PVC Vocal Booth Build! 

Hang the blankets "inside" the booth, overlapped to cover the PVC piping, not outside. And close them up. You actually had a lot of entry points for noise and open, uncovered concrete floor space. One builder created a PVC booth similar to yours (but more sturdy) and glued sound proof panels to the curtains.

I’ve been using a PVC booth for 5 years now. Greatest investment I’ve made. I just have to close my windows with no issue unless a loud bus or truck goes by. And yeah, 3-corners are never in hardware stores due whatever reason. I always had to get them online. Middle rack is perfect for stability as well.

This vocal booth plus a little vocal isolator shield would do wonders Thank you for the inspiration

Well, we uncovered that the space is WAY more important than any amount of moving blankets. Who's using a booth like this?

I was a landscape contractor in Calif for many years, specializing in irrigation, so am very familiar with PVC pipe/fittings. I decided to go with 3/4 inch just as you did; 1/2" would not be very sturdy and 1' could create echo or interfere with audio quality- Just my personal assumption. You would also want to use what is called "Schedule 40 grade" because it has much thicker "walls" than the cheaper more flimsy pipe. I chose not to use glue, as it can be messy AND I can take it apart and reassemble it in the event I want it to be portable. BTW, yes, those 3-way corner fittings have always been kind of a challenge to find...

I use a 6x5x7h pvc booth with 1” Schedule 40 pipe. No glue (so far); the structure is more reinforced than yours and the heavy moving blankets clamped tight make it quite strong. I found all joints available at Lowe’s, even the corner pieces. I used the corner pieces for the far wall (where recording was happening), but the door side I used elbows on the bottom to create an entrance with no beam in the “doorway” to trip over. I used 1/2” cross-beams, with snap-on “T”s, so they can be height-positioned for clamping on my audio interface and a midway 1” vertical to clamp a pop screen. For mic and computer desk, I used heavy-duty tripods - a boom stand & an adjustable lectern stand. I could have attached those to the booth, but I wanted them rock solid and those stands provided that. As you say, of the 2 components of ambient noise management, this booth style deals with acoustic treatment - reflected sound - not noise reduction in any serious way. In other words, it needs to be placed in a quiet space, although I have not had to treat the space itself, the booth kills reflections in a very live room. So it’s PART of the solution, not all of it. With a corded light bar zip-tied to a vertical beam midway on the left side of the booth, a clip on light on the top horizontal for more local illumination, & a Kindle 10” HD (on sale at an Amazon store for $110. Much lighter than an iPad), clamped on the right side vertical. That’s my setup and it works well. I use the heaviest moving blankets I could find and steel “clothespins to attach the blankets. Also, look for “spring steel gripper clips”! They have a lower profile than the “clothespins”, so you can layer blankets on top of them, outside the structure and inside (that air gap you were talking about).

Extremely informative. Thanks @Randy

I love everything about this!

I would add 3 additional horizontal beams half-way up, using T junctions (you would need 6 junctions, as the "back" beam would need to be higher or lower, with the junctions sitting one on top of the other). That would give it a lot more rigidity and stability, while leaving one side open for access. Plastic pipes can get noisy, so they will need dampening. I would cover the pipes with those foam "pool noodles", so they don't reverberate. Alternatively, try tightly taping or gluing felt cloth around them.

New subscriber here. Thanks Voices!

that's amazing

This is a clinic in soundproofing vs acoustic treatment, and I’m HERE for it 😂. If you have a quiet space already, this looks perfect and much less mess (and money) than a custom or prefab studio build! 👏👏👏

I have a small office that I use for my day job. I've thought of installing a hospital curtain track on the ceiling and then installing a heavy fabric curtail that I can just deploy when recording. Does this seem like a viable solution?

OSHA approves this video! ;)

And be sure to sign up with Voices, where we take 90% of the budget for ourselves. We triple-dip on fees and pass the expenses on to you!

The electrician in me just died a little. JK. Awesome job!

OR...you can but a weed tent and put some acoustic foam inside...

I fked unless someone messages me by tomorrow morning on this comment and helps me know what fabric to get and where

no way home depot

Why not just go to a store that has the correct products?

A poor build will result in poor results. Take in to account to make better videos by doing the job right.