Guitar Gear Forum

So it's time to finish off the man-cave. My kids' bedrooms are direct above. We currently have the standard pink insulation but nothing else. I know I have to put up drywall. I don't expect it to be silent upstairs, but as it is now, I can hear everything upstairs, and they can hear everything in my room. Need some isolation so I can practice after they're asleep.

Should I remove the existing insulation and add something better?
Should I just keep what's there and add more?
Is there a type of ins that is better for stopping sound that is readily available?
One layer of 5/8 drywall or two layers of 1/2"?

Appreciate the advice.

If you want a cheaper option than full blown sound proofing check audimute sound absorption sheets.


I recently bought 5 and they worked so well I bought 10 more. Made a crazy difference.

if you add another layer of drywall there is a sound-dampening solution that can help assist in sound blocking. one such product is green glue and another is quiet glue. there are others as well. i think special sound rated drywall is basically two layers of drywall sandwiched with a later of dampening solution between but is way much more expensive then just using standard drywall and adding that sound solution between two layers.

other options as something like mass loaded vinyl under the drywall. there are also similar products that might be about as effective but more expensive. for example acousti-blok. they have demonstration videos like this one:
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QVn6xaeOvs[/video] however, no comparison video to other sound blocking products that may do just as good job for much less.

there is also ways of attaching the drywall in a decoupled manner rather directly on the studs with sound isolation clips for example... this especially assists with help blocking structural sound and lower frequencies which is the hardest to block.

also there is this soundproofing message board site. Its run by a company that sells soundproofing products but seem to have people posting there that know what they are talking about in regards to soundproofing.
http://supersoundproofing.com/forum/index.php?

sleewell wrote:If you want a cheaper option than full blown sound proofing check audimute sound absorption sheets.


I recently bought 5 and they worked so well I bought 10 more. Made a crazy difference.

Please tell me more about Audimute - I'm looking at their website - too good to be true, innit???? If I hang these sheets, will it let me set up a 4-5 piece band with drummer without pissing off my wife and killing the neighbor's pets? I'm not looking to be able to run CharvelDan full stacks at full volume at midnight, but I'd love to be able to set up a band to jam in my garage on weekends without having to soundproof the place as if it were Sound City.

Dude we play loud. Went from not being able to have a conversation upstairs to easily talking at regular volume. It does not sound proof totally but it really helps absorb mids, highs and made the rooms acoustics much better. They do a great job of knocking down volume to a much more tolerable level, easily worth the money and I wish I had bought them sooner.

When I only had 5 up Jenny forgot that I had them and asked me when I was done why I was playing so quiet. I wasn't, I always play loud. She says now it sounds like we are playing much farther away and she barely notices our full band downstairs.

Our jam room has 3 layers of shag carpet screwed to the walls lol.

It takes mass to deaden sound. A good way to go is to run a layer of neoprene between your existing drywall and some OSB you screw to the studs. That'll act like a vibration damper and help alot. The OSB will add mass to the existing wall and provide a place to anchor some room shaping stuff like lattice and bass-traps and carpet or whatnot. Use thick, heavy neoprene and be careful how you screw the OSB down so that you're getting fairly uniform thickness.