vocal booth

[buryher17]

i just went to lowes today and spent $160 on wood/ plexi glass/ hinges/ 2x4's/ door knob/ screws etc. and im all set to set up my vocaql booth for tommarow morning.

i got 3/4" mdf wood, and the vocal booth is gona be 4'x4'x7'.

i haven't bought any foam yet but i'd love some suggesitons for it.

i want to just do [for now until i cna afford to cover the entire thing] put a 3'x3' ecoritive foam in the center of the wall where the mic is the the 2 walls on the side of it, and put bass absoarbers on the wall with the mic [4 of the 8 corners]

then when i have th emoney, i'll add onto it.

whats your opinion on that?? will it have echo? or no....

 

[dmc777]

You'll probably get a better response over in the studio forum room. I'm no pro in acoustics, but that seems kind of small and will be hard to tame the acoustics in that thing. Unless you put a good deal of absortion and diffusion in there. Then again I could be wrong so try posting in the studio forum.

 

[Massive Master]

A 4x4x7 booth is going to have absolutely horrific problems in the low end and lower mids *inside* the vocalists fundamentals.

"Vocal booths" aren't closets - They're rooms. Smallish rooms maybe... I remember a rather nice one that was quite small but had enough bass trapping to handle it - It was 7x9x8. Still tiny for a vocal booth. It took a fairly huge amount of trapping to work well - Most of the interior was simply 703 inside studs and cloth covered.

 

[buryher17]

A 4x4x7 booth is going to have absolutely horrific problems in the low end and lower mids *inside* the vocalists fundamentals.

"Vocal booths" aren't closets - They're rooms. Smallish rooms maybe... I remember a rather nice one that was quite small but had enough bass trapping to handle it - It was 7x9x8. Still tiny for a vocal booth. It took a fairly huge amount of trapping to work well - Most of the interior was simply 703 inside studs and cloth covered.

well the size thing im not worried about,. because they sell professional ocal booths in this size and thye work amazingly, it's just im scared on the whole acustics on the inside...

thats my real problem. like i'll find out later today when im done building it, but i dont know too much about acustics.

all i know is im getting some nice 6" bass absoarbers to put on every corner [the front wall first] and get as much foam as i can afford afterwords, then finish it off slowly.

any suggesitons on the foam size? is 2" enough?? or should i go with 3?

 

[dmc777]

I would just build a booth with moving blankets supported by mic stands or pvc pipe. Someone in the studio forum showed a step by step process for this that was cheap and portable. I would probably work better to. If you want to got with the one you're making, just any foam won't work. You'll have to get some 703 and maybe some auralex. This stuff is expensive and you'll still probably have trouble sounding right. I imagine the vocal booths you're talking about are built from the ground up with the acoustics in mind. Not just regular thin pieces of wood.

 

[Massive Master]

well the size thing im not worried about,. because they sell professional ocal booths in this size and thye work amazingly, it's just im scared on the whole acustics on the inside...

They work - I certainly wouldn't use the word "amazingly" as most of them sound pretty "reasonable" at best - But unlike a closet, the construction is specifically designed to allow low end to pass through -

thats my real problem. like i'll find out later today when im done building it, but i dont know too much about acustics.

all i know is im getting some nice 6" bass absoarbers to put on every corner [the front wall first] and get as much foam as i can afford afterwords, then finish it off slowly.

any suggesitons on the foam size? is 2" enough?? or should i go with 3?

Foam doesn't do *anything* for low end. 3" is better than 2", but it's not the answer.

If I were going to make a crazy-small booth (keeping in mind that I'm not an acoustics expert either) this is what I'd do -

Frame it out using 2x4's on 24" centers - Fill the whole thing with OC 703 or rockwool. Cover the inside with cloth and staple strips onto the studs to hold it in place and cover the outside with pegboard for sturdiness, but to allow for even less bounce on the inside.

That should give you enough isolation from outside noises *AND* no worries about the low end and lower midrange.

 

[buryher17]

i was going to originally put rockwool in the walls and do that whole idea, but the cost got WAY to high. im alreayd up to $360 and im done with the structure and temorary foam until i get some auralex or something of that "caliber"

i've already tested it out, and it's amazing, even with the foam im using for now.

i made it 4'x4'x7', i can easily fit 5 guys inside to do gorup vocals, have a stool ste up and get acustics, mic amps, mic vocals, etc.

this definately came out perfectly. i used mdf 3/4" wood, so that helped a lot, and it soundproofs anything outside by at LEAST 7/8ths the level.

i have pictures but ill have them posted to show for anyone whose interested.

i even have a light and fan installed in, and a shelf for whatever

 

[dmc777]

Well if you enjoy it than its money well spent. Post some clips if you get a chance I'd like to hear it. You could try hanging heavy blankets in there until you get the foam.