Portable Drum Booth?

2A Batterie · 11th December 2006

I've just moved to a new home and the walls are paper thin with the neighboring houses being like two feet away on each side. I'm looking at buying some sort of portable drum iso-booth (I know I've seen some advertised in MD and Percussive Notes. Does anyone know of where/what I should buy? Does anyone have any experience using this type of products?

cajonezzz · 11th December 2006

uber expensive to buy prefab. You'll be looking at 5k plus to get in the ball park, and have something that's really gonna work.

I just built a booth ( vocal ) in my garage, it's in a condo unit, and I
ve put about 1700 into the build so far, and have got it to where I can do a "minikit" in there.... still no way to do full blown drums... and I think you'll have the same issues.

but: if you put the time and money into constructing a room with in a room, you may be able to make it work. ventilation is going to be an issue.

if you have the $$$, look at the whisper rooms...and get the top of the line, and you should be able to make it work .

They aren't the most pleasing sounding rooms, but you may get some interesting tight dry tones if your going to record in there.

it's a bitch.

best of luck man!

cz

2A Batterie · 11th December 2006

I was thinking more of something like [URL="http://www.clearsonic.com/isopac_b.html"]this[/URL="http://www.clearsonic.com/isopac_b.html"], which is under $1500, and while it won't totally isolate, it will help absorb some of the rxcess db from drums that enrage neigbors. Does anyone have any experience with these? How well do they work in regards to isolation and how do they sound when you put up mics to record?

cajonezzz · 12th December 2006

Shitty on both counts.

I play in one of these on a couple church gigs i do.... it keeps some of the direct cymbal noise out of vocal mics, and backs the stage volume down a bit, but not substantially.

it sounds HORRID from drummers perspective unless your wearing in ears ( i do)
and the plexiglass can cause some serious problems in mics. Therre is a thread somewhere here where a few AE's chime in on it's sonics.

As far as isolation that will aid you in not pissing off your neighbors.... Huh uh.

The low end is what's going to piss em off... thump thump thump, and to get rid of that will take, as i said before- a major investment in MASS.

Start looking around at John Sayers site for home drum booths, and on Home Recording .org studio building... there's a wealth of info there.

the clearsonic is a complete waste of money IMO.

chetatkinsdiet · 12th December 2006

...beat me to it. These types of things won't handle any mid or lower frequencies. Actually, I just spent TONS of money building a freestanding behind my house and you can still hear the bass and kick drum outside. Not too loud, but it's still there.

To do what you want to do, there are no quick, shortcuts. Mass and isolation are the only things that will cut down on the sound transmission.

Honestly, the cheaper alternative is to get the most expensive electronic kit you care to purchase.

Check out www.johnlsayers.com and read the forum there. Lots of great info on studio construction and such.

later,

m

2A Batterie · 14th December 2006

I hate to keep beating a dead horse, but I tried out one of those iso booths at PASIC and it seemed to help out with "turning down" the drums. I don't think it would totally isolate a kit, but it would help. Then again, I was in a noisy convention hall full of drummers beating themselves off... literally and figuratively. Should I just totally get this iso booth out of my head or what?

whitman · 12th July 2007

I am a "popular drum shield company" dealer and I think it is a product that is good for the application in which you're using it. The IsopackA reduces stage volume tremendously in a live setting. They are great for reducing drum noise on stage. In the studio or home it WILL be a WASTE of money. The only way to not hear it outside will be to build a room inside a room with plenty of airspace in between the walls and lots of rock wool for those low frequencies. I no someone who built a recording studio here in Memphis and he dropped around 80 grand on his building and it's only about 700 square feet. A tracking room and a mixing room. you gotta have bucks to get 100% sound proof.

11th December 2006	#1
2A Batterie Gear maniac Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 179 Thread Starter	Portable Drum Booth? I've just moved to a new home and the walls are paper thin with the neighboring houses being like two feet away on each side. I'm looking at buying some sort of portable drum iso-booth (I know I've seen some advertised in MD and Percussive Notes. Does anyone know of where/what I should buy? Does anyone have any experience using this type of products?

11th December 2006	#2
cajonezzz Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Carlsbad Ca. Posts: 1,765	uber expensive to buy prefab. You'll be looking at 5k plus to get in the ball park, and have something that's really gonna work. I just built a booth ( vocal ) in my garage, it's in a condo unit, and I ve put about 1700 into the build so far, and have got it to where I can do a "minikit" in there.... still no way to do full blown drums... and I think you'll have the same issues. but: if you put the time and money into constructing a room with in a room, you may be able to make it work. ventilation is going to be an issue. if you have the $$$, look at the whisper rooms...and get the top of the line, and you should be able to make it work . They aren't the most pleasing sounding rooms, but you may get some interesting tight dry tones if your going to record in there. it's a bitch. best of luck man! cz __________________ http://recordingdrummerproducer.com http://socaldrumsociety.com http://ProCraftMedia.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

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12th December 2006	#4
cajonezzz Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: Carlsbad Ca. Posts: 1,765	Shitty on both counts. I play in one of these on a couple church gigs i do.... it keeps some of the direct cymbal noise out of vocal mics, and backs the stage volume down a bit, but not substantially. it sounds HORRID from drummers perspective unless your wearing in ears ( i do) and the plexiglass can cause some serious problems in mics. Therre is a thread somewhere here where a few AE's chime in on it's sonics. As far as isolation that will aid you in not pissing off your neighbors.... Huh uh. The low end is what's going to piss em off... thump thump thump, and to get rid of that will take, as i said before- a major investment in MASS. Start looking around at John Sayers site for home drum booths, and on Home Recording .org studio building... there's a wealth of info there. the clearsonic is a complete waste of money IMO.

12th December 2006	#5
chetatkinsdiet Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,493	...beat me to it. These types of things won't handle any mid or lower frequencies. Actually, I just spent TONS of money building a freestanding behind my house and you can still hear the bass and kick drum outside. Not too loud, but it's still there. To do what you want to do, there are no quick, shortcuts. Mass and isolation are the only things that will cut down on the sound transmission. Honestly, the cheaper alternative is to get the most expensive electronic kit you care to purchase. Check out www.johnlsayers.com and read the forum there. Lots of great info on studio construction and such. later, m

14th December 2006	#6
2A Batterie Gear maniac Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 179 Thread Starter	I hate to keep beating a dead horse, but I tried out one of those iso booths at PASIC and it seemed to help out with "turning down" the drums. I don't think it would totally isolate a kit, but it would help. Then again, I was in a noisy convention hall full of drummers beating themselves off... literally and figuratively. Should I just totally get this iso booth out of my head or what?

12th July 2007	#7
whitman Gear Head Joined: Jun 2007 Location: Memphis Posts: 49	I am a "popular drum shield company" dealer and I think it is a product that is good for the application in which you're using it. The IsopackA reduces stage volume tremendously in a live setting. They are great for reducing drum noise on stage. In the studio or home it WILL be a WASTE of money. The only way to not hear it outside will be to build a room inside a room with plenty of airspace in between the walls and lots of rock wool for those low frequencies. I no someone who built a recording studio here in Memphis and he dropped around 80 grand on his building and it's only about 700 square feet. A tracking room and a mixing room. you gotta have bucks to get 100% sound proof.