My vocal booth

[Hart]

Some of you have been curious how my attempt at a VO booth build has been going. I'm very happy to say it's finally nearing completion and in workable order.

My goals were to create a very dead space for my voice over work and achieve a decent degree of isolation. Enough so that the standard household sounds wouldn't be an issue.

There are still some tweaks that need to be done to the booth so I'm still playing with my mix of reflective and absorbative (is that a word?) surfaces. At the moment I've placed Auralex on all the walls and the ceiling but the floor is reflective.

As you will see in the pictures the booth is diamond shaped. The back walls are 4 feet each, the two short walls are approximately 2 feet and the front wall with the door is approximately 4 feet. It's a bit small I know, but it's all the space I could take up.

Here's a few pics of the build:

The outline for the walls.


Framing, gypsum board on the inside and MDF on the outside all added.


Now with Auralex goodness







The isolation of the walls is amazing. The door still needs some work. Too much sound coming in around the edges. It's not bad, but nowhere near as good as the walls. Nevertheless, my wife can now type on her computer in the same room without disturbing my recordings.

I still have to install the ventilation. It's a work in progress in my garage at the moment.

I also need to add a real floor as some point. Lowe's has some parquet floor at a very good price that I might use and then add a rug. Or I may just carpet it. I haven't decided yet, I want to play with the sound some more first. I'd rather have the look of the wood floor but we'll see.

I'll pretty up the outside too. My wife wants me to put beadboard on it. I'm not really keen on the stuff but I may give in on this one.

Also, I need better lighting. I have a floor lamp I'm going to try first. If that doesn't work then I'll add some low wattage track lighting and maybe a light attached to the copy stand I'm building.

And finally, I plan on adding an LCD monitor, mouse and keyboard so I can control my DAW from the booth and read copy without having to print it out. Plus that will help the lighting situation some.

The work continues but I am so glad I've finally got it almost done.

Was it worth it? Hmmm. I haven't added up the exact costs in a while but I've spent around $1300.00 to date. I budgeted $1800 and still have a few things to add (like the lcd monitor) but I got lucky and shaved a bunch off my budget by buying used Auralex. And that doesn't account for who knows how many manhours put into it.

My wife says that when we move (I hope it's a good long time away) she wants me to buy a prebuilt and save the headaches and cussing for other projects. We'll see. I know this, the next house we buy had better have room to do something bigger. I'd love this to be around the lines of 5 x 8 or so. Plus a four walled enclosure would be much easier to build.

Why did I go with Auralex instead of rigid fiberglass or mineral wool? Honestly it's because I like the look. It helps get my creative juices flowing. I've got a lot of left over foam as noted in another post. I've tacked some of it up around my work area for now but I'll be replacing that with bass traps, and panels etc. made from ridgid fiberglass or mineral wool at some point. Need some more work to come in before I start on that project though.

I'm sure there are things I did "wrong" and things I did "right" on this build. I think I got enough "right" though since overall I'm very pleased with the outcome.

[Bill Furnett]

Thanks for the pics Hart.
Looks sweet!
How do you plan to vent it?
What kind of VO stuff is it you do or are interested in?
I think i'll be going with a little Auralex on my booth ceilings where height is a factor.

[Hart]

Thanks Bill.

I've been producing commercials, promos, liners etc for radio for a long time now. Started to branch out into others areas and decided it was time to quit moonlighting in the radio station's production room.

I'm loosely basing my ventilation off what I have seen on the prebuilt units and info I've gleaned from here and other sites.

For the "exhaust" basically what I'm thinking is mounting a fan in a box (MDF and mineral wool), then running that via flexible duct to a sound baffle made from MDF and mineral wool... which mounts onto the exterior booth wall and runs into duct that passes through the outer and interior wall near the top of the booth. Still weighing the squirrel cage fan versus a standard vent inductor type. Money versus noise right? lol.

For the air intake: I'm thinking it should be passive so basically the same setup but without the fan. It will be placed near the floor of the booth.

Hot nasty air leaves the booth near the top and cool breathable air enters near the floor.

This is very preliminary as I'm still trying to learn as much as I can about airflow and HVAC type stuff and how it relates to my booth. It's a lot to wrap one's head around. Luckily I have plenty of scrap MDF laying around so if I screw it up it won't cost me much to start over.

[Bill Furnett]

When you get your design decided upon, please be sure (if you can) to do a step by step photo series as well. I'm not at the venting stage of the game just yet, but when i do arrive every bit of info and many pics will be a much appreciated help.

[Hart]

I'd be happy to post photos as I go. And, an honest evaluation of how well it works, or doesn't work when it's finished.

EDIT:

Looking at my booth, I neglected to mention in my original post that I still need to work on the door threshold area as well. It still needs a good seal. I was going to do that tonight but now I'm not feeling motivated. I'm content to sit here, listen to "Two Against Nature" and surf the web.

[steveanthony]

Hart! It's looking good. Good luck with the ventilation.

[Hart]

Thanks Steve. I appreciate the note.

[Hart]

Okay, so here's what I'm thinking about for the ventilation. I've copied this from another bulletin board so some of it may be a repeat of stuff earlier in this thread:

My knowledge here is VERY limited so I'm still playing with it as I learn more. I'm building two baffles like this:



The air (and sound waves) have to make several 90 degree turns before entering the booth. Hopefully the sound waves don't make it...

The internal walls of the baffles will be caulked (airtight you know) and lined with mineral wool.

For the exhaust side:

I'll attach a fan to one end of the baffle to suck air out of the booth. I'll mount the fan in it's own separate box and run that to the baffle with flexible ducting to cut down on any vibration issues. At the other end, I'll attach ducting to the long side (missing in the picture) and run it through the double wall of the booth near the ceiling of one of the short walls and caulk everything up tight.

I'm still debating what type of fan to use. Either a squirrel cage or an inductor fan. NOTE: These links are just examples of style but not necessarily the models I'm looking at. The inductor is cheaper, the squirrel cage is supposed to be quieter. Either way I'll probably put it on a speed control, get an oversized fan and slow it down for less noise.

For the intake side:

I'm thinking I'll leave it passive. Same basic idea but without the fan. This will be attached to the short wall near the floor.



So the hot air in the booth gets sucked out near the ceiling where it collects and cool air enters near the floor.

I'm reading everything I can about pressure and all that other HVAC crap. It's a lot to wrap your head around.

I don't know how well this will work but that's where I'm heading at the moment.

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated, especially if I'm barking up the wrong tree.

[steveanthony]

The thing that jumps out to me is, "how will you mount the baffle to the booth, and how will you mount the fan to the baffle?" My point here is that if you attach the baffle directly to the booth, with the fan mounted on the baffle, then there's a risk that vibration from the fan (even with rubber mounts) will be transmitted by the baffla into the booth. I don't know, but I would build it planning on having to decouple the fan from the baffle with, say, some flexible ductwork.

Otherwise, if I were building one, what you're looking at is where I would start.

[riffy]

Hart, that booth looks great. Crazy though - you're inside pic looks eerily similiar to my booth (much looser isolation) complete with a some 7506 cans & a K2? I'm still trying to come up with a decent headphone hanger. But I do have a slick little camera in there to monitor the talent.

YOURS


MINE

[Hart]

Originally Posted by steveanthony

The thing that jumps out to me is, "how will you mount the baffle to the booth, and how will you mount the fan to the baffle?" My point here is that if you attach the baffle directly to the booth, with the fan mounted on the baffle, then there's a risk that vibration from the fan (even with rubber mounts) will be transmitted by the baffla into the booth. I don't know, but I would build it planning on having to decouple the fan from the baffle with, say, some flexible ductwork.

Otherwise, if I were building one, what you're looking at is where I would start.

Steve, those are my thoughts exactly. I must not have done a good job of describing it. Perhaps drawings of what I'm planning would be better. Does this make sense?

[Hart]

Originally Posted by riffy

Hart, that booth looks great. Crazy though - you're inside pic looks eerily similiar to my booth (much looser isolation) complete with a some 7506 cans & a K2? I'm still trying to come up with a decent headphone hanger. But I do have a slick little camera in there to monitor the talent.

Wow, they are eerily similiar. Your picture is better though

Yep same cans but the mic in my picture is a Rode NT1000.

As far as a hanger goes, I'm going to build a copy stand eventually and I'm thinking I'll make a hook for them on there.

Thanks for the compliment on the booth.

[Bill Furnett]

Your design is so simple, inexpensive and effectively illustrated that i feel stupid and enlightend at the same time!

Questions:

1. (Probally stupid) Is the flexiblle duct the same as dryer exhaust "stuff"?
2. What kind of "Manifold" will you use at/In/on the fan box to connect the duct?
3. Will it have some type of filter system and will the fan itself be accessible for routine cleaning?

[Hart]

Originally Posted by Bill Furnett

Your design is so simple, inexpensive and effectively illustrated that i feel stupid and enlightend at the same time!

Well, thank you for the compliment. I'm still unsure how well it will work but I guess we're going to find out.

1. (Probally stupid) Is the flexiblle duct the same as dryer exhaust "stuff"?

Yeah, dryer exhaust stuff is one type of flexible duct. They've got several types at Lowe's/Home Depot. The stuff I think we want is insulated on the inside. They've got it in boxes but it's way more than I need (and kind of pricey) so I'm looking around for other sources that maybe sell it by the foot. I've been thinking that the flexible duct parts should be about 4 feet long each but after reading some more in the archives I think I'll drag that out to 6 feet each and put some "S's" in it.

2. What kind of "Manifold" will you use at/In/on the fan box to connect the duct?

I'm not sure yet, but looking around Home Depot/Lowe's there seem to be several types of connectors that would work with a few screws and some caulk. I'll take pictures of whatever I decide on. I believe the squirrel cage type fan would be easiest to mount, but both are pretty straight forward.

3. Will it have some type of filter system and will the fan itself be accessible for routine cleaning?

Filter:

Funny you should mention that, I just thought about that last night. I don't know yet. I'm not sure it's necessary since I'm pulling air in from the room. But, it might be nice to try and cut down on the dust gettting in the booth too since it'll be a pain to clean. This may be weird, but my biggest concern with it is that I would forget to change/wash a filter regularly and clog up the system. If I were to do it, I guess I'd select my filter first, then build an MDF box to size and connect it to the flexible duct of the intake.

Cleaning the fan: I'm glad you asked this one Bill. I hadn't thought about it yet.

The fanbox will already have a decent size hole for airflow, but not really big enough for cleaning I suppose. So maybe I should either hinge the top of the fan box or just leave it as a separate piece so that you can open/remove it for access to the fan. Maybe sand the edges smooth and add some weatherstripping for a decent seal when the lid is on.

How does that sound?

Still trying to bark up the right tree:

Brian

[Bill Furnett]

With the fan's ability to draw air being so vital it might be best to just seal the box and occasionally shop vac (or blow air through) the "manifold" now and again to clean it out, not sure. On the other hand, i guess it wouldn't be very hard to put an interior "lip" (4 strips of wood forming a square or rectangle) inside the fan box that the "Lid" would sit down on with some gasket material between to form a nice seal. That way you could access the fan directly if need be or even change it out if it came down to it, but still, i'm not sure how you would keep the "Lid" secure.(Maybe hinged at one end and a latch or wing nut configuration at the other?)

To me (at least) it seems the tricky part is being able to draw the air sufficiently through the maze of duct, but moreover, to do it quietly via a reasonable sized fan.

On a filter: I was thinking of health aspects and the hassle it might be to vacume the Auraex as well as keeping the fan clean to extend it's life and quiet operation.

Hopefully some further research or posted insight will reveal that it's not as complex as it seems.

[Hart]

I like your thoughts there, especially the interior lip and hinge/wingnut ideas. The combination of those might work nicely. I think you'd have to sand it all pretty good to make sure you have nice flat surfaces before you put the gasket on though.

This is more about trying to isolate the fan noise as much as possible though. I don't think it would cause a problem if the box was a bit leaky since that's not really part of the system. The fan has to be attached and sealed to the flexible duct with no leaks but once air leaves the fan it's out of the "system" right?

[Bill Furnett]

It seems like if the fan box also had a baffle maze where the duct terminated (With a nice vibration absorbing gasket) into an air tight chamber (So it will draw, but never actually touch the fan itself (which could be mounted on rubber blocks) and the whole box sitting on rubber feet, then it'd be pretty quiet in regards to vibration transmitted through the duct, but still there remains any duct exposed between fan box and the booth's duct baffle box.
Hopefully the RIGHT fan can pull the air without creating any "wisp" of air flow at the vent inside of the booth or if there is any it's so minimal that the mic won't pick it up. In your application it's great that any exposed duct isn't trying to take on drums or loud guitar or anything like that outside of the booth.

I think it can be done.

[Hart]

That "wisp" thing has me concerned too. I'm hoping a larger fan on a slower speed combined with the correct vent cover thing (register I guess?) will minimize that. Seems like the trick there is to keep your air velocity pretty low.

In your application it's great that any exposed duct isn't trying to take on drums or loud guitar or anything like that outside of the booth.

<shudder> Okay, don't make me cry.

I agree. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that. My application is more than enough to make my brain hurt.

B

[SonicClang]

Have you figured out how to keep the sound from coming in around the door edges? May I recommend something? Have you tried installing a commercial door closer? And have the door compress against closed cell foam all around.

The booth looks great. Very cozy.

[Hart]

Sonic. Thanks for the compliment. It is cozy, in a good way for me I think.

Yeah, I've thought about the door closer and it's an option I'm considering. First, I want to beef up the seals and make a better threshold.

I should probably post the details of my door too (it's not ideal), but I'm tight on time at the moment.

[Hart]

Well it's been an ass kicker of a day today. 10pm at night and I'm just finishing up the day job.

I had planned to work some more on the booth this weekend but I suspect my "honey do" list will have to take priority, especially since I didn't get to start on it tonight.

[Bill Furnett]

Don't feel too bad, i haven't (for various reasons) been able to get one complete booth built, floored, painted, treated and wired up over the whole summer. I have 3 in various stages of "someday they'll be done".

On your door: On my doors i added a rectangle of 1 x 2 like a stop that the door hits when closed (Even across the bottom). To the 1x2 i liquid nailed weather stripping so when you close the door against it it forms a pretty decent seal.

Maybe this is something like how all doors are done minus the strip across the bottom, (Not sure) but just thought i'd share it in case you were stuck for a solution.

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Hey guys, just thought I'd share a few related solutions. Maybe it will give you some ideas. Think...computer fans. In case the link only brings up page 1, scroll to page 8 and look up my post.

http://homerecording.com/bbs/showthr...&highlight=DIY
fitZ

[Bill Furnett]

Pretty cool Rick.

[Hart]

Bill: That door stop is a pretty good idea. Thanks.

Rick: that's very cool. Thanks for posting the link.

I've thought about using case fans, the good ones are really quiet, but I'm wondering if they can push/pull enough air to be effective on something as large as my booth. I'll give the fan issue more thought.

Other notes:

Bought Rod Gervais' Home Recording Studio: Build It Like The Pros today at Borders. Honestly I was surprised they had any in the store. I bought the only copy.

Also picked up some fabric at JoAnn's for some absorbers. I'll have to post pics when I get them hung.