Do I Really Need A Vocal Booth?

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rockchic

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..Or something else? Hi Everyone, I am new on here but have been reading this forum over the past few hours on how to get the best sound using home recording.

I am a singer songwriter..mainly write songs for other artists. Their bands or producers send me a session file of the track..then I write and record over it. Until now, I have always taken the session files to a nearby studio, record all the vocals and the engneer mixes/masters the product.

Unfortunately, this is getting to be an expensive route and will now prefer to record from home. I dont have a huge room but there is my bedroom which is a double bedroom, carpetted with two windows on adjacent walls.

I want to get the best out of this room and I have been told that the "environment" of the microphone plays a big factor on how my vocals will sound. I have done a sample recording using Adobe Audition..and unfortunately got the dreaded "singing from the back of the classroom" effect. And no matter how much I try to amplify the vocals..it doesnt solve the problem.

For the genre I sing..the vocals need to be in your face and rich..think modern day rnb or rock like Rhianna, Chris Brown, Santigold or Macy Gray. My voice has a vry wide range (from very low lows to very high highs, lol)

What do I need to do to achieve this? A vocal booth, like the MARKETEK SOUND BOOTH? The one from SE Electronics? There is also one from REALTRAPS?

Which will make my vocals become more "stand out, in your face" as opposed to "singing in the back of the room"

Also is there a DIY alternative? Maybe using a 6-panel room divider (to form a booth)..and gluing some foam or fibreglass thingies on the inside of the panels? I'm so confused. :o
 
Their are lots of threads that will cover this topic in the studio building and display forum. I know I have learned a bunch of stuff from it. The search button is a lifesaver. BTW welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks dodgeaspen! I am currently trying to read through and gain as much info as possible :-) It's just that the information gets so confusing at times..som threads say vocal booths are a great idea..some say they arent necessary. Some threads say it's better to use foam, other thread says microfiber is the way to go.

So I am reading, just confused by all the opposing advice from past threads.
 
I recently had a session where I used an empty closet for a drum booth and then a vocal booth. The setup is shown below, and was very much home brew but worked well. The 4x8 sheets are Masonite. The blankets are a bunch of comforters that I had laying around. The comforters were attached to the boards with spring clips. The closet is approx 10'x10'.

The drummer is a fellow by the name of Gary Mure. He was quite an active studio drummer/educator in the mid/late '70's, often trading off sessions with Steve Gadd. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Gary+Mure

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rockchic said:
What do I need to do to achieve this? A vocal booth, like the MARKETEK SOUND BOOTH? The one from SE Electronics? There is also one from REALTRAPS?
Click to expand...

You are right though, that the quality of you're room will play a big role in the sound you capture, especially when you are using a condenser mic and you have a little distance between you and the mic. This basically means you'll get more of the sound of the room into the mic.

The favorite around here (and my personal fav) is rigid fiberglass covered with fabric. I wouldn't even bother with that Markerteck foam contraption. The SE thing is basically a stand mounted miniature absorber that goes behind the mic. That will probably help. The thing from Real traps would be even better. Ethan (realtraps owner) is a regular around here. I'd place a small bet that the realtraps piece you linked to was rigid fiberglass. I couldn't tell you what was in the SE thing.

If you're hand, you can build a couple of gobo out of rigid fiberglass and some cheap lumber and be in good shape. If you are doing any critical listening, mixing etc, it would be a big benefit to just treat your whole room. Rigid fiberglass corner bass traps, wall mounted absorbers at the first reflection points are the norm. For best performance and bang-for-your buck, skip foam altogether and go for fiberglass...

For starters to get you going with your vocals, I'd try to make something like Ethans mondotrap...
mondotrap.jpg
 
I don't like vocal booths. Don't be afraid of bleed and don't think a room needs to be dead at all. Don't be scared of a small room or any room really.

For me the thing for getting the vocals "in your face" was attained by a combo of :
When I play back my lead vox track it goes through a tube eq that cranks certain treble frequencies, then a compressor that smashes those peaks. This makes a shine on the track.
The second thing is the TC Finalizer, which has a few tools, one of the main ones is a multi-band compressor, so you can limit the bass band and that makes the mids pop out, and that makes the vocals totally in your face, so much that you often need to bring it back a bit.
 
rockchic said:
What do I need to do to achieve this? A vocal booth, like the MARKETEK SOUND BOOTH? The one from SE Electronics? There is also one from REALTRAPS?

Which will make my vocals become more "stand out, in your face" as opposed to "singing in the back of the room"
Click to expand...

The only real purpose of a booth is for isolation. It has NO magic properties to make your voice "stand out, in your face". That's more about vocal technique, the mic and how you mix it.

That Real Traps "booth" might be a simple way to prevent unwanted reflections hitting your mic, and to give you a drier track...but you can do something makeshift like that with basic "tools" like Richard Kind shows.

I've placed a couple of blankets, hung in front of my mic and nothing more...and I only do that when I have the computer running (which is not often as I record to tape) or when the AC is running in the summertime, and you can just barely hear the airflow in the vent.
I may get one of the Real Traps "portable vocal booths" just 'cuz it looks like a better solution than hanging blankets and whatnot...I'm just not sure how secure it is on a mic stand as it appears to be very top-heavy.
I don't want something like that crashing over from a bump.
 
I'm a professional voice actor and the short answer is no. However, keep in mind that every room has a different "voice". Depending on your mic, the size and acoustical condition of your room, the quality of the sound will certainly be affected by the above. I own a professional vocal booth made by the folks at Vocalbooth.com. I bought it in pristine condition, used on eBay and saved a good deal of money. For the voice work I do, it's essential for me to have an enclosure like this. Jeff's suggestions are great, especially if you're working with a tight budget. It's amazing what you can do with some home-made gobos, a few comforters or sound blankets. Place your mic where you want it, then start moving the home-made sound dampening items around while you record samples of the different configurations. I did this before I bought my vocal booth and it worked pretty good. When I first started out in this business, believe it or not...it wasn't uncommon to find a recording room with its walls and ceiling covered with egg cartons or flats! Good luck.
 
Jeff_D said:
You are right though, that the quality of you're room will play a big role in the sound you capture, especially when you are using a condenser mic and you have a little distance between you and the mic. This basically means you'll get more of the sound of the room into the mic.

The favorite around here (and my personal fav) is rigid fiberglass covered with fabric. I wouldn't even bother with that Markerteck foam contraption. The SE thing is basically a stand mounted miniature absorber that goes behind the mic. That will probably help. The thing from Real traps would be even better. Ethan (realtraps owner) is a regular around here. I'd place a small bet that the realtraps piece you linked to was rigid fiberglass. I couldn't tell you what was in the SE thing.

If you're hand, you can build a couple of gobo out of rigid fiberglass and some cheap lumber and be in good shape. If you are doing any critical listening, mixing etc, it would be a big benefit to just treat your whole room. Rigid fiberglass corner bass traps, wall mounted absorbers at the first reflection points are the norm. For best performance and bang-for-your buck, skip foam altogether and go for fiberglass...

For starters to get you going with your vocals, I'd try to make something like Ethans mondotrap...
mondotrap.jpg
Click to expand...


Wow Jeff, thanks so much. You totally rock :D I think I am going to make something like Ethan's mondotrap (well..not me..my brother will..seeing a I cant diy to save my life :p )
 
miroslav said:
The only real purpose of a booth is for isolation. It has NO magic properties to make your voice "stand out, in your face". That's more about vocal technique, the mic and how you mix it.
Click to expand...

I am starting to understand that as well. I am also researching better mics to replace the one I currently use. Thanks!
 
rockchic said:
Wow Jeff, thanks so much. You totally rock :D I think I am going to make something like Ethan's mondotrap (well..not me..my brother will..seeing a I cant diy to save my life :p )
Click to expand...

Glad to help and good luck. FYI, rigid fiberglass (aka Owens Corning 703, aka OC703 aka a-bunch-of-other-manufacturer-trade-names) can be a bit difficult to get your hands on. You wont find it at the home centers, and don't even bother trying to get them to order it. You'll probably need to find a local commercial insulation or commercial framing / interiors supplier. Suppliers that sell commercial framing material like metal studs, typically sell commercial type insulation. Rock wool will also work in a pinch, but get the heavier stuff. report back. :)
 
dintymoore said:
I don't like vocal booths. Don't be afraid of bleed and don't think a room needs to be dead at all. Don't be scared of a small room or any room really.

For me the thing for getting the vocals "in your face" was attained by a combo of :
When I play back my lead vox track it goes through a tube eq that cranks certain treble frequencies, then a compressor that smashes those peaks. This makes a shine on the track.
The second thing is the TC Finalizer, which has a few tools, one of the main ones is a multi-band compressor, so you can limit the bass band and that makes the mids pop out, and that makes the vocals totally in your face, so much that you often need to bring it back a bit.
Click to expand...

Is the TC Finalizer use during the mix/master process? I dont mix/master myself..I send my raw vocals back to the producer and they do all that. I'm going to mention that to him though. Thanks!
 
Jeff_D said:
Glad to help and good luck. FYI, rigid fiberglass (aka Owens Corning 703, aka OC703 aka a-bunch-of-other-manufacturer-trade-names) can be a bit difficult to get your hands on. You wont find it at the home centers, and don't even bother trying to get them to order it. You'll probably need to find a local commercial insulation or commercial framing / interiors supplier. Suppliers that sell commercial framing material like metal studs, typically sell commercial type insulation. Rock wool will also work in a pinch, but get the heavier stuff. report back. :)
Click to expand...

Gotcha! Time to do some local supplier research!
 
miroslav said:
I may get one of the Real Traps "portable vocal booths" just 'cuz it looks like a better solution than hanging blankets and whatnot...I'm just not sure how secure it is on a mic stand as it appears to be very top-heavy.
I don't want something like that crashing over from a bump.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Well, there was a vdeo on the Real Traps website showing how to mount it. It sort of looked stable...but that's me assuming the material from which it's made is light to medium weight. Perhaps email them to find out?
 
rockchic said:
Is the TC Finalizer use during the mix/master process? I dont mix/master myself..I send my raw vocals back to the producer and they do all that. I'm going to mention that to him though. Thanks!
Click to expand...

You can use it on a track or the whole mix, but I only use my Finalizer on the whole final stereo track at mixdown. I'm always running through it though, so I'm always hearing that sound. It's a piece of gear that makes a dramatic difference. It's expensive but they are on eBay used all the time.
 
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voiceguy said:
I'm a professional voice actor and the short answer is no. However, keep in mind that every room has a different "voice". Depending on your mic, the size and acoustical condition of your room, the quality of the sound will certainly be affected by the above. I own a professional vocal booth made by the folks at Vocalbooth.com. I bought it in pristine condition, used on eBay and saved a good deal of money. For the voice work I do, it's essential for me to have an enclosure like this. Jeff's suggestions are great, especially if you're working with a tight budget. It's amazing what you can do with some home-made gobos, a few comforters or sound blankets. Place your mic where you want it, then start moving the home-made sound dampening items around while you record samples of the different configurations. I did this before I bought my vocal booth and it worked pretty good. When I first started out in this business, believe it or not...it wasn't uncommon to find a recording room with its walls and ceiling covered with egg cartons or flats! Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks! But WOW at the prices of some of those vocal booths..it's enough to buy a foreclosed house :p
 
dintymoore said:
You can use it on a track or the whole mix, but I only use my Finalizer on the whole final stereo track at mixdown. I'm always running through it though, so I'm always hearing that sound. It's a piece of gear that makes a dramatic difference. It's expensive but they are eBay used.
Click to expand...

Cool! I'm going to see if we can find one on Ebay. Thanks again.
 
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