Mass Loaded Vinyl Soundproof Closet

[nworbetan]

I'm in the midst of designing a soundproof closet for the first time, and I'm looking for suggestions for a good high quality, low bullshit, brand/model of tape to use to seal the edges of the mlv sheets to each other to keep the structure air-tight. I'm specifically not interested in anything that's marketed as being "soundproofing tape" or any other such snake oil.

Does anyone know of a good adhesive tape that I can trust to last an indefinite amount of time at a reasonable price? Is duct tape actually the right tool for the job for once? You tell me.

[xtian]

Duct tape turns to dust eventually, in hot attics...maybe it would do fine in your house, though. Gaffer tape might be a good choice.

Would love to see photos of your build!

[norburybrook]

are you building it to put a speaker if for recording or as a rehearsal space so you can be in there and play your amps loud?


If it's the former then I would spend your money on a load box/IR player instead. In 2020 the iso cab is no longer the way to go as technology has advanced so much.

Check out the OX box or the new two notes captor or the boss wazza tube expander.

Apologies if it's not relevant.


M

[Phil_S]

You may think my suggestion is crazy. There is blue (or green or other color, but usually blue) painters tape made for outdoor use. The guidance for it's use says that you shouldn't leave it on for too long because the adhesive start to become more permanent. The outdoor stuff looks very tough to me. I think you'll be surprised at how well it might perform.

This stuff, notice it says 10 day clean removal. After 10 days, it tends to improve its cling.
https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Exterior- ... B00GRSS2M2

I wouldn't use duct tape. As Aaron says, it turns to dust or the adhesive starts to get messy and run or both.

[nworbetan]

Duct tape turns to dust eventually, in hot attics...maybe it would do fine in your house, though. Gaffer tape might be a good choice.

Would love to see photos of your build!

I'm a little embarrassed to admit I've never used gaffer tape. How well does it hold up at comfortable steady room temps? This closet is climate controlled, and it's in a half-basement, but even being pampered like that temperaturewise I still can't trust duct tape as much as I want to.

Also you just reminded me that a) I don't believe I've ever posted any pics on the amp garage, and also b) this is my first thread here where it's "hey I'm building a thing and *we* can make it better than I can", so pics are incoming asap. Right now my sketches still need at least one more iteration, the mlv is still in transit, and the plan is to hit the lumber store tomorrow.

are you building it to put a speaker if for recording or as a rehearsal space so you can be in there and play your amps loud?

Excellent question, and the space, sizewise, is in the middle between the two examples you gave. It's a walk-in closet that's going to have approx 50 square feet of floor space (a little less space for ppl 5ft tall+), and its primary use is going to be voice acting, and acoustic instruments, but I'm absolutely going to bring my 5 watt single ended amps over and have some fun too.

You may think my suggestion is crazy. There is blue (or green or other color, but usually blue) painters tape made for outdoor use. The guidance for it's use says that you shouldn't leave it on for too long because the adhesive start to become more permanent. The outdoor stuff looks very tough to me. I think you'll be surprised at how well it might perform.

This stuff, notice it says 10 day clean removal. After 10 days, it tends to improve its cling.
https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Exterior- ... B00GRSS2M2

I wouldn't use duct tape. As Aaron says, it turns to dust or the adhesive starts to get messy and run or both.

I think your suggestion is a lot more reasonable than the manufacturer of the mlv who insists that duct tape is the thing to use. I've never done any painting either, so I'll make sure to take a stroll down those aisles and see if the painters are hiding any good tapes in their section too. It seems like we're all on the same page about the duct tape being gross.


Thanks for the tips so far!

[xtian]

Gaffer tape is very cool. Super strong adhesive, yet leaves no residue (make sure you get a reputable brand). As an example, I have a Shure microphone zippered bag that I keep odds and ends in--I put some nice yellow gaffer tape on it to make it super easy to see. This was six years ago. The bag gets a lot of handling use. Tape is still good.

[rooster]

You're dreaming, but I appreciate the dream.

Maybe this: https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S- ... &gclsrc=ds

And this: https://www.tarpsnow.com/grommet-kit.ht ... g%2520Else

The vinyl product you're wanting to use is not going to do what you want. Good luck.

[nworbetan]

No this isn't a dream, this is a plan. Unfortunately due to the US government's pathetic response to the covid-19 pandemic, the plan has been on hold for a while. We have the mlv, and most of the other room within a room construction materials already purchased. If there's any silver lining at all, it's that I've had more time to refine the plan on my own before we start building.

I haven't posted any questions or updates in this thread because I found some good tips in this other thread https://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=33016 that I've been working with in the meantime.

As soon as I have anything to actually update about, I'm still planning on posting build photos and scientific testing of the results for peer review.

[nworbetan]

One of the interesting things I've learned in the meantime is that Green Glue is pretty widely recommended as a damping material because it performs so much better (when used correctly) than the alternatives. Every once in a while the performance actually lives up to the marketing hype.

This closet is in a leased space, and we're not allowed to make any modifications to the closet itself. So the entire room within a room needs to be relatively easily removable at the end of the lease, and mlv is the clear choice for damping material for our situation.