703 And Vocal Booth ( please help)

[Philosophy]

First of all this forum is a godsend for me. Reading and reading and reading, my eye's bloodshot. Ok Iv looked and cant find anything to answer my question. Im making closet conversion , 6 x 6 1/2 walk in closet vocal booth, want cheap effective way to treat it. Not worried about sound proofing pretty quiet where I live thick walls, Ok so Im thinking foam is too expensive so 703 panels look good and fun to make. Most everyone talks about treating a normal sized room and putting traps and panels around room. My question is in my closet used for vocals only do I cover all walls or leave some open area's also I was thinking waist up 2 x 4 panels for mid high and below 4 x 4 for bass traps<--- if even needed? But mainly I want to know Do I Cover All of room. And Id like to be able to take panels out of room for other area's if I need, can I hang them and be ok or do i need to screw them to wall tight , also could I put them mid wall and fill rest of room with carpet <---- does carpet work at all Im thinking panels will treat sound and carpet in untreated areas might help deaden the room further, if im goin about this all wrong please let me know before I spend , was hoping to only spend 150-200 on this.

 

[RAMI]

I'm trying to figure out why there's, all of a sudden, this wave of people that think a closet is a good place to record vocals. It's probably the worst thing you can do.

 

[PoorBoyRecordings]

I'm trying to figure out why there's, all of a sudden, this wave of people that think a closet is a good place to record vocals. It's probably the worst thing you can do.

Hi Rami. I had been considering coverting a closet into a vocal booth also. Why is it a bad place: dimensions, shape, size ??? Just wondering.

 

[Massive Master]

The amount of broadband absorption necessary to make a typical closet acoustically reasonable would make it impossible to actually walk into the closet.



In case anyone has never been to a "real" (for lack of a better term) studio, when you go into the "vocal booth" it might be 12x15 (if it's a rather small one) with no parallel surfaces - And figure 64-96 square feet of broadband trapping.

Those little iso booths for scratch tracks are designed to allow low end through -- They'll keep out conversation and ambient noise, but they let the low end pass (so they don't require a lot of broadband trapping).

It would probably take that same 64-96 square feet of trapping to turn a closet into a "vocal booth" - Do you have room for it in there?

Long story short - Walls are (generally) your enemy. Bigger is almost universally better as far as space is concerned. The best sounding room would be the one with no walls, no ceiling and a nice, lively floor.

Can it be done? Sure. Rip out all the drywall and fill the space with 703. That's one less hard surface. But you're still going to do much better in a "room" somewhere...

 

[Weasel9992]

Can it be done? Sure. Rip out all the drywall and fill the space with 703. That's one less hard surface. But you're still going to do much better in a "room" somewhere...

Exactly. A closet is too small and too squarish; the frequency build up ends up being in the 350-500Hz range, and it dominates everything that's recorded in there. By the time you put enough treatment in there to make it useful, it's useless because there's too much treatment in there to move around.

Frank

 

[BentRabbit]

I'm trying to figure out why there's, all of a sudden, this wave of people that think a closet is a good place to record vocals. It's probably the worst thing you can do.

Two words:

You tube



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhbPcbGWjLM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EE-l08yuMQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1bemOGbFgY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXSh7KXTP7c

 

[Philosophy]

Thanks for help guys

I'm trying to figure out why there's, all of a sudden, this wave of people that think a closet is a good place to record vocals. It's probably the worst thing you can do.

I understand what you mean RAMI Iv seen all the stupid kids putting wallmart foam up in tiny closets, the only reason I considered it was because I seen a few that came out with really nice vocals with auralex covering whole room and I figured what if I cover whole room with 703 panels wont it accomplish a dead room good for doing vocals only? Plus 6 foot by 6 1/2 foot room should give me plenty of space to fill with 703 and still move around right. And it seems ill get less noise from outside in closet. If not , Ill take the advise, people on this forum seem good at this stuff. Iv got a normal room I can put panels up, I do hip hop so I just need clean vocals , do I put panels up on walls like those of bands setups two on one wall three on other bass traps in corners room is 11 x 13 but in this case ill hear tv people and stuff much easier in room. Plus I only have 150 - 200 to spend. Thanks for help guys.

 

[Weasel9992]

Two words:

You tube



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhbPcbGWjLM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EE-l08yuMQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1bemOGbFgY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXSh7KXTP7c

The first one is is the funniest, but the last one...that one proves the point. The "booth" sounds *terrible*, exactly like you'd expect a tiny space covered in foam to sound. Hear how boxy it sounds? How uncontrolled everything is under about 1Khz? I guarantee you that you'll be EQing out a bunch of crap at 350 and 500Hz if you record a vocal in that space.

Frank

 

[Philosophy]

The first one is is the funniest, but the last one...that one proves the point. The "booth" sounds *terrible*, exactly like you'd expect a tiny space covered in foam to sound. Hear how boxy it sounds? How uncontrolled everything is under about 1Khz? I guarantee you that you'll be EQing out a bunch of crap at 350 and 500Hz if you record a vocal in that space.

Frank

Ok thanks man, so only thing now is do I setup room of 11 x 13 with 2x4 panels hung 2 on the 11 foot sides 3 on the 13 food sides and a few on ceiling cornered for bass trapping? Remember this is for vocals and I monitor with cans since I cant afford monitors yet , I hear dead is good cause you can add to it with daw but I cant afford to make a room that big dead with $200 , right? hence the thought of doin it with closet , might be cheaper and more quiet, but now I know thats not a good idea. Let me know , im a newb

 

[Weasel9992]

Ok thanks man, so only thing now is do I setup room of 11 x 13 with 2x4 panels hung 2 on the 11 foot sides 3 on the 13 food sides and a few on ceiling cornered for bass trapping? Remember this is for vocals and I monitor with cans since I cant afford monitors yet , I hear dead is good cause you can add to it with daw but I cant afford to make a room that big dead with $200 , right? hence the thought of doin it with closet , might be cheaper and more quiet, but now I know thats not a good idea. Let me know , im a newb

If you're monitoring on cans then you'll want to focus on one end of the room in terms of treatment. Just make that one side sound even from a response and decay time standpoint. I'd have panels on the back wall and on the right and left side walls near the rear of the room plus a few above your head on the ceiling. The other thing you could do is make larger panels (like 2'x6' or something), make some stands for them, and create a kind of portable vocal booth type thing. That would work just as well for tracking I think, and would probably be cheaper.

Frank

 

[Philosophy]

Wow Thanks Frank

If you're monitoring on cans then you'll want to focus on one end of the room in terms of treatment. Just make that one side sound even from a response and decay time standpoint. I'd have panels on the back wall and on the right and left side walls near the rear of the room plus a few above your head on the ceiling. The other thing you could do is make larger panels (like 2'x6' or something), make some stands for them, and create a kind of portable vocal booth type thing. That would work just as well for tracking I think, and would probably be cheaper.

Frank

Ok so im gonna post something I posted on diff thread, you said just what I was thinking of doin ---- here it is = (quote) Ok so Iv learned alot the past few days in this forum. Great people, Ethan winer is a way cool guy that truly loves his art and loves to share it and help people.
I found out closet conversion (vocal booth) is not worth the effort + money, wife wont go for making our daughters room into a treated room, lol. Until I get my new house in a couple years for full studio project how about this- http://www.palmcitystudios.com/timob...oundbooth.html but made with hanging 703 panels from it. Will this work petty good, would I still need a couple bass traps in room corners (even if Im only recording vocals?) Im a bit new to this. Keep in mind I only have $200 ish to spend. And Iv made songs with just my condenser mic just facing a window curtain and it was ok. I want something cleaner, if you know how or if this could work, well give me some tips on what to do please. Room is 11 x 13 square, I also have another room (bedroom) that has vaulted ceiling if I needed to do vocals in , I could use closet to put computer for noise, but my area is really quiet and my wall are thick so acoustic treatment is all Id need for now. Ty much guys and I hope to figure something out, you are my last hope for taking one step closer to better sound. (end quote). let me know what you think of this, and again your help is priceless thank you.
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[Weasel9992]

If you're just recording vocals then you don't need bass traps. What you're suggesting will probably work just fine for what you're intending it to do. I'd cover the 703 with something though...you could also go with mineral wool instead. It's typically a lot cheaper.

Frank

 

[Philosophy]

Whats the difference between the 703 absorbtion and rockwool absorbtion? Is 703 alot better , same, would I be sacrificing alot of quality paying less for rockwool? Hey and I appreciate your help frank. This is goin to be working out after all.

 

[Weasel9992]

Whats the difference between the 703 absorbtion and rockwool absorbtion? Is 703 alot better , same, would I be sacrificing alot of quality paying less for rockwool? Hey and I appreciate your help frank. This is goin to be working out after all.

It's almost the same. Check out this website...it has all the absorption numbers for most of the commonly used insulation products. You can drop the second digit from the numbers as that will fall in the error range. You'll find that mineral wool of equivalent density is performs just as well as 703.

Frank