Advice on soundproofing a closet on the super cheap (photos)

[runmikeyrun]

Hey all, first time caller.

I've got my entire album recorded sans vox. Everything was tracked at our guitarist's place, but since I'm the singer I want to do the vox at my house on my own time. Problem is, I don't have any sort of booth.

A little background: I live in a condo. The spot I have in mind is a closet built in the underside of the basement stairs. Basement wall to the right is block covered with insulation and covered with Masonite. The underside of the stairs and wall to the left have no treatment at all. The door (where the pic is taken from) is hollow core. The floor is concrete. All the crap inside the closet is being moved out today so it will be completely empty.

I really need to be able to soundproof this room so I can scream away for a few hours and not have to worry about disturbing the girl/kids upstairs. Problem is, I am very short on cash. I've done some research and here's my thoughts (with questions in parenthesis):

-caulk the wood joints on the underside of the stairs, as there are pretty large gaps
-fiberglass into the wall on the left side (covered by either 1/2" drywall or 2" foam board)
-3" of egg crate memory foam mattress topper treating the underside of the stairs (leave raw or cover with foam board/drywall) the foam would be mated together to create a 3" block of foam. The stairs continue right up to the top of the door frame, there is no ceiling.
-heavy moving blankets covering the finished surfaces, including the hollow core door, to reduce reflections and further deaden sound, although I'd rather try to avoid this expense if possible, can I hang up a couple blankets from around the house?
-foam weatherstrip gasket on door frame

I know ideally I should get a solid core door, but that's out of the budget. The cost between the foamboard and drywall is close, but I think the foam board will be much easier to install, less mess, and a LOT lighter carrying downstairs and putting it up, as I am doing it myself. The corrugated memory foam mattress topper is within the budget, but the really thick mattress toppers (4") are about $100 so they're too expensive.

I don't need ultra high fidelity or complete silence (kids always have tv on right at the top of the stairs) and I'm also not too concerned about the neighbors, as the unit on that side of me is empty. I just need to bring the volume level way way down. I also am not as concerned about the appearance of it as the functionality/cost aspects.

All suggestions are appreciated, thank you!

 

[Massive Master]

I'd just suggest going to the guitarist's place. "Closets" only make "vocal booths" in the movies.

I don't need ultra high fidelity

Oh don't worry -- You aren't going to get it in a closet under a set of stairs.

I'm not trying to sound discouraging (I say that so much lately...) but realize that a typical "vocal booth" is usually in the maybe 12'x15' range. Mattress foam...?

Getting decent isolation is one thing -- Caulk, extra layers of drywall and the like -- Those are great. But keep in mind that if you're keeping sound in and acoustically nightmarish space, you're going to wind up with an acoustically nightmarish recording. The only difference is that the neighbors didn't hear it (although you'll be able to give them a copy once it's done).

 

[witzendoz]

Why not just record the vocals in the lounge when everyone is out LOL. Budget vocal booths sound like budget vocal booths.

Alan.

 

[Chili]

Also, that corrugated mattress top foam stuff won't do you a bit of good. Don't even think of buying it.

Best option is to schedule time to do the vocal tracks so you don't disturb the family. Or, if it's a 3-story condo, you should be able to sing in the basement without bothering the family on the 3rd floor.

 

[mjbphotos]

Make some stands to hang the heavy moving blankets from to go around you in the basement, forget the closet and all the extra work and expense, and like others suggested, record when everyone is out. Your whole scheme will not "soundproof" that under-stairs area and it will sound like sh!t.

 

[runmikeyrun]

gentlemen:

Thank you SO much for your replies! I will be the first to admit that I (obviously) don't know much about rooms. It seems like a consensus that trying to track vox in my closet is going to be all bad. I guess I'm curious on why...? I know I'm obviously not going to get any sort of natural reverb. I mean, I am just screaming at the top of my lungs... I can totally understand any sort of sung or spoken vocals needing a good room with the right acoustics, treatment, etc. But screaming...? Am I going to get certain frequencies cancelling each other out or something?

My major issue with wanting to do the vocals at home is due to my hectic schedule. I have worn out my family by having to disappear for 4-5 hour sessions at the guitarists house the last couple of months. I really want to avoid doing that again. On the flip side, the rest of the recording is really well done so I don't want to destroy the part of the music that most people focus on. Can I throw some verb on the aux send later and still get a passable vocal track inside that darn closet?

The other bonus in soundproofing the closet is I can record guitar or bass amps in there without the noise of the kids bleeding into the recording. I'm not recording a half stack in there, just a small amp with a 2x12 at a very reasonable volume. It would just be nice to be able to track and not have to worry about the kids ruining a take.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[runmikeyrun]

The only difference is that the neighbors didn't hear it (although you'll be able to give them a copy once it's done).

They probably wouldn't like our band, but I could give them a recording of them having sex, which I get to hear through our common bedroom wall :/ Maybe I should be more concerned about soundproofing my bedroom!

 

[Chili]

They probably wouldn't like our band, but I could give them a recording of them having sex, which I get to hear through our common bedroom wall :/ Maybe I should be more concerned about soundproofing my bedroom!

Oh nooo...

The problem with the closet is it is so small, the standing waves will be right in the middle of your vocal range. You'll get unwanted peaks and nulls that are hard to EQ out. The foam you proposed won't absorb the freqs in that range. You are trying to accomplish two goals; 1) soundproof the room so the neighbors and family won't hear you and, 2) acoustically treat the room so your vocal takes don't sound shit. For the first part, your ideas on isolation will work. For the second, you need to make it completely dead. The foam and blankets you proposed won't do anything for you. Well, the moving blankets will help some. I think it's a tall order for someone short on cash. You need to look at other options as well, like....

Do you need to sing so loud for your vocal parts?
Can you schedule your time when no one is home?
can the family just deal or even participate in your recording time?

I completely get being home more than being with the band. I think that's great that you are looking for ways to make it all work together.

best o' luck

 

[runmikeyrun]

I think the worst part about hearing them have sex means they can hear us...

Yeah unfortunately it has to be full on screaming. I really REALLY do appreciate and understand everything that was said here, I really do. Thanks again everyone... I'm going to just try to get to the guitarists place to do it.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Thank you SO much for your replies! I will be the first to admit that I (obviously) don't know much about rooms. It seems like a consensus that trying to track vox in my closet is going to be all bad. I guess I'm curious on why...?

Let's start with the inverse square relationship. When you double the distance sound travels you quarter the power, which is 6dB. A small room means the sound doesn't travel very far from the source to the walls and back to the mic, so you get louder room sound for a given source-mic arrangement.

Add to that the resonant frequencies of the space itself. Less distance between walls means the sound reverberates at higher frequencies which, as Chili mentioned, are going to be more in the vocal range than with a bigger room.

So combine the louder room resonance at the mic with the fact that it will tend to be more in the vocal range and you have a terrible place to record singing.

 

[runmikeyrun]

Thank you dropping the science for me... That makes sense. I'm basically going to end up with a thin, hollow sounding vocal that can't be eq'd to fix. Doesn't sound good to me.