Anyone build your own Isolation Booth?

Just be sure that its far from the street. cus passing cars. kids with basket balls or car radios. will kill a good take.

Also ventalation. CRITICAL!!!! If the singer cant breath in fresh air, and dies... thats bad. lol.

I had an "indent" in my production room, so I foamed it out, added two fans... [half window fans I got at walmart for $12] then called my brother who is a contractor. he built a wall and a door with a window. It looks great... but, there is a window on the end twords the street. NIGHTMARE!

So now I am hitting walmart, picking up "batting" they toss in quilts I plan to put like at least 8" of it from floor to top. then toss ply wood in front of that, then 3" of convoluted foam over that. Ventalation is still a pain.. but Ill work that out latter. SIngers are a dieme a dozen anyways. if a few die Ill still be ok. KIDDING!

For real... you hsould be good. Never saw your kit. but Ive got good takes with much less. just be sure your far from the street. And if your on the second floor, be above a room that makes little noise. First floor. make sur the second floor isnt a constant party.

Also, sometimes a booth can be a pain to work with. SOmetimes it cna "iso" a bit too much.

But in no way would I ever not want one. Dif progs require dif things.
All in all you should be cool.

but as always.... its the performance, not the producer, room, or gear. Ive done great with cheap crap, and crap with thte top of the line gear. lol.
Good luck!
Forgive the horrible text im in a rush.
~Zef

Just a few things that I was thinking after reading the last post and thinking about this.

Keep in mind Im not all "up" on how the shape of foam messes with the shound. Ive been recoridng music for 12 years... but I dont know everything. If your new to recording, feel free to private mail meif you have an questions. Be more then happy to help. Im nto the best or most wise. But I am a recording addict and its not just something I do for fun. I record for atleast 3 or 4 hours a day...... well. I try to but most days I do.

Somethings to ponder:
I have found that the smaller the "bumbs" the better looking it is.
I used to pick up a bunch of "Bed foam" at wallmart. was like $8 or $12 for a twin...

But now I am a HUGE fan of the Queen size stuff at the "target" stores here in south NJ.

Its all ONE "shape" little bumps. Sure.. its the same stuff you lay on your bed. but when recording clients.... you want to look good. Its one thing to have "bed foam" on the wall. but like if its got 7 diffrent "shapes" to the foam. it looks REALLY cheap. With the Target stuff.. it doesnt look so cheap and it does work!

If you must go cheap, check around. Target is my fav at the moment for "bed foam". but you never know. You may find a place thats going under... and you might get a HELL of a deal. Also, if you find foam with "shapes" you like on it...... buy as much of it as you can. You just dont know if this is the last batch they ever make. A store called "clover" used to sell 2" foam for beds, that was NO diffrent from the stuff they sell in music stores today. I still kick myself for not getting more of it.

Also, keep in mind the stuff doesnt stay "bright" over the years. I dont smoke. no smkoe in my production room. Yet, they whent from white..... bright white.... to mid yellow in 3 years. Just some info you may not have knowen of expect.

Why I like "bed foam" from target over the auralex*? [Spel?]

1. Its thick! Its bumbps. but SMALL bumps. so your really getting almost 2" worth in a queen size for around $16 tops. Granted it not "the best" But, come on.... unless your recording a "national act" you dont need the best. If its just you or a local band... "good" or "ok" will be fine.

2. It looks better. People want to walk into a place and "feel" they are in a studio. At least the people Ive recorded. Its like a mind thing. You can have the best gear in the world. but if your set up dont look pro.... people Ive recorded tend to not work so hard. Dont just "thumb tack" the cheap stuff.. be creative with it. Music is art.. make the production room look calming, and artistic.

I like to use "bating" they put in quilts that I get at walmart for like $7 or $8 for a queen size. I never use it as a "final layer" But as an extra level below the "bed foam". I have a nice wood [forget the name] on some 70% of my walls in my production room. I cover the windows and drywall. But, thats jsut me. Its all about what YOU want, and how YOU want it to sound. I think its always best to do things "your own way" after takeing others thoughts into account.

I am by no means a "know it all" and I find many people get flamed by just about anything no matter if they are right or wrong. So dont do all or say, or take it all as fact. Just as advice.

These are all just ideas. I think its AWSOME you have a booth. When people come here and see mine. its a massive shock. Its big. 7 feet+long and like 5+ feet wide or so. all foamed out.

That alone will shock clients. It lets them know your "the real deal" and not kidding around. I prefer people to come in, and not play around. I want them to feel this is their first steps to stardom even if its only a local band with no plans or desire to make it big.

Even if your, your only client. It just puts the person in a mind set. like a football player with all his pads on. Its kinda like a "ok, lets do this thing" type of thing. It puts you in a "zone" if you will.

Like Jungfriend I rent too. But I can build here. One thing that might help you or someone else who reads this post years from now. Hit the local hardware store, but a few 2x3's. Make a few stand up, and have one have one running from the top of one, to the bottem of the other, and thumb tack the foam to it. WOrked for me, for a wile. Not the best... not the worst.

Its not "pro" but its not "that bad" if you foam both sides. The inside, where the singer sings, and around the outside of the makeshift "booth"

Four queen size sheets of foam aprox 2" thick.... $62
2x3's at home depo aprox $4 each
Depo will even cut it for you in the store!

You cant use this set up to record a band live..... cus of "bleeding" but for single person tracking...... it aint that bad.

Try it. At worst, your out the money for the 2X3's. Cus the foam.... you can put on your bed... your partners bed and a kids beds. Aperently bed foam is not bad for sleeping on either! Who knew?
LMAO

take care, good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
~Zef

SE Electronics makes a neat item that can help when you can't build a vocal booth.

Check out this months issue of Sound on Sound for the SE Electronics Reflexion Filter. I plan on purchasing 4 of these to reduce the need for a dedicated Vocal booth.

Lots of good information. Zef, thanks alot buddy. Everyone else too. I own, so I can do whatever I want here. I am thinking about building a 6 X 8 booth or there abouts. I want to be able to put a drummer, or more then one vocalist in there at a time. I've already got a bunch of Auralex and other brand foam of different configurations. I am planning on doing some local bands and I do want to project and air of seriousness when they enter the studio. One thing I am wrestling with is the ventilation system. Has anyone used the Soundsuckers unit or any other brand or homemade unit?:

http://www.soundsuckers.com/vents.htm#vents

I don't want to kill any vocalists or geetar players.

Like the one in Altered States?

Yes, I built a 7 X 8 iso booth a couple of years ago, and took care of the air issue by buying a portable AC unit (you can get them this time of year at Home Depot, Walmart, Best Buy, or Fry's for 300-400) generally following the ventilation box discussed on Auralex's site, it pushes cool air in, and suctions hot air out, which I routed into a return vent of my main upstairs AC, works like a charm.

the "po" has a 5,000 BTU on sale TODAY!!!
[in NJ] for $98 walmart is often just as cheap.

May as I ask what you do withthe "run off water"? or what you do to prent it from hitting the floor?

Kudos to the guy who made a joke about ventalation so your singer does not die. LOL. going to build one and since he typed that, I know a way around the singer dying on me. No plans, just going to build it. going to put a muffler in the wall. I will use dryer vent hose and snake ut up and down in the wall. one for intake and one for exaust. The muffler reference is a car muffler. If done properly you should not hear a fan connected to the intake so air moves through the booth. I know it sounds silly but if I could see, I would have been a carpenter as well as a musician.

Ok, I've done a little more research and since my booth will be inside my studio which is already air conditioned I've decided to build and external baffled circulation system which will only circulate air from and to the studio space and the booth. I found a very quiet ventilation fan (0.3 sones) but it does move 70 cfm which is a bit too much for the space and would cause air noise. If I can't find a similar model with about 25cfm I'll have to make a dampered bypass to reduce the airflow through the booth. This should do it:

http://www.designerhardware.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=PAN%2DFV%2D07VQ2&Show=ExtInfo

edit: I found a 50cfm with less than 0.3 sones

http://www.westsidewholesale.com/index.cgi?pid=859&CATEGORY=634&gclid=CJTPr-3IvoUCFQMmHgodgFLqug

I have done a TON of searching on the net searching for the "best" way to cool the booth. about 3 hours worth. Everything from AC units mounted on small boats... to wine racks that I could rip the "cooler" out of and install in the booth... the list is endless. lol.

Here is what Ive come up with.
1. I dont want any fans anymore. At least as the "main" cooling system. I **may** use one either on the roof or just above the door like I have now, in efort to get air movinout between takes, but beyound that, I dont want any fans in/near there.

Each fan, means a new hole in the walls of the booth. That cuts down on its sound stoping effectiveness. Plus, some fan parts can rattle or shake and MAKE noise even when off.

2. I am going AC all the way. But I dont/didnt want a "gheto" look. I wanted it to look nice, work great, and be cheap. SO that ruled out getting a 5,000 BTU unit from walmart for $89.

A thing with A/C units to think about. 1 person in an Iso booth will need atleast a 2,000 BTU per hour AC unit to keep the room cool.

I didnt want to go overkill and spend $600 on a portable A/C unit. SO I spent most of my time looking for a 2k to 3k A/C unit. My goodness you wouldnt believe how much of a hoot that was not to do. lol.

I did find one co, here in NJ that makes ALL sorts of small A/C units. From 1k BTU to I think even up to 10K BTU. All small in size. They dont list prices online but I emailed them to find out the prices of the ones im looking at.
Heres the link:

http://www.kooltronic.com/ac/ac.htm

Good luck
~Zef

By the way Zef, Recording magazine did an article on studio A/C in their September 2005 issue. They addressed an entire studio not just a booth, but the manufacturer of the A/C unit they used was Soleus Air and the model they used was a 12,000 btu unit KFR 12GW. It was a split system with the blower coming in at 42 DB. Here's a link to their industrial models which include the one mentioned:

http://www.soleusair.com/Industrial/index.htm

Barry

Yes I did. I used all the recommended techniques that I gathered via the Internet. You can visit my site to see my project studio as well as plans that I formulated before actually banging nails into wood. The isobooth is floating on three inches of rock wool.

I set aside money for a separated AC unit for the studio. I tried running off the home system in my first studio so I knew that I wanted a dedicated system for this one. Comfort is everything. I'll take that over isolation.

Sound Studio Construction on a Budget is a great book... you should get a copy.


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