batsbrew


a MASS of wood (say, 8" thickness) would start to 'STOP' sound, and even then, not as well as 8" of brick or concrete block, or even better, solid concrete panels. 

no, don't agree -  I tested this since my basement's walls are made from almost 2 feet concrete and I have huge echo there, while in my old apartment with wooden panels no echo whatsoever. Wood absorbs sound well unless polished and painted.

offnote

batsbrew


a MASS of wood (say, 8" thickness) would start to 'STOP' sound, and even then, not as well as 8" of brick or concrete block, or even better, solid concrete panels. 

no, don't agree -  I tested this since my basement's walls are made from almost 2 feet concrete and I have huge echo there, while in my old apartment with wooden panels no echo whatsoever. Wood absorbs sound well unless polished and painted.

I have to challenge your assertion.  I'd be willing to bet the that the difference is what the wood is attached to.  Concrete isn't going anywhere and will be highly reflective.  Wallboard has some flexibility and can absorb some energy from sound waves hitting it.  I doubt the wood finishing contributes much one way or the other.

of course you have an echo in your concrete basement - there is no where for the sound to go - to be absorbed - except the ceiling.  It just bounces around until it peters out.

Your apt. room was probably pretty small, making the echos more of a reverb.  And if it was made of sheetrock and wood frame there is some absorption going on, not to mention all the doors and windows for the sound to leak out of.  In the basement, no such leaks.

Are you talking about reflection of sound or absorption?  In such a basement, wood paneling probably won't cut down on echoes/reverb much.  Your problem is reflection already - wood might change it, but not stop it.  Bass traps in the corner and stuff to absorb and diffuse the sound rather than bouncing it back off giant slabs.

@

Yes, wood absorbs sound. So does concrete, as does everything. Just not enough to matter.

It's all about density, and wood's pretty dense, as anyone who's chopped a cord of it can attest. In at least one proper scientific test that I know of, wood floors were compared to concrete floors and found to be almost indistinguishable from one another acoustically.

offnote

batsbrew

a MASS of wood (say, 8" thickness) would start to 'STOP' sound, and even then, not as well as 8" of brick or concrete block, or even better, solid concrete panels. 

no, don't agree -  I tested this since my basement's walls are made from almost 2 feet concrete and I have huge echo there, while in my old apartment with wooden panels no echo whatsoever. Wood absorbs sound well unless polished and painted.

You need to make the distinction between soundproofing (reducing the level of sound entering or leaving the room through walls/windows/doors) and acoustic treatment (reducing and controlling the reflected sound within the room).

He said wood. heheh ahhh hehehe "Vibrating planks" Ummm, hehehehe.  Butthead! I think my plank is starting to vibrate!

I see you all are not to fond of wood in studio so what would you recommend instead? I'm still in a design phase,
changes are possible but I wouldn't like to put egg's boxes on the walls...

offnote: "no, don't agree"  

 that's ok... but i stand by my statement. it's relevant ONLY to this topic tho.and wood WILL work as a good reflective surface, provided you have taken care the rest of the room. i have worked on designing hvac for professional grade studios for colleges, and i learned a little bit.

I like wood. The older I get the more I appreciate it.

batsbrew

offnote: "no, don't agree"  

 that's ok... but i stand by my statement. it's relevant ONLY to this topic tho.and wood WILL work as a good reflective surface, provided you have taken care the rest of the room. i have worked on designing hvac for professional grade studios for colleges, and i learned a little bit.

This will be my first studio so I'm not gonna argue here, maybe you're right or maybe I misunderstood you. 
Maybe we clarify what it's good for music studio first, a good reflective surface or bad reflective surface  
I thought that bad would be better plus absorbing.