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Recording guitars with a DIY Isolation Cabinet (+ how to build one)

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A tutorial about recording great guitar tones at home without disturbing the neighbors, with a DIY isolation cabinet, or iso box.
I built it in 2007, after being inspired by Matthias IA Eklundh recordings (e.g. his freak guitar albums are recorded this way).
In this video:
I'll show you how I built it
how to record with it
and everything else that should be interesting
Check my older videos for some fully produced songs that I recorded with my isolation box:
Purple Organ (rock sounds)
• Georg Figél - Purple O...
Riverdance Theme (clean and vintage lead sound)
• Riverdance Theme - Gui...
Adagio for Strings (clean and mellow sounds)
• Adagio For Strings - i...
Benny Hill Theme (country clean, sort of)
• Benny Hill Theme / Yak...
Castlevenia - some theme (Neoclassical shred)
• Castlevania - "Prayer ...
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Опубликовано:

5 май 2011

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Комментарии : 509

@tacostacos5 9 лет назад

I think your intro should be longer.

@CJoshuaJimenez 8 лет назад

omg 😂😂😂

@nbl95 Год назад

I liked it, was very 90s esc.

@neocollective 6 лет назад

Congrats ! the #1 rule for good recording is DON'T BE LAZY, take the effort to experiment, move things around, etc. You are the poster boy for this motto, very inspiring :)

@falconsfootball23 8 лет назад

You should do a comparison of the same equipment without the isolation box vs with it and how it sounds.

@mattnewcomb_official 9 лет назад

Regarding floor vibrations, you may be able to alleviate that by doing the bottom like the sides and top, with the cabinet on casters inside the box, and/or mounting the box itself on casters or feet. You'd still get some resonance, but it would transfer to smaller points and will be diffused by the insulation in the floor (or the downstairs-neighbor's ceiling insulation).

@JRP3music 9 лет назад

I converted a SUNN 2 x12 cab into a stereo isolation box. the speakers were already recessed in the cab. I added acoustic insulation inside. I also made a frame to cover the front of the cab. For the mic, I installed a small stand and a dual adapter to hold 2 SM57s. I installed a XLR jack plate for the microphones outputs. The speaker connections were changed from mono to stereo.

@alvagoldbook2 10 лет назад

Very awesome. I've been meaning to build an isolation box for a while now. I was thinking of just suspending a guitar speaker in a box, I hadn't thought of just putting a small cabinet inside a box.

@NathanHassall 6 лет назад

Iv been here for 2 hours and Im still watching the intro

@chrisdigital 4 года назад

😂😂

@TimOost 10 лет назад

Great video! Some suggest adding some reverb to compensate for the lack of 'room' in the boxed recordings. In my experience, however, for rock guitar a bit of slap delay (5% mix with left 80ms, right 90ms delay) gives you a better feeling of a recording space, without mudding up your recordings as would adding reverb do.

@cfh13 2 года назад

Still a useful video 11 years later. I just got my 2nd Mesa cab this time a 2x12 so your box would be perfect. A 2 notes captor might be the same price as all the materials.

@DanielAraujoNazar 11 лет назад

The part with the difference between loud amp vs. loud mic preamp was really cool! It'd be awesome to hear more of that.

@RobChappers 13 лет назад

Really nice video mate, great job on the isolation booth as well ;-)

@LiamHardyMusic 6 лет назад

A wild Rob appears

@alistairhomewood7344 3 года назад

Didnt expect to see you here lol

@seanyiscubsfan1 3 года назад

Loving the Richie Kotzen poster. I only discovered him recently and I feel like a nimrod. He’s such a damn good singer and guitarist. Cheers from Chicago.

@danfuerthgillis4483 8 лет назад

This is how real IR impulses are done, you can also IR mics as well when using the inclosed method. This box looks pathetic but most have no idea how important it is. It is now being used in smaller Studios since it's way cheaper to do it this way than rent big studio spaces. Everyone laughed at me when I showed my small shoebox Mic IR capture box a few years ago and now it is being used everywhere. I was capturing Mic iR's years before it became mainstream. Because something looks weird and or "Why would you put an amp or speaker box in a iso box?" does not mean that it should be considered dumb. Keep up the good work.

@R.Stridstrom 5 лет назад

"Think outside the box" 😉

@homevalueglass3809 5 лет назад

I'm picking up a orange micro dark terror (20 watt amp the size of a lunchbox) and a 1-12 cab with a V30 speaker just so I can do this and only have to build a little cabinet. Will probably is wood screws so I can disassemble and store in the garage. Looks great and thanks for the video!

@notbraindead7298 3 года назад

Very well done video. Your Iso box is built like a tank. Thanks for sharing your design.

13 лет назад

@Aappleyard2a yes, that also works, I've seen some isolation boxes, where the speaker was built directly into the isolation box, so without a cabinet. Some guitar speakers can take a bit more watt than others, but you can always take the standard route and use a V30. Rather use a low wattage amp for recording. Using e.g. a tripple Rectifier with 150W into a single speaker could surely break that speaker at higher volumes

12 лет назад

thanks man. I don't have the dimensions at hand right now, but I basically just added space on all sides for the acoustic foam + room for putting up microphones... also, I built it so it fits perfectly into that corner of the room ;)

@user-eu3mn6ss5l 9 лет назад

Georg, great video! Thank you for taking the time to put this together.

@BenCurrington 12 лет назад

I love the intro, and the cab is EPIC... if it was a tiny bit bigger you could get a drummer in there, I wish I had the space for such things!

@dangerdave138 9 лет назад

keep it as analogue as possible, i'm going to push to build one of these for our pre production stuff, great video man

11 лет назад

that's true, to create feedback, there is the possibility of splitting the guitar signal somewhere in the chain and have an amp outside that has a lot of gain and is close to the guitar

11 лет назад

thanks :) Yes, the box has a floor, but I've seen some isolation boxes without a floor. The box affects the tone a little bit, the amp settings will need some adjustments once the box is closed.

@Frontierer 11 лет назад

Haha weird, you just commented on my video and I just happened to stumble across your vid on the iso cab. Looks good. I really want one.

@darz_k. 8 лет назад

You care about your neighbours.

@EGGJAZZ 7 лет назад

its more than that though as no doubt the recorded sound will be superior as hes trapping all the sound

@AsylumSeaker 5 лет назад

@@EGGJAZZ that's not a matter of superior or inferior, it's just giving you a different sound. It sounds like its in a box, kinda cool but not superior.

@PapawCulberson 11 лет назад

I am working on an iso cab for live work so the band can be quiet and we can run in ears monitors effectively and the soundman has the control he wishes to have.

@Xyrium 9 лет назад

Nicely done. I'd love to see what kind of isolation you get from this. Perhaps you can measure an 85dB signal inside the cabinet, then measure that signal at the same volume setting, but with the cab closed and the meter on the outside. Perhaps a 10dB difference?

@georgerigakis9765 9 лет назад

I don't know what these people think, but this is a video for "Recording guitars with a DIY Isolation Cabinet" Nothing to do with this guy's playing. He was simply scratching the guitar for some noise in order to show the Isolation Cabinet's abillity. "oldschoolrock4evr" seems a bit confused. Hope HIS playing is better than his perseption.

9 лет назад

True :) I think "oldschoolrock4evr" was just trolling, trying to start an argument online. Don't let people like that make you lose faith in humanity ;)

@scottjohnson3226 9 лет назад

guitarDouchebaggery Thanks for providing the useful video! Nice work.

@jcalzada74 9 лет назад

damn right..!!!

@saikun6005 9 лет назад

I can't understand how people still fall for trolling in 2015. Anyway, great idea for a home studio, I'm totally going to do it. Thanks!

@ixela9 10 лет назад

Nice one! This gave me a lot of inspiration to build my own isolation box :D Very detailed explanation and simple to understand!

@MohamedFelfel902 4 года назад

bro,,,,,,, mind blown. I'm going to build one next weekend. Very nice man.

@Meteotrance 9 лет назад

this thing is realy help and can be improved with air between the foam and plywood.

11 лет назад

thanks. well, it didn't sound boxy to me. It sounds a bit different than when recording in a normal room. But you just add some reverb to it, then it sounds just fine with the iso cab. I moved to a different apartment and I don't have the iso cab anymore. But at the end of the video are several links to videos that I recorded with the iso cab :)

@charlie98griffin 9 лет назад

Great work. How well does it keep sound out? I want to put one of these in a room that's close to the Central AC unit for the house, and the mics pick that up. I'm hoping that an iso box will solve both of my issues at once: recording volume and external noises.

@BarchettaValveAmp 10 лет назад

I must say that is nice. I would however add microphone XLR jacks in the side of the box and 1/4'' jacks for the speaker cab. That way your cords are not crushed over time. AND don't forget to add a few 1/2'' vent holes around the cabinet to let out pressure from the front of your speaker otherwise you may have a front pressure on your speaker cone. It can stifle your sound and damage speakers. Rock ON.

@johnnyc6510 10 лет назад

:) He looks like a ski jumper from Norway: Rune Velta..:) good job!!!

11 лет назад

yes, I just added reverb in the DAW afterwards

12 лет назад

hi, yes, there are subtle changes, most noticeably in the bass frequencies. So I always had to adjust the settings on the amp a bit once the lid was closed. + the sound was very dry, without any reverb, so I added those effects later on in Cubase

@bubblesTV294 6 лет назад

if you have it raised it will also be quieter because the low frequencies won't be passing through the floor

@AStaticCharacter 9 лет назад

How do you not get serious low end boost in this box? A 3'x3' box with no room for corner treating sounds like it would be absolutely hell to mix haha

@AlexS.... 5 лет назад

Thanks for the Info! But the background music is really annoying. Why fill every empty spot with sound goo?

@smartti1970 13 лет назад

very cool to share this on youtube.... oh and i like your little touch of humour in the intro music...

10 лет назад

yes, there are differences in sound, it's a smaller space without any reflections. So the bass response is a bit different and there is absolutely no ambiance. But when recording guitars you usually cut the low bass frequencies to make room for the bass guitar and you add some reverb to the guitar after recording. And then it's all fine :)

@SoBeit777 2 года назад

Do you know about what frequency the bass response falls off?

2 года назад

@@SoBeit777 it's been many years since I've recorded with the iso box, so I'm not sure what frequency it was. But it was in a lower area where you want to use a low cut on a guitar anyway, to not interfere with the bass guitar

12 лет назад

@Airboy15 absolutely that way you can use your favorite cab etc. thanks for watching

@MediaManProductions 11 лет назад

yes but its not advised. you will get latency problems. the nxt best thing from usin a preamp is using an external audio interface. these can come in 2 forms.a DI audio interface that usually has 2-8 inputs and has everything you need for home recording, or a USB desk. the desk is great for live band recording as u can EQ the tracks on the desk before its recorded but on the downside, the tracks are all merged into one when recorded. this can pose problems if not recorded right first time!

11 лет назад

the Cornford is a 30W, but I used to have a 100W Carvin amp and it worked well with both :)

13 лет назад

@Aappleyard2a thanks dude well, when recording bass guitars, most people just record directly, or mix a little bit of a miked amp with a direct signal. But there is nothing wrong with having your own way of recording bass

13 лет назад

@tpulse2001 it's not essential to build as big as this just plan enough space that a mic (+acoustic foam) will fit in front of the speaker

10 лет назад

I'm not sure if I understand the question correctly. The power cable of the amp is plugged into the AC outlet. The output of the amp, goes into the speaker over a speaker cable.

13 лет назад

@tpulse2001 yes, that should work perfectly. When close miking, the room sound is less important. Also, because of the acoustic foam there shouldn't be any noticeable room sound anyways.

13 лет назад

@FeelingShred yes, I've seen that one. He also built a really interesting tunnel-thing for his ambiance mic

@bergg2009 9 лет назад

so, how do you recored nowadays? any video of the new method?

@iklobus 9 лет назад

#guitarDouchebaggery I built last week an iso-cab likr yours. And it is terrific! Thanks for the hints about material. The Floor laminate is a very good choice!

@lewisticknor 4 года назад

Thank you, greetings from Colorado.

11 лет назад

thank's a lot :) It seems as if there are more musicians starting out these days, I can hear all kinds of instruments playing at the neighbors :)

@Twy7chTec_Vayper Год назад

Awesome vid buddy 👍🏻 Now I've got a cool little project I can finally get to work on and for the first time it isn't Metal lol 😆

13 лет назад

@AidzBear thanks, my Single Cut also a custom, it's made by Shamray in Russia

@sedpluit 13 лет назад

My compliments, Georg

12 лет назад

I see, well, in Europe it's common to put that laminate under a parquet floor. But you can use any kind of styrofoam etc. between the walls also, it's not a necessity to build it with 2 walls like I did. People also got good results with just one wall.

@eddyalba5483 9 лет назад

Thank you so much for posting this video, I'n two weeks time I shall have my own Isolation Cabinet :)

9 лет назад

awesome, good luck :)

@EnriqueNuesch 7 лет назад

hey. my amp is a little champion 600 (combo), will not that cabinet get too hot with the tubes inside and damage my amp?

13 лет назад

@Betterburg thanks man nice, fiberglass isolation sounds like a good idea

12 лет назад

@megadarkstar82 no, I got no boxyness it's just really dry sounding, no reverb whatsoever the sound changes slightly when the box is closed, so if it's too bassy you just change the EQ of the amp a little

13 лет назад

@spliffron my favorite is a Sennheiser e906 the other one is a Heil PR30, but in the end I was mostly using the e906 the preamp is a Focusrite Platinum Twintrack Pro

11 лет назад

it depends, the results from the laptop input might not be the best, it's worth a try. Sometimes a laptop has a microphone input, then in that case it has a preamp, but just no high quality one

@nachogarfe 10 лет назад

Great, I didn't know that kind of stuff. Thank you. And nice instrumental work and a lot of fun ;-)

@remyhansen 12 лет назад

Really , really cool and clear Video my friend!

@firdee4672 3 года назад

very cool. thanks for the idea

@NinthDensity 10 лет назад

Awesome vid, I think I'll build one!!

13 лет назад

@tonyr4music I had an Axe Fx (by Fractal Audio), but I sold it last month, now I'm on the waiting list for the Axe Fx II The Axe Fx is a great unit, it sounds absolutely realistic

13 лет назад

@Sphereal thanks, I posted it on facebook fan page though, it might just not got shown, some things don't seem to show up sometimes

@SymbolicSplenetic 11 лет назад

Excellent video!

@rscotthudson1959 8 лет назад

Very nice work.

@suaragitar 13 лет назад

that's very clever man! Loved it. Thanks for sharing.

@shadowflame005 6 лет назад

I made one of these out of old wood boards and threw a bunch of blankets on top. It stopped all the acoustic sound from the strings from being picked up by the microphone. But it's still pretty loud in my recoding space.

@virgyltracey8454 8 лет назад

Great work buddy. We thank you a lot...

@megadarkstar82 12 лет назад

Hello dude I like this idea of your box however, could you tell me if when you record inside the box, do you get any kind of boxy sound or too much bass in the recording, due the amp being trapped in the box? Thanks..

@Betterburg 13 лет назад

Great tutorial! But IMHO fiberglass isolation is better than acoustic foam. It's unpleasantly to work with, but result worth it (I've use it to build vocal booth).

@ilparola 11 лет назад

fire, fire everywhere.

11 лет назад

well, I've heard that you could for example, put the cabinet on an old car tire to suspend it, then there will be less sound being transfered to the floor

@MrFreakrose 11 лет назад

and what if i don't wanna put a real cab in there and just have like one or two speakers that i picked up on my own? and if i wanna work with that also live?

@iHodgez 11 лет назад

will the box stop the mic's picking up background noise from outside the box?

@PapawCulberson 11 лет назад

Yeah - I guess i got the idea from watching gear tour's of other touring musicians - and now even local sound guys want the band to be in ears - so I can run any amp I want to and the band can be quiet - many club owners and managers like that feature so the customers can communicate with each other without shouting. I'm not trying to set a standard - I'm just joining the crowd- so to speak.

@briangreene7085 5 лет назад

Unfortunately, shouldn't a Iso Box have a sound proofed vent to let as much air as possible in to get a natural sound, much like whats needed on a sound proof studio that isn't using an electric air flow system?

@josepholney1 10 лет назад

Excellent video - now I have to actually make one...

12 лет назад

thanks a lot, glad you liked it

@wegonnaownyanoob 8 лет назад

Question: what about preventing standing waves in there? Is it advisable to make non-parallel walls for a similar build like this?

@chromaphonicrecordings9289 10 лет назад

You don't really need reverb/room mics for guitars in most rock/metal genres and subgenres. Personally I get annoyed when I mix someone else recording project and the only guitar channels sound like the guitar is an a "room". I prefer the mic placement right up to the speaker where the diaphragm meets the dust cover, and then add reverb or an echo chamber in the mix to taste. Unless the intention is to purposely record a guitar that is way out there, then yeah room mics are the way to go.

@thanosbikos 12 лет назад

Excellent work! Thanks for sharing mate!

13 лет назад

@PM3yer I think I'll do a video like that sometime. However, being good at recording/producing takes years of practice (also I would need to practice that a bit more ;)) it won't be possible to explain it all in a short video

@ChromaticTempest 10 лет назад

I have a feeling that the use of less acoustic foam in the box would of made for better recorded highs and mids. This based only on what I know of a regular rooms acoustics.

@josephcastro3902 10 лет назад

better is subjective, you have to find the mic placement, speaker placement, room placement and guitar that all work for you and what you are trying to do.

@Frontierer 11 лет назад

I am nowadays but on those recordings. Haven't been able to get my setup up to a reasonable volume in my house (hence stumbling across your vids). Totally man, although you could totally flat pack one of these and assemble them with some screws I think. I've emailed a cab company asking if they'd build one for me...good luck dude

13 лет назад

@PM3yer my DAW is Cubase 5 (but there's also a 6 out already) and then I have lots of plugins etc.

@aradhyasharma8783 6 лет назад

Thanks a lot. I am able to isolate myself perfectly now. :)

@RainerStruck 12 лет назад

Great performance! Here works a great talent!!! Hot intro!!! (...says a keyboarder!) :)

12 лет назад

@UncleTito72 you could put lots of stuff on top of it though or you can also built it for just a 1x12 cab

@xRisingForcex 12 лет назад

hey georg, do you think this is effective enough to say, use in the basement of a home without affecting the people who live above?

@metalgirlkatie 9 лет назад

Hey what are the measurements of the box? I have the exact same mesa cabinet and would really LOVE to build one of these for my place.

@dewinchy 2 года назад

Hi, I didn't hear anything about the bottom of the box. Is the amp just standing on the floor or is the bottom of the box similar to the top? Do you have something like rubber feet underneath? I know I'm way too late, you probably sold yours, but you may remember how you did it.

2 года назад

The floor was just like the sides, with doubled walls. There were no neighbors below, so it didn't have any rubber feet. But it would be a good idea lay the whole box on e.g. a washing machine "vibration isolation" rubber matt, or similar

@tpulse2001 13 лет назад

One question, the space in front of the speaker, is there any rules how small it can be?? i mean that isolation box is huge ..

@nicklasjohnson99 12 лет назад

First off let me say that was a very helpful video. I was wondering what Dimension do you have for your box I have the same mesa cab and am looking to build an iso box myself.