Gobo Idea

[c7sus]

I have an idea for a gobo/isolation scheme that will hopefully get most of my living roomout of my recordings.

Sorry, I don't have any of those cool drawing programs so I'll try to be as specific as I can while being economical with words......

My idea is to build in a "U" shape. I'm thinking of using cabinet-grade ply for the carcass. 6 inches deep, and 4 feet across, with 3/4 inch MDF dadoed in on an angle per John Sayers gobo designs, and the cavity filled with rockwool or Knauf fiberglass. This would be covered with muslin. Slot resonators over this are a definate option, if I can find out how best to configure them.

I would also like to mount a spring-loaded mic boom arm, maybe a high and low mount for vox/instrument apps.

I want to go about 6'6" tall so it can double as a vocal booth.

The side panels will be 6' 6" long, and go from being 4 feet tall on one end to 6'6" on the other. Same build and fill as the back panel. I see it going from 4 feet high to 6'6" over the width of a sheet of MDF, 4 ft. So the side panels have 5 edges to them rather than four. This should sane a bit of weight. If I'm backed that far away from the mic I'll be sitting in a chair.

Everything on casters. I don't mind using the entire sheet of MDF and not cutting it out for weight. I want maximum rejection of my room. If more mass gives that I'm all for it.

Now, the purpose of all this is to give an isolated area where I can set up a mic 4 feet or more away from my guitar and have complete rejection and/or as "neutral" an environment as is possible with this scheme. I realize I will probably have to somehow treat the area behind where I would be seated to play as well because I would hope to back this against an existing wall. If need be I suppose I could build a fourth panel.

Last, I'm curious about which frequencies would be most advantageous to treat with slot resonators to optimize this setup for acoustic guitar and male/female vocals.

Oh.......really last......... is all of the above dependent upon first getting reasonably accurate audio measurements of the room as it currently is? I'm thinking not really, because I want to create an "artificial", tuned reality anyway.

I figure probably about a grand US. Maybe $800 bucks or so, but I might need a few tools for this project. For sure a good dado blade............

So is it doable? If it is I think it would be well worth it in my case. I can't see any other way I'm ever going to get it quiet enough in here otherwise.

If you made it this far, thanks!

[John Sayers]

Yes - that should work Craig. Just confirming - the bottom of the 'U' shape is the 4' height going to 6'6" at the top of the U? So the 4' panel has a flat top whereas the sides go from 4' to 6'6"??

For the slots I'd go for low-mid absorption for both vocals and acc guitar. i.e. 150hz - 500hz. With the 6" depth you should be able to achieve that. I'll work the slats out for you if you need it.


Merry Xmas to you and Reilly and the kids

cheers
John

[c7sus]

Thanks John. I thought I posted a reply to this the other night but I dunno what happened...........

The panel would be 4' at the "top" of the U. I would probably split the cabinet into two equal lengths so I could easily angle the MDF front-to-back inside the cabinet, to reduce parallel surfaces. So the elevation would change from 4' to 6'6" over half the length of the panel.

The offer of a layout for the slats is very much appreciated.

[c7sus]

You know, I just thought of something in a way I never thought of it before.......

If I built this to absorb low-mids from 150hz- 500 hz. WHAT exactly should I expect to hear when I strum a first-position E-chord in my new "room"??? I mean, will this be noticeable much more on tape than in listening while playing? Or will I be hearing my instrument in a way that is more optimal to the voicing of the guitar and is readily apparent?

I understand that the rest of the room is also part of the equation. In my best possible scenario I would set this up so the ceiling above was between 9' and 11' tall. So there is a bit of "room" above my new space.

I guess I realize there is a whole lotta math behind this that I don't understand, but it somehow feels a little like alchemy.........