acoustic tiles worth it?

[GoatsTheAnswer]

I just recently purchased a firebox and akg mic (AKG Perception 200 Large-Diaphragm Condenser Mic)...im attempting to make my closet the vocal booth..the closet is 2 and a half by 4...im wondeing how I would soundproof it?...someone told me a cheap way would be acoustic tiles?..are they worth it? thanks for any help

 

[giraffe]

it's not soundproofing you need to worry about, it's the reverb in a room that small.

never good really...
you need to make it dead, or all of your vox tracks will sound like that closet.
i'd suggest a bigger room.

 

[jaykeMURD]

Yes, a somewhat larger room, maybe 6x6 ft? A friend of mine turned a closet into an "isolation chamber". It works fairly well, the room is probably 6x6, and COVERED in Auralex Acoustic Dampening foam stuff.

 

[soundchaser59]

I've never been a big fan of foam, I think it's over marketed and under performs.

You'd get just as good of results by hanging thick and heavy old sleeping bags on the walls, and they would be A LOT cheaper (from a thrift store or goodwill or something)..... if possible hang them so there is a gap a few inches wide between the bag and the wall.

 

[Monkey Allen]

Wouldn't lining it with carpet be the go?

 

[jaykeMURD]

In essence, using old-thick blankets/carpet is a much better way to dampen a room. I agree, that studio foam is really much ado about nothing. For the price people pay for the foam stuff, you could buys LOTS of blankets and such, which do the job waaaay better. I'm glad my bud bought and installed all that studio foam, now I know NOT to give in to the hype! Good luck with blankets. ALSO, I've had good results using heavy-duty canvas (from an old military tent)!

 

[easychair]

In essence, using old-thick blankets/carpet is a much better way to dampen a room. I agree, that studio foam is really much ado about nothing. For the price people pay for the foam stuff, you could buys LOTS of blankets and such, which do the job waaaay better. I'm glad my bud bought and installed all that studio foam, now I know NOT to give in to the hype! Good luck with blankets. ALSO, I've had good results using heavy-duty canvas (from an old military tent)!

Good studio foam does exactly what it is supposed to do, the problem is your perception of it's intended use.

It is not for soundproofing, nor is it for sound deadening. It is not marketed that way either. It is for reducing reflections in a room.

Blankets deaden better, but are fire hazards, using them is asking for trouble.

 

[therage!]

You won't be able to soundproof it unless you start building walls inside of walls.

Go here and read up...

http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

 

[Dags]

For what its worth, I nailed up double-bed ripple foam (available from Clarke Rubber) in a strip across the centre of walls and in patches up above the strip (didn't worry about the walls down low....any bounce down there will get sucked up by the carpet)

I also hung curtains over the windows to stop reflections from the glass

This has removed pretty much all of the 'hard surface' reflections of the room for a fraction of the cost of professional acoustic tiles.

May not be good enough for pro studios, but it works for me!

Dags

 

[bigwillz24]

I've tracked vocals in a closet that size before...

All I did was put clothes in there.

 

[noisewreck]

I've tracked vocal in a closet tht size before...

All I did was put clothes in there.

Dude, you're killing me! This is the second post of yours today that has cracked me up.

Well done

 

[Gorty]

I've tracked vocal in a closet tht size before...

All I did was put clothes in there.

Did you have clothes "ON" when you were tracking!

 

[bigwillz24]

Did you have clothes "ON" when you were tracking!

Clothes on while you are tracking equals noise; noise is bad.

(well at least that is what I tell the good lookin females)

 

[punkin]

In the original question you asked if foam would help with sound proofing...answer is it won't...not even a little. I idea behind foam is for conditioning not sound proofing.

 

[Robert D]

Good studio foam does exactly what it is supposed to do, the problem is your perception of it's intended use.

It is not for soundproofing, nor is it for sound deadening. It is not marketed that way either. It is for reducing reflections in a room.

Blankets deaden better, but are fire hazards, using them is asking for trouble.

Your first point is right on. Not sure about the second one though. We're talking about a closet. You might just as well say "Clothes keep you warm, but are fire hazards, using them is asking for trouble".

-RD

 

[fraserhutch]

Good studio foam does exactly what it is supposed to do, the problem is your perception of it's intended use.

It is not for soundproofing, nor is it for sound deadening. It is not marketed that way either. It is for reducing reflections in a room.

Blankets deaden better, but are fire hazards, using them is asking for trouble.

Absolutely right. It is *part* of a solution, and really good at what it does. It is NOT a complete solution.

For sound-proofing, you need MASS. None of acoustic tiles, foam, rigid fibreglass will get you there. Look in the studio building section here (where this question properly belongs), there is a lot of great advice there from people such as Ethan Winer, Rick Fitzgerald and so forth.

FWIW, you can get moving blankets that are fire-resistant.

The stuff you are talking about here are for condition a room, as previously pointed out. They will not provide decent soundproofing. Acoustic tiles, egg crates, and the like are a waste of money.