TAXI.com

I live on a very busy street in New York City and need to be able to block out the sound coming from three windows. I've looked at these acoustic soundproof blankets ABSC-25 AudioSeal™ Combination Blankets http://acousticalsolutions.com/audiosea ... n-blankets. Have any of you used these before? Do you have any other inexpensive ways to block out the sound? This is my first home studio set up. Thanks for your help Mary

Hi Mary -

Welcome to the Forums.

In my experience, Soundproof and inexpensive are like oil and water - they don't go well together. When building a professional studio, it isn't uncommon to spend most of your budget on soundproofing. To get good results, a lot of money needs to be spent. But that doesn't mean you can"t make your room more workable.

You didn't mention what you are using the room for - recording vocals? Guitar? mixing? and what type of music you are creating.

Also, what kind of sounds are you dealing with. I'm guessing traffic (which the low freq rumble, large truck noise stuff will be very hard to get rid of ) and horns, which may be easier.

If you are doing vocals, I would suggest something like the SE Electronics Reflexion Filter http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ReflexionX. That should go a long way to help you get better sounding vocals and help keep out some of the noise.

I would also look at GIK Acoustics and maybe spring for something like this: http://www.gikacoustics.com/product/gik ... een-panel/ or this: http://www.gikacoustics.com/product/fre ... anel-gobo/ Get a couple of those large, freestanding traps. Put a heavy blanket or two in one corner behind you and when recording, surround yourself in these traps - making a little vocal booth/cave space. That should help a lot.

Cheers
kc

btw: I'm not affiliated with Sweetwater or GIK - but I use them all the time and find them to have very good customer support and overall great businesses - especially GIK!

For about the same STC rating of 30, these might be cheaper, custom fitted, and a little more stylish and practical?

http://residential-acoustics.com/

http://residential-acoustics.com/shop/s ... ticurtain/

Worlds best heavy curtains for soundproofing has its excellent Soundproof Performance . A quality acoustic block curtains control noise by preventing sound transmitting and absorbing sound energy perfectly.

With soundproof curtains you need be careful on how you use them. Otherwise you will be dampening too much frequencies and you will take away a lot of the highs. You could build or buy some acoustic panels on stands.

Have you got secondary double glazing fitted already ?

For soundproofing and acoustics you might want to look at acoustic-curtains.com. They have soundproofing curtains as well as
well as acoustic curtains. I went with them because the acoustic curtains are NRC rated meaning you get a sense of how much sound they absorb. A high STC curtain might not be good for a studio, since it could also have a lot of reflection. They also offer options for just soundproofing if that is what you need.

If you can't install triple-pane glass, Auralex Sheetblock might be something to look into. I think it's primarily designed for floors, but might do, in a pinch. You might also consider plugging the window wells with Owens-Corning 703.