VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[asnively]

I'm inspired.

This Wednesday (I have the services of my very-handy dad for a day) I'm making a booth out of doors, but larger than the booths we have seen so far. I have to be able to fit my desk and monitor and my 'sitting down' mic station as well as two 'standing up' stations with mic & copy stands, etc.

So, I need more foam. Who's got the best price for a girl on a budget? What kind do you think would be a good choice for this application? Should I cover the entire interior with foam? Or can I use it more sparingly, but strategically a la this?

I was thinking of using something under the foam, and applied to the exterior of the booth (overkill?) to add a little soundproofing. I know I'm not going to have a completely sound-proof booth, but there's a lot of equipment in the room and I want to isolate as much as possible. I was looking at Accousti-Coat paint.

Thoughts? Ideas? Warnings? Anyone want to come over and help? I'm making sandwiches...


Amy
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[Bill]

I've been delving into the dark artr of acoustics and if you want to strain your brain check out this from Ethan WinerAcoustics FAQ

I have been redoing my recording area after upgrading some gear and got some free acoustic foam remnants. I just need a bit of treatment for bass trap and some minor comb filtering. I attached some foam to some luan and put it up, and realized its gonna make this one dark cave... so I am probably going to opt for a few acoustic panels (703 rigid fiberglass covered by our choice of color fabric) since I share this space with my wife.

it's become my (in her words) "Obsession of the Week."

as for foam, www.foambymail.com has some good prices and offers some great package deals on ebay, 2" wedge foam for 48 sq feet, corner traps and adheasvie for less than the price of their 48 sq foot wedge foam package online.

[billelder]

I use "Foam By Mail" but get at least the 2.5 thickness. Over $50 and shipping is free.
I think I showed this in another thread but here is a portable wall I can move as needed I made with half a square of foam on a PVC stand.

[Frank F]

Consider this: do you want a 'dead room" (one which absorbs all sounds) or a quiet room with little or no relections/echo's?

For a 'dead' room (passe' in my opinion) you will need to do more than cover the walls with foam.. and it will cost 7 to 20 times more than you think - to start.

For a 'quiet room', start looking at your room from an audio point of view. Where do you speak toward? What is behind, above, below, and to the sides of the microphone in the direction YOU are facing? What is behind you is of little consequence unless it is a hard flat surface, such as glass or brick, etc. Break up any hard right angles. A long heavy curtain will work well and is fairly inexpensive.

Is your floor carpeted? If not get some carpet and put some padding under it.

Now, an area you missed in your artistic view... the ceiling... what are you going to do there? Anything? You might consider covering an area roughly 1/3 the distance from the wall you are speaking toward with approximately 1/3 the distance to the rear wall... i.e.: 1/3 clear, 1/3 with a covering such as foam or even a curtain three rods - draped from #1 to about 12' deep, then over #2 to 12" deep, then finish at #3. So it looks like a "W"
with curves...

Your drawing is sensible, but a bit of overkill for the amount of foam. You really need the corners, but the major amount on the back and side walls, I question. How about "boominess'? Do you have bass traps?

You will also need to think about lighting and the heat generated by the lights.

Consider low wattage track lighting. With an LED spotlight over your copy and workstation.

Now comes Air... and HVAC concerns. Think about your ducting and how the baffles will sound in your room when the heat or A/C is on. Each will have a different sound due to the amount of air which needs to be transferred.

Is your computer going to be in the same room? I would hope not, but if so - you could make a trap door to reach the computer and put in discs and turn it on or off as needed and thus keep the computer and fans out of the quiet area of your recording/work area... also the heat...

Oh, a good coat of good thick household latex, then a second coat "textured", does wonders....

There is soooooooooooo much more, but I am trying to be brief.

Toodles,

Frank F
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[Deirdre]

I love it when Frank tries to be brief.
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[Hart]

Keep your eye out. I got lucky and bought a LOT of Auralex foam from a guy on Craigslist. He'd used it to turn his garage into a practice room for his band. Anyway, it was enough that it would have cost me about $950.00 retail plus tax and/or shipping. I saved hundreds.

All foams are not created equal. Do your homework before you buy.

Many people swear by Owens Corning 703 or 705 instead of foam. Some claim better absorbtion than foam and it costs less per square foot. I've had a hard time finding it around here though.

I spent over two years reading and studying acoustics before I started my booth. As it turns out there's a lot of bad info on the internet. Imagine that.

Want to learn more?

http://www.homerecording.org
http://www.recording.org
http://www.studiotips.com
http://www.johnlsayers.com
http://www.ethanwiner.com/
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[jayj]

Try these folks for 703 and pre built acoustic panels.

http://www.atsacoustics.com/

Good prices and quick shipping.

Cheers...

Jay J.

[Hart]

That's pretty sweet. I ended up at some HVAC place an hour away from here. Now I know where to go next time I need a little.

Thanks!
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[BenWils]

I found out that Auralex (not Furalex) sticks quite well to felt. I used some black felt on a booth I built out of 36" X 80" hollow core doors a while back and discovered the Auralex foam stuck right to the the black felt almost like velcro....not quite but almost

So, if you wanna mess around with foam to see where you want it and how it sounds...how much you need in your booth, cover the walls with felt (any color) and move your foam around as much as you need. And if you don't move your booth around a lot, you can just leave the foam stuck to the felt and not have to use glue etc......that way you can use it again and again and not have to ruin expensive Auralex. Of coarse push pinds work too but...hey it was cool that it stuck to the felt.

Foam by mail is cool too. I have both kinds and can't tell much difference. I will have to check out the ebay deal mentioned earlier too.
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Ben


"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap."

[Hart]

That felt trick is a neat one Ben, hadn't heard it before.

I use T-pins (quilters use them for something or other) if I don't want to glue.
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[BenWils]

[Hart]

Oh! Here's another tip Amy.

If you find you need to cut your foam to fit in certain places or what have you the best thing to use is an electric carving knife (like for turkeys). Wal-Mart sells a Black and Decker model for just under $10.

I just thought of it because I was packing mine up.
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[asnively]

Thank you so very much everyone for all your advice! (Frank-- don't be brief on my account. I'm hanging on your every word!)

Here's my tentative straw-man plan:


I'm thinking of (but nowhere near married to):

• treating both sides of the doors with indoor/outdoor carpet.
  
• mounting a panel of 2" x 24" x 48" Owens Corning 703 fiberglass insulation on each door, and along the windowless wall. (Do I have to cover those with acoustical fabric of some type, or will any fabric do?)
  
• putting foam corner traps in all four corners
  
• finding some kind of acoustical fabric to make a curtain for the window, so that I can have sunlight now and then
  
• treating a large Fomecore panel to make a partial false ceiling that can go over the desk area, or slide to the back over the two standing mics
  

I do a 2-hour radio shift from my desk 7 days a week. So I need to make that area sound as fat as possible. I record auditions and commercial stuff from my standing mics, which are behind me. I wish I had more time to research all this, and maybe go to a class or seminar, but Daddy's bringing his tools on Wednesday morning, and said it's now or never!

I'm grateful for any input you have!
Yours,
Amy
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[mcm]

[Deirdre]

Mary gets the Wet Noodle.
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