Deadening/Dampening the sound of a grinder . . .

[zin1953]

So Rancillo makes a double-drawer knockbox/tray our of stainless steel (inox) for a Silvia-and-Rocky combination (click here for a picture of what I'm talking about). But wouldn't that increase the noise of the grinder? How noisy does that make the grinder, sitting on top of stainless steel rather than on a countertop itself? How does one dampen the sound of the grinder and machine (which I imagine would cause the drawers to rattle around like crazy!)? Would something like, say, a regular rubber tamping mat work, or is some special "acoustically-designed," "sound-dampening" foam required?

Any and all information greatfully accepted . . .

TIA,
Jason

[BobS]

Acoustic foam is only useful for high frequencies. Typically, 1.5" to 2" thick foam will make it down to
around 225 Hz. But that's only a mild asorbtion. For things that vibrate, random braces - to
breakup solid surfaces, work much better by reducing resonances.

Another useful technique is to change one of the surfaces by applying a different material. The thinnest
type is a latex paint carrying ceramic or sand particles. It doesn't cut down on the sound produced, rather
it changes the surface of the material such that it doesn't vibrate in a single mode.

Back to your question - the Rocky and Silvia won't be in hard contact with the base as they have
feet which prevent direct coupling. So it's really surface reflections that would be of concern along
with any rattling due to vibrations that do couple. Simple application of tape or an adhesive pad should
eliminate those in the base.

As for the rest, I suspect the hard, bare, surfaces in your kitchen will do more to amplify any noise
made by the grinder. Far more than the base will contribute. If you'd like to cut down on the noise.
applying foam, such as 1" thick Auralex to the underside of the upper kitchen cabinets would help
a lot. Places like Musicians Friend carry a wide selection of Auralex and Foamtak Spray Adhesive.

But, as it's foam it'll absorb orders and smoke, so use you're best judgment for placement. Personally,
I've done a few places that have made a huge difference. But. those that prefer beauty over function
would rather suffer bad sound and excessive noise than have an acoustically enjoyable environment
where the foam is visible, but not in the line of sight.

Bob

[quar]

I've found that simply sitting my Mazzer SJ on top of a neoprene mouse pad cuts the noise in half (at least).

Mike

[zin1953]

Thanks -- that's what I was hoping . . . interestingly enough, the grinder is much more quiet than I feared! Still . . .