Building mine in a bus.

bob oakman · #1 09-30-2002, 10:12 PM

...a studio that is. You see, I bought an Eagle bus, like the entertainer coaches bands bum around in. It's 40 feet long. I am driving it home in a couple weeks. I am so excited! The mechanic we hired to check it out said it was the best Eagle he has seen in 10 years. I said, 'cool'.

Now I have to work out some problems. The studio will primarily be used for my production/voice-over stuff, but recording/mixing music is also one of its functions. I am putting an AC/Heat Pump unit in one of the cargo bays and wiring up a breaker box that can be plugged into 240 or 120 volts. The living space in the front will be separated from the studio space in back by a bathroom, so there will be double walls. An air lock, if you will. The AC ducting will be large, designed to move large volumes of air at slow speed.

My main concern is sound proofing the studio. I don't want to hear that AC unit at all. (it will be in the front bay-studio in the back section) I would love to hear some suggestions about thin sound proofing materials I can use under the floor covering and the wall treatments in the studio section. Also, sound and heat proof lining for the bay with the unit in it. and after buying this thing, I don't have a lot of money to spend. Note: The entire floor will be hardwood.

Any ideas? Thanks.

Coming soon: bobsbus.com The company, the web site, the band. Check the site for the new logo (coming soon). I think it turned out really cool. Kinda like the Rat Finks of the 60s and 70s. Here's the look so far.

musicdr · #2 10-01-2002, 12:53 AM

Not an expert on soundproofing,but I really dig the logo!

30yroldpig · #3 10-01-2002, 02:56 AM

Bob, that is very cool news. I am really excited and the logo is very cool.

As for soundproffing, I don't know what "too much money" is but we have a couple of these Pre-built sound proof rooms at our studio and they do the job pretty good, Check em out at www.mecart.com and maybe try and get at quote from a profesional design engineer http://www.pilchner-schoustal.com.

Good luck
Cheers
Pat

bob oakman · #4 10-01-2002, 11:46 AM

I have seen those isolation room things. Maybe I can do some research on how the walls are constructed and do something similar. I have some experience with studio construction and soundproofing, but wall thickness was never an issue.

I'm trying to think of a thin material, like a hard rubber barrier to put under the floor and wall treatment. Something that will help isolate acoustically.

Maybe something like conveyor belt material??

darren wilson · #5 10-01-2002, 12:38 PM

So your wife gets her dining room back?

bob oakman · #6 10-01-2002, 01:23 PM

Yup. It will once again be a typical family dwelling, ready to go on the market when I become wildly seccessful and able to choose my geography.

pri0531 · #7 10-01-2002, 01:31 PM

I can't wait to take a ride on the bus. I have a feeling that you are going to FRIEGHTEN the H*ll out of some fellow motorist here in H-Town. Congrats!!!!!
Out,
GP

oooo · #8 10-01-2002, 01:31 PM

Hey Bob... this site might be of some use. http://www.acoustics101.com/welcome.htm
A bus Huh? That's a really cool idea. Will you be able to drive this thing around and record live shows and such?

30yroldpig · #9 10-01-2002, 02:58 PM

I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier but try Neoprene. It's used commonly as pucks to float floors.

Lonely Raven · #10 10-01-2002, 03:23 PM

I don't remember where I saw it, but a lot of studios are using recycled
tire flooring in studios to tame bright rooms and help isolate things.

I read an article on it somewhere.

Also butyl is a classic inexpensive means of deadening anything that might
rattle and also has decent insulation properties.

Lonely Raven · #11 10-01-2002, 03:30 PM

I don't remember where I saw it, but a lot of studios are using recycled
tire flooring in studios to tame bright rooms and help isolate things.

I read an article on it somewhere.

Also butyl is a classic inexpensive means of deadening anything that might
rattle and also has decent insulation properties.

bob oakman · #12 10-01-2002, 03:57 PM

Thanks for your help so far guys. I am starting to get some ideas about what to do.

Learned some stuff about ducting on the acoustics101 site too.

The studio I presently work in has some kind of rubber floring in the central machine room. Maybe its neoprene. I don't know, but it looks like it could work under hardwood flooring.

LGMT · #13 10-01-2002, 11:26 PM

I have a cousing working in a industry filtering and after some tests we used one of the products like sound isolator (He sold a lot for FIAT) made by a kind of cotton, like a felt. In fact it´s a heavily compressed felt. So you can get various densitys. It´s a matterial like cars interior,and when we build our third studio we used a lot of it in the walls. I´ll check the exact material.

Hope that helped

check this link

http://www.artenafex.com.br/iprodprem.htm

bob oakman · #14 10-01-2002, 11:44 PM

LGMT, That may be a great product for the wall covering in the studio part of the bus. I am getting tired of the Sonix look. Besides, the stuff I have is purple.

ya' know I have inquired in many places and searched the web and finally posted here. The few replies I have had has been more fruitful than all the other searching.

Anyway, the quest for a thin, sound isolating material continues. I want to see all the options before I decide, as I have a little time to mess around with this project.

Thanks all.

Polaris20 · #15 10-02-2002, 08:07 AM

How big is this bus? It must be sizeable. Man, that's sweet to have a mobile studio like that.