Greetings,

I have a 10 x 20 workshop I'd like to turn into home recording space for spoken word, hand drums, and Native American flute.

The existing rectangular space has a concrete floor, exposed studs (no insulation yet), and a wood-paneled ceiling. Needless to say, a lousy-sounding room with no absorption / control at all.

Any ideas on how best to acoustically treat this room without spending a ton of money on commercial sound control panels? (I already have a solution for quieting the computers).

Open to all ideas.

There is an ENORMOUS amount of information available on this forum and many others about DIY sound treatments.

Search, and read. It will keep you busy for some time.

For an example, start at my website in the photos section:
www.junglenoisestudio.com

well yes, a big question indeed. Get some insulation in the studs, I'd suggest the new 'green' cotton batting made from old denims, a bit more expensive but worth it. very quiet and good insulation. cover with something, drywall, paneling.
then I'd look into suspending some of the inexpensive packing blankets in front of the walls on curtain rods, or heavy lined curtains for that matter. Then something on the ceiling too, don't worry about the floor. You should be able to treat that room for about $150

http://www.markertek.com/Product.asp?baseItem=SAB%2D1&c...T;&mfg;=&search;=0&off;=

Thanks Kel!

I'm interested in this "green" material you mentioned, any idea where I can find it?

Are you able to 'build' in the room?

Adding insulation between the existing studs, then building a second layer of framed wall (with the studs offset) just inside, but not touching, the first (sort of a 'room within a room' idea), and ideally two layers of drywall on the inside of that (with the final layer attached with adhesive such as 'green glue' rather than nails or screws), and a similar 'room within a room' floated ceiling, could make a huge difference.

I guess I should start by asking, are you going for isolation ('soundproofing' - keeping sound inside from getting out, and vice versa), or improving the acoustics ('acoustic treatment')?

QUOTE] I guess I should start by asking, are you going for isolation ('soundproofing' - keeping sound inside from getting out, and vice versa), or improving the acoustics ('acoustic treatment')?[[/QUOTE]

Hi, thanks. This is mostly about acoustic treatment, but I suppose *some* isolation would also result right? Yes, I can get in here and build what I want, but at only 10' wide, I can't see adding any more thickness to the walls than necessary. Thermal insulation can go in between the studs, that would be a good start and smart move. And maybe one or two of the walls could be splayed out a bit to avoid parallel surfaces. Then some sort of absorption/diffusion panel on top of that.

this stuff:
http://www.bondedlogic.com/ultratouch.htm

you could put some 5/8" drywall on the studs after filling with this and have decent isolation..if you're not doing drums or bands..

be aware...

that standard 'pink' style batt insulation, will do nothing for sound treatment....

that's strictly thermal...

yea, absolutely right Gonz, that's why I suggest this eco cotton stuff. Its about 4 times the sound damping, and even makes a great wall trap if you're good at framing and grill cloth. besides you don't need eye or skin protection to install

kel-
i would think, a combination of that eco cotton and rock wool in big frames, would make an awesome situation

yea, it would. I may make some traps with the cotton stuff, now that it comes in R19. I think it'll be quite a bit better than foam of any kind. I will say that I got some of the Auralex ProPanels of OC703 upholstered..very very nice, but expensive. I DIY'd it for my home studio traps, except the realtraps. I think some 1x4 pine frames with this cotton stuff inside would do really nicely around a drum kit or vocal area.
It's a bit of work though, but each trap in my studio came out to about $40.

if one were to stuff a room corner and frame it(perhaps about foot & a half) off you'd probably get decent low end absorbtion.. no fibers or fumes

Hey, thanks for the tip on the ego/green solution . . .

UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber

I'd like to go that direction. Definitely want to stay away from fiberglas (I know the rock wool is different, just never seen it). So yes, a combination of eco cotton and rock wool could be just the ticket.