Vocal booth

[VanderBoegh]

Every time I hear the words "vocal booth", I think of this video by Ronan Chris Murphy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RteNVtiqK0Q

~~Matt

[BritFox]

Any major disadvantages for turning a closet into a vocal booth versus a corner?

I remember reading open rooms bounce sound different than closed (closet) - does anyone have any insight into this? Is it even that big of a deal?

thx in advance!

[eeoo]

Matt, that's exactly how I feel about vocal booths!

[Len911]

What I have done is similar to this https://goo.gl/images/xrwcGb except I used some of this https://www.auralex.com/product/max-wall/ it is 4" acoustic foam. I put my 4 pieces of foam closer to the mic, the mic is on a mic stand right next to my floor-to-ceiling rack frame similar to this https://goo.gl/images/nPVXca, the foam is held in place by a guitar strap, similar to this
https://goo.gl/images/4vpsNb the holes of the strap held down by the screws in the rack frame.

There's a disadvantage if you move your mouth away from being directly aimed at the mic obviously, but it's more like you are boothing the mic instead of boothing the person. Any reflected audio waves will have to penetrate either the foam or the person's head. By placing the mic further back into the foam, the other advantage is that you can't get too close, thus eliminating a lot of the lip smacks and popping noises.

This is probably in principle what my goal was if it was to be professionally packaged and presented http://www.voicecube.net/voicecube/products-2.htm

[Len911]

Any major disadvantages for turning a closet into a vocal booth versus a corner?

I remember reading open rooms bounce sound different than closed (closet) - does anyone have any insight into this? Is it even that big of a deal?

thx in advance!

It's really about sound reflection causing standing waves, comb filtering, etc. Walls are primary reflective surfaces. The smaller and more square the space (walls), the more problematic. The most ideal and most natural sounding space imo, is if you have a large rectangular room and record from somewhere near the middle of the room, the less cluttered the better. Years ago I had such a room, it was a master bedroom used for a recording studio. Walls, desktops, monitors, any reflective surface is critical.
Many times you will see wooden diffusers. They are highly reflective, uneven, and their purpose almost seem counter, however they use the same principle, they trap the sound and cause the waves to bounce around and lose their energy or most of it before returning back and directly interfering.

Is it that big of a deal? Not as much if it's quiet close mic cardioid. The most natural sound is going to come from an omni mic in a good sounding room. The polar patterns of a mic have a role also. The most natural to the least, omni, figure 8, cardioid and last hypercardioid. By the most natural, I mean the least amount of problems such as filtering, pops, sizzling s's,
moving off axis of the mic, reflections...

[cosmicdolphin]

Every time I hear the words "vocal booth", I think of this video by Ronan Chris Murphy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RteNVtiqK0Q

~~Matt

Yeah they can and often do suck and sound boxy, not sure why people are hung up on having them.

[ochaim]

agree with all the points mentioned about a DIY vocal booth. they tend to be small, cramped, stuffy, not the best environment to bring out a vocal performance.

i received vocals from someone i worked with before where his vocal recordings usually sounded really good. this time, not only did the vocals sound boxy but it was like he was trying not to be too loud so he wouldnt disturb others. i knew what it sounded like because it reminded me of when i recorded my vocals in my room in my teens.

it turns out he was recording in a closet to minimize the street noise, where previously he recorded in an open space, i think it was his living room.

this vocalist tended to have a more laidback vocal but when he recorded in the closet it was noticeably more reserved.

so not only does a vocal booth need to be designed to isolate the vocals, it has to be comfortable enough so as to not impede the vocalist from delivering their best.

i think using something like the se reflection filter in front of you and something thick like blankets behind you is the best bang for your buck in treating problem reflections. the se rf capturing excess soundwaves from the vocals not captured by the mic and the blankets behind you to capture any reflections off the wall in front of you not captured by the se rf. the ceiling and floor definitely come into play so maybe an area rug if you are standing on a hard surface ar least.

for me, i dont have anything like the se rf in front of me but i have a wall of records behind me that probably act like a diffuser. a few acoustic foam panels on the ceiling and an area rug in the floor. mind you dont record ballads or anything that feature a naked vocal much so i can get away with not having strong room treatment.

dang that was a lot of words for a sunday morning, the coffee is definitely kicking in haha

[markhimley]

Disclaimer - I am very new to recording vocals, so this is just my newbie .02.

I do believe though, the vocal performance is more important than anything else. No matter how good your treatment is, how much you know about reflections and proper microphones, etc etc - if the vocal performance is not up to par it does not matter. A great vocal performance can make your production shortcomings not seem so important. For example, I was watching a youtube video where the Chainsmokers were talking about how they made the track "Roses". They recorded the vocals for that song in one of the member's New York city apartment, in the middle of the living room. It didn't sound like they are/were experts in recording, and I imagine they don't have tons of sound treatment. They even mentioned how they had to have someone stand in the corner and hold a towel over the vent to block out the sound of the AC. My point? Probably not an ideal recording setup. But, the song was incredibly successful. They even mention how little processing they did on the vocals because the vocal performance was so good. It sounds like a very professional product, and the vocals sound very good IMO.

[BritFox]

Thanks everyone for you insight! Learned a ton I appreciate this so much

[ernstinen]

I've built two vocal booths over the years. The first one, I did it "right": Staggered studs --- 2x6s on the bottom and top, and 2x4s for the walls, so that the inner and outer walls didn't touch each other. Between the walls, I weaved used carpet, and on the outside used sound board first, then plywood. Then I nailed carpet to the inner walls, and put in a double-pane glass window at a slight angle from each other. The door was solid core. Worked quite well!

The second one, I didn't use 2x6s, just 2x4s. I really didn't notice much difference in outside sounds getting into the booth. But that's probably because it was a "room inside a room." The ceiling and outer walls of the booth didn't touch the ceiling or outer walls of the space I was in. I did the same thing with the window, and also used a solid-core door... Inside the walls, this time I stuffed styrofoam between the walls, and carpeted both the inside and the outside. It was as dead as a skunk in the middle of the road, perfect for close-miking vocals, acoustic guitars, and guitar amps... The only time I ever heard sound leakage from the outside was recording acoustic guitars with condenser mics cranked up. But it was only low frequencies, like a garbage truck in the alley or a jet flying directly overhead. Then I'd just stop for a few minutes and take a break LOL!

If you're into doing something major like that, I have 2 words: 1.) Screws. Use screws, because you can take it apart if you have to and move it. 2.) Caulk. LOTS of caulk! If you can see any light getting through any seam, sound will also get through. I can't remember how many tubes of caulk I went through, but it was a lot of them! And always use a solid-core door (or two, if you're getting really anal LOL!).

My 2 cents,

Ern