Closet to vocal booth - volume reduction help needed

  • Thread starter Thread starter aedgemont
  • Start date Start date
A

aedgemont

New member
I've been doing some research recently on converting an apartment closet into a makeshift vocal booth. I want to try this to record my vocalist at my place. My biggest concern is the volume leaking to the neighboring apartments and them complaining. I have played music and practiced guitar in my apartment at reasonable volumes before and not had any complaints but I can easily turn the volume down on my amp for that!

This closet is also very small only about 20 inches deep by 44 inches long (just enough for person to fit with a mic stand pretty much). I've looked into products like the Owens Corning 703 but my understanding is that is best for sound absorbtion. Would I be better off with something like a mass loaded vinyl product and just put it up in each corner of the closet?

Or perhaps using the two products together? My singer is a loud screamer and I really want him to belt it out so reducing the volume is my number one objective.

Any advice is definitely appreciated.

Thanks!

Adam
 
First, welcome to the forum. We have lots-a fun round here.

Now, you simple must do a little search 'cause this very thing comes up about every ten or fifteen days around here- and it will cut to the chase for you so to speak.
"vocal booth" and something along the lines of 'why do my vocals now sound like a*s'
We'll go from there.
:)
 
Thanks mixsit - I appreciate the response. I have actually read through several of the posts here and on other forums regarding this subject. I've heard the sound probably won't be the best but I'm still willing to give it a shot.

What I'd probably end of paying in materials and a little bit of time is about what I'd pay an engineer in my area for an hour or 2 of their studio time. If the end result is terrible, I'll go down that route. But for now I want to try it.

Do you think any of those products I mentioned would be good at volume reduction?

thanks again,
Adam
 
You don't need a vocal booth. It's not going to cut down the volume to the neighbors, and it will drastically reduce the quality of the vocals being recorded.

Why don't you sit down with the neighbors, let them know what you want to do, and figure out an appropriate schedule for recording that makes everybody happy?
 
aedgemont said:
Do you think any of those products I mentioned would be good at volume reduction?
Click to expand...

No. Here's why, in a nutshell: Soundproof means airtight. Like a fishtank, it doesn't matter how small the hole is - you're going to get wet. Vocalists like to breathe, and so ventilation is a problem.

Mass-loaded vinyl is a cool product, but it isn't going to be effective for this application, and it isn't a good substitute for traditional room-within-a-room construction for isolation purposes.

Try the least expensive option first: Work with your neighbors.
 
If you just want to waste some money, you could just send it my way instead of buying up some materials that won't help you achieve any of your objectives. :)
 
Thanks Supercreep - appreciate the info. I can try and sit down with the neighbors, hopefully they can deal with listening to loud, screaming metal vocals for a few hours 1 or 2 times a week! haha
 
aedgemont said:
Thanks Supercreep - appreciate the info. I can try and sit down with the neighbors, hopefully they can deal with listening to loud, screaming metal vocals for a few hours 1 or 2 times a week! haha
Click to expand...

I think your neighbors will be cool, so long as you are.
 
aedgemont said:
If I record the vocalist in the room (I'd say its about 10x12 or maybe 12x12), would it be best to get some 703 for absorbtion then?
Click to expand...

For a small room with dimensions like that, you're going to need a lot of it. The good news is that you can't really have too many bass traps.

Start with the corners. Trap all of them if possible, using 4" thick panels.
 
Supercreep said:
For a small room with dimensions like that, you're going to need a lot of it. The good news is that you can't really have too many bass traps.

Start with the corners. Trap all of them if possible, using 4" thick panels.
Click to expand...

I've been reading through some of the similar posts on this forum and it seems most people say that the sound proofing is way too expensive and complex to be done, fair enough.

That being said, is there anything I can do to reduce the sound traveling outside of the room?
 
Close the door, and make sure that tables, desks, speakers, etc. aren't touching any walls, to prevent as much structural transmission of sound as possible. Foam, carpets, and the like won't do anything appreciable to attenuate the sound leaving your room. It will only affect how the room sounds to those in it.

To be fair, it isn't impossible or prohibitively expensive to boost isolation, it's just something that you should address during original construction. It is only when trying to achieve isolation with an existing structure that things get too difficult and too expensive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top