Building a recording booth. Frustrated. Need some suggestions.

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dm303102

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Ok, I am trying to build a recording booth mainly for vocals, and the only space I have to work with in my tiny apartment is a small 6x6x4 closet in the center of my aparment. I anticipate buying an Mbox 2 audio interface and a good quality mic. However, I read that a closet space would be too small and the dynamics would be dead for recording. I already started taping up foam padding and am wondering if I should just return the rest of it to Target. Would spending money on good equipment be a wasted effort if I utilize my closet to record? Also, I found the "SM Pro Audio The Mic Thing Isolator" and was considering using that. Should I use it in combitation with the foam padding or by itself? Would this be worth buying for the closet recording space or a wasted effort? Please help me optimize this space for use with this equipment if possible!! I am just trying to save time and money. Any suggestions are welcome.

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You need to scale down that pic a bit.

Ok is this just a tracking booth, or will you be mixing in there too(please don't say you'll be mixing in there)?

I expect that it'll be just for tracking. Just a couple of rigid fiberglass panels should do ya(do a search). This will give you quite a dead environment. It will reduce the "echo" dramatically. You can add this later though with FX. It won't be perfect, but it should be useable.
 
return the foam padding to target? oh boy. dont tell me you are putting mattress foam all over your walls... :(
 
Thanks for the quick replies. I know, I used the foam stuff in high school to record stuff. I was trying to think of the cheapest solution; but I do want to be as professional as possible. Do you think the "Mic Thing" microphone isolator would be a wise contribution, or should I just use the fiberglass panels alone?
 
How much of the closet should I cover with the fiberglass? Should I place them in sections or cover as much as possible?
 
the absolute cheapest and most effective treatment is the rigid fiberglass. how much did you spend on the mattress foam? a box of 703 or the like will only run you about 50-70. that would be 6 panels that are 2' x 4'. you could easily mount them on something to give you gobos surrounding a mic. plus, if you house burns down, you dont have to explain the matress foam all over your walls to your insurance company.
 
I paid about 40 for 4 twin size sheets :o. It was a hasty decision, but I have the receipt :). So I was thinking of getting 1 pack of the 703 panels, surrounding the mic in front, and covering the walls behind me. Sound good? Also, I can't really drill holes in my walls as I am renting. What would be a good way to mount them. Does the setup below look good? Do you think I can acomplish this with 1 pack? The walls are 8' high. The Wall behind me is less than 4' wide. Thanks in advance.

Sound Panel Diagram.webp
 
dm303102 said:
I paid about 40 for 4 twin size sheets :o. It was a hasty decision, but I have the receipt :). So I was thinking of getting 1 pack of the 703 panels, surrounding the mic in front, and covering the walls behind me. Sound good? Also, I can't really drill holes in my walls as I am renting. What would be a good way to mount them. Does the setup below look good? Do you think I can acomplish this with 1 pack? The walls are 8' high. The Wall behind me is less than 4' wide. Thanks in advance.

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That's 7 panels.
 
Is it enough to just put them behind me at mic level or should I consider the ceiling corners, floor corners, etc. (i.e. most of the surface area behind me)?
Thanks.
 
This is my suggestion. You could place them like my first suggestion, or double 2 panels up fo bass traps. You also have the ceiling and floor to worry about.

Whatever you do, i'd keep the floor reflective, if you can.

The panels behind the mic could probably be keep half sized, 2'x2', leaving the other halfs to be used on the ceiling. This should definitely be enough. I'd buy two more packs and treat your control room also.

Instead you could buy the 3.5" bulk cotton bass absorber from Brian(Bpape), which has enough material for 16 4'x2' panels. That comes to $187.87 including shipping.

With that, you could have 6 in this room and 10 in the control room, 1 placed in each of the 4 corners, 2 on the back wall, 2 on the side walls, one on front wall(horizontally behind monitors), and 1 on the ceiling.
 

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Also, any ideas on something I could use as 2 cheap stands for the panels in front of the mic? I was thinking that way I can also use them in my room behind me to monitor. Sound good?
 
dm303102 said:
Also, any ideas on something I could use as 2 cheap stands for the panels in front of the mic? I was thinking that way I can also use them in my room behind me to monitor. Sound good?
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You could probably build a stand quite easily(with some left over timber) and screw it onto the absorption panel frame.

EDIT: I edit quite a lot, so check back to my last post for an update.
 
I don't have to space to treat another room for monitoring; Would it sound really bad monitoring from the closet; or should I just do my mixing in a bigger room and "box myself in with fiberglass panels? Thanks.
 
dm303102 said:
I don't have to space to treat another room for monitoring; Would it sound really bad monitoring from the closet; or should I just do my mixing in a bigger room and "box myself in with fiberglass panels? Thanks.
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That closet will be fine for a booth, nothing more.

For mixing you need to use a bigger room. A bedroom(or living room) would do.

Just place absorption panels like i suggested. In 4 corners(ceiling corners if wall corners aren't possible, 2 on back wall, 2 on side walls, 1 on ceiling and 1 horizontal on the front wall.

Have the mixing position centred along the shortest wall, and spaced out from the wall, if you can.

Also, i wouldn't buy an mbox 2. I'm not too keen on digidesign gear. What monitors will you be using? Infact, if you're monitoring with headphones(not a good idea) then this small room will be fine, although the mic will pick up computer noise etc. I wouldn't suggest this.

What is your budget? Do you have any requirements, eg. protools, specific number of inputs/outputs, etc?
 
I'd agree with the recommendation to go thicker than 1". I'd use a minimum of 2". Put a thin frame around it and mount on some stands - no holes, very flexible, very effective.

The 3.5" cotton is a good solution too if budget allows.

Bryan
 
Can you think of any cheap dollar store item that could convert into a good stand? Thanks.
 
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pandamonk said:
That closet will be fine for a booth, nothing more.

For mixing you need to use a bigger room. A bedroom(or living room) would do.

Just place absorption panels like i suggested. In 4 corners(ceiling corners if wall corners aren't possible, 2 on back wall, 2 on side walls, 1 on ceiling and 1 horizontal on the front wall.

Have the mixing position centred along the shortest wall, and spaced out from the wall, if you can.

Also, i wouldn't buy an mbox 2. I'm not too keen on digidesign gear. What monitors will you be using? Infact, if you're monitoring with headphones(not a good idea) then this small room will be fine, although the mic will pick up computer noise etc. I wouldn't suggest this.

What is your budget? Do you have any requirements, eg. protools, specific number of inputs/outputs, etc?
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Ok, I think I have a solution. Please let me know if this sounds ok. Would 4 velcro strips on each panel be enough to hold them in place on the walls? That way I can move them from my tracking room to my mixing room, and me and my girlfriends computer room won't be cluttered with my stuff all the time (I really can't wait until I get a house :) ). Also, if I can do that, I read about covering the 703 panels with cloth. Do they shed fiberglass, because that would really help prevent making a mess. What kind of cloth would I use? Would that hinder the fiberglass's acoustical dampening? I wanted to get the mbox because of the price and the good remarks it got. My budget for an IO interface is around $400. All I need is one track recording at a time. Quality and mic preamp is my biggest concern. Also I am familiar with protools. Do you have any other suggestion? I was thinking about getting the M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Powered Speakers($150). Please feel free to suggest any other software or combination of hardware. I am striving for the best possible quality.
 
dm303102 said:
Ok, I think I have a solution. Please let me know if this sounds ok. Would 4 velcro strips on each panel be enough to hold them in place on the walls? That way I can move them from my tracking room to my mixing room, and me and my girlfriends computer room won't be cluttered with my stuff all the time (I really can't wait until I get a house :) ). Also, if I can do that, I read about covering the 703 panels with cloth. Do they shed fiberglass, because that would really help prevent making a mess. What kind of cloth would I use? Would that hinder the fiberglass's acoustical dampening? I wanted to get the mbox because of the price and the good remarks it got. My budget for an IO interface is around $400. All I need is one track recording at a time. Quality and mic preamp is my biggest concern. Also I am familiar with protools. Do you have any other suggestion? I was thinking about getting the M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Powered Speakers($150). Please feel free to suggest any other software or combination of hardware. I am striving for the best possible quality.
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For monitors, I'd suggest the behringer truths. The studiophiles are just too small to be really useful.

If you just want to record one at a time, why not buy a M-audio dmp3(great little preamp) and a simple 2 channel interface(Behringer FCA202), comes to $206, and use reaper $50. $256, and the remaining money can be spent on the Behringer Truths, or Alesis M1 active Mk2s(what i have. those are ex-display, new they are $299).

Some good mics to look at are Naiant, Studio Projects B1, and shure sm57(I'll let you search for that, there are a lot of fakes). All have their different uses.

I don't like protools. Their TDM systems are great, but are so pricey, but LE and M-powered are very limited in comparison with other software. You'd be just as well using the free version of cubase LE or Ableton Live that come with certain systems.

Velcro might hold them, but you can just hang them like a picture(except the corner traps). Otherwise, you could build stands for them all.

Yes, you should wrap your panels in fabric/cloth. The fibers are an irritant.
 
I think stands are your best bet. If looks is not an issue in the short term, you can build each for probably < $4 worth of 2x2 and some screws.

Bryan
 
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