How to build a vocal booth?

[caz]

Hello TapeOppers,

I would like to build a portable/movable vocal booth for my 12w X 16l X 10h studio.

Of course, this has to be done on the cheap...and I live very near a Home Despot.

Does it matter what shape a vocal booth is? I was thinking about taking 2 pieces of 4X8 MDF board or the like and hinging them together and then push them up against the wall to form a triangular shaped 'room'. Would this work? What would be the shortcomings?

I am open to whatever...

Thanks,

Caz

www.pascalgoespop.com

[dubphaser]

Caz - I've been thinking of doing the same thing but with three panels instead of two. It would make more of a box shape. Line the thing with foam, cover the top with some heavy blankets and you're in biz. Not exactly sound proof, but dead and cheap for sure. Good luck!

[Rec Head]

I've done a pretty similar setup in the past and it should work for you. Since you can move your isolation room around try the corner. You'll have more room.

[jef]

I built a booth with two pieces of 4x8 ply wood and martha stuart egg crate bed fome. Shoved it in the corner and rocked out. Connect the ply wood with door hinges and use push pins to hold up the fome. I even cut a small 9"x12" window and covered it with clear plastic. Pretty posh for a budget of around 50 bucks and its easy to move or store away.

[helmuth]

Caz: good luck with the booth and stuff, just pop'd in to say what a great band you've got there. downloaded som stuff from your site, really nice in deed.

[wing]

caz, you have a really nice website. lovely design!

[SKEETER]

Attatch 2x2s to the wall, and put the hinges on them, find wall studs and use deck screws to attatch them to the studs. Also, in a pinch, you could get large wall hooks (like swag hooks) and put them on either side of where you want the vocalist, and put dowell rods in the hooks, and hang old quilts or blankets from the ceiling all around the singer with the old cheap metal style shower curtain hooks. That is how I did my drums, it works good enough for drums. I would make sure the quilts have folds in them to help difuse the sound waves. This is a fast, easy, and cheap way to do it.
I did a gospel album for a couple of singers using quilts this way in a hallway, and it did a pretty good job.

[stuntbutt]

Are you sure that you need a vocal booth? You might be surprised how little traffic/a.c./ computer noise actually bleeds. Portable sized booths get hot and often sound funky.

[SKEETER]

STUNBUTT I really gotta disagree with you on that, nice condensor mics pick up EVERYTHING. I have a sump pump that kicks on in my basement, and my mic will hear it. Most studios have special noise free duct work going to the vocal booth so that the "woosh" from the ducts doesn't make it into the mics...............

[psychicoctopus]

Caz - I've been thinking of doing the same thing but with three panels instead of two. It would make more of a box shape. Line the thing with foam, cover the top with some heavy blankets and you're in biz. Not exactly sound proof, but dead and cheap for sure. Good luck!

That dense foam that's made to go under carpet might be useful & cheap. Plus it looks really cool because it's made of colorful chopped up bits of old barbie dolls and shit.

[colinandrew12]

i think stumpbutt just means that if you're using a nice mic, a good signal path, a good vocalist, and know how to mix the vocals in well, most small distractions (that you might even hear in the background through the mic during a dead silence) will not present themselves in your actual mix...

[SKEETER]

I would not use foam that is flat, you need a pattern on the surface so that the vocals do not bounce around the inside of the booth. That is why people use egg cartons, they diffuse the sound. I prefer mattress padding, it is pretty similar to egg cartons and has the added effect of insulating some.