Very nice project. I am constructing a new studio in a new house and will keep the tips you've given me in front of mind. Glad Bill managed to point you towards the bass traps, too. Sounds very nice. Thank you.
Great job Todd! This was an impressive display of craftsmanship. I built my own booth with a lot of trial and error. I ended up using (x4) hollow door panels from Lowes and (x2) heavy furniture pads (moving blankets) for the roof. The walls were then lined with foam mattress toppers from Walmart and overlapped in the corners. It works really nicely, but I don't have a lot of elbow room as I added a shelf & monitor for video playback. I occasionally do animation so it became necessary. I'm getting ready to move so now I want to do a new build that is modular, has more space, and is almost soundproof. I was thinking of using your floor design and then adding an additional 1x1 frame around it to add a snugness with rubber washers.
Great video. Your step-by-step was perfect. I really don’t like when people skip small steps because they think it’s not that important. Then I’m stuck trying to fill in the blank, then have to go look at another video to fill in the blank LOL.👍👍🏾
Thank you so much for this very informative video. I've built a smaller booth recently and this helped me a lot in deciding how to improve my booth. Now I just need to find a way to work in some ventilation without letting in too much noise.
@@markryan540 I cut in a gap for a register box and flexed it straight into my rooms air vent! With enough baffling in between, I was able to silently cool it with my house's HVAC
Hi Todd! You have put in a great effort. Nice video. I am the process of building my recording booth. Your video gave me a good insight. I think adding ventilation would make your both complete. Great vocals by the way.
@@toddchitwood189 what about ventilation? What is meant by studs?what do you mean by stuff rockwool in the pipe after running the cords through the pipe?what is osb?,how will you seal up each end of the pipe with puddy if the cords run through them?you said 3/8 inch and you said 1 inch rubber so do you use both for the floor or what?
After watching this video three years ago, I built a vocal booht myself with a size of W/D/H 250x225x220. On the outside I pasted Vinyl wallpaper of 8 mm thickness. for the sound insulation in the wall I used Illbruck acoustic spray foam to save money. then finished the inside with MDF panels and acoustic foam wedges. it is nice and quiet in the vocal booth so that I can do my work in silence. all together it cost me 2500 euros including lighting and power panels.
Dadoblade? Sure - Where are my fingertips....wait.... Also thanks for putting this up, a few years ago now but when searching I am finding a variety of different methods and plans - plus this helped with a bunch of other questions I had had about methods and coverings. Thanks a lot for your time and hope you are making a great life of VO
Hi Todd, You need to have ventilation there and that is really important. And it is possible to make it sound proof and quiet, will take some work, but not difficult at all.
Good point if you spend long periods inside. I decided against because my time in the booth is short usually less than 5 minutes at a time. All my production is done outside. Although, I did record a book in it, and I would fan the air with the door to circulate air every 15 - 20 mins. I did not have any problems with heat or hypoxia symptoms. Ultimately I am going to convert the entire basement into a studio. There are a few good videos on ventilation for these that I watched.
Yes, to convert basement is the best idea! Then you will not have any problems at all with the early reflections (boxiness, etc.) and the sound quality will be the best you can get. And of course it is always more comfortable to have more space.
Whenever I build a booth I put a cO2 alarm in it. Even if the booth has ventilation. It's a cheap and easy way to insure that you're safe. You can get a cO2/ smoke detector combo pretty much anywhere. Wonderful job on the booth and video!
Dude, I love it! I know Bill DeWees and have traveled to his studio for a class. I'm building you my sound booth in my 12X10 Tuff Shed and this info it golden. Thanks
the rubber between the studs and OSB are 3/8" thick. they come in 4 foot widths and I purchased by the foot and cut them up with a sharp razor knife. we have a rubber supply company here and I purchased all rubber materials there.
nice job, especially if this was your first booth. We used hat channel, whisper clips, green glue, and double 5/8 drywall, with Auralex foam as our basic walls, I would definitely recommend all that as a minimum if you can afford it. Not simple to find, install, but worthwhile esp if you want to continue recording when cars, jets, lawnmowers, helicopters, 2am closing time partiers, etc creep into your residential life. I dont agree that ventilation of the booth itself is a necessity, esp if you can simply open the door, put a fan on / turn the AC on (heavenly if you can afford to do this right though, no doubt!).
I've seen a lot of DIY booths where people have purchased doors. It's nice to see an example of a built door, which is what I was planning. How do you keep the door shut?
I enjoyed the video quite a bit, Todd. Much thanks. Firstly, the gal appearing at O:49 is a cutie pie! Back to VO iso booth, Sir. Did you do the recording for this vid in your new booth? If so, it sounded very acoustically dead...and quite dry and clean for the project. Thumbs up! I'm curious why you used drywall inside this booth... Also, do you intend on installing a TV monitor turned portrait...to display your DAW and Script in the future? Just curious. The build looks very inclusive and well thought out to me....I just had those few questions. All the best on your VO career, my new VO friend! Geoffery Elliott Elon, NC (future) Five Oaks Studios
Todd, I'm considering having an architect or engineer look over my plans and maybe provide some type of blue print to eliminate some of the "misses" at Home Depot or Lowes. Would like to know what you think of that.
Really informative. What about thinner timber? we don't need much strength from the booth and we can have lighter cheaper and less sound transformation through the wood.
Very cool and thanks for posting… That’s a great little booth, I would just mention that, that plywood and roxul contain formaldehyde, and that foam is also a carcinogen… Sad but true. Just wanted to share with folks that there are non cancer causing alternatives out that there do as well or better… they may cost a little more but many do not, pay now, or pay later… cheers, - Sean Ryder Williams
I really liked this video. How long did it take you to complete the project? I'm looking to do something similar making a 4x6x7 booth in my computer office. I was looking at Dawbox's designs. Thanks again for sharing. Rock on.
I really hope that isn't MDF inside the booth, everyone wants to use it for sound booths because it's what rooms are made of, but 90% of people don't know you HAVE to seal MDF on all ends and in drilled holes or MDF will leak out very toxic gas from all the chemicals used to make it
good video! I've no immediate intention of building a booth but I like your setup. can you do a video of your when setup? as in your audio chain and editing setup? do you go into your Surface or are you using that for scripts? I travel for work and have a work laptop completely capable of handling the setup but not sure my company would approve. I also have the surface pro 4 which, aside from usb ports, should be able to handle it but I have yet to see anyone using it. thanks!
Great job Todd! Question, had you been working as a VO artist before building this booth? I have years of experience but have always wanted to try getting work outside what my agent is able to provide me with. I pretty much have everything else I need except for the booth. Whisperooms are just too damn expensive!
Hi David - thank you! No, I did not have any VO experience prior to taking this project on. I have been working out of this booth for almost a year now. It's not pretty, but the sound is great. Much improved from my original VO on this video. The noise floor continues to impress me at greater than - 60 dB. In fact, just this morning my wife was running the vacuum and i heard it when I stepped out of the booth - not inside.
Hi Todd, your booth is awesome! I want to ask you if I can replace Roxul with another material because it's difficult to me to find in the country I live in.
isabella isii I do not know of other materials. one quality of this is fire resistant. perhaps there are other materials that meet this quality. I would even look into heavy insulation. but please know I am not an expert on this stuff.
Wonderful job! Thanks for sharing. Small question please regarding the interfaces you've mentioned: comparing Yamaha AG3 with Focusrite 2i2, is there a big difference in sound quality for recording purposes? I mean in terms of preams, sound warmness, and level of noise / hiss. Your advice will be highly appreciated as I'm planning to get an interface mainly for recording vocals at price range USD200 to 250. I don't need many i/o or fx, just clear recording via my rode NT1 mic. Thanks in advance!
Sorry I am so late in responding. I do not have a lot of experience with either at the time. As I said, the Yamaha (for me) was way too bassy. I switched to the Scarlet and it is fine. Weird. I really like the Yamaha as it had more features to patch into Skype, etc. but the bass was over the top. I was also experiencing some phantom noise as well from it. Now, I am not saying this is not a good product, but in my arrangement it just did not serve me. I still use it for my studio monitors on the editing and mastering side.
Todd Chitwood No worries about the late reply. I think I'll buy the Scarlett for recording, and will keep the Yamaha for future podcasting activities. Thanks so much for your valuable points :)
Yep, a booth like that will produce a boxy sound because of how small it is. Booths need to be much bigger. And a bass trap is 100% useless in a room that small.
@@toddchitwood189 nope, I’m absolutely right. Bass needs space. Try listen to the bass next to a speaker, and try again a few meters away. You will see. Bass traps are useless in a room that small. And small booths will always be boxy. All rooms have their own sound, small rooms are boxy. You can’t remove that fact. This is why recording booths are made huge.
I get the idea of using Roxul (Rockwool) for insulation and sound absorption, but does it matter which version you use? (i.e. SAFE n sound, R-15, R-30, etc...)
Hey Todd thanks for this tutorial its really helpful!! But I've got a question. I am planning on building a booth as well. I dont do voiceovers but I would like to record vocals for my music. :) My question for you is if you hear sound that comes from within the booth on the outside of the booth? Sorry for the bad English :) Greetings from Holland Maurice
Its pretty quite. Inside the noise floor is between -66 and -63 dB. I have had people in the booth and we have "yelled" back and forth. You can hear from the outside, but difficult.
Ohh really :o that are some great results!! I thought I would've needed way more layers of insulation then you used... I guess you filling all the seams helped the sound from leaking too!! So what is your take on it 7 months later? are you still enjoying it and was it all worth it in the end? :)
Hi, I'm building a booth for a friend based on your set up here, and I was wondering about the neoprene rubber sheet you used for the floor and between the walls. Did you use hard rubber, or the more spongy stuff?
+n0g4rdd3r I have not added up the total amount. I will and will let you know. I estimate I have $2,000 into this, which includes the acoustic foam, etc. The total build time was about 5 weeks. Thanks for stopping by.
That sounds surprising since acousticians say when it’s air sealed and fully closed you’d struggle to breathe. I’m midway through a build (2.4x2.9m) but am on hold until I sort out ventilation. How long can you spend in there without issues?
nirhbor but You can spend less than $200 dollars but it won't be as big. I'm building a 1 meter/yard x 1 meter/yard x 2 meter/yards. I used 8 6 ft tall 2x4s, 9 2ftx4ft strandboard, carpet padding, 2 utility hinges, a cabinet Handel, a hook and eye latch, an old towel for the flooring, 1 inch screws, and caulk. I spent $180 USD on my project. I plan on buying a gallon of paint which will add $20.
Nice one! I recently completed my own and I think I had alot of the same dilemmas as you did like endless trips to the hardware store and modifying my plans as it went on rather than adhering to solid plans. You seem to be producing pretty good sound quality there, I find I still pick up a little hissing with my own equipment though maybe thats more to do with my laptop being old as the hills. Do you edit out a bit of hiss/noise? This is my own booth = ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-T5z21SYf2WI.html
Oli - Great work. Especially with the ventilation. As you've likely read, I really am not in the booth for very long periods, so I elected to skip this piece. It is amazing how much caulking is used to make it air tight. As far as the hiss, that is likely coming from the equipment? I doubt you're getting any high frequencies into the booth.
Oh yeah I did see that in the comments, but it sounds like its perfect for you if you're doing pretty short recordings. Though if you do decide to opt for ventilation later, the method I used is pretty easy installation and wont compromise your booth with outdoor sounds leaking in. I think you're right there, I have a new pc now and a very faint hiss is still present so I have a feeling it may be my audio interface doing it so I think I may shop around for a new interface!
Hi Todd, totally forgot to reply! I use a M-Track plus. Did a bit of research and apparently its a common issue. Though did a little tinkering and seems to have fixed it somewhat so we'll see!
