Advice for iso booth on a budget

[drliebs]

I am finishing my basement and I am putting in an area for recording/practicing. My space size and location are dictated by the rest if the space so my options are limited and so is my budget. It will be a challenge but I have realistic expectations and I don't expect the moon.

The space is about 8 foot by 4 foot right off of my office space. I want to use it for practicing vocals and potentially recording vocals when iso is needed. I also want to record guitar cab in there so sound keeping sound in the booth is the main goal.

I don't think I have enough room for a second isolated wall. 4 feet already feels small. What if anything can I do, any materials that are readily available from the home improvent stores that would help? Double the Sheetrock or other novice friendly ideas.

Again, I am not expecting professional results but if I could make it silent enough to keep vocals inside that would make a great practice space.

Thanks

Doug

[jhbrandt]

Doug,

What is your budget? - That will probably determine what you can do...

Isolation clips may be the way to go for decoupling... without which, it is doubtful that you will obtain better than about STC48 by adding several layer of gypsum board directly to the existing walls & ceiling... and you will still have flanking paths through the floor.

the 8' by 4' dimensions may be problematic due to standing wave coincidences. It is best not to have dimensions with a common denominator. So, a fair amount of treatment/trapping will be required.

cheers,
John

[jhamburg]

Doug,

It's tough to say anything with the info you have provided. My best advice would be to strictly define your goals and go from there taking into consideration existing conditions and then budget.

It seems that you are mostly concerned with isolation so I'd honestly look into an isolation cabinet buy or DIY.

You can then just do some simple stuff to seal the room and treat it for vocals.

hope this helps,

joel

[JWL]

Not much to add here. If you just need to practice, then go ahead and build the room. Though if you want to record and get good sounding vocal tracks, this will be a challenge in a tiny room like that.

For more on this, see: http://realtraps.com/art_booth.htm

[kevin206]

I been in music stores that had the same 4'x8' closet sized rooms for lessons. The inside of the rooms were usually lined with eggshell mattress material. Wall cavities may or may not have been insulated and double rocked. They sound pretty dead inside and kill normal conversation to nothing more than a mumble when standing right outside the door. Loud guitar would still be loud and loud vocals could probably be heard, but it may knock just enough sound out that you could use it.

I say go for it! Build it, use it for what it is, and if you're totally unsatisfied...the you have a nice quiet closet in your basement.