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VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!
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louzucaro
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 1915
Location: Chicago area
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 Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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I have a 4 x 6 Whisper Room. I've had very good customer support from them...the light fixture that came with it attaches with these "carpet covered wood blocks" and they sorta fell apart and new ones were in my office the next day at no charge, no questions asked.
I have the caster plate on mine, and I laid down a carpet remnant in it to help eliminate some of the boominess. I also have the small window version of the door.
Without my Whisper Room, I would not be able to record in my office. True enough that it's not soundproof, but it definitely does a good job eliminating most "normal" environmental sounds.
My biggest complaint is that there aren't enough pass-thrus for cables, of which I have quite a few (speakers, power x4, monitor, data for the E-MU's breakout box). I'm sure I'm forgetting a few. There are only 4 cable pass-thrus, which left me needing another 4, some of which I ended up snaking through one of the ventilation ducts.
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Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com
"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!" |
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Yoda117
M&M
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 2362
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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Dumb questions:
what's the load rating for the floor?
what is the noise floor for the room?
Office building aside, it might not be enough. depending on size of booth and what you put it in, there might be an issue.
More to the point, if you've got serious HVAC issues in the room then a pre-fab booth isn't going to do the trick (knowing the nose floor would help determine whether or not it'd work). I strongly encourage not getting a 4x4 (regardless of manufacturer)... seem to be black hole of sound.
Lance is also right in that since these are law students, a high end LDC is probably a bad idea (though for different reasons). Though an AT2020 would probably be a good alternative to a dynamic mic.
(frankly, just toss something shiny in front of them and they'll be happy... RE-27 is a good call; had more students interested in what smartphone they were using than their classwork)
I'm a fan of taking the $, snagging a professional and building something specific to the environment. It's the best way to be sure you're getting the best you can.
Regardless, try before you buy 
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor
Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones |
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bobbinbeamo
M&M
Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Posts: 2468
Location: Wherever I happen to be
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| Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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It appears you have several sound challenges to deal with. Short of putting your studio in a fallout shelter, I'd opt for the suggestion to talk with some users of the product you're considering. I am sure the dealer can come up with some references for you. May the force be with you!
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Bobbin Beam
www.bobbinbeam.com
blog.bobbinbeam.com |
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Yoda117
M&M
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 2362
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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BenWils
The Thirteenth Floor
Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 1324
Location: In a Flyover State
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:36 am Post subject: |
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| Yoda117 wrote: | I strongly encourage not getting a 4x4 (regardless of manufacturer)... seem to be black hole of sound.
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Most any smaller vocal booth ...even 4x6 booths will have some resonant frequencies. The key is getting rid of the ones you don't want. Anytime you have parallel walls with a ceiling at a certain height etc...you will have resonance of some kind. The foam helps reduce high end bounce and adding bass traps in the right places de-squares the booth. If you are ever building your own booth....do NOT make the dimensions 4x4 with a ceiling at 8 feet. I would imagine that would be a nightmare since you would be working with frequencies bouncing/resonating in octaves because of the 4 feet and the 8 feet dimensions.
I have a 4x4 GK booth and it sounds nice to me and everyone that works with me. I added bass traps to reduce the little bit of artificial "boom" it had. but I use a 416....so maybe once I switch to a different, non-shotgun, large diaphragm condensor mic, I might sing a different tune. Chances are I will just need to treat the booth a little more. I currently have two bass traps. It works out nicely for me.
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Ben
"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap."
Last edited by BenWils on Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:00 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Yoda117
M&M
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 2362
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 8:26 am Post subject: |
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Used to feel the same until I tried the larger models. First, they didn't turn into ovens at the drop of a hat, but more importantly, but more importantly there seemed to be more "life" to the recordings. I didn't get it until I went back to a 4X4 GK. With the door closed, so much of what I was doing was just sucked out of the recording.
YMMV, but I've got some friends at a studio in Texas that had their studios built, and occasionally use their old 4x4 GKs. I can always tell when they use them due to a "deadness" in their spots.
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor
Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones |
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ricevoice
Cinquecento
Joined: 28 Dec 2007
Posts: 532
Location: Sacramento, CA
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 9:17 am Post subject: |
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| Yoda117 wrote: | | ...First, they didn't turn into ovens at the drop of a hat... |
Hat? Did somebody say hat?
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Chris Rice - Noisemaker
www.ricevoice.com |
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Yoda117
M&M
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 2362
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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BenWils
The Thirteenth Floor
Joined: 08 May 2006
Posts: 1324
Location: In a Flyover State
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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GK must be using different foam now or something because I don't think the booth sounds dead at all. I have posted samples of my voice on this board and had comments that the sound was crisp and clear. The previous three door booth I had long ago was lined with some cheaper foam that I got from the online foam place. IT was dead.
The GK booth is not dead. I am sure it may sound slightly different from a larger GK booth...but it is not dead. I will say I do not have my mic directly in a corner....so that helps a lot with not making it sound dead. If you have a mic real close to a foam wall.....chances are you will have a dead recording tone.
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Ben
"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap." |
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Yoda117
M&M
Joined: 20 Dec 2006
Posts: 2362
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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| Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2008 1:51 pm Post subject: |
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these were older booths, so you might be right.
For me, if I were to get a pre-fab, I'd be following the advice of the folks on here, and on gearslutz.
When I get my next residence, I'll be hiring an acoustical engineer and building something custom... I'm weird like that
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor
Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones |
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ACF Guy
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, folks -- a lot of great feedback here. Thanks very much to everyone for taking the time to chime in. Some specific stuff:
| Yoda117 wrote: | Dumb questions:
what's the load rating for the floor?
what is the noise floor for the room? |
Working on getting the info on the floor's load rating. As far as the noise floor, honestly, I could use some help determining that. Though I've been doing this specific voiceover job (legal opinions) for about two years, I'm still very much an amateur in this field as a whole. I'm currently using Sound Studio on an iBook for recording -- how would I go about determining the room's noise floor?
| Quote: | | More to the point, if you've got serious HVAC issues in the room then a pre-fab booth isn't going to do the trick (knowing the nose floor would help determine whether or not it'd work). I strongly encourage not getting a 4x4 (regardless of manufacturer)... seem to be black hole of sound. |
I tend to agree with you on the 4x4 opinion -- I tried building a custom booth in a space about that size last year, and I just couldn't get my voice to sound anything but roadkill-dead (though I'm glad you've had a better experience, BenWils). I'm going to be going with a 6x6 this time around.
As for my noise problem: my first post may have been slightly inaccurate. While all of those problems I mentioned are occurring (HVAC, footsteps, phone calls, traffic, etc.), none of them are terribly loud. They're just frequent enough to severely limit my productivity. I'm confident they're quiet enough that a prefab booth will work for me.
| Quote: | | Lance is also right in that since these are law students, a high end LDC is probably a bad idea (though for different reasons). Though an AT2020 would probably be a good alternative to a dynamic mic. |
Now, in the area of mics, I'm a *complete* amateur. Here's my setup:
Right now I'm using what the office provided me with two years ago when I first started: A Sennheiser MD46. From research I've done since joining this board, this is classified as an "interview mic." But we've had it set up on a mic stand with a pop screen ever since we started recording, and it sounds just fine to the ears of the higher-ups (and our customers). It's plugged in to an M-Audio "mic recording interface," which is USB-ed into the iBook and Sound Studio here.
I know it's not necessarily an ideal setup, but it's worked for us.
Thanks again for all the input, everyone. This is a very friendly community you've got here -- I'm lucky to have found you. |
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ACF Guy
Guest
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| Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:15 pm Post subject: |
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One more thing -- caster plates.
I think I'm going to order one of these no matter who I get the booth from, just to get the thing off the ground. What do you ladies and gents think about the effectiveness of casters in reducing the intrusion of floor-transmitted sound into the booth? |
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louzucaro
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 13 Jul 2006
Posts: 1915
Location: Chicago area
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| Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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I had one since the get-go so I don't have anything to compare it to, but it seemed like enough of a good idea at the time for me to buy it 
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Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com
"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!" |
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Jowillie
Lucky 700
Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 714
Location: North Carolina
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georgethetech
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 18 Mar 2007
Posts: 1878
Location: Topanga, CA
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| Posted: Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:51 am Post subject: |
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The build quality of the Whisper Room products trumps just about any other pre-fab booth out there, but they won't win any beauty contests. I would avoid the booths with a square floor plan, two different length walls are preferable. The VSS kit is essential because you WILL hear the too-powerful ventilator fan. I also find the castor plate is key for reducing floor vibrations, and yes you can make one of these yourself. Plus, if you ever need to move it, and you are on carpet, it WILL NOT SLIDE AT ALL without the casters.
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If it sounds good, it is good.
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GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
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