Homemade soundbox? help :D

[guidomalo]

Hello guys im trying to build a sound box in my room.
but only with 3 walls and the roof, i dont want no door, because i cant afford it i will upgrade it later when i can afford it... XD

what i record with:

T-bone 1100 condenser mic
Alesis multimix 4 USB
Cubase 5
Mic screener

MY PLAN:

my plan was to build the sound box with no door then add some thick rugs or something similar to the inside of the walls and then the foam, then mic inside with the mic screener.


MY QUESTIONS:

1-is it worth it making this soundbox? will it help?

(im a noob at this..but..i think it will because i got a computer right next to my mic... and i guess this will stop the computers sound from going in to the mic... what do you think?)

2- How will this soundbox actually help me other from the computer noise reduction (if it does reduce the noise.. which i dont know. XD) ?


3- What are your recommendations?

 

[mjbphotos]

If your problem is computer noise, take the foam and carpet/balankets and throw it over the computer while you record.
If you are trying to prevent noise from outside the room from being picked up, this is not going to do much/anything.

 

[elbandito]

If you shell out and make it really well in the room-within-a-room style (4 walls and the ceiling), this would help you a lot BUT building a room like that will cost you a lot of time and money. Also, you'd have to buy two doors.

 

[Justsomeguy]

If your problem is computer noise, take the foam and carpet/balankets and throw it over the computer while you record.

^^^^This^^^^^

If it's also to help with the vocal recordings and you've already got the reflections filter jobby then hanging a duvet or something on the wall behind you at the same time will help get a clean vocal

 

[guidomalo]

@MJBPHOTOS

If your problem is computer noise, take the foam and carpet/balankets and throw it over the computer while you record.
If you are trying to prevent noise from outside the room from being picked up, this is not going to do much/anything.

Ok your idea sounds logic, but my PC has heat problems... the last thing i want to do right now it is to throw a blanket on top of it which wont let it breath

ELBANDITO

If you shell out and make it really well in the room-within-a-room style (4 walls and the ceiling), this would help you a lot BUT building a room like that will cost you a lot of time and money. Also, you'd have to buy two doors.

Ok so you actually talking about doing a full box with a door(3 walls + door + roof) right? and then blankets + foam inside? did i understand correctly? more like a basic soundbox, right?


JUSTSOMEGUY

If it's also to help with the vocal recordings and you've already got the reflections filter jobby then hanging a duvet or something on the wall behind you at the same time will help get a clean vocal

Do you mean like... The mic and the mic screener and then a blanket or carpet behind the singer?

 

[Justsomeguy]

Do you mean like... The mic and the mic screener and then a blanket or carpet behind the singer?

exactly like that, although if you go for a blanket try and use something fairly thick. Duvets or sleeping bags seem to work very well. In this setup the mic screen stops sound from the room getting in to the back of the mic and the duvet hanging behind stops reflections bouncing off the wall behind the singer and hitting the front of the mic. It can also be worth trying a towel or blanket over the top of the screen (i suppose kinda making a little roof over the top of the mic) to help stop reflections from the ceiling getting in the mic but this may be overkill, although i've found that in some spaces it's worked really well but it's sometimes just not needed. it's also worth experimenting with where you are in the room, atlhough i'm guessing that like many HR's you need to be relatively close to your computer/mixer/AI to be able to set levels, sort out playback, hit record etc.

 

[guidomalo]

thanks justsomeguy

exactly like that, although if you go for a blanket try and use something fairly thick. Duvets or sleeping bags seem to work very well. In this setup the mic screen stops sound from the room getting in to the back of the mic and the duvet hanging behind stops reflections bouncing off the wall behind the singer and hitting the front of the mic. It can also be worth trying a towel or blanket over the top of the screen (i suppose kinda making a little roof over the top of the mic) to help stop reflections from the ceiling getting in the mic but this may be overkill, although i've found that in some spaces it's worked really well but it's sometimes just not needed. it's also worth experimenting with where you are in the room, atlhough i'm guessing that like many HR's you need to be relatively close to your computer/mixer/AI to be able to set levels, sort out playback, hit record etc.

hey thanks for all this help i guess im going to follow your advise...

sense i have 1 large wood plank (the one you see in the photo), im going to put that plank covered with a thick duvet, behind the singer and im going to try and cover the top of the screener with something.. another duvet probably XD... (like a roof for the screener)

should i leave some space between the mic screener and the roof im going to make for it?

i got a doubt... will adding a wood plank between my desk and the mic (just like in the picture attached) help to reduce the computers noise from going into the mic?

Thanks mate

 

[Justsomeguy]

hey thanks for all this help i guess im going to follow your advise...

sense i have 1 large wood plank (the one you see in the photo), im going to put that plank covered with a thick duvet, behind the singer and im going to try and cover the top of the screener with something.. another duvet probably XD... (like a roof for the screener)

should i leave some space between the mic screener and the roof im going to make for it?

i got a doubt... will adding a wood plank between my desk and the mic (just like in the picture attached) help to reduce the computers noise from going into the mic?

Thanks mate

Yeah, for a while i had an old clothes horse that, stood sideways, was about 6 foot so we used to drape an old duvet over that and we could then move it around the room with a reflection filter until we found the sweet spot (it was stuff we could sling in the back of the car for mobile recordings; we never knew what we were gonna find when we got to someones house!). Tbf, at the moment my i've got a duvet hung on the wall with a couple of nails but i know a couple of guys who have done what you've suggested and attached then to big bits of board.

In terms of roofs for the screen, as i said, it's more a case of playing around with it to see what works and what doesn't. the biggest thing i found was that anything too thick (which was usually too big and draped behind the screen which was then detrimental to how the screen worked) started to impact on the sound in the mic (it'd just seem duller) so ended up just using tea towels or a hoody over the top when needed. if you do do it, try and leave about the same distance between the "roof" and the sides from the mic. As i said, it's really isn't always necessary but it has helped me in the past, especially in rooms with quite low ceilings.

I agree with mjb about the computer noise thing. the wood panel may, to some extent help reduce the computer noise into the mic a tiny amount but as the computer noise is probably bouncing all around the room anyway, something as "directional" (for want of a better term) as a board or baffle between the mic and computer probably won't make a noticeable difference. However, going back to your original idea of building a sound box, i'd be more tempted to use the wood and stuff you've got now to build a box around the computer which you can lift off the machine when you're not recording (to stop it over heating and get to it etc) but can then drop over it to reduce the computer noise in the room as you go to hit record.

 

[smili]

Here's a pretty good link on Baffles that is probably of use. I think what you're doing should help get rid of reflections so you get a drier signal.

I'm too new to post a link... but if you search google for "recordingeq.com baffles" it'll find the article I'm referencing. Maybe if somebody else could copy the link I'd appreciate until I get to my first 10 posts (I just joined homerecording.com today).

edit over 10 posts now: here's the link: http://www.recordingeq.com/EQ/req0801/baffle.htm

 

[mjbphotos]

The link smili shares above shows 'baffles' that will not work for the intended purpose - masonite-covered with standard house insulation in them. In fact they will worsen the reflection problem. Go to the 'studio building' section of these forums for better suggestions.

 

[smili]

The link smili shares above shows 'baffles' that will not work for the intended purpose - masonite-covered with standard house insulation in them. In fact they will worsen the reflection problem. Go to the 'studio building' section of these forums for better suggestions.

I thought part of the request was to isolate from the sound of the computer 2' away? The more solid surface works there. There's a second method at the bottom of the page to hang material at distance from wall to handle reflections also.