Sound In Marquees.

[Style]

Hi Please can anyone help with my Question.

 

We are a Marquee company and we have a venue which requires us to address a noise issue !

 

 

Many people have suggested Sound ceilings ! Which solve this issue !

My problem is the Marquee Manufacturer says by hanging 300kg off a marquee it will afffect the wind loading !

 

So We would have to evacuate the marquee at a lower wind speed !

 

 

Does anybody have any thoughts or advice !

 

 

Is there a better solution that can be done to reduce noise that is not so heavy (we can hang some weight )

 

Price is not the concern its RESULTS

 

 

 

kind regards

 

 

 

Dean

[Stuart91]

Look into ground support truss? That would keep the weight off the marquee framework. It should hopefully be possible to dress the truss appropriately, and perhaps hang some lighting off it as well?

 

I vaguely remember seeing a product that was essentially a vibrating dancefloor - it jiggled in time to the music and gave the punters the impression of greater bass levels than were actually there. Similar to the "buttkicker" units used for monitoring, but obviously on a far larger scale. I can't remember a brand name or any other useful details but perhaps someone else can?

[jmaudio]

Unfortunately, it is shear mass that will provide the attenuation at lower frequencies. There are 4 ways of making things quieter:

 

Isolation - Probably not a feasible, practical option in a marque.

 

Add mass - ways of do this range from cheap to stupid money. Lead lined drapes are one of the most common ways of doing this, they're not very light though - could you look at a secondary support structure separate to the marque to hang this?

 

Absorption - Quite effective for frequencies above 1kHz, below that, the wavelength makes this technique less and less effective. The lining of your marque is already quite good at attenuating these frequencies anyway, so you might not find this that effective.

Turn it down - You could look at ways of turning down the PA while still providing the same volume in the areas you want it. Look at your speaker dispersion, and look into using cardioid subs. Getting your speakers up in the air and pointing down into the appropriate areas is a very effective way of reducing spill.

 

HTH

 

J

[kerry davies]

Normal marquee configuration with 2.4m walls prevents ground support in the main, Stuart. No headroom.

 

If heavy linings don't solve noise problems and the "sound ceilings are too heavy there is little other than turn it down that you can do. Sound ceilings do work in marquees and 300 kg is not that much over a decent sized tent so maybe the conversation with the manufacturer needs to be more specific? We made heavy use of Starcloth and blackout drapes which was acceptable but this sounds like a sensitive site.

 

People like These Guys claim to be able to soundproof marquees but I have no experience with them. The vibrating dancefloor is

project though I know nothing else.

 

One thing that does help is replacing the walls with panels and soundproofing those but it costs Tectonics. This is interesting but not specific to marquees. Hope that helps point the direction.

[Stuart91]

Normal marquee configuration with 2.4m walls prevents ground support in the main, Stuart. No headroom.

 

That's very true, but I was thinking more of constraining the dancefloor to the centre section of the marquee, and putting the ground support around it. Hence the need for careful dressing of the uprights! I've done goalpost truss layouts across the front of stages in Clearspans, but we didn't get close to the edge. In a big enough tent it needn't be a problem.

 

On the other hand, if money is no object and the space is available, moving up to the next size of Clearspan, or even onto something like a Saddlespan might be an idea.

[TonyMitchell]

Dean - what noise situations are actually causing you problems? Amplified speech & music? Live acts with loud drummers, before anything is even miked up? Dave "almost-deaf" doubledecks who thinks he's at a rave rather than a family wedding? Or just general ambient noise from 200 people in a tent?

 

Do the particular venue where you experience difficulty have a determined level that you are struggling to adhere to? If so, is it a sensible/achievable level they're expecting? Is it low frequencies in particular that are causing you problems?

 

Tackling the problem at source will most likely be easier than trying to contain the sound. Often, a distributed system (many speakers placed around the marquee as opposed to stacks at one end) will address the problem - and be a more pleasant experience for the guests. Even at background music levels, without a distributed system, those closest to the stacks will find it too loud and those at the back can barely hear the speeches.

 

A cardioid subwoofer array, as already mentioned can be a good way to gain directivity over low frequencies and substantially reduce LF spill where it's not wanted. If you are dealing with a professional sound provider, they should be familiar with CSA and could try some different setups to see what works for you. But don't mention CSA to dave double-decks, as he'll think it's another attachment of earnings order coming his way and do a Lord Lucan.

[Jivemaster]

Guessing that this is a wedding venue that used to hold discos in a marquee til their neighbours came between them and their licence.

 

There is NO proper answer a marquee does not attenuate sound to any useful degree.

 

The "Sound Ceiling" a matrix of speakers in the roof, comes closest BUT only the guests right under it hear the music which upsets everyone.

[Chappie]

I vaguely remember seeing a product that was essentially a vibrating dancefloor - it jiggled in time to the music and gave the punters the impression of greater bass levels than were actually there. Similar to the "buttkicker" units used for monitoring, but obviously on a far larger scale. I can't remember a brand name or any other useful details but perhaps someone else can?

We've done this before, using rows of Buttkickers under a dance floor and incorporating psyco-acoustic processing on a ring of smaller-then-usual loudspeakers surrounding the area. The processing allows for the impression of much more low frequency energy than actually exists and the vibrating floor really helps with that as well. The whole experience can be quite uncanny, especially when you step off the dance floor to go to the bar.

[Simon Lewis]

The vibrating floor trick is used at Fabric nightclub (not that I attend such places !).

 

The sound ceiling is useful inasmuch it provides focussed, localised sound to the dancefloor, and has levels locked down to prevent limts being exceeded. The structure also helps to reduce upward radiated sound energy. However, use of cardioid subs and directional loudspeakers focussed on the dance area could approach a similar effect but perhaps without the weight and costs of the sound ceiling. Note that they claim about a 10dB reduction. This is very useful but it does not mean that there is no sound outside the marquee.

 

One thing which can aggrevate the problem is certain tent materials act as mid to high frequency attenuators, but allow low frequencies to pass or be reradiated. The unwilling listener doesn't hear the full range signal, but the unremitting bass thump - which can be far more annoying.

 

It is possible to attempt some sound reduction using barriers outside the marquee, but these need to be large in comparison with the sound source, and of sufficient mass to provide the required attenuation.

 

 

[Style]

Hi, Thanks for your input so far !

 

The Venue as Such doesnt have a Noise Problem at the moment. But with Weddings etc 2 days a week for 6 months of the year plus Christmas Parties for a Month In December.

 

I feel we will get complaints as a few houses are near Say 200 m away who all are aware of the situation.

 

This is us being proactive from day one and trying to get the best solution from the begining.

 

We are still trying to get the Manufacturers to agree What is the definative Weight Vs Windloading ?

 

Any More Thoughts would be greatly Appreciated.

 

 

As Yet we dont have any chosen Suppliers and would be happy to consider any Proposals from prospective suppliers.

 

 

 

Kind regards

 

 

 

Dean

[MarkPAman]

It is possible to attempt some sound reduction using barriers outside the marquee, but these need to be large in comparison with the sound source, and of sufficient mass to provide the required attenuation.

 

 

I feel we will get complaints as a few houses are near Say 200 m away who all are aware of the situation.

 

This is us being proactive from day one and trying to get the best solution from the begining.

 

Can you put some trees somewhere in that 200m? Not an instant solution, but one that can be quite effective.

[Brian]

How not to do it.

[Style]

Hi, Trees are Not really an Option as the first event is 2 months away. Although maybe in the long run .

 

 

Brian

 

Thanks for that ! I had been Advised of such products but never seen them.

[timsabre]

Stacked hay bales can be good if you have a friendly farmer nearby. I have used walls of hay bales to silence generators before.

[Style]

Hi, Thanks for the advice again all good ideas comeing through.

 

The only point I should mention is this venue is stunning and hay bales or fencing with sound material is not really an option as the Marquee has to look Stunning inside and Out.