On 2/11/14, 12:10 PM, Swingman wrote:
On 2/11/2014 9:35 AM, -MIKE- wrote:
On 2/11/14, 8:47 AM, Swingman wrote:
On 2/10/2014 11:01 PM, -MIKE- wrote:
I've done that type of wall in studios and they perform very
poorly. Are they better than a standard stud wall? Yes, for
ordinary residential use. But they would never work for a
studio.
Never say never. 
They do for some practical applications in the studio. Depends
upon the location, distance from, and frequency that you wish to
mitigate.
Installed correctly, double stud walls will mitigate sound
transmission _by decoupling_, for _practical_ isolation in areas
like vocal booths, not so effectively in areas like drum and amp
booths.
Well, I am a drummer, right? :-p
But a double stud wall room/booth, a few feet away from a
separate double stud wall/booth, will often get you close enough
for practical purposes.
Now you're just making my point for me. If one works, why are you
now building two? :-)
In a word, utilization of interior space and, if done/placed
properly, of great benefit in reduction of standing waves in an
otherwise less than desirable recording space.
I would specify cement block. :-) Having done some alternating
stud walls, I'm left to wonder if it isn't easier and more
effective to simply build two walls, close to one another for those
purposes.
Depends upon where the facility is located, IOW, stand-alone,
commercial building, middle of a downtown city block, next to a
loading dock (- actual experience, there g), etc.
My point, having built three commercial studios from the ground up,
the pursuit of "soundproofing", and perfection in acoustic space, is
mostly one of the "holy grail" nature, never realized, ill advised,
and often practically unnecessary.
Very often, time and money better is better spent on practical issues
that have more impact on the recording environment.
Not to mention that, historically, more memorable hit records have
been cut in a waaaay less than perfect "studio environments -- the
likes Motown, Sun, Cowboy Jack Clements's, Muscle Shoals, Sugar Hill,
et al than in all the designer built, 'perfection of acoustic
environment', "soundproof" studios combined.
I couldn't agree more with that.
I've often been consulted on soundproofing/building out home studios and
I usually tell them to spend the money on mics. But perception is
reality. When a client walks into really cool decorated studio, with
all the crazy angles and thick glass partitions and Goliath doors and
all that, they get the feeling that their project is going to sound like
the studio looks.
When they walk into a converted garage (Motown!) and don't see all the
soundproofing bells and whistles, they think it's just a mom-n-pop home
studio. It very well might be, but until you hear what's been recorded
in there, you have no idea what kind of ear candy could come out of
place that doesn't have the looks of a place featured in Recording
magazine.
So my consulting client always opts for tricking the joint out with
expensive soundproofing crap from the vendors here in Nashville and
spend all their money on construction supplies and drywall finishers
(all those crazy angles) and when their done, they end up buying a
Mackie board and $100 mics from Guitar Center and they wonder why their
awesome room sounds like crap.
--
-MIKE-
"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com
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