Vocal Booth

[mentil69]

Hi I have a ten by ten room and i want to use a corner for vocals, and isolate it as much as i can spending barely any money. I was thinking a shower curtain type situation and i would put a thick absorbant blanket hanging on a bunch of sliding hook because need it so slide out of the way. Does anybody haveany suggsetions for me?

 

[mgraffeo]

You're on the right track. Try packing blankets. And don't forget to cover the walls of the corner, too (lots of reflections there). Should be OK.

I'm planning on doing something very similar, out of PVC piping, for disassembly.

-mg

 

[mentil69]

thanx, where can i get packing blankets, and what ways are there that i can hang them so i can slide them over so they will be out of the way?

 

[c9-2001]

you can get acoustic blankets from markertek.com
they're 68x76 and $20 each

http://www.markertek.com/MTStore/product.CFM?BaseItem=SAB-1

 

[mentil69]

ya THanks im gonna get those but i still have the problem of hanging them so i can move them. DO you have any ideas?

 

[Wireneck]

I went to walmart and got some wire and a few packs of those jumbo clothes pins. Cost me maybe ten bucks at the most, works great. Basically like having a clothesline in your room but i can take the line down whenever i dont need it.
If your still going for the shower curtain idea, why not just use the plastic hoops that you normally would hang the shower curtain on? You might have to poke a few small holes in your blanket but I think it would work. This would allow you to slide them out of the way whenever your not using them.

 

[donkeystyle]

some guys were talking about moving blankets for that exact purpose a while back.......it turns out that u can get them from uhaul or sumptin for like 12 bucks a piece.......i think for what u want u would only need 1 maybe 2..........ok..mayeb 3, i've only seen them 1 time and i'm not positive on how big they are.

 

[DJL]

MOVER'S BLANKET

You can get Mover's Blankets for $9.99 each fron Habor Frieght.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46115

 

[zbert]

I went to a used office furiture store and bought cubeacle panels. I use 2 of them at an angle against the corner. Kinda makes a booth effect and deadens out the sound. If you need more insalation just hang a blanket or if you have a large sleeping bag that works too. 2 panels cost me $20 w/ the hardware.

 

[mentil69]

yo thanx everyone if i can find a couple cubicle panels i will probably go with that, but if not im going to get those 10 blankets because they look like exactly what i want. Ill let you know how it turns out

 

[DJL]

Follow-up on the Habor Freight mover's blanket, their also called a quilted utility pad.

Size: 72" x 80".
Fabric Content: 65% Poly, 35% Cotton.
Reinforced quilt stitiching and double stiched trim.
Color: Black on the outside and Gray on the inside.
Item: 46115

The mover's blanket's are on sale for $6.97 right now at Habor Freight. I bought ten of them this morning, they're not the really thick kind but they are nice and well worth $7 each.

 

[homeuser]

I went to Lowes (like a Home Depot store) and told the guy there I wanted to make a booth out of pvc piping. He recommended 3/4 size. I told him 4 legs, and a square at the top and bottom. Total cost for 7ft high, by 3 1/2ft wide booth was about $25.00. I put it together in less than 5 minutes. Actually I trimmed so it was a little smaller.

I then purchased some moving blankets at an Army Navy store. Each 72/80 blanket was fairly expensive at $18.00 each but they're thick and look decent.

Total cost for a very good vocal booth in the home studio was under $85.00. Compare this to the booths being advertised in the back of music magazines.

 

[ColdAsh]

What effect does this have on the sound? Does it just completely deaden it? Are there frequencies that it wont absorbe?

 

[homeuser]

I'm still very green to all this, so someone else can explain the frequency/tech talk. For my vocals, this has REALLY made the vocals sound similar to other pro-recorded cds. It basically eliminated ALL natural reverb, the sound doesn't bounce around anymore. It allows me to record 100% dry and it brings the vocals up front more. Plus, post fx like reverb, sound better on my voice as well. Even though my studio walls were covered with foam, I'm surprised how much the sound still bounced around before I started using the vocal booth.

 

[Middleman]

It also reveals the characteristics of your mics and helps you choose the right mic for the right voice.

 

[DJL]

What effect does this have on the sound? Does it just completely deaden it? Are there frequencies that it wont absorbe?

It won't absorbe low freq's.

 

[DJL]

I went to Lowes (like a Home Depot store) and told the guy there I wanted to make a booth out of pvc piping. He recommended 3/4 size. I told him 4 legs, and a square at the top and bottom. Total cost for 7ft high, by 3 1/2ft wide booth was about $25.00. I put it together in less than 5 minutes. Actually I trimmed so it was a little smaller.

I then purchased some moving blankets at an Army Navy store. Each 72/80 blanket was fairly expensive at $18.00 each but they're thick and look decent.

Total cost for a very good vocal booth in the home studio was under $85.00. Compare this to the booths being advertised in the back of music magazines.

How do you hand the moving blankets on the PVC (clips, eyes, tape, or what)?

 

[ridl]

could someone explain what bass traps are, and what can be used to create make-shift ones. A friend of mine is recording vocals in a corner and we have yellow bed foam there to deaden the sound some, but there does seem to be slight bass overtones. Maybe this would recify our situation. Also, should the corner ceiling be covered?

 

[littledog]

Ask Ethan Winer. He's got some links somewhere for building them.

 

[DJL]

Here's a link about and for building bass traps.

http://www.ethanwiner.com/basstrap.html