advice on a new booth

[Botinok]

i hav an little room in my house, which used to be my dads office that i can finally use for a booth. The room isnt too big, square, maybe the size of a mediam sized bathroom, has one window in the middle of one of the walls, and thats it. I only record vocals, for rap, so i was wonderin how i should set up the room. Im looking for a cheaper way if its possible, because i heard studio foam costs a lot. i have an AKG c 3000 b mic, with a AKG stand and pop filter. My room is next to this room, and thats where i was thinkin of doing all the mixing/mastering from. in other words i was thinkin of just making this room the recording place. so how should i set this up, what can i put up on the walls. i heard egg cartons where good? any suggestions are greatly appretiated. thanks.

 

[GABritton]

Do the vocals sound bad in there? Don't start trewating a room until you recognize where there are problems, if any.
Depending on the type of problems you're having w/ your vocals dictates the type of material you should use. i.e. if you're trying to make it quieter for people on the other side of the wall from you, then foam does nothing for you. What foam does do, is help control high frequencies and flutter echoes. It really doesn't do squat for any "sound-proofing".

If soundproofing is what you need, there's plenty of threads conatining info. Just search for corning 703 rigid fiberglass. If foam is what you need, I've heard people have success w/ foambymail.com

Hope this helps, let us know a little more info on the problems you're having and we'll give a little more specific advice.

 

[Innovations]

Owen's Corning 703 is used for the same purposes as foam, only in general it works better. Egg cartons aren't worth squat for treatment.

If you truly need isolation (which in the case of vocals is mostly a matter of needing to keep outside noises from getting in and onto your tracks, I doubt you are rapping so loud as to bother the neighbors) you need mass and tight seals all around and we need to look at the specific construction of all six surfaces plus the door and window.

 

[Botinok]

wow thanks for the quike reply guys...i havnt tested the room yet..but i will soon...i dont really care for soundproofing or keeping sound out cuz i live in a quite neighbor hood so theres no noise anyway...i just want to vocals to sound good..like no unwanted reverb, ect. thas my main purpose. thanks guys

 

[GABritton]

Depending on how you have the mic pattern setup and your position to the mic and the position of the mic in the room itself will change the sound you get in the room.

Make sure you are using a cardoid pattern (no omni or figure 8) if you are trying to keep room noise out. The closer you are to the mic, the less room noise you'll have too. keep about 4-6" inches from the capsule. Keep the mic in the center of the room facing away from the wall with the window.

The foam really isn't going to do too much to help your sound, but I know how everyone, including myself, puts a little of it up anyways =)

Try this out and let us know how it works.

 

[Botinok]

so basicly just a plain room will work the best, as long as i have the mic in the center of the room. i think my AKG is a cordiod pattern. but im not sure. should i put up plexy glass around the corners because i was told the best sound comes from oval/circular rooms, because that way the sound doesnt bounce off any walls. Any advice on that? thanks again.

 

[GABritton]

If you're using a cardoid pattern on the mic and your relatively close, then no, you won't have a whole lot bouncing off the walls back into the mic, and if you do, you won't be able to tell.

You need to find out how everything sounds first before you start tacking stuff up....you could have the sweetest room ever for all you know. I wouldn't worry about plexi-glass yet. You can always hang blankets if you want to control sound bouncing around if it does become a problem.
Use your reverb on your recorder to add your ambience.