Help me find sound blankets for soundproofing a room.

April 17, 2007 8:08 AM

Help me find sound blankets for soundproofing a room. But with a twist . . .

I'm recording some audio inside a small room and I know that you can use moving blankets or furniture pads to deaden the sound. But I'm going to be surrounded by these blankets for a few weeks in a small room so I'm wondering if there are any "aesthetically pleasing" styles out there that might be some color besides pale brown or windex blue, maybe there's something with a pleasing pattern? Long shot but if anyone can help, it's the AskMefi crowd . . .

posted by jeremias to media & arts (5 comments total)

Why not place curtains in front of your sound-dampening blankets? Then you have as much selection as your local fabric shop will provide.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:18 AM on April 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Have you thought of using quilts? I'm not sure how much pattern you're willing to use - you could alternate patterns and solids or have one patterned wall for something interesting to look at. Some modern quilts are really interesting, simple and beautiful, and are often just as padded and thick as any sound blanket. You could also just put up standard sound blankets and pin or baste sheets or lengths of interesting fabric over them, or cover them with curtains.
posted by iconomy at 8:21 AM on April 17, 2007

ATS Acoustics in Illinois, USA; makes nice wall panels that could possibly pass as art, if not merely 'yeah, made in America' home material. Not quilts, but they would not have to be stored after use as they can fit an aesthetic.
posted by buzzman at 9:00 AM on April 17, 2007

I was hired to build sound dampening screens for a recording studio that needed somthing ASAP, heres what I did: I bought several 4x8 sheets of sound proofing material and the cheapest paneling I could find. Both will run you about $10 a sheet at any large hardware store.

I cut some the sound proofing material and paneling into matching assorted sizes and left some 4x8. Then I bonded the two pieces with liquid nails and let them sit over night.

The next day I wrapped the bonded pieces with black felt, stapling the cloth in the back to the paneling. (you could use whatever cloth fits your taste as long as it has the density you need absorb sound)

They were light enough to hang on walls or could be proped up. Being mobile the sound guy could put them were ever worked best for his needs, and he could take them down at the end of the day.

Very cheap to build, and I think he still uses them from time to time. Hope this helps!
posted by BostonJake at 1:20 PM on April 17, 2007

All great answers, I think I'm going to go with the quilt route just because there is a broader range of material. The unfortunate design of the artgalleryquilts site, which I found through one of iconomy's links, belies some of the nice designs available.

BostonJake, I love that project and will end up doing something like that in the end . . .

The ATS Acoustics would have fit the bill because of the specificity of the soundproofing material, but those designs just didn't quite make it . .
posted by jeremias at 2:06 PM on April 17, 2007 [1 favorite]