Preventing Reverb In Booth

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Protocall

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Hey Guys,

I was just curious what techniques people use to prevent Reverb and reducing overall unneeded sound in there recording booths? I know it sounds bit ghetto, but I use what I call a Blanket Wall. Prety much in a 3 foot radius I have thick blankets hanging down from the ceiling to prevent reverb and reduce unneeded sound. I first saw this used in a buddy of mines studio, I thought honestly it was stupid until I tried it. After using this method I have noticed a HUGE difference with reducing reverb and unneeded ambient sound. Overall, my whole recording process has improved greatly by doing this.

I am also saving up a bunch of 5dozen egg cartons to put up on the walls when I re-locate my studio sometime in the future.

What do you use in your studio to prevent reverb, reduce ambient sound and increase overall recording process?
 
Hanging a heavy blanket can be useful because it's dense.
Moving towards eggcrates is going the wrong way. There's no mass there so it's not going to stop or diffuse any sound.
Also, it's a pretty big fire hazard.


4" or thicker rockwool panels would make a massive difference in any room.
Whether you choose to make portable baffles for recording, or static panels strategically placed throughout the room, it will dampen a lot of the rooms reflections.

Take a nosy through the studio building section to see what people are doing, or even the 'let me see your studio' thread.
Those panels are ubiquitous.
 
+1 to Steeno's reply.

Egg cartons were something we thought would work back in the 80's. I think we still believed the earth was the center of the universe, and flat as well. All three have been proven completely ridiculous. :)
 
Get out of the closet/booth, if it has sound problems. A bigger room is usually the better solution.
 
mjbphotos said:
Get out of the closet/booth, if it has sound problems. A bigger room is usually the better solution.
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Currently I have 0 problems now that I have used thick blankets. My question is, would a bigger room really help? or would it create more reverb? And when you say bigger room? What kind of dimensions?
 
Protocall said:
Does anybody have any other techniques?
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Yeah, record somewhere other than your room. If you have to make do, then take the advice already given. It does not get any easier/cheaper than what you have been given for advice.
 
Bigger rooms add a nice ambient reverb, if the room is good. If your setup is working for you, no need to change.

I personally have a very small studio and try to get in the middle and at an angle to the walls. The walls are also partially covered with OC703 panels. The room is treated more for mixing than as a live room, but it works both ways.
 
What do I use? A big 7m x 6 m room with a high ceiling for vocals... I sing at an angle to the walls and upturn a couch behind me.

Same for acoustic guitar, without the couch.

Electric guitar, I use a bedroom with plenty of padding, angles, close miking with a dynamic and I always seem to get a pretty dry take.
 
Protocall said:
Does anybody have any other techniques?
Click to expand...

Yeah. Keep using your thick blankets (or get some "movers' blankets", the padded things movers use to protect furniture--even better). However, instead of fixing them to a ceiling or wall, make yourself a could of moveable "L" shaped frames out of PVC pipes--dead easy using the stock corners and joints any builder's merchant will have.

This will let you move the padding closer or farther from you and let you leave openings or not as required until you get a sound you really like.

Normally I find (when using a cardioid mic) that having heavy padding behind a vocalist but a bit of "air" in front (i.e. in the dead spot of the mic) is a pretty good combination but little tweaks in positioning can make a big difference in sound, hence my suggesting of moveable frames.
 
+1 on "movers blankets" You should check out Ethan Winers web site. He contributes here often. Great information and a very knowledgeable guy. Ghetto stuff works. I use heavy blankets on a clothing rack all the time since I cannot modify the room perm. It truly is a dramatic change when I dampen that way. ghetto I know, but it works.
 
Can't add anything more than what's been said, but I checked out your stuff on youtube. It sounds pretty good man, you're getting great sound out of your current setup.
 
Bobbsy said:
Yeah. Keep using your thick blankets (or get some "movers' blankets", the padded things movers use to protect furniture--even better). However, instead of fixing them to a ceiling or wall, make yourself a could of moveable "L" shaped frames out of PVC pipes--dead easy using the stock corners and joints any builder's merchant will have.

This will let you move the padding closer or farther from you and let you leave openings or not as required until you get a sound you really like.

Normally I find (when using a cardioid mic) that having heavy padding behind a vocalist but a bit of "air" in front (i.e. in the dead spot of the mic) is a pretty good combination but little tweaks in positioning can make a big difference in sound, hence my suggesting of moveable frames.
Click to expand...

This is a really good idea. Thank you very much, I can even add an extra lining with the movers blankets on my other blankets im using now for double reverb prevention! haha. I really want to build a frame like you mentioned also made out of PVC, having the ability to move the booth slightly is a great idea. Iv seen the same concept before but those are NOT BIY , and they are super expensive. Thanks for the tips!

polarity said:
Can't add anything more than what's been said, but I checked out your stuff on youtube. It sounds pretty good man, you're getting great sound out of your current setup.
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Thank you very much I appreciate it. Took me a while to find the proper setup in my current booth, I am always interested in finding ways on how to improve tho :)
 
You found a great spot for it. I can usually only follow a conversation here for the first few posts, after that they start making up words that I'm convinced don't actually exist. Nah just kidding, but they do have a great amount of info here and the members are really helpful.
 
I use the moving blanket PVC pipe technique with good success. Highly recommended.
 

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Muddy T-Bone said:
I use the moving blanket PVC pipe technique with good success. Highly recommended.
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Nice that looks boss!! , This is def something I wana do in the future... How much did it cost you in total? Couldn't imagine the setup took long either?
 
Protocall said:
Nice that looks boss!! , This is def something I wana do in the future... How much did it cost you in total? Couldn't imagine the setup took long either?
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Under $100 for the PVC stands. I did not glue them, so they break down nicely and fit in my closet. I had 2 professional movers blankets that were given to me. I think that Harbor Freight tools sells a pack of 4 moving blankets for something like 20 bucks.

When I actually record vocals, the stands behind the mic get moved in pretty tight, angled at around 30 degrees, and the stand off to the right in the picture gets moved in very close behind me, and at an angle of 12-15 degrees.
The "room" gets pretty small.

The footprint looks something like this:
 

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