DIY Home Studio Questions.

[Wonderboy]

So I picked up a drum kit recently and have a few questions about making a practice area that wont piss off the neighbors. I was in a half ass attempt of a band a while back and we used to practice in the basement which led to complaints from neighbors and an occasional visit from the po-po. Ive now got an extra bedroom available upstairs and am tossing around the idea of making a practice area/ studio that I would need to sound proof on a very tight budget. So Ive been reading about all types of sound proofing methods for the past 3 hours and I want some feedback from people who have actually tried this themselves. Ive read about building an insulated room inside of a room including a raised floor and second ceiling which seems to be the quietest method but, requires a bit more investment than Id like to put into this but, its not totally out as an option. Ive also read about layering cardboard, carpet, and acoustic tiles from the walls and ceiling which is cheaper but, Im unsure of the overall effect it would give. The appearance of the room would not really be too important to me but, I would like it to effect the structure of the room as little as possible since we do not plan to live here forever. I guess the main thing to figure out is how to drown out the bass really, the mid and high tones should be pretty easy. I also play bass and would like to be able to really crank the fucker up. Any feedback would be appreciated and I apologize for the long and likely hard to understand post.

[wnaplay1647545503]

I would add a layer of 5/8" fire rated drywall directly onto whats there. This will give you a good base and leave only holes to patch when removed. Dont finish the drywall other than maybe the seams but nothing fancy. Get cheap carpet and attach that to the drywall surface, on top of that buy cheap egg carton foam mattress pads and put over carpet. That should take care of alot of sound especially if you cover up the outlets and windows sound waves tend to escape from. If you want build a cheap false floor with thick insulation between the joists and carpet on top it would help as well.

[Wonderboy]

Is the fire rated drywall significantly more dense than standard?

[wnaplay1647545503]

Fire rated drywall contains glass fibers to form a stronger core. The gypsum and fiberglass are packed in tighter and denser than in regular drywall.

[Turbs3000]

Home Depot and Lowes have bargain bins of carpet left over from jobs and they are normally about 70% off, it's beautiful when you aren't picky.

[spankis]

If you have a big enough space (possibly in the basement even), build a small 2x4 frame room inside of the actual room big enough to fit you and your equipment. This way, you can throw it together cheap and still have it be removable. Because it doesn't have to be structural at all, you can cheap out on 2x4 span and use mostly drywall/insulation. With the room inside of a room method, you also avoid having to soundproof exterior windows, just focus on a simple hinge door. I helped a friend and his dad build such a room in their basement in highschool and it worked great.

[Mensan]

You can build rockwool panels that will significantly reduce noise, but not sure exactly how effective. Should be low cost though.

 

I think the curtains you can buy really work well too.