had reasonable isolation from the outside by using, so far as I could tell, conventional framing and insulating materials. These usually have had regular accoustical tile on the ceiling and walls and industrial carpeting on the floor, although some may have used linoleum on the floor. Some had heavy drapes (almost canvas) on tracks that could be moved around the walls to control the reverberations (liveliness) of the room. If the configuration is to have a separate control room from the studio with a window between them, if a high degree of acoustic isolation between the control room and the studio is desired, then special accoustical isolation windows and doors may be required. If it is to be used for music recording, most audio engineers and musicians do not like total anechoic chamber deadness. The desired degree of liveliness is a matter of personal taste and thus the desirability of elements, such as the drapes, that can be changed by the sound engineer or musicians. The least expensive sound studio I used worked pretty well, but there was not much of a problem with external noise sources or close neighbors. It used regular frame construction with cellulose insulation and something like "firtex" or Celotex SoundControl on the walls which in turn was covered in strategic areas with regular paper egg cartons. Not particularly attractive, but accoustically effective. There are outfits that supply somewhat fancier accoustical panels than the normal office style white ones such ashttp://www.1st-stop.com/mhc/If your client is going to have rock bands blasting all out and has complaining neighbors, you may need to move to something more accoustically isolating such as the foam products at http://www.allfoam.bc.ca/frames/acusfram.htmto get the desired sound attenuation.There are also sound dampening materials that are commonly used in automotive and truck applications that would be effective, but probably not cheap such as Dexdamp or Dynamat http://www.dynamat.com/ http://www.installer.com/noise.html similar materials can be purchased through the Whitney automotive catalogIf your client wants something more whimsical, you might try the accoustical absorbing stuffed animals athttp://www.eva-international.com/imagisonic.htmThere is a reprint of a government booklet available at Sound Homehttp://www.soundhome.com/soundproof.htmlthat supposedly covers noise control, but I don't know if it specifically covers sound studios.There is a general article on sound control which lists some types of materialshttp://www.hamiltonjet.com/noise/noiseinfo.htmlThere is an article in one of the audio enthusiast magazines on listening room construction: http://www.tubetrap.com/articles/chain.htmI had some similar references on DIY sound studios at one time but can't locate them now. The doors may be one of the trickier problems in the design. It seems to me that at least one studio used heavy industrial fire doors with heavy weather stripping with resonable success. And don't forget the wiring between the control room and the studio if separate rooms are used. Most have panels of Amp, bnc, coax, and other connectors between the two rooms - kind of defeats the sound proofing if you have to leave the door open to run the mike cable... Also, lots of electrical outlets for all the electric guitars, etc. (The usual disclaimer - I've only used studios, I have never built one...)

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   Guest_ | Aug 16, 2000 09:41pm | #4

   *There are 2 consideration. One is soundproofing the room so it is isolated from other rooms. The second is creating a acoustically well designed room - ie. one that sounds good. This is much more difficult and involves a room with the proper dimensions and shape (to account for sound wave reflection and standing nodes), a proper balance between sound reflection and absorption, etc. etc. etc.. This is very difficult and requires expert advise. Hire a consultant if you want to do this properly.Go to http://www.audioasylum.com and look in the faq section for some articles on room accoustics. Look for articles from Jon Risch - he is pretty. I got alot of advise from him when I designed a dedicated music listening room in my basement. I spent alot of time and a fair amount of money on this but my room went from one that echoes when you clapped to one that controls the sound waves very well (made a huge difference in the sound of my music system).

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   Kris_p_Kolinski | Aug 16, 2000 09:41pm | #3

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   Kris p Kolinski - 08:55am Aug 15, 2000 EST (20.)

   Our company is designing and hoping to build a sound studio in our clients basement. As the construction manager
   on the project I am looking for help/ advice from anyone who has had experience in in designing or build such a
   project. Questions:
   1. Sources for sound roofing building supplies.
   2. I have one source for the above... $85 for a 2'x2'piece of neoprene. Can I use alternative but similar materials
   bought from the local Home Depot or Grainier?
   3. Techniques for estimating such unusual building systems.
   4. Pitfalls to look for in the designing/ estimating/ building.
   Any other comments or advice are welcome.