Apartment Living Room Studio

How yall doin, So I have somewhat of an intereesting dilemna, and excuse me if this has been covered but I could not find anything while searching, just post a link and I'll check it out. So I live in an apartment and the only place I can put my studio is in the living room (see picture below). Using bedrooms or closets is not an option and my space only comes up to about 10.5 by 5.5 feet. What I basically need to accomplish is somewhat isolating this room from the rest of the living room (More because of distractions than noie) and quiet the room so that i dont bother my nieghbors (west wall and above). The room will be used for mixing and MIDI composition (vocal recording will be moved to the nook at a later date) and consists of a desk keyboard and turntable stand. My preferred method of construction would be to use panels of different construction for different areas that I could stand throughout the area. this is mainly because I cant do contruction in the apartment. Finally I would like to wrap the open (at this point panelled) area with a curtain (again because of distractions). Ive been fed with alot of rumors and information that I cant understand, and I need some definite materials that will isolate and improve acoustics. I apologize if I sound ignorant, but I really dont know whats truth or rumors with this stuff. Thanks alot J.E.

Aloha and welcome to the forum J.E.! :D No apologies necessary. We're all here to learn. :oops: :? :idea: :D 8) However, any chance you could:

Edit your profile to include your location. This is very important, because this is a worldwide resource, and as such, material costs and availability vary widely. For example, masonry is cheaper than gypsum in some parts of the globe, whereas it's the exact opposite in other regions.

This will really come in handy two or three posts down the road. It's also part of the forum guidelines: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3231 Thanks! :wink: Tough situation...a dilemma indeed! To achieve isolation, both from sound getting in or sound getting out, requires what has been described on this forum as the M-A-M or mass-air-mass principle. Isolation also requires making the environment airtight and vibration free. As you say being that you are in an apartment and cannot build such a structure, it doesn't look like you'll be able to accomplish the isolation you're after. Another approach is an iso-booth type of structure (as in Whisper Room: http://www.whisperroom.com/) but they are very expensive/less effective at isolation than the M-A-M approach (but another approach nonetheless.) That being said, here's a link to some acoustical treatments to at least improve the sound of the work area you're in. (However they do not accomplish the isolation you are after): http://www.johnlsayers.com/HR/index1.htm and here for more good info: http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html (be sure to click on the tabs at left and then at the top) By the way, I am in a somewhat similar situation as you, only in a house. If you care to, here's a couple of links to check out the learning curve I went through, the construction phase, and the listening test results: http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic ... ght=#15598 and here: http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4091 Hope these help, Aloha 8)

Sorry its been quite a while since I read the guidelines, ill edit that right away. I understand that I cannot achieve true isolation,that may have not been the right word, I just mean to quite things down a bit. thanks alot I will check out those links. J.E.