How to soundproof a room for drums in a rented apartment?

Hands down, electronic kits have the edge in terms of sound control. Due to their wall-penetrating bass frequencies and sheer loudness (>110dB) of airborne sound, practicing on acoustic drums is virtually impossible in a typical apartment complex or at night, due to the quietness of a neighbourhood. In our experience, the evening and nights are the best times for rigorous practice across all age-groups of drummers, given the rat race that most Indians are a part of right from school, college, and work-life.

High quality electronic drum kits employ mesh drumheads to give you ample realistic tactile feedback while dramatically reducing the level of ambient noise, making them a great option for putting in the long hours at home.

This is not to say that electronic drums don’t produce any sound. Footwork is still going to be transmitted from your leg to the floor and down to any neighbours or family in the room beneath you. You can use this design of platform:

Dance Rehearsal Room Impact Noise Floor Treatment

For lighter applications in rented premises where you are not allowed to make structural changes or prefer to not to use screws and framing, use two layers of GeoWool-160 and cover with fabric to get a transmission loss of 25dB (Rw25). 

1. GeoWool-160 (Two Layers)
2. Large Bedsheet (buy locally)

Our Hush door kit is an absolute lifesaver when you don’t want to hire a carpenter or make structural alterations to your existing door. Just stick NeoFill-HD ultra-high density panels on both sides, put in the perimeter seals and you’re good to go!  

1. Nankarrow Hush Door Kit

You will need 8 ProPanels with the following configuration:

1. Size 6ft x 2ft
2. Thickness 300mm (1ft)
3. Absorber Rockwool Safe & Silent Pro 370 

These panels will be placed on the floor around your drumkit and will absorb 80% of the sound energy created by the drumkit. 

For drumkits, use three boxes of Trifuser on the ceiling – this will absorp a lot of the energy that radiates upwards.

Nankarrow Trifuser Broadband Anechoic Absorber Panels Set of 4