How to Soundproof a Room for Guitars: What Really Works

It is always nice when the crowd roars at your music; especially when you are on stage, and the audience can ‘feel’ your music. However, this is not always the case. You don’t want your neighbors to ‘feel’ your guitar while you’re jamming at home; especially your landlord.

There are several tips and tricks online, such as placing egg crates to ‘soundproof’ the room. Tactics like these do not work at all – they are nonsense, to be honest.

To fully soundproof a room, you would need a lot of patience, energy, and money. Soundproofing is not cheap. You might even need to remodel your guitar room.

Let me give you an everyday example. If you are in a car, playing music at full volume with your windows fully closed. People outside of the car would be barely able to hear the music. However, once you even lower the window by an inch, the sound would escape, and the person outside would be able to hear clearly what you are listening to.

However, there are a lot of things you can do to significantly reduce the sound that escapes from your guitar room.

Below, I have listed the most effective and budget-friendly ways to soundproof your jamming room.

Step 1: Find sound leaks

You do not want to seal the room completely out of the air as that would cause a lot of suffocation and dry air.

However, by sealing as many of the big air leaks as possible, you will reduce a lot of guitar sound leaks from your room.

Start with the doors and windows

Doors and windows are the most obvious sources of leaks. You need to start with the doors and proceed toward the windows.

For doors, you would need a Soundproof Weather Stripping Door Kit. This would not only help to keep the sound from escaping but would also keep dust from coming into your room. Dust is also bad for soundproofing as it reflects sound. Doors usually are the biggest source of air leaks.

Proceed towards the windows

If you are worried about too much sound getting outside, then you might want to fix the window as well. There are a few things you can do in order to minimize the sound that escapes through windows.

In my opinion, curtains are the most effective solution to this problem. Even normal curtains are good at blocking the sound, however, there are a few curtains made for this job. For example, Nicetown’s Blackout Curtains are a good choice. You can even get them in several colors, so you shouldn’t worry about how would they look.

If you want to take an extra step. Then I would suggest something like an Adhesive Foam Window Seal Strip. This would also not seal up those tiny air leaks between your wall and the window. But this would also keep the dust and the bugs out.

Be like Sherlock Homes

You need to be a detective in order to find the ‘leaks’. Walk around the room, and search for air leaks or air flows.

In this process, you should rely on your sense of touch the most. Go to suspected holes, and place your hand over them. If you feel the airflow, then you need to seal it. I know this isn’t a very fun process, and could take a lot of time, but it is an important step. You would want to seal those leaks with Foam Seal Tape.

Step 2: Strengthen the door if it is hollow

If you are living in an apartment, or a newly built house then most probably your door is hollow. The only non-hollow doors are the ones made up of pure metal, or wood. Therefore, there is a good chance that your door is hollow.

Hollow doors tend to amplify the sound – but we do not want that. If we strengthen the door with something like Acoustic Foam Panels, then it would minimize the sound escaping through the door significantly.

However, these panels tend to be a bit costly. If you are on the budget side, then you might want to glue some sheets of Medium Density Hardboard to your door. This will not look as aesthetically pleasing as foam panels would, but would get the job done nevertheless.

Step 3: Enforcing walls and ceiling with acoustic foam

This step is a little expensive but necessary.

Noise is produced when the sound vibrations hit hard surfaces, which causes the surface to vibrate, and thus become a further source of ‘noise’.

Normally, the walls and ceilings of your house are made with hard materials. Which makes them perfect for the sound to bounce and amplify. Again, we do not want this.

Now, we cannot have softer ceilings and walls, therefore the best method to fix this issue is by covering them with acoustic foam.

This can also make your room look super cool if you buy acoustic foams in different colors and designs. It would give your room a minimalistic room and cleaner look. Personally, I like minimalistic setups as they increase my productivity.

Panels like Acoustic Foam Sound Absorption Wall Panels are perfect for this job. These panels help to reduce echo which ultimately increases the sound you hear inside the room as well. To cover the walls, you would need to buy a few of these.

If you cannot cover the entire area, then even covering 20% would make a difference. Just remember, the more area you cover, the better the result would be. However, for starters, you can order a few of these to at least start covering up your room.

Step 4: Invest in Soundproof Rugs

Placing a soundproof rug underneath where you play the guitar would help a lot in reducing the sound traveled through the floor. There are a few rugs designed just for this; such as Felt and Rubber Rug Pad.

These kinds of rugs are made in such a way that you won’t have to worry while enthusiastically strumming your guitar.  It would provide a better grip for your feet and would prevent any kind of tripping as well. It is perfect for kids as they normally aggressively play their guitar.

Ending Note

Most guitarists will find this to be the best solution for their process as this is not only affordable but will also fill all of their soundproof needs.

You are not going to completely soundproof your room with the above four steps. However, the result will satisfy you, and will significantly reduce the noise.

There are other things that you can do to completely soundproof your room – but then we are talking about at least a $1000 investment.

Just remember, if you are living in an apartment, then try to be a little thoughtful about your neighbors while jamming. You should practice with your guitar at an acceptable time – times that are respectful to others.