Soundproof a home recording studio?

[Michael Bishop]

😎 Hi Johnny,

I will be looking at setting up a home recording studio after I pay for my Trevor James and the thought crossed my mind of soundproofing the room that I’ll be using–won’t be recording blog uploads in my bedroom too much longer LOL It’s been a pain in the neck trying to do simple uploads to the blog when your room is located right next to your backyard with pet dogs barking in the background….we have 4 of them back home; all Blue Heelers 🙂
I’ve done some online research and have found lots of options for doing so. Have you heard of Saxophone players soundproofing their home recording studios? The cpu/software I was looking at using was a Mac PC. In the way of software, I’ve been reading great things about a software program called “Logic X” but some of what I’ve read say that this this piece of software can be somewhat Complex to use. I’ve also been reading some good things about 2 software programs called “Sonar” and “Pro Tools”.

[john]

yes I’ve heard of them. I have logic and Pro Tools. Don’t like Logic. Have been using Pro tools for many years and love it. I don’t sound proof my room, just record… I don’t know how much sound proofing you’ll have to do to eliminate 4 dogs barking tho!

[Michael Bishop]

Where I live back home, the lease expires in May and we chose not to renew the lease for many reasons. The house where we live is in a congested neighborhood. When my wife had here accident back in the spring, it was literally right around the corner. She’s doing some House Shopping back home and so the timing is perfect for setting up a home recording studio; it’s on the agenda and she whole-heartedly agrees. The only time she complains about my practice session is when she’s on the phone LOL Amazingly, when I practice the neighbors can’t hear the Saxophones so I’ve been grateful for that to say the least LOL I will be selecting a modest room in our new home specifically for recording and, given the fact that I am raising a family and all of the controlled “chaos” that comes with it; I definitely see the value & need for me to soundproof it if I really want to get the most out of what I’m doing; there’s no question about it.
I have also heard stories–maybe you can confirm this for me as to whether it’s true or not–of Saxophone players actually having Engineers do some type of survey/inspection of sorts to see where in your house/property is the best room to set up a home-recording studio so as to get the best sound in terms of things like reverb?

[john]

no. as soon as you sound proof a room it will sound totally flat…no reverb whatsoever. if you want nice natural reverb you need to play in a church or your bathroom, in a big barn etc. That’s why we use toys like reverb machines or digital plugins to get reverb on the track AFTER it’s recorded in your little room.

[Michael Bishop]

I noticed, on some of the demos I have seen after a room was soundproofed, that they we’re very, very flat. Almost all of those demos we’re for either guitar players or singers who actually converted a small room, even a closet, into a singing both of sorts. I couldn’t find any demos of Saxophone players doing the soundproofing but I’m thinking that surely there had to be, at least, some who have done it. In my house back home, of all the places where I get super-great natural reverb is, in all places…..the laundry room LOL I was actually going to do the upload for “Use Me” in the Laundry room but my wife was washing clothes…and I do help with household chores LOL As I get closer to setting up the studio I’ll be asking loads of questions. Are you still connected with this website at all, the link is below? I found it from your site johnnyferreira.com
http://yourhomerecordingstudio.com/

[john]

yes, it’s my site, I write all the reviews etc.

[Dazza]

Hey all. I am no professional but have recently built my own “room in a room” inside my fourth bedroom to practice in and can make a few observations. I researched extensively and spoke to the contractors currently installing acoustic solutions at my work and found this. You will never sound proof your room without building it from scratch at great expense. You can reduce the sound but you need to fill ALL air gaps around doors and windows. A small 1/8″ gap will allow 95% of the sound inside a room to get out. Sealing the gaps makes the room air tight and hot so I had to install a portable air con unit. This blows and makes noise so you can’t record with it going so I put it outside and cut a 4″ hole in the wall to connect a pipe from the aircon unit and what does that do….lets noise out and some of the outside noise in!. Most frustratingly as I discovered, and is evident on my Blog of Over The Rainbow, you kill the sound!.The other big factor is wall density as the more solid the material the less transference of sound waves. Most houses have thin plasterboard walls so this is a problem. When I practice I dont enjoy the tone I produce while in my box but go out in to the tiled lounge area or garage and the sweet sound of my Yamaha comes through. I could go on for hours about my trials and tribulations over this project which I haven’t spent a great deal of money on mind you, only $150 as I acquired the box material for free and lined it with insulation donated but still the end result is poor and I am dismantling it this weekend. The answer I reckon is find a place to practice at work if you can or just practice enough so that you get good sooner and neighbours (and the family) will enjoy hearing you wail. Hope this helps….

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