Module 1 Video 13

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

STUDIO CONSTRUCTION
PARTITIONS AND DRYWALL EXAMPLE

Now lets just look a bit deeper into this concept of partitions
for sound isolation. First, lets have a look at a wall.

The first wall I want to look at is a single drywall, with an

STC of 50. It has a double layer of half-inch plasterboard:

Plasterboard

Plasterboard

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

Then theres the Single batt insulation.

Its one layer of insulation in the cavity of the drywall:

Insulation

You must have insulation that is of at least 3 pounds per

cubic foot density. So if you have the double half-inch
plasterboard on both sides and the insulation then you
should achieve an STC of 50. For me this is the absolute
minimum for a studio. At an STC of 50 very loud talk is
almost entirely inaudible, music can barely be heard,
but bass is still disruptive.
So you will have some leak-through but it will be minimal.

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

I have gone for a double wall system as you can see here:

Plasterboard

Plasterboard

So basically its two walls with double half-inch plasterboard

on both sides.
Then weve got double batt insulation:
Insulation

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

Again, that insulation is 3 pounds per cubic foot density.

The main difference is that not only is it double but theres
this air gap in the middle:

Air gap

This air gap can be anything from 2 to 3 inches all the way
up to a foot. A foot would be ideal but if you dont have the
space 2 or 3 inches will really make a huge difference and
this has an STC of 65.
At an STC of 65 music is barely heard, the bass notes
make a slight thumping noise but speech, noise and
outside noises are completely inaudible. This is the
system that Ive gone for in my studio. Its really, really good.
There will be some slight leakage of bass through this
double wall but its only at very loud volumes.

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

An easy way to overcome this is, just when you are

recording, dont record with the loudspeakers too loud in the
control room. Have them at a medium volume.
It also depends on what youre recording. If youre
recording a soft-sung voice then put your loudspeaker
volume down a bit, but if youre recording a guitar amp then
the guitar amp is quite loud so you shouldnt have a
problem. You shouldnt have too much leak-through into the
booth.

As I said in the previous lesson, the two main components

are mass and decoupling. What makes this the most
effective, is that were getting mass coming from two
sources: the double half-inch plasterboard and the
insulation. As I said earlier, its best to have a combination
of a very dense mass (the more dense mass would be the
half-inch plasterboard), and then a porous softer mass like
the insulation. The third element is the decoupling, which is
the air gap. So, we have a very dense mass, a porous
mass and then an air gap which is decoupling. These are
the three elements you need to create isolation, to stop
sound transmitting from one area into another and we have
all three in this double drywall.
In the single drywall we have the two kinds of mass - a
dense mass and a porous mass - but we dont have
decoupling - we dont have an air gap.

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

Then theres the Mac-daddy, the best solution of all: Its

either a brick or concrete wall followed by a drywall with an
air gap in-between.
Heres an example starting first with the brick wall then the
air gap followed by the insulation and finally the drywall/
plasterboard:

This achieves an STC of 70. As I said, with an STC of 70

you have almost complete isolation. Youll never get
complete isolation unless you really spend a lot of money.
Already at about 65 to 70 STC youre starting to reach the
professional levels of sound isolation.

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

Now Im going to show you what I did in my studio, what I

used and how I did it.
This is the layout of the room as I started:
Single
Drywall

Garage
Door

On the right is where the double garage doors are and you
can see that Ive put a line to show that its closed. The first
thing I did was build a single drywall with double layers of
half-inch plasterboard.

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

If we zoom in on that you can see theres insulation in

between and double layers of half-inch plasterboard on both
sides of the wall:

Now youll notice that this actually creates a second wall for
me because theres the drywall, then theres that space and
then theres the garage doors which are closed. So even
though the garage doors are not exactly the most airtight
sealed wall, it still is a barrier, so this becomes a double
barrier.

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

This is what I did for my booth:

Double Wall

I went for a double wall.

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

If we zoom in youll see that its a double drywall:

So there are two steel-stud drywalls, double half-inch

plasterboard on both sides, double insulation and theres
that air gap in between.
Let me just say that in my experience, Ive done all kinds of
combinations building studios and like I said, this is not the
absolute best.
If you used a brick wall and drywall combination that would
be even better, but this is a really effective and very
professional solution and it works very well for me. Only if I
put the loudspeakers really loud then it leaks a little into the
booth. You cant hear any conversation. You cant hear any
outside noises. Its pretty dead inside there.

http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos

Module 1 Video 13

Another bit of advice: when youre putting on second and

third layers of plasterboard, Always make the seams out
of sync with each other. You dont want the seam of one
plasterboard to be in line with the seam of another
plasterboard and that applies to ceilings as well which were
going to cover next.
Cool guys! So thats my system, using those three options.

Copyright 2013 by David Campos

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http://www.AdvancedMusicProduction.com Copyright 2013 by David Campos