The new Vocal Booth, What do you think?

Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:34 pm

View the Pictures

Just moved in a new house from chicago to LA, and I have an artist flying in from new york, so i had to whip up a booth in the last few days. (female singer)

overall, around $1000 to make.

Walls:
4 sheets of drywall on each wall
r13 acoustic insulation
2x4 studs
walls are just under 6 inches thick.

Door:
door is solid, all they had was an exterior door with metal, so it had to do, i put the auralex on the inside of the door so that it didnt sound so bad.

Foam:
i still need to get some more foam for the bottom of the booth.

Convenience:
mounted a 15 inch screen to display lyrics. we are recording about 25 tracks, so i figured the screen would speed things up, and eliminate paper noises.

Recording:
k2 mic
gonna run through avalon 737, or a 610.

Floor:
The floor is stone, i may throw a carpet down. the stone was apart of the original floor. Aside from the floor, its floating. (walls/ceiling)

Mobility:
It is all able to come apart. The walls are built separately and joined with bolts along the top, bottom, and sides. there is insulation in the cracks. I made it mobile since I might get another space for my studio, so I might only use this booth for 4 days. then ill move it and turn it into permanent.
(the walls individually actually weight over 200lbs)

What you think? Any ideas to improve it?

Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:59 pm

Dude, what is this saying to me?

Quote:

Aside from the floor, its floating. (walls/ceiling)

Thats kinda like me saying "aside from the floor I'm standing up!"

lol...I don't get it!

Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:07 pm

Hey, man, that's nice.
When you get the chance, put some control on the floor (some foam, maybe truly float it), but other than that, I wish I had this booth in my place!
Love the flat screen!
Very Happy

Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 4:06 am

The flat screen is a nice touch.

Scan lyric sheets or music, and put it on there for them. Great idea.

Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:44 am

I'm really not familiar with working in a sound booth but as a layman wouldn't it get very hot in there. Since a person is singing which requires breathing technique I would venture to say some type of air conditioning would be a nice touch to keep the room comfortable and the air from being stale.

Isn't there small outside units that can use some flexible ducting to get cool air inside and pull the hot air out. Since the unit would be out side the noise factor will not be a factor.

Just an idea. There's always something people forget and at the last minute go,"OH SH*T"......

Is that what a good vocal booth has? I honestly don't know. It just seemed like a good idea.

Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:16 am

Ventilation IS a very grave concern. So is SIZE, especially for singing. What are the interior dimensions of this booth and what criteria did you use to come to those measurements? I realize that the real estate market in Cali is tight and expensive, but that booth is downright clausterphobic. There have been numerous posts on this Vocal Booth forum deterring DIY builders from making them less than, say, 12'x9' (interior footprint) because of the effect a tighter space has on the human voice...and psyche, something overlooked by many. Nice monitor, though.

Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 9:46 am

Yes your singer will need air, it will get very sweaty in there. I did the same thing, and ended cutting two holes in the rear wall. On the intake I used a small inline fan and a home made muffler. On the Out take I used another home made muffler. Ended up working ok , but was alot more work.

Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2007 6:28 pm

I was off my meds last night, sorry.

Anyhow, one thing I try to keep in mind is whatever I am building it will not be square. I say this only that yours looks to be square. Most likely 4'X4'.

Sure your gonna dead this thing so it shouldn't matter right? A rectangle is just better as it applies to me and my speakers. A notion you can find much support for.
A rectangle, that is, not me and my speakers:)

What about the floating? Is that suspended? I just don't know if I would have put the bottle down long enough to go through all that, if ya know what I mean.

Ventilation aside, I wonder if placing the monitor in such a position upward as to "force" the singer to look upward would be of benefit.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 3:24 pm

im getting a little reflection off the monitor. when the monitor is not needed, i just put up a moving blanket on that wall, seems to do the trick. any ideas to eliminate reflection off the monitor while its being used.

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 6:10 pm

By the looks of it, it must sound very boxy in there.

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