Doctor Mix acoustically treats his dream studio using ROCKWOOL® insulation

The project

Claudio (Doctor Mix) Passavanti is a music producer, pianist, YouTuber, and digital entrepreneur, who offers online mixing, mastering, and music production services through his website doctormix.com.

When Claudio wanted to convert an existing London building into a new music studio, he needed to create an acoustically-sound environment that would optimise music production, while simultaneously preventing disturbance to neighbours.

"It's important for me to have my own studio, so that there's a dedicated space for myself and my teammates to work in. Making music requires a specialist space, and whilst you can go and hire a studio, it's not quite the same as having one that has been designed and shaped to your own requirements," said Claudio. "At the end of the day, music is all about acoustics - and the best way to create music is to have a space that is calibrated to your needs."

Having conducted his own research on how to tackle this challenge, Claudio decided he needed to consult the experts. When he came across ROCKWOOL®, he knew their products would be the right fit for his project, and sought expert guidance on their sound insulation solutions, to achieve his ambitions of creating a dream music studio.

The challenge

Claudio needed to create an acoustically sound environment that would optimise music production while simultaneously preventing disturbance to neighbours, who had vocalised concerns about the transformation of the space into a music studio.

He also wanted to minimise noise reverberation to a level so that echoes would not affect the sound quality of his music recordings or distort the overall mix levels: "When you're mixing you always want the frequency response to be 'flat' so that the music you're hearing is exactly what you recorded and not the result of reverberation. Having quality sound treatment is absolutely vital for recording music."

Claudio's new studio space had three rooms, and neighbours above and below, so strict control of airborne and impact acoustic transfer between rooms and floors was required.

The solution

ROCKWOOL Sound Slab insulation was used throughout the walls of the project. Sound Slab has been uniquely designed for use in internal and separating walls and floors, to reduce noise from adjacent rooms or properties within the same dwelling.

ROCKWOOL Sound Insulation Slab is non-combustible and can withstand temperatures in excess of 1000°C. It is recyclable, sustainable, and its patented flexi-edge means easy installation, as it friction-fits into supporting framework, staying in place without requiring pinning or stapling.

Two layers of 15mm acoustic plasterboard were also placed in the walls, decoupled from the steel frame by resilient bars, allowing the plaster boards to vibrate without pushing the vibration through the wall structure.

In the steel frame of the walls were placed 2 x 70mm "C" shaped studs with a 30mm gap between, creating a "box within a box" that provided isolation between the two wall structures.

To reduce impact-based sound transfer, high-density material was required for the floors. 25mm Acoustic ROCKFLOOR was combined with 22mm chipboard and 20mm of oak flooring to stop the transmission of vibration down to the floor below, creating an isolated floor level.

To provide high quality of sound in the recording room, Rockfon Tropic ceiling tiles were used. Rockfon ceiling tiles give low reverberation times, minimise echo, and provide tight, accurate acoustics.

The result

"I was really surprised at how easy it was." Said Claudio on the ROCKWOOL Sound Slab installation process: "When I said that we were going to get some insulation materials, [my builders] were expecting rolls and they were thinking 'this is going to be a nightmare'. But no, they fit perfectly… and we were shocked at how easy they were to put up. They literally arrived yesterday and today basically they're all up."

Article History

Our experts continually review and update our articles when legislation changes or new information becomes available. 

Current version: 2 - 1/08/23

First published: 27/10/21