Vocal booth...

[dainja]

I currently have my studio set-up in part of my (fairly large) basement.

Next to where my nearfields/synths/computer are located, there is a staircase that goes down to the basement. As you'd expect, there is a 45 degree slant to the staircase, and at its highest point (where it connects to the studio area), there is about 10 feet of height in the area under the staircase.

There is a wall to the right of the "under the staircase" area, no wall on the left, and no "entrance".

The area is probably 4.5 feet wide and 10 feet deep (but the 45 degree slant gives me about 4 feet of "useable" space.

I'm hoping I can wall off the area underneath the staircase (studs and drywall) and stick rockwool in the walls, then a little bit of acoustic panelling on the side walls and door to have a good vocal booth.

Is this realistic and is this area useable? I also have a spare solid wood door I could pad with 4 inches of rockwool on the inside (by a 2x4 frame to it). Is the slant in the "booth" caused by the stairs a good or bad thing? WOuld I be better off building a vertical wall there instead of keep that angled space?

If vocalists only do 45 minute sessions at a time, do I NEED ventilation (if I leave the door open when the booth isn't being used)?

I produce electronic dance music so I'd like the vocals to be very dry so I can have good "digital" reverb on them, and I want to maximize the sound of my (soon to be modded) Apex460 mic.

I don't care if sound leaks *OUT* of the booth.

Thanks!
Budget = 300$ but I already have drywall, studs and a door. The only cost is acoustic treatment/ventilation if needed/rockwool.

 

[Ethan Winer]

I'm not a fan of vocal booths except in certain situations. It's almost always better to record vocals in the same room as you mix, with you and the singer using headphones. More here:

Do I really need a vocal booth?

--Ethan

 

[dainja]

I'm not a fan of vocal booths except in certain situations. It's almost always better to record vocals in the same room as you mix, with you and the singer using headphones. More here:

Do I really need a vocal booth?

--Ethan

The main studio room has far too many strange resonances. It's a very large room and has a weird shape/cement+metal walls (I know...odd). I already use headphones for the vocalist (the send to her headphones goes through a mixer that allows her to adjust the amount of reverb she hears in the phones) and I use headphones while she sings. When recording is over I turn the nearfields back on. Most of the music writing/production is done after the vocals are recorded.

I definitely want some kind of closed room. What if it was a "LARGE" booth (ie the size of the current studio, but seperate)? I don't have any lack of space, I just figured under the staircase was the most convenient. And I'm wondering if that 45 degree "wall/ceiling" is gonna be good or bad for the booth.

 

[Ethan Winer]

The main studio room has far too many strange resonances.

LOL, well, don't you intend to fix that anyway?

What if it was a "LARGE" booth

Yes, larger is much better than smaller.

I'm wondering if that 45 degree "wall/ceiling" is gonna be good or bad for the booth.

Probably both. Bad because it makes the space even smaller, but potentially good to send reflections away from the microphone. Then again, reflections are easily handled with absorption.

--Ethan