Vocal/Amp Soundproof Booth Materials

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ParanoiA
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2010/09/17 10:01:17 (permalink)

Vocal/Amp Soundproof Booth Materials

So, I'm ready to build a soundproof (relative) vocal/amp booth. I've found a terrific document - I think - that provides data from laboratory testing by the Institute for Research in Construction at the National Research Council of Canada.   Honestly, I'm not entirely sure how credible this data is for home studio sound applications.  Seems great to me, though. 
 
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/irc.html - document is IR818. 
 
Page after page covers various wall designs and their corresponding transmission loss levels.  This document is geared around building construction, and thus building materials and designs.  My question is about these materials. 
 
For instance, page 75 of this document provides TL data for a wall built with vinyl siding over rigid fiber glass, and then a layer of OSB attached to studs for the exterior layer - cavity filled with insulation - and then the interior layer with resilient channel and two pieces of drywall.  According to the data, this should provide for about 75dB transmission loss at around 1kHZ. 
 
Obviously they are using wall designs you'd expect for a home or building - so walls with drywall on both sides, for instance, are not tested.  So, of those exterior materials, are they really ideal?  Does drywall provide for a better TL than rigid fiber glass sheets?  Should I use OSB in any of these layers?  Or layer it exactly as it says? 
 
Also, is a 75 TL rating very good?  I read that every 6dB drop is half as loud to the ear.  My inexperience with quantifying loudness in dB's leads me to believe that 75 is pretty good.  I need to be able to scream at 2 AM with the family sound asleep upstairs.   
 
 
 
 
 
 
post edited by ParanoiA - 2010/09/17 10:05:32
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    Soundtrapper
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    Re:Vocal/Amp Soundproof Booth Materials 2010/09/17 11:50:27 (permalink)
    My knowledge is very limited in the design and materials used but thought
    you may enjoy this.  There is a PDF of the place.

    Two features I recognized and think to be very good are, a room inside a room and
    angled walls...oops, three, the suspended floor.

    I think anything you may pickup from this place would be cool. I know some of the
    best recordings I've ever heard were made there.


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    #2
    skullsession
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    Re:Vocal/Amp Soundproof Booth Materials 2010/09/17 14:17:19 (permalink)
    A decent page showing visuals on construction and audio clips to demonstrate the success of such constructions.

    http://www.auralexuniversity.com/NeighborsWMA.html

    If all you're trying to do is have a vocal booth that allows you to scream in the middle of the night, I think you'll do alright.

    And though the site is put together by Auralex, you can still lean alot and cabbage together your own way of doing it.  You might find lots of good info here.

    http://www.acoustics101.com/


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    #3
    johnnyV
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    Re:Vocal/Amp Soundproof Booth Materials 2010/09/17 14:30:18 (permalink)
    The 2 main factors is sound that is transmitted through the air and sound that is transmitted through connective vibration.
    Blocking air is easy, blocking vibration is much harder.
    Isolating the structure components with a room within a room, floating floors etc are main design components to stop vibration.
    You don't need to go overboard if your location does not have heavy trucks or a subway next door.
    Stopping the neighbors barking dog from leaking onto your recordings can be achieved with a simple air tight room and some pink insulation.
    The density of the wall material is important. That's why a good hotel / condo  will have  concrete between the rooms. 
    So if moisture is not an issue 5/8 sheetrock is denser than 5/8 OBS. It will smell better too. Don't forget that some materials off gas crap you don't really want to be breathing.

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    batsbrew
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    Re:Vocal/Amp Soundproof Booth Materials 2010/09/17 16:31:21 (permalink)
    always remember, it's MASS that stops low frequency.

    not insulation.

    after that, rock wool is the lightweight choice for dealing with the later freqs.



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    batsbrew
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    Re:Vocal/Amp Soundproof Booth Materials 2010/09/17 16:32:24 (permalink)
    and don't forget fresh air, lighting and connectivity.

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    DeeringAmps
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    Re:Vocal/Amp Soundproof Booth Materials 2010/09/17 21:59:33 (permalink)
    Everything you need to know is at johnlsayers.com.
    Here is a link to his vocal booth design.
    Study John's site, download his recording manual, build a room in room with inside/out walls; its all on his site.
    Good Luck!

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    ParanoiA
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    Re:Vocal/Amp Soundproof Booth Materials 2010/09/24 10:05:26 (permalink)
    Hey, thanks everybody for the great links.  I'm definitely going with the room inside a room approach.  I guess I'll just start building the frame for the inside room and see what I can get done from paycheck to paycheck. 

    My problem is I get hung up on details that I'm not sure about.  Like drywall.  Listening to Skull's links leads me to believe that not much is gained by an extra layer of drywall - two pieces rather than one.  This appears to conflict with the concept that mass is necessary to stop low frequencies.  I would think an extra layer of drywall would be noticeable for lower frequencies. 

    Then, do I put a sheet of drywall on each side of walls for the rooms?  Or do you accomplish the same thing just putting both drywall layers on one side of the walls?  The latter would be cheaper when buying resilient channel since I'd be installing it on one side of the walls instead of both. 

    But anyway, I'm just going to jump in and do this.  I've done plenty of home construction and carpentry to accomplish the labor, so my weakness is going to be design.  From these links I should be able to put together a decent one. 

    So, thanks again fellas! 

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