Walk In Closet into a recording booth

  • Thread starter Thread starter Olijanovi
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Olijanovi

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Hey everybody,

I'd like to turn my walk in closet into a recording booth.

Specs of it:

1- 2 doors... one to a bathroom and one to the bedroom. (very crappy empty doors)
2- The 2 doors are both in the same angle.
3- 7 feet and 1/2 long (230 cm), 5 feet and 1/2 wide (170 cm) , 8 feet high (244 cm).

At the moment, there are plenty of coats and shirts hanging on one of the side wall. It's pretty decent when I put the mic in front of it BUT those two doors are to the back of it, which creates reflexion.

Anyhow... I can hear on the recording that it's my closet, hehe I'd like for it to be a little less noticeable.

Thanks
 
Well you can make your vocals dead. I don't know why you would want to do that. Why wouldn't you record vocals in your room?
 
I would say with that with a room that small, making it as dead as possible would be the best option. Use as much broadband absorption as you can get in there. Then add in some reverb/delay later. I'm not sure if you're having a transmission problem from the rest of the house, but replacing those doors would go a long way in reducing that. Also, anything that you could do to seal up the doors would help too (door sweeps, weather stripping, etc...).

What are you actually recording in there? Vocals, instruments?
 
Olijanovi said:
Anyhow... I can hear on the recording that it's my closet
Click to expand...
So you're getting a reasonably accurate recording and you're wondering why...

You're putting a microphone into a tiny, resonant chamber. Don't do that = No problem. To some extent, using a proper mic for the situation (my first choice for almost any vocal is a large-diaphragm dynamic - the ONLY choice in a resonant chamber would be the same).

That said - Turning a small resonant chamber into a semi-viable recording room -- Been there, done that (with others). Rip all the drywall out - Walls, ceiling, etc. and fill the stud cavities with OC703 and 705. Cover with fabric stapled to the studs and furring strips over the staples. That *might* turn it into a viable space. That said, it might not and the best thing to do in either case is to put noisy equipment in the closet and use the larger space (still, the need for large amounts of broad-band absorption - that's a given).

In short, closets are for hanging clothes and such.
 
Point taken. Should I consider making a reflexion thing and record in my room? I record vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, classical guitar.

So what do I do to my main room? Really high ceiling with wood floor.
 
In conclusion, put a shit load of broadband traps around the room?
 
Olijanovi said:
In conclusion, put a shit load of broadband traps around the room?
Click to expand...

No. You cannot just randomly place foam around your room. Unless you want a sh**ty sound. There are many threads here that involve treating your room. Hopefully someone can point you to a good one.
 
Well no, he said a sh*tload of BROADBAND traps. Yes. Start with the corners and high sides and go from there.
 
iv seen people make portable vocal booths on youtube (cant post link cause i dont have 10 posts! its called "BIGGEST TIPS FOR A CHEAP STUDIO BOOTH PART 2")

dunno if its good or not, but no doubt it would help achieve a better sound
 
jamesbecker said:
i dunno if its good or not, but no doubt it would help achieve a better sound
Click to expand...

You think so eh? I'm not so sure.. The foam will absorb only the highest freq's, and the wood will reflect everything else right back into the mic, which is extremely close to those walls, so those reflections will be strong. I say you're better off taking that thing away, and recording in the garage, or basement, or whatever room that silly thing is in. If he took the $ he spent on that 'booth', and bought some OC / Roxul instead, he'd have a big better sounding room. Ppl who dont know any better expect to see that kinda thing and are impressed by it. I dont think I've ever seen a home-built vocal booth that improved the vocalists's sound. If your vocal booth is smaller than an average bedroom, you're probably better off without it.
 
Yes I was looking into those portable vocal booth.

I have to admit that at this very moment, I get a much better sound with my closet full of clothes than my room. My room has a lot of reverberation (if that's the term for what I hear) A lot of white noise too. Where in the closet it's much more of a silent sound. Hence the idea of making that room in the closet. But if you guys think that I should do the big room, then I'll follow your lead.
 
Like MassiveMaster said. Start with broadband absorbers in the corners. This will make a big difference.
 
closet vocal recording isn't all that bad ..... if that is the sound that your striving for.
More of a special effect if you ask me.
 
Two things o help you get a BAD sound:" closet" and "foam". Forget those 2 things and you're on your way to not sounding bad.
 
I'll investigate the broadband traps for the corners. Home made or buying them already made?
 
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