Introduction

If you want to build a studio, one of your priorities should be soundproofing.  Nothing could be worse than loosing a killer track because of noise from the outside leaking in and corrupting your recording environment.  Most certainly you don't want to disturb any of your neighbors when that Hardcore band pops in for a late-night session.  Unless you have a grudge against them or something.

Ideally, you want a completely soundproof environment that allows for no sound leakage in or out.  The "no noise" scenario, however, is generally unrealistic for most project/home studios because of the costs involved, so you often have to compromise when it comes to sound-proofing.  Once one starts reading up on the various sound-proofing techniques, the average musician - hankering to build their own MIDI studio - will quickly realize that it is fairly expensive to convert your room into a "room-within-a-room", mounted on rubber pads or springs, to completely isolate you from the outside world.  (Yes, Virginia, they really do that!)  So, until you have written that  Grammy-winner, you can learn some of the basics of sound-proofing and implement them in your own studio without going completely broke!

Unless you have the sad luck of living next to a subway or airport, there are steps you can take to effectively block out all but the loudest noise.  The most important thing you should learn about soundproofing is one word: AIR.  That's right... air.  The secret to cutting down and, in some cases, eliminating sound from the outside world is sandwiching air between two pieces of material.