I'm setting up a small studio in my back room and my neighbors complain about the noise when I record. I found cork panels that are relatively cheap at a local store and wanted to know if they work well or if I need to invest in something more professional.
Cork will help you somewhat with high frequencies, but it's not the complete solution if your neighbors are complaining. The problem is that cork absorbs sound, but it doesn't really block it - what you need is mass and decoupling to prevent vibrations from traveling through the walls, and that requires more money. A middle-ground option would be to combine cork with something denser like professional acoustic foam or even build a basic floating wall, which is a bit more complicated but works quite a bit better and won't cost you a fortune compared to a full treatment. If your neighbors are already complaining, you probably need something more serious than just cheap panels.
Cork panels alone won't solve your neighbor problem because they absorb but don't isolate - you need to block the sound transmitting through the walls, not just dampen it inside the room. What actually works is combining mass (like drywall or dense sheets) with dead air spaces between layers, so if you've got the budget, build a floating wall with fiberglass or mineral wool insulation in the middle before closing it up.
If you can't do major work, at least cover the walls with something heavy like mass loaded vinyl under the cork - the combo of weight plus absorption gives way better results than cork alone, and it's cheaper than professional acoustic panels.
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