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

I'm trying to build a vocal booth for my modest home studio. I have been doing some internet research (for what it's worth) and came up with, maybe, a decent option...

- I figured I would just spend the money on a studio foam kit, or two, and use the corner of the room as sort of a half built booth (stay with me) soundproof that corner and then, find another L shaped type of wall device (I don't exactly know what yet) place it against the corner, and then soundproof the moveable piece, creating a square vocal booth area about 4ft X4ft, or somthing close.

- another I have been thinking of is a "soft" booth, with thick blankets or quilt like material, fixed to the wall corner and then draped over the L shaped piece (of whatever) to deaden standing sound waves and record less of the room than I currently am...

both of these ideas are in a very elementary stage, and still stand the possibility of being scraped altogether. I worry that both ideas run the risk of killing the hi-end in the vocal recording...

anyone have any advice on materials, concept, size, anything???? i'm wide open for suggestions

*** FYI, I record mostly hip-hop vocals, the occasional singer

Closet full of clothes or lined with rockwool works great.

Simple broadband absorption doesn't require anything fancy in terms of design, materials, or construction. You just need to have dense absorption that is deep enough (6"~2 feet, the thicker the better). Absorption in corners is important, not just in the middle of the walls.

So if all you want is a dead space to record vocals in, your primary concerns are budget and appearance. If you don't care what it looks like you can build a hut out of old mattresses or bales of hay or rolls of pink fiberglass. If you want a clean, professional appearance you can buy some slick commercial products like Auralex or get creative with rockwool and fabric and lumber.

Oh, and put a rug on the floor.

If, on the other hand, you need a space that is acoustically decoupled (soundproof) from the adjoining space where you may have a drumkit or a dishwasher or sleeping kids, then that's a whole nother can of worms that is addressed completely seperately.

Cheers.

As for the free-floating "L," it can be basically anything at all. These kind of free-standing acoustical dividers are called GOBOs and you should be able to find commercial products and plans all over the internet. You can use office cubicle dividers or simple homemade walls or whatever.

One super-simple approach would be to buy two regular doors (or even sections of plywood) and hinges and then "hinge" the doors together so they open and close like a book. Cover the inside of the doors with fiberglass or rockwool and then wrap in burlap or similar fabric to clean up the appearance. This will give you a pretty good gobo that you can move around and stand up anywhere. paint and/or cover the top if desired.

If you want to have a more professional-looking thing you could similarly "hinge" a couple of premade commercial bass traps (such as Ethan Winer's RealTraps).

Again, this stuff will not amount to much in the way of "soundproofing," it will just cut down on reverb, echoes or "boxiness" of the recorded sound.

Cheers.

Just an observation...

the professional sculpted foam products are irresistable because they have the appropriate cool factor and are easy to use (albeit a tad expensive if bought from Auralex or Sonex). The problem is, clients love to pull and pick at that stuff. They can't help themselves. I might suggest using other materials (more robust if you know what I mean) in high traffic areas. Good luck!

PS that egg crate bed covering you mentioned is a waste of money - even for beds. It will discolor and start to disintegrate almost immediately. Avoid it at all costs.

ORIGINAL: krizrox

The problem is, clients love to pull and pick at that stuff. They can't help themselves.

I was thinking along the same lines. I'm leaning towards the tried and true rigid fiberglass covered with fabric.

Try this link for vocal booth panels and kits they have some great stuff!

www.clearsonic.com

ORIGINAL: CJaysMusic
My vocal booth consist of a down comforter that i tent over myself...Yes my wife laughs at me everytime i do it...
Cj

Not a bad solution! Multiple takes must get warm...

My drum booth doubles as a record-everything room... while it sounds GREAT for drums, it can be a bit boomy for vocals and such. I picked up 4 packing blankets from Costco (total cost: $36) and set up three boom stands, maximum height, with the boom creating a horizontal bar at the top. Drape 3 of the blankets over the top, and bam, instant DEAD vocal booth.

Just a thought... good luck!

Corey

ORIGINAL: yep
Here's a neat idea...
http://www.hometracked.com/2006/12/17/portable-vocal-booth/

That is interesting...I've thought about trying something like that...
just need to figure out how to attach to a boom stand...

Stole my thunder... I was just gonna say to try the Reflexion Filter. I'd put convoluted foam or cpvered rigid fiberglass on the wall corners, stand looking away from the corner and into the room, and put the mic / reflexion filter arrangement pointing back toward me. Instant vocal booth, without the booth.

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.

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

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.

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.

I guess that is the easiest solution huh?

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?