The DIY Sound Proofing Guide
by Abhimanyu Malhotra, The Sonic Arts Co.
For this month’s article we will be discussing the basics of DIY soundproofing for any bedroom producer at home. Building on our last article, we have discussed the rise of the bedroom producer and the factors that have contributed towards music production moving to a ‘in-the-box’ format that is accessible to most and that leverages technological innovations to allow producers and engineers to achieve global audio standards using just softwares and home studios.
To begin with, let us discuss and clear what soundproofing actually does and what it does not do. Most people misunderstand the term ‘Soundproofing’, while the more accurate term is ‘Acoustic Treatment’. Soundproofing essentially makes the room quieter by blocking out external noise while Acoustic treatment makes your room a better recording and mixing environment by absorbing excessive ambience. The most effective and ideal method is to use a combination of both techniques, however the ‘soundproofing’ method actually requires major structural changes if being done in an already constructed and built up space. Acoustic treatment is easier, cheaper and more accessible to the masses. There are 4 basic tactics that need to be covered in order to achieve effective acoustic treatment for any room, and these are:
1) Adding Mass: Adding mass or density has the primary function of preventing sound from entering and exiting a room. The walls of such a room require lots of mass, which prevents them from vibrating in response to sound energy. Adding mass to an existing room calls for additional structures to be built on the walls using materials such as mass loaded vinyl or sheet block. Such materials also have a metric known as STC (Sound Transmission Class), the higher the STC, the better the ability of the material to absorb vibrations and not transfer them forward.
2) Damping: Similar to adding mass, damping is a method of acoustic treatment that dissipates kinetic energy from sound waves by converting it to heat. One can use material such as green glue or rock wool, sandwiched between two rigid panels (made of drywall, plywood, or medium density fiberboard) and place these strategically around the room in order to facilitate sound absorption and room damping. Damping is meant to make a room a lot less resonant, as it prevents sound waves from bouncing off walls and prevents the buildup of standing frequencies. This is especially effective in rooms that have a prominent slapback echo, or resonant surfaces such as glass and windows.
3) Decoupling: Decoupling is the process of separating two structures in your room that are in direct contact with one another. This can include furniture and objects that conduct sound waves with least resistance when placed in contact with one another. The objective of decoupling is to block the transfer of sound by isolating the contact points, usually with some sort of dense and pliable rubber. Other methods can include but are not limited to: building a floating floor (using rubber isolators), building double walls (which leaves an air gap to help block out sound, can also add insulation to increase absorption), isolating layers (using resilient channels and sound clips to create a floating wall or ceiling) and isolating metal studs from the floors/walls/ceiling by applying gasket tape for absorption. This ensures that any type of resonance that develops in the room can be contained and is not amplified by the surrounding surfaces.
Most people misunderstand the term ‘Soundproofing’, while the more accurate term is ‘Acoustic Treatment’.
The ‘soundproofing’ method requires major structural changes if being done in an already constructed and built up space.
4) Filing Air Gaps: The final task for effective acoustic treatment is to make sure all air gaps and holes in the room are sealed up and are air tight. Sound can sneak through the tiniest of passages and it is vital to block these out as effectively as possible. Common tools used to plug up such gaps include Acoustical Caulk, Foam Gaskets and Automatic Door Bottoms.
Most of the materials required for effective DIY acoustic treatment can be purchased at your local hardware store or Amazon. Having a strategy that covers all the points above is a good way to make sure your room has effective acoustic treatment.