cheapest way to soundproof

[automapper]

So I just moved to this place that has a great spot in the bassment for a studio. Problem is, it's really old and the walls are paper thin and you can here everything upstairs like you were right there in the room. It's concrete to the ceiling on 3 walls and the problem is where the floor joist sit atop them, there's no insulation between the suite nextdoor and no way for me to stuff it without damage. So it would be interesting to hear what you wise loungemen/women have done in that past to soundproof in the cheapest way imaginable without losing your damage deposit.

[Tarekith]

Short answer: can't be done.

Easy answer: turn down your monitors, and get some nice headphones.

[automapper]

hahaa, I knew you'd say that! Really though it's not that bad, but I just thought it would be interesting to hear how many hairbrained sound proofing concoctions everyone has come up with over the years. And you're right, my 5 year old sony 500's with one side busted right off really ain't doing the trick for production. Thanks T.

[shuutobi]

To soundproof you need air, mass, and decoupling...
You build an airtight room within a room, and have it decoupled from the existing structure.

Big bucks.

[Muzik 4 Machines]

if you have money to spare, build a room inside the room, with no contact with any of the walls and use neopren insulation where it touches the floor

use green glassfiber in the walls and double tack the sheetrock both sides (or use THX sheetrock)

you will need good ventilation tho as the room in the room will be almost airtight

but that is if you really have a lot of $

[Tarekith]

hahaa, I knew you'd say that! Really though it's not that bad, but I just thought it would be interesting to hear how many hairbrained sound proofing concoctions everyone has come up with over the years. And you're right, my 5 year old sony 500's with one side busted right off really ain't doing the trick for production. Thanks T.

It's a shame I know, but it's just damn near impossible to try and keep something like the bass we all know in electronic music from leaving our studios and not bug our neighbors. Especially when you talk about "cheap" and "good for rentals".

All joking aside, I've had to deal with this myself on so many occasions when I was younger, and there really is no substitute for just learning to work at lower volume levels most of the time. It's not as fun, and no one likes it, but I actually that in the long run it can lead to lot better sounding music if you can learn to adapt. It's relatively easy to make things sounds awesome and exciting when it's cranked way up, but if you can do it at lower volumes too, you'll be that much better of a producer.

[Mint Invader]

Mattresses can help... Maybe?

[Tarekith]

Not with deep bass.

[Khazul]

Short answer: can't be done.

Have to agree - sound insulation needs mass - ie something heavy to absorb the sound energy, but also elastic enough not transmit it through. So it's basically some combination of layers of something heavy, something to break up the sound waves and gaps to limit further transition.

So even supposing you could construct the required layers, you also need some way to safely support the weight and the overall thickness may simply be too much and would make the ceiling too low. It's bass frequencies that are hardest to block - the also need the most mass and the largest air gaps.

[Rave]

Easy, make your neighbors deaf

[memes_33]

is there space between the floor above and the bottom of the joists? i'm having a hard time understanding how it is laid out. if there are joists holding up the floor with space between them, you can fill those spaces between them with insulation and then seal the whole joist system with plywood. caulk all of the seams so there is no way for air to pass in between the floor and plywood.

think of it like this- wherever there is space where air can freely move between your basement and another space, there will be acoustical leaking. any barier you can put between spaces you are trying to isolate will help your cause, but they become nearly worthless once there is a penetration. for example, i work in an acoustical consulting firm, and a typical way to improve an STC (sound transmission class) level is to add a 2nd layer of gypsum board (drywall) to the wall. If there are ANY penetrations (i.e. pipes, conduit, etc), they need to be caulked in order for any of the extra layers of gyp to be worthwhile. if you can put some airspace between layers, you are even better off.

also keep in mind that absorption and isolation are different things- the studio foam and bass traps in your studio will make your studio sound better, they will do little to nothing in regards to isolation. putting some auralex foam on your walls will not help keep the outside sounds out, or vice versa.

a few years back, i built a room within my garage for an indoor garden with lots of fans that i didn't want people to hear upstairs. i basically built the walls and insulated them, caulked every seam, sealed the door with a homemade gasket, and put an extra layer of plywood on the ceiling and caulked those seems as well. it worked great. if you send me a picture of the space i might be able to help.

[Forge.]

... there really is no substitute for just learning to work at lower volume levels most of the time.

+1

I rarely monitor any louder than I would have the TV, and I'm especially paranoid about my sub, so I have it just loud enough to barely hear it a lot of the time.

I guess part of this is from years of working at night, but there will always be the odd time you can crank the volume.

But it's actually a better thing to monitor at lower levels anyway.

[jbodango]

When I was in 7th grade this dude in my science class had a t-shirt he often wore. If my memory serves correctly it said "mercenaries... do it for money." There was a line art drawing of a sniper with a sniper riffle.

Not suggesting or offering a contingency. Rather, I offer you the gift of banter.

[footsy]

Closet with cloths all around you.

[Nilus]

Overlapping layers of sheet rock. Three usually works pretty good.