a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (pistolpete)

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 19:57:00 GMT

I appologize. I should have realized that most soundproofing is made of a porous foamlike material and may not be effective when wet. But hey, at least it floats. " />

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (jacktheexcynic)

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 19:38:08 GMT

ORIGINAL: pistolpete
Since you are in New Orleans, just make sure whatever you end up with is waterproof... " />

kayne west doesn't think you're funny.

also, i'm buying the realtraps mic booth thing - i've been looking for something like that and i know that ethan's stuff is top-notch. i can't afford to real-trap my apartment... i know some of you are worried about rear reflections but i imagine they would be greatly reduced since the vocal is being projected forward with a lot more energy than to the sides, top and backward. unless your room is really nasty sounding it's not always a bad thing to get some room sound in there.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (pistolpete)

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 12:52:48 GMT

Since you are in New Orleans, just make sure whatever you end up with is waterproof... " />

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (mlockett)

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 12:25:52 GMT

I treated the corner of my room with auralex and a carpet that hangs from the ceiling about an inch out from the wall. Then I found someone selling office/cubical partitions and picked up a few of those and hinged them together, put auralex on them and set them at an angle in the corner to avoid parallel walls. Since the partitions don't go all the way up to the ceiling, I hung a thick comforter/quilt from the ceiling against the wall, and drape it over the partitions.

It's certainly not sound proof, but it very significantly reduces other noises.

I also found that when you kill all the reflection in an isolation booth, I have to add a subtle room verb (or some other verb) to make the the vocals sound natural. It's strange to add fx to make things sound more believable, but the recording sounds suspiciously dead without it.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (Digigirl)

Wed, 14 Mar 2007 01:02:49 GMT

I helped build a vocal booth. Grab a friend, a truck, a case of beer (or in my case wine,) and order plans for $35 from this website
www.dawbox.com
I did some looking into and booths cost between $2-5,000 to order. I have done the closet recording with blankets and foam (actually it wasn't bad.) Then the do it yourself plan popped up on the market.

It's a 4X7 portable booth for under $500 in supplies. I had to actually rent a truck from Home Depot to transport the supplies. Aside from any parts you might need to order, it can be done in one day. You will not only isolate your vocals, but you will lose the background noise from the next door neighbors stereo, or the truck noise from the highway.

We used Aurelex and glued up all the seams. You could take it one step further by putting sheet block as a layer under the Aurelex. Paint it, carpet it, or do whatever you want to make it look cool on the outside.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (equilibrium)

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 19:38:59 GMT

If your tracking Vocals that range from WU TANG CLAN,Public Enemy etc..
It may sound wierd but track them in the bathroom in the shower and put a wool blanket where the shower curtain is. This may seem ghetto but you can get a good sound.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (losguy)

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 22:03:06 GMT

Good observation. But like mentioned earlier, it can work great if the wall/corner behind is covered with dampening material or a bass trap (or both).

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (Houndawg)

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:05:37 GMT

I agree, you definitely wouldn't want any reflections coming from behind the vocalist. I would think that the vocalist him/herself would mask a lot of that, but I would still treat the wall behind, ceiling above, and floor below for reflections -- especially when using a sensitive condenser mic -- I've had those pick up a fart from across the building!

However, Ethan's online audio/video samples of the Portable Vocal Booth are very impressive... especially when compared to the Reflexion Filter.

hounDAWg

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (themidiroom)

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:32:51 GMT

ORIGINAL: losguy

Yup, looks like Ethan's done it again. He deserves mentioning, if nothing else, because of the great, knowledgable support he's given to this very SONAR forum.

Mind you, this is no pity vote. His products are top-notch.

Almost seems like you'd want two of these to keep the room behind you from being picked up by the mic. Kind of expensive but looks effective.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (losguy)

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 15:47:49 GMT

Yup, looks like Ethan's done it again. He deserves mentioning, if nothing else, because of the great, knowledgable support he's given to this very SONAR forum.

Mind you, this is no pity vote. His products are top-notch.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (Houndawg)

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 14:47:12 GMT

One of the industry veterans with regards to studio acoustics is Ethan Winer of RealTraps.com. He has a new product call the Portable Vocal Booth that attaches to a mic stand. His comparison (online audio/video examples) to the SE Reflexion Filter is quite eye (and ear) opening.

http://www.realtraps.com/p_pvb.htm

hounDAWg

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (walrusman)

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 11:56:03 GMT

^^That's hilarious...I never saw that one...reminds of 'A Christmas Story' when the family has to get christmas dinner at an asian restaraunt and the staff sang Deck The Halls... "Fa Ra Ra Ra...."

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (themidiroom)

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 10:17:56 GMT

ORIGINAL: Ognis
I don't remember that song. Maybe if you could sing it for me? But stone would be more expensive than anything..." />

Stone is expensive, but not as bad as I thought.
My favorite Flintstone's song was from an episode where some German student musicians were renting a room in the Flintstone house. "I love my Vilma!"
Now that I think of it, there was some really cool music in those cartoons. Remember the Jetson's theme? " />

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (Ognis)

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 00:05:46 GMT

ORIGINAL: walrusman

ORIGINAL: Ognis

So is Wool the secret ingredient in rockwool that gives it its acoustic properties? If so, could I then assume that a wool blanket would work better than a quilted one or a comforter?

The Flintstones did a song called "She said yeah. yeah, yeah.. he said. yeah. yeah, yeah".. And it sounded pretty good to me to be recorded in an all stone structure.

I don't remember that song. Maybe if you could sing it for me? But stone would be more expensive than anything..." />

The only way to get rid of the Hatrocks (a parody of the Beverly Hillbillies) was to play 'Bug Music' (a parody of the Beatles). The Flintstones, the Rubbles, and even the Gruesomes (a parody of the Munsters/Adam's Family) helped pipe in 'Bug Music' just about everywhere including the phone and fridge, and dressed up like the band to drive the Hatrocks back home.

'Bug Music' Lyrics

"I said ya ya ya, She said ya ya ya, We said ya ya ya, AAAHHHH" (repeat forever)

source = http://i-flintstones.tripod.com/music.htm

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (walrusman)

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 23:29:39 GMT

ORIGINAL: Ognis

So is Wool the secret ingredient in rockwool that gives it its acoustic properties? If so, could I then assume that a wool blanket would work better than a quilted one or a comforter?

The Flintstones did a song called "She said yeah. yeah, yeah.. he said. yeah. yeah, yeah".. And it sounded pretty good to me to be recorded in an all stone structure.

I don't remember that song. Maybe if you could sing it for me? But stone would be more expensive than anything..." />

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (yep)

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:58:12 GMT

ORIGINAL: walrusman

So is Wool the secret ingredient in rockwool that gives it its acoustic properties?...

Um, no. In fact I don't think there's any wool in rockwool. It's some kind of strands of mineral that are spun like wool. Sort of like fiberglass.

Cheers.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (themidiroom)

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 10:19:54 GMT

Not sure how much of a craftsman you are, but you can build some nice absorbers that hang from the wall and you can take them with you.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (Ognis)

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 09:16:31 GMT

So is Wool the secret ingredient in rockwool that gives it its acoustic properties? If so, could I then assume that a wool blanket would work better than a quilted one or a comforter?

The Flintstones did a song called "She said yeah. yeah, yeah.. he said. yeah. yeah, yeah".. And it sounded pretty good to me to be recorded in an all stone structure.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (walrusman)

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 09:03:54 GMT

So is Wool the secret ingredient in rockwool that gives it its acoustic properties? If so, could I then assume that a wool blanket would work better than a quilted one or a comforter?

Because we're moving in a few months, so I really don't want to spend the money just to leave it all behind. But I need something to get by for this current project...

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (walrusman)

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:14:09 GMT

ORIGINAL: yep

Matresses are about as good an acoustical treatment as you can get, although they are a bit on the ugly/expensive/impractical side. But hey, if you've got 'em, go nuts.

Rockwool is available from building supply companies. You may be able to get it through Home Depot or Lowe's or something. Owens-Corning 705 is the premium stuff, but you can also try others. A company called Specialty Products Inc sells a couple of brands.

Cheers.

How expensive is it? I was suggested Cotton Fiber from 'themidiroom'. Looks great to me. I think I'm going to try it out. What do you think?

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (yep)

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:23:09 GMT

Matresses are about as good an acoustical treatment as you can get, although they are a bit on the ugly/expensive/impractical side. But hey, if you've got 'em, go nuts.

Rockwool is available from building supply companies. You may be able to get it through Home Depot or Lowe's or something. Owens-Corning 705 is the premium stuff, but you can also try others. A company called Specialty Products Inc sells a couple of brands.

Cheers.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (walrusman)

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:55:22 GMT

I guess that is the easiest solution huh?

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (RnT)

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:17:45 GMT

can you just use matresses?

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (walrusman)

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:08:54 GMT

Well I didn't mean to suggest soundproofing, but that's what they call it. I know there's a huge difference, which is why I chose this thread. I'm not looking to soundproof, I'm looking to create a dead space to record in. The insulation sells itself as "soundproofing". I just thought that perhaps it would work for deadening.

Mineral wool or rock wool sounds good, but I don't know where to find it nor how it is sold. I've noticed several people have mentioned this, so I guess I need to figure that out.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (yep)

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:44:29 GMT

ORIGINAL: walrusman

Ok, what about using insulation? I thought they made a specific kind of insulation for sound deadening / proofing. I just left Home Depot and I didn't see any insulation specifically for soundproofing, although the R11 display tag mentions this as a type of use. So, I'm wondering if higher R values will be more effective and etc.. or if it's just R11 that's the magic combination.

Also, a friend here at work suggested that black fiberboard they use on the exterior of houses just before the siding / brick / whatever. Anyone heard of using that? I'm not sure why it would be effective, but he mentioned it.

Mineral wool aka rockwool works very well. You can use pink fiberglass, but it works better if you compress it. The main thing is to get density and thickness.

For the record, this thread is about sound TREATMENT (eg reducing echoey or boxy sound). Sound PROOFING is a whole different and much more expensive and complicated subject.

Again:

Sound TREATMENT= Making the space sound better and respond better acoustically.

Sound PROOFING= Preventing outside sound from getting in and inside sound from getting out.

They are two completely seperate issues. Sound treatment can usually be done inexpensively with acoustical foam, bass traps, etc and modest carpentry skills. Sound Proofing requires major structural changes and is typically very expensive and messy. It's important to keep these concepts seperate or you could waste a lot of time and money on stuff that doesn't get you any closer to your goal.

Cheers.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (walrusman)

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 14:27:05 GMT

Ok, what about using insulation? I thought they made a specific kind of insulation for sound deadening / proofing. I just left Home Depot and I didn't see any insulation specifically for soundproofing, although the R11 display tag mentions this as a type of use. So, I'm wondering if higher R values will be more effective and etc.. or if it's just R11 that's the magic combination.

Also, a friend here at work suggested that black fiberboard they use on the exterior of houses just before the siding / brick / whatever. Anyone heard of using that? I'm not sure why it would be effective, but he mentioned it.

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (shotofyeager)

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 13:11:02 GMT

bed foam rocks

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (msharps)

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 15:36:02 GMT

I'm using a product called Versipanel for portable sound insulation. It's a flexible partition that can be shaped into any dimension you want, and then easily rolled up and stored when the session is over. I have a couple 6'x15' sections that I use for a drum and vocal booth. For the vocal booth, I throw a packing blanket over the top of the panel and it works great. Unfortunately, the panels are a bit pricey but was worth it in my situation.

Here's the link: Versipanel

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (jiroe)

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 13:53:33 GMT

that reflexion filter is DOPE, but I just built a ghetto ass booth out of the corner of the wall and a Auralexed up room divider, and then randomly put patterns of Auralex throught the whole room...

I would have definetly bought the reflexion fliter if I had spotted it a lil' earlier...

PS. for anyone looking at this and thinking about auralex, try foam by mail

its a little cheaper and you get more for your money... I bought both kinds and they are exactly the same foam, plus you can buy the pyramid design for cheaper and that works better with vocal booths

RE: a home studio vocal booth, I'm trying to put one together (losguy)

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 09:27:07 GMT

ORIGINAL: madittenber
I saw a similar device like the Reflection Filter while at NAMM. It's called the Mic Thing and a bit cheaper.
http://www.smproaudio.com/MICTHING.htm

That's cool. It's such a great idea, it makes sense that someone else would come along and get into the same game.