Damping A Room

[amonte]

Hi,

I hope someone can help me with this problem, because I am really not sure what to do about it. I do all of my recording in the main room of my apartment, which is a large rectangular space with hardwood floors. I can use a dynamic mic on guitar cabs, vocals, acoustic guitar, etc. and not have to much of the live room sound picked up, but when I use my Rode NT1, I get the whole room and event the computer fan...

I have thought of one solution, but I am not sure if it is feasible or even worth trying. I want to get three large pieces of wood (6 foot tall, 3-4 feet wide) and attach them to each other using hinges. Once they are attached, I want to insulate them with some sort of foam. I will then stand in this "square" when I record. Will this work? Is it worth trying? Is the expense worth the possible results? Any help that can be provided is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jer

[vox]

Do a search here on this forum and on the net for 'gobo' or 'goboes'.

[Tekker]

Here is a sight that might help you out. Check out 'Home Recording Baffles" and "Using Baffles For Isolation". You could also use these ideas along with the plywood to make a box. Hope this is what your looking for.

http://www.recordingeq.com/rw/tip_index.htm

[mikeh]

On a low tech, low cost scale - here is what worked for me (for now at least).

A 5'x5' (choose your dimensions) area with a throw rug on the floor and old window draperies (my wife changes the living room more often than I change my socks) hung from curtain rods on all four sides.

Although this is not a "sound proof environment" it does provide a very dry "sound dead environment". It is not expensive or labor intensive. Best of all it's very portable. Naturally I'm dependent on reverb units - but my "studio" simply does not have a pleasant "natural reverb".