There are two main reasons why you may want to soundproof your studio. The first reason being to limit the level of airborne sound (such as traffic noise) from entering your studio from the outside world. The second reason being to limit airborne noise (from studio monitors) or impact noise (from drum kits) transmitting through the structure of your studio to the outside world upsetting your neighbours.
Understanding the basics of soundproofing is key to designing, building or retrofitting studio soundproofing. This short yet very informative video by Acoustic Geometry features some very smart visual demonstrations showing how sound passes through structures. The video also explains three different types of soundproofing that can be installed to keep sound in and out of a room or studio:
- Increasing airborne sound isolation
- Increasing structural sound isolation
- Increasing structural mass
The video highlights some products that can be used to get the best soundproofing results but the main focus of this video is to teach us the fundamentals of soundproofing, this video is well worth a watch no matter your level of experience.
Soundproofing Installation Articles
The two articles below are part of a How To Build A Soundproof Recording Studio series. Both these articles cover in detail two topics this video highlights:
- Increasing structural mass: Using a mass loaded vinyl product called TECSOUND
- Increasing structural isolation: Using a decoupling system called GenieClip
GenieClip System - A Very Effective Sound Isolation Component For Studios