Hey guys, 
 
I designed a guitar amp isolation box. This project was fun and it's definitely helped with my mixes. Check out the demonstration and get in touch if you're interested in building one yourself!
 
Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4O6WqFRVbM

Nice job. Love the T shirt. One of my favorite bands.
The mass loaded vinyl does appear to be pretty expensive. but the good thing to your DIY box is it looks very light, My DIY box is very heavy. I made mine out of 5/8 plywood and egg crate sound iso. It's a PIA moving it around but it does the job. I also built a smaller one for 1 - 1X12 cab and a gooseneck mic stand that I use with my heads (I have many).
Great job, very creative.
 

Thanks! Good point that I failed to mention in the video is that I designed it to be portable because I tend to move around quite a bit (or, the past year I have). The blankets come off easily with the bungee ties and the PVC is just press fit together with no glue so it can be taken down and placed in a duffle bag if need be. If I ever get around to making the vocal booth video maybe I'll add a section on tearing down / setting up.
 
Best,
 
- Phil 

Great video, Phil. Tom Scholtz would be proud.

 
I just saw them a week or two ago in Mountain View, CA. I planned on seeing them back in ~2006 in MA, I think when they were planning a reunion tour with the 'original' lineup, but that never happened so I'm glad I caught them (Scholtz, really) now! 

Funny side note, I just lined up all of the Boston albums (in release order) in my media player.  Some of my friends back in the Hollywood California area were in a Boston cover band (Smokin') and that was, unfortunately, the closest I got to ever seeing Boston (although I doubt the "real" Boston would let me help with the sound check or be their roadie!  ).

What do you think of the limp mass vinyl?  I've been thinking about using it around a drum booth but, what I've read about it is that if it is not encapsulated (e.g., sandwiched between layers of sheetrock) it continues to outgas solvent and the smell can be nauseating. 
 
Did you have any issues with it and if not ... what brand did you use (or at least who did you order it from).
 
Thanks,
Dave

Excellent video btw!

quantumeffect
What do you think of the limp mass vinyl?  I've been thinking about using it around a drum booth but, what I've read about it is that if it is not encapsulated (e.g., sandwiched between layers of sheetrock) it continues to outgas solvent and the smell can be nauseating. 
 
Did you have any issues with it and if not ... what brand did you use (or at least who did you order it from).
 
Thanks,
Dave

Hi Dave, 
 
I'm a big fan of mass loaded vinyl and attribute all of the soundproofing capabilities of my iso box to it. After doing a lot of shopping around I realized most places are charging about $120 for 100 sqft. In my case, I paid $60 to ship 1 roll, in total I purchased 2 rolls so paid a grand total of $360. I bought my material from http://soundproofingamerica.us/ because they seemed to be a reputable supplier and they have a location ~60m from my apartment. Soundproofing America will allow you to save on shipping if you can drive to one of their locations and pick it up yourself.    
 
There are a lot of competing products to MLV (just google MLV alternative) that claim to have similar STC ratings but that only weigh a fraction of MLV... be skeptical of these products as you'll pay more for what appears (based on user reviews) a low-quality product. Many STC ratings I've found consider the product in between two drywall panels with insulation, but from what I've read STC ratings for MLV are just the MLV. 
 
As far as MLV giving off a bad smell, I can say for certain that the rolls I bought do not smell. The boxes I built are in the middle of my apartment and I've never noticed even a slight odor. The only thing I've read about MLV smelling bad are some of the "green" vinyl variants that use recycled tires/rubber, so that material may make your space smell like a tire wearhouse. I'm not sure if there are different manufacturing processes that go into producing MLV, so maybe some process will cause the material give off an odor. One of the other main reasons I went with Soundproofing America is that I emailed them directly some of my questions to which they responded quickly. Maybe you could reach out to them? 
 
The question I asked them was: how difficult is it to work with and how are the rolls shipped? MLV is super easy to work with, all you need a razor/box cutter to score the material then it pulls apart very easily. 1 roll shipped wrapped in cardboard and was ~100lbs so there's a potential issue here if you do not have the means to move the material yourself.   
 
Hope this gives you some insights into whether or not it's the right material for your project. One last thought is that if you choose to use MLV, make sure it is sandwiched in between some sort of sound absorber/diffuser (like the blankets in my video) otherwise your drums sound waves are going to bounce right back at you. 
 
Let me know if I can clarify anything, 
 
- Phil