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Soundproofing a room, what is your experience



 
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gpessa
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 9:08 am    Post subject: Soundproofing a room, what is your experience Reply with quote

I'm a bit getting crazy.

I live in an apartment and my neighbors are obviously not happy about my hobby.

I could spend some money (I have a budget of 5000-6000usd) but I would like to be sure that later I will be able to play.

What is your experience?
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jazzjezz
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 10:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm in the fortunate position to live in a detached house - so its only my immediate family that I get to annoy when I practice.

I bought a couple of acoustic blankets from Vocal Booth To Go. I hang one over the window in my practice room and one other the door.

I would say that they work well to reduce intrusive noise from outside, and reduce the perception of volume to the other house members (maybe reducing the higher frequencies/ stridency). But a not very scientific attempt at measuring sound level with a noise meter app on my phone showed no discernible reduction.

If you are annoying neighbours I suspect you would need to go to greater lengths if you want to play unmuted.
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gpessa
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 10:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

jazzjezz wrote:
If you are annoying neighbours I suspect you would need to go to greater lengths if you want to play unmuted.


Yes, I definitely need a bigger gun
I live in Amsterdam, in an pretty apartment.
Isolation is pretty bad
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JayKosta
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 10:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This website appears to contain good information -

https://soundproofcentral.com/fully-soundproof-room/

A key point is to eliminate 'mechanical connections' that transmit sound vibrations - hence the room-inside-a-room concept. An important consideration is preventing hard connection to the floor of the main room. Ideally the inner room would capture the sound and 'float' inside the main room.
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michael_bxl
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is difficult (especially for the ceiling, doors and windows), expensive, makes your room stuffy (very less pleasant to play in), and I would say that even the best result will let go 25% of the sound.

But it is doable. First, be sure your room is big enough (it will reduce a good 30 cm (12 inches) for each side of the room !!), after make some good researches, if you can do it yourself, find the material and do it, if not, be sure to find the company, and ask them to see previous finished project. Most of the company, even specialized ones, won't do a perfect job.

Even the smallest imperfection can destroy all the work.

Good luck.
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kpw
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Soundproofing can be a bit tricky, as you're always fighting the weakest link in transmission loss. For apartments and houses, there are a lot of possible paths (walls, floors, windows, ventilation ducts, etc. etc...) I think michael_bxl's comment about the smallest imperfection destroying all the work is quite fitting.

Perhaps coming at this from another angle could be useful. You could construct or purchase a dedicated isolation booth, so you have ultimate control over all the transmission paths (instead of needing to understand all of the flanking and direct paths around your apartment). I'm sure there are others, but something like the products offered here: https://www.vocalbooth.com/
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Richard III
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 12:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why not rent a storage unit and use that?
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royjohn
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 1:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A soundproof room is so expensive and then will probably be so acoustically dead that it is not a pleasure to play in...I would suggest trying to find another place where you could practice in your neighborhood. IDK what is available there in the Netherlands...here in the USA there are lots of churches and most of them have buildings attached for meetings (Sunday School) which are used mainly on Sundays and maybe a night or two during the week. Often idle and unoccupied during the day or even some evenings. There may be music schools which have practice rooms that you could borrow or rent. Maybe an apartment in a vacant building...many possibilities.

Just another alternative. Good luck!
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Proteus
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RoyJohn is right about not enjoying practice in a soundproofed space. Years ago I was in the anechoic chamber at the National Research Council's Acoustics Division in Ottawa. It was as dead as possible with no reverberation whatsoever, and in such a space there would be little or no feedback coming from your bell - a very unnatural thing and an uncomfortable space in which to play. So creating a soundproof space in which to practice presents two challenges: minimizing/eliminating the volume of sound that gets to the neighbours, while also retaining enough reverberation (internal reflections) so it's still an enjoyable place in which to practice.

I suggest not going to that trouble and expense until you've exhausted all other potential places to play ie. church halls, local meeting rooms, private garage, apartment basement, etc.
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HaveTrumpetWillTravel
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 5:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

How many neighbors do you have? One option is to ask them to listen while you play in four or five different spaces (into your closet, bedroom 1, etc).

I think your best bet is going to be mild dampening (play into closet/bookshelf/case with pillows around) + loud fan/white noise in adjacent space. If you do learn anything let us know, because this comes up often.

If you're not a professional, I think using a practice mute is also a good suggestion. I try to play anything boring with my mute and practice lyrical playing without it.

PS--when this comes up people discuss professional sound techs, but I have never heard the follow up on it. If you have a professional take a look, report back to let us know what they say on options/cost. I'm curious.
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BraeGrimes
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you want soundproof, the prefabricated rooms are genuinely quite amazing. I know a few musicians who lives in close quarters who have kept the peace using these. They are expensive, but you can move them if you need to move. If it's just for practice, practice mutes are great. If you need to record yourself, soundproof rooms are fantastic. Someone was saying it's displeasing to play in a soundproof room? Well, I would counter that by saying it's very honest.
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LittleRusty
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 6:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here is an option that looks interesting.

Basically a sound insulated tube you put the bell of your trumpet into.

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deleted_user_687c31b
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PostPosted: Mon May 10, 2021 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

gpessa wrote:
Yes, I definitely need a bigger gun
I live in Amsterdam, in an pretty apartment.
Isolation is pretty bad


Have you considered maybe renting a practice room 1 or 2 days a week? Other than that, either a mute or LittleRusty's solution is probably your best option.

My own experiences with soundproofing have mostly been aimed at reducing the noise to acceptable levels. To do so, I chose a practice room as far removed from the neighbours' living rooms (so top floor), with as few adjacent walls as possible (a dormer), and then added sealing to multiple doors to prevent the sound from traveling through the house. Combined with practicing softer (which I aimed at doing anyway), that suffices for my neighbors (though I still have replacing the hollow doors with solid ones on my todo list).

Basically, I used the layout of my house to my advantage...not sure if that's possible with an Amsterdam apartment though...
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gpessa
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PostPosted: Tue May 11, 2021 1:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

@hibidogrulez
I live in a really tiny apartment, moving around is not an option.
But yes, that could help.

@LittleRusty
It looks pretty cool. Have you tried it? Does it work?

Is anyone having some options regarding the prefabricated rooms?
which one could work for a trumpet?

@royjohn, damn! I didn't know about this.... So, even if it would be possible to have a soundproof room, it would sound horrible
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jengstrom
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PostPosted: Tue May 11, 2021 3:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

LittleRusty wrote:
Here is an option that looks interesting.

Basically a sound insulated tube you put the bell of your trumpet into.


I made something similar to the picture above years ago out of plywood lined with 6” of fiberglas insulation. It worked like a charm, but was very heavy and awkward to use. If the outer wall is heavy enough to deaden some vibrations and the sound absorbing material inside is effective enough, this could be an option. But you will get tired of it fast.

Referencing an above post, I used to have an anechoic chamber at work when I did noise measurement work in a former life. I practiced n it a few times. Like playing in a sound vacuum. I don’t recommend it.

John
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LittleRusty
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PostPosted: Tue May 11, 2021 9:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

gpessa wrote:
@LittleRusty
It looks pretty cool. Have you tried it? Does it work?

I don’t have any experience with the product. I had seen this before and ran across it while searching for the case that turns into a silencer that was posted on here a few years back.

Here is a link to a discussion on a DIY version of the tube. John and I both contributed to that thread too.

Here is a link to the case I was remembering. It is called GS Studio by Marcus Bona. Here is a link to the case on MB’s website.
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harryjamesworstnightmare
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PostPosted: Fri May 14, 2021 6:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/soundproofing-windows/
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