For the past six months I was planning on writing a tutorial about do-it-yourself "soundproofing" [1]. I decided to write a tutorial because I had come across nothing but useless, incomplete, or poorly-written information out on the internet while researching my home studio construction. I've learned since then that my own knowledge wasn't much better than all of that bad information I had found - given that I installed my own resilient channel upside down. In the last couple of weeks I've come across excellent resources (books and internet) that I wish I had found years ago when I was planning my construction. I've learned more in two weeks than I learned in two years.

So, I've decided to not write the tutorial. There are already good resources out there that I can't really compliment effectively with my own writing. What I will do is help steer other folks in the right direction to the good resources and dispell some myths so that others don't make the same mistakes I do when planning and constructing a home studio.

First, buy Home Recording Studio: Build it like the pros by Rod Gervais. Rod explains difficult concepts about sound and construction in a way that makes them easy to understand. The book covers room dimensions, wall angles, wall/floor/ceiling construction, windows, doors, and acoustic treatment. It's $40, and you will get a return on your investment if you buy it and read it. I would have saved $150 had I read the book first. Others have saved thousands.

Second, visit John Sayers's Recording Studio Design forum. It's moderated by real professionals, including Rod, the author of the book above. There is already an abundance of "FAQ"-style material on the forum that could potentially answer all of your questions without having to post a new thread. The forum covers the same basic topics as the book: studio design, construction, and acoustic treatment. It also gets into gear (e.g. electronics and wiring).

Here are some myths:

• You think you know something about studio construction
• You need commercial sound blocking materials to block sound (rather, 2x4's, drywall, caulk, and planning will likely be enough)
• What you think would make a good sound-blocking treatment is going to work.  Rather, you're probably wrong based on real science and tried-and-true methods that will prove you otherwise.

An example on that last bullet - I've read a lot of stories of folks who spent thousands of dollars building complex framing systems which they thought would "isolate" their walls from the rest of their house/structure, when in the end they actually made sound translation to the rest of their structure even worse. Those folks never did their homework and went purely on intuition. A specific example of this that Rod provides in his book is the double-wall construction technique: it seems intuitive that for a double-wall, you'd put drywall on both sides of both walls (e.g. four total faces of drywall). This in fact weakens the sound-blocking ability of the double wall.

The bottom line is that there are real resources out there that you need to consult. Don't assume anything. Home studio construction really isn't that hard to accomplish - it just takes some knowledge of the right way to do something.

[1] there is no such thing as "soundproofing", realistically. Any company or person trying to sell something for "soundproofing" is probably trying to peddle a product that doesn't actually work. They haven't done their research and they don't know the science behind blocking sound. Most sound blocking construction can be done without commercial products.