What an amazing effort. Well done. I'd be interested to know how you solved the ventilation issue and whether or not you're wearing sound protection earplugs whilst using the booth.
Thanks men. Thanks for explain so well and not looking for "youtube money". Honest men. I'm planning to make a room soundproof for the noise from barking dogs and your video is great. Thanks again from Spain.
In the dictionary from English to my language, there's no difference between plasterboard and drywall - they all translate as my language's version that literally translates back to English as "gypsum board". Those boards can actually amplify sound by 3..6 dB IIRC and you need two layers - as used in the video - to try to get rid of that. However, I learnt that it is better to have two different thickness layers than two identical ones. In that case, however, there is directionality to the sound deadening. With identical layers, the sound coming through is strongest at the resonant frequency of the board and when both are the same, they can excite each other. When they are different thickness, these frequencies differ and deadening can improve but you need to decide what you want to prevent: sound getting out or coming in. The video is extremely good at all levels and the options for improvement illustrate very good underlying research. What does not get mentioned explicitly is the difference between "air sound" and "contact sound". The more expensive and thicker staggered wall option reduces on the "contact sound" much better, and the "cabin in cabin" takes that to another level. In these latter options, the added air gap helps and added insulation too. On the inside, the hard walls will bounce a lot of sound around and the cabin may not be as "dry" (free from echo, reverb) as you would want. This is amplified by parallel walls. In the example here, the slanted ceiling already makes floor-ceiling not-parallel, but you could slant side walls too. That's a lot more difficult to construct, however. And it is easier to cover the walls with damping material. While this is a great solution for brass soprano, alto, and tenor instruments, let's not forget that human soprano, alto, and tenor voices can produce a lot of deciBels too. So for singers who need to practice their scales and warming ups, or arias, at "live performance" level, this booth is an ideal solution too.
I really enjoyed the video. very helpful. I'm looking to build something like this so I can practice guitar and Mongolian throat singing in harmony with my neighbors. Do you think the platform base foundation you built for the sound room would be necessary if you lived on the ground floor and you were building on top of the concrete slab? I think I might build my without the floor.
Hey! I really enjoyed this video, but it would be great to hear your results in terms of soundproofing. Did you try it out with a decibel meter? How much difference can you hear? Thanks! =)
Hi. The test results with a decibel meter is in my other video DIY sound booth on my channel sax comprehensive at the 3.30 minute mark. It has the readings compared to a professional booth. Thanks.
for the wooden framework for the walls and ceiling, did you use smaller joists than the ones for the base? They look smaller to me but it might just be the angle 😄
Hi. The wood for the base, walls and ceiling were all cut from the same size timber. The wood for the base was recycled from another project which was painted with wood preserver and that is why it a different colour from the other framework, but they are all the same timber. If I had space I would use a bigger size as I had a problem squeezing the 100mm insulation between the drywall because of the width of the timber. Before building my booth I watched at least 50 other videos on booth construction and some were very effective in reducing the sound but they were a room in a room construction with 2 doors. If you have space then that is the way to go for better soundproofing. Thanks.
Has anyone use Homasote sound board? It’s used for acoustical absorption purposes , say an additional layer over the MDF (or particle board). You would still use sound batts (fiberglass or mineral wool) between the wall framing.
Hello. My joists will be 38x55x2000mm. What thickness of rockwool should i use? I guess you can compress the rockwool by stuffing it tightly between the joists, which is what i assume you did with the 100mm thickness rockwool you used?
Hi. my joist was 38x63 so I had to compress 100mm slabs down to 63mm. I did that by putting a piece of plywood on top of the rockwall slab and standing on it until I pushed the air out of it. However once you get off it, the rockwall expands again a little. But I was just able to compress it enough and attach the drywall to the frame with a lot of effort. The rockwall was pushing the drywall away from the joist and when I finally managed to screw it in, because the drywall is soft the screws started to sink into the drywall and I thought the screws would go straight through. However with more screws I was able to stop this. I would not recommend trying this. It would be very difficult to compress 100mm to 55mm. Probably best to use a size that will fit but the smaller the size the less soundproofing you will get. If it is for a musical instrument then 50mm of rockwall will not make much of a difference to the sound. If you watch my video where I do the test results you will be able to judge whether less than 100mm is sufficient. Also multiple layers of drywall is heavy so you will need to know that the wood can support it. All the videos I watched on the subject used joist 100mm and above so there was no need to compress the rockwall. I did see a video for a vocal booth with 50mm rockwall but there were no test results. Hope this helps. With such an expensive project you need to make sure you will be happy with it in the end. Thanks.
@@Saxcomprehensive Hi, that's good to know, thanks alot for the info. I guess one solution would be to just add more joists (inside or outside) on top of the existing joists. So that 55mm would become 110mm joists. Then I can safely fit e.g. 110mm rockwool between the joists. Would be more expensive but might as well ensure it will perform well. I plan to sing and play guitar in mine :)
Hi. I do not have any recommendations. It is probably best to use what professionals use when sound proofing a room since it is the same principle. There are lots of videos on sound proofing a room. The acoustic sealant stays pliable and so will not shrink or harden so will not result in cracks or air gap over time. However, I don't think it will make a big difference to such a small room. I just used some silicone sealant since it was cheaper. The real issue is the denseness of the walls and door since the sound will travel through them. The sound test on my booth shows that the sound will still escape with a single wall design. So unless you are going to use materials like mass loaded vinyl or a double wall construction, be aware that it will not be totally sound proof but will reduce the sound. Good luck with your sound booth.
This all makes sense to me but the door is a bit confusing. Do you think you’ll ever make a video explaining in detail how the door is built with what type of hinges and everything.
Hi. The door is a normal wooden door using 3 ordinary door hinges and is secured to the outer framework like any door would be in a house. To make the door thicker and while it was already secured in place, I screwed a wooden framework to the door as seen in the video. I then placed the insulation within the framework and sealed it off with 2 layers of drywall on the inside and 1 layer on the outside. Because the door will be thicker you have to be careful not to put the framework close to the edge where the lock will be as the door would not close or open because it is too thick. By trial and error you can find the right place and put a strip of drywall on the edge of the door. Once the thicker door closes properly, you can then attach an inner framework to the booth so that the door closes against it to make an airtight seal. Basically I made the inner framework, went inside the booth, closed the door and screwed the framework in place so it was a nice fit. Hope this helps. Thanks
Hi. If you want to reduce sound you need something thick and dense. Mineral wool is denser than styrofoam and therefore better. I have seen booths made with styrofoam and drywall but they were vocal booths and many did not have test results. If you want to reduce the sound of an instrument styrofoam alone would not be good. It would only be used with other more denser materials. If you watch my other video where I have test results for my booth you will see that even mineral wool and drywall still allows a lot of sound through. Styrofoam would do a worse job than that. It really depends on how much sound you need to reduce. It may be adequate for vocal recordings but not for reducing the sound of instruments. Thanks.
Hi. I play my saxophone in there for about 40 mins and then have a break. Since the booth is small I can open the door briefly without leaving my seat if I want to let in fresh air. For this size booth I don't think it is worth installing ventilation especially since I can easily open the door for a few minutes after practicing a few songs. The main problem is the heat and noise inside the booth but the noise is reduced by using headphones and mic and if I get too hot I have a break. Thanks
You could probably add a vent but in order for it not to ruin the soundproofing it needs to be well insulated and have a lot of twists and turns inside the walls before it reaches the inner chamber
Hi. I spent just under £600. There is a price breakdown on one of my videos with a sound test. £600 is a lot but way cheaper than buying a professional booth which is about £3000. Thanks
