This is one of the BEST DIY vocal booth projects that I have EVER seen. You're very intelligent in your approach. Having worked with studio designers on several fully commercial facilities, I'm very impressed. This is the approach that I'll use. I believe that the fan noise can be brought down by using a lower speed fan and a few more of them. Good one, Glen! Jim Rogers
This is pretty decent! Your construction is spot on! Although I do have to point out that your treatment inside the booth is insufficient. It sounds like your standing in a box. And when it comes time to compress your vocal, it will be very audible. I suggest throwing out that foam, and figure out some way to line the wall with 2 inches of insulation covered in fabric. That will give you a much better result.
Thank you Glen for taking your time to teach us your Technics in this booth build. Like others have said, this is one of the best build videos with awesome instructions here and your website. I have viewed many videos on this subject. I will definitely use what I have learned here for my booth build in the near future. Great Job!!!
I'm doing a project for a vocal booth that will cost me 153 USD. I eventually plan to upgrade into better materials and such but I want something to begin with as my dogs, cat, and fish tank always can be heard when I record music! I'm using oriented strandboard, white wood studs, carpet padding, a window handle, hook and eye latch, and utility hindges. It's going to be 1 meter x 1 meter x 2 meters approximately! I'm really excited to build it and start really taking my music seriously! I will be stealing some of these ideas for upgrades! Nice job :)
This video is the best video on diy vocal both so far... Really loved the exhaust idea... You really solved my greatest problem... Thank you so much...
Thanks for the video! Great to see a Canadian video with so many good ideas. I think seeing the changes you made and the rationale for those changes is particularly instructive.
You don't hear those first reflections? Roughly between 100 and 200 Hz. I don't know, the construction is fine for the cost, but that size and particular dimension ratio is producing awful standing waves and muddiness. At least in the video audio-track. My guess is that the foam you used is just too thin to absorb mid to low frequencies in such a coffin-sized space.
Hey Dan. Yes I hear them - but that audio was recorded from the iPhone mic placed on the script stand - so not an accurate representation. For an idea of how it really sounds, watch this ... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8sxp9Al9nek.htmlm38s
Great video! You affirmed much of what I was intending on doing in building my own isolation booth, but were far more precise about it. Thanks for uploading this. It's very helpful and I'm sure to revisit when the time comes to start to building myself.
Hi, the master handbook of acoustics says that with 4" thick mineral wool absorbers you can get almost a full wide band absorbance above 100hz. Do you have a wide band absorber like that inside the booth?
@@GlenMurrant I think they mean rock wool panels where you have your foam, because Roxul is much better at absorbing low and mid frequencies than foam is.
@@GlenMurrant do you have a wideband-absorber inside the booth? I dont mean what is used to fill the wall elements. Your booth build is awesome but if you dont treat the inside from 80hz up with bass traps or wideband absorbers then you will get the boomy boxy sound. (By the way its what i am hearing in this recording so i wanted to check this)
Sorry, misunderstood your OP. Two things: 1) The audio in this video was captured by the little mic on my phone, not the Rode in the booth - the actual audio from the mic isn't as boomy. 2) having said that, I agree - it needs some better treatment. I'm testing/researching some affordable options and will produce a new vid later in the spring.
nice job, for the amount of time you will actually spend in the booth the fans won't be an issue at all. I have the smallest whisper room you can get and built some sound panels out of Roxul insulation to get rid of reverb and it worked well for me, but I leave the fan off when I am in the booth tracking a vocal performance
Thanks Billy. I’ve suggested to a number of people that the fan is a “non-essential”. More trouble than it’s worth. If you start getting light-headed during a read, just open the door LOL.
Glen. I really appreciate you for this upload. This just what I've been searching for. Going to use your web site as a guide and send you the results. The only difference is I want to install pop up wheels under the booth to move to location of the room. Again thanks peace and blessings to you.
Yes - the video does sound boxy. BUT that's the audio from my iPhone. To hear the actual booth, watch this : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Eaiy6reUZIY.html
There will be some. As I said at the very beginning of the video, this is a sound "reduction" booth - not sound "proof". Check is the seal around the door - it should be virtually air-tight. It's amazing how much sound can bleed through the smallest cracks. Also make sure you have sealed (with caulking/spray-foam) the gaps where the booth walls meet the existing room-walls. Additional treatment inside the booth will probably improve the acoustics, but will do little to reduce bleed.
Hey James. Yes - the video sounds boxy, but the booth doesn't. The audio in this video from my iPhone - not exactly a good reference. In hindsight I should have used the actual audio from the booth mic. Have a listen to an actual TV commercial voiced in the booth ... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Eaiy6reUZIY.html
Boomy means that certain low frequencies (150-240Hz) are exaggerated. But as I explained in a few other replies, the video was recorded on my phone - so the sound quality of the video does not accurately represent the actual sound of the both. If you want to hear some actual recordings from the booth, listen to my “2020 suite” here … murrant.ca.
Two questions: 1. How do you attach the walls to the concrete walls and make sure it’s sealed? 2. How do you attach the ceiling to the structure of the booth? And, there’s no need for support for the ceiling from the corner of the concrete walls? Thanks for the video!
Great questions! 1.) Attach the booth walls to the concrete (building structure) with four 1-inch “L” brackets; two per wall. Place them about 1-foot up from the floor, and 1-foot down from the ceiling. Use wood screws into booth walls and tapcon into the concrete. Squeeze a bead of caulking into to any gaps, and finish the seam with a strip of quarter-round or cove molding. 2.) Screw the strapping for the booth ceiling directly to the booth walls. Use another “L” bracket to secure the ceiling to the concrete wall, in the corner opposite the door.
No - It's not worth the time/trouble to rectify. I just don't use it while recording. I'll turn it on while doing dry runs and practising - but I turn it of while actually doing takes.
my only question is can anyone hear you on the outside? because id like to build the same thing but i want it so i can sing without waking anyone up or having the cops caled lol
Greetings from Miami and thank you for your response this weekend. :) I've laid out the frame (day 1) and so far I'm very happy about the dimensions as it will give me room outside of the booth for other things. I had also asked about the door: I know you built your own, but it looks thicker than the usual store bought door. I will make sure the person building the booth follows the steps you shared on the seals, but anything else we should know about purchasing a door? Should I get a hollow door so that it can be filled with the sound proofing material? The other question is about the fans. You stated that they ended up being noisier than expected. If you could do this all over again, would you use fewer fans? Thank you SO much for sharing your plans and helping others out. If there's a link to leave a donation, please share.
Glad it's working out (so far). I've hear from others who used a hollow door and filled it. It's a good idea - but don't use sand or concrete (yikes) because it will be too heavy for the rest of the frame. The door to my studio space is a standard hollow door - so covered both sides with drywall - it worked great!
On the fans ... I can't hear the actual fan motors - so in that respect it was a success. However, I hear the white-noise of air moving through the system. An easy fix is to use a 12v speed control instead of a switch - and put it inside the booth (not outside, like I did - doh!). Here's one ... www.ebay.ca/itm/Okgear-OK503-DC-Fan-Speed-Controller-4pin-to-4pin/330854253057?_trkparms=aid%3D1110001%26algo%3DSPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131003132420%26meid%3D0821788648ca4c459ce7fc314ac496ae%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D2%26mehot%3Dpf%26sd%3D401676661805%26itm%3D330854253057%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851
Where should i drill those two 3 1/2 “ holes (for air) in the subfloor? I don’t see it in the diagram on your website. I started building a couple days ago and i’m stumped on this part. Amazing booth!!
Hi Gerard. When making the video I used the crappy mic on my iPhone. Here's a sample from inside the booth with my Rode NT-1A. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7NrfA--VlVQ.html
i like this video a lot and keep watching it however there is one minor niggle the sound .. it sounds what it is ... a box.. did you do any work to tame those 350-450 hrz freqs ??
So, as I've mentioned in a few other replies, the sound in this video was captured on my phone. The both actually sounds fairly neutral. Listen to the vocals in the "2020 Suite" here ... murrant.ca
Yeah. LOL. I kindof skipped over that part. If you read the (very long) instructions on my website, there's a bit about running cords. murrant.ca/words/build-a-professional-vocal-booth-on-a-500-dollar-budget/
I'm looking for a way to absorb my voice so that my apartment neighbors won't hear me singing so loudly all of the time. Would this work for that? Or is there any other device I should look into?
Yes. This is exactly what I intended. It won't completely block the sound - but it will reduce enough to keep the neighbours from banging on your walls :)
The door opening is 74" x 19". Interesting to note however, the door is raised up 6" off the floor of the room, meaning that I have to step-up into the booth, making the door seem taller than it really is. I'm 6'2", same height as the door, but i don't have to duck and I've never hit my head.
Plans are available at Murrant.ca. The base is not secured to the actual floor. The floating design was intended to be removable - also, having fewer rigid connections to the room structure helps with the isolation.
It’s excellent at reducing mid to high frequencies. Low frequencies are reduced significantly - but there is some bleed. At about 1:16 in the video I show the reduction with a meter.
Thanks - glad you liked. I glued the foam squares directly to the osb. In the corners for molding (strictly cosmetic) I ripped some leftover 2x4 to 1/4" thick - cheap trim on a tight budget. If you do this, be sure to glue the trim in place (rather than nail) to reduce any chance of vibrations.
The door panel itself is 19 inches wide. If haven’t already, skim over the details here... murrant.ca/creativity/build-a-professional-vocal-booth-on-a-500-dollar-budget/
Hi, thanks for sharing this. I’m building it this weekend but as I gather the materials, I’m unclear about how much to get on the roxul safe'n'sound. You state one bundle but they come in boxes of 6 and 12 pieces. Can you clarify?
Hi Ara. You will need the 12-pc bundle (link below...). If you go to my website there is a printable materials list. Hope that helps! www.lowes.ca/product/batt-insulation/rockwool-safensound-mineral-wool-fire-and-soundproofing-batt-insulation-1525-in-x-47-in-305816?&cm_mmc=shopping_google-_-8303134478-_-85401573756-_-pla-899830409494&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4Mz-uI226QIVma_ICh3lIwrpEAYYAyABEgLmdPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
@@GlenMurrant Thank you!!! Hey, one more question. What kind of door should we be getting? I see that this isn't a normal door and they don't have it at the local hardware store-Home Depot/Lowe's. Any feedback? We're building today and tomorrow. :)
The door is custom built. Follow this link and scroll down to the part about the door ... murrant.ca/words/build-a-professional-vocal-booth-on-a-500-dollar-budget/
Hi Glen. My booth rocks. Im so happy!!! I did have to add bass traps in corners and the door hasn’t been finished but boy what a difference, best of all I already booked my first two jobs post installing, and that’s always a great sign!!! Thanks for the separate article on the door. We will be tackling that in a week or so, bringing it down and reinstalling . I’m very grateful again to you for having posted this. May tbt universe ley you back double.
Dear Glen, I am heavily considering trying this build in a new home studio i will build in my garden. I can not seem to reach your site though. Is this a problem just for me? and if not could you maybe fix this problem? Greetings Jimmy
I also live next to a highway - down the road from a gravel pit, so lots of truck-traffic. The booth - as built in the video - completely eliminated all highway noise.
Yes. The air exchanger pulls the warm air out from the top of the booth, and blows cool fresh air in from the bottom. It’s described in detail in the plans on my site - Murrant.ca
Yes. you can see the plans for the window here (scroll 1/2 way down the page) ... murrant.ca/words/build-a-professional-vocal-booth-on-a-500-dollar-budget/
MDF is much more expensive than OSB but would work - possibly even better than OSB. I was trying to stay under $500 for the whole project. The base conceals the maze for the airflow and isolates the booth from the floor to reduce noise - so yes, for this design to work as well as it does, it need the base.
Sheetrock/mud would have exceeded the $500 budget. But this plan DOES include mineral wool batts. See the full material list here... murrant.ca/creativity/build-a-professional-vocal-booth-on-a-500-dollar-budget/
2:51 Sorry, dude, I can't listen to you any more. Diamond walked into frame and totally stole the show serving up super cute dog realness. I think more Diamond videos are in order. Oh, and I've been in that vocal booth. Amazingly well done except for the fact that my fat gut won't fit through the door very well.
