Inexpensive and more Temporary Improvement Needed.

[funkstudio]

I have this closet under the stairs in a 'rented' unit...would like some advice on better ways to use this room as a vocal room... Can make adjustments, but must be able to be removed fairly easily upon my lease expiring...

Thanks for your posts...

Any ideas?

[knightfly]

I think I vaguely remember such a thread, it was about a year or so ago - It may have been on another board though - can you explain what you need in the way of isolation (and from what), and a rough idea of budget? Thanks... Steve

[funkstudio]

Well, actually it is actually a very isolated space, so I guess I really looking for the best/cheapest way to get the best quality vocal recordings out of this space...right now it has carpet floor and typical painted drywall walls and ceiling...
I guess I'm really looking for some advice on how to treat this room (if it even needs to be treated) for the best quality vocal recordings....what should my goal be in 'adjusting acoustics' here..

budget, cheap as cheap be....and it be very cheap...but I guess if it would really benefit the cause I might drop a few bills...but would rather keep cost low...

thanks for the help!

[giles117]

can you diagram your space. i know what you are talking about. I think last year John was working with a guy with a basement stuio with a small vocal booth under the stairs here as well.

Bryan Giles

[funkstudio]

Sorry it took so long to provide this info...and the cruelty of the sketch...Thanks for the input...
At this point I would like to get the best quality vocals out of this room for under a 100 bucks, maybe cheaper???
Also is this the best position for the vocalist and mic... or should they face a different direction?

Thanks for you time...!!

Michael

[giles117]

Trap your ceiling and that front wall with 3" rockwool. If you can afford to angle one wall. Rip that carpet off the floor.

and if you can afford to lose a ft in the rear, angle one of those walls inward (from the back where you stand to the front) slap up a sheet of drywall and deaden the opposite wall with 2" Rockwool.

That should run you just up to or a tad over $100 beans.

I estimate the rock wool to run you about 50 bucks, the angled wall about 30 and then nails, screws, labor, etc...

That is the best suggestion i can come up with for that price range.

[funkstudio]

Thanks giles...as I think more on this my wife reminds me that we don't own the place...

Any ideas on a more temporary (meaning easily removed) and non-damaging to existing area...??

What is my goal here to get a better quality mic recording in this temporary set up?

If there is a better solution fitting this criteria then I could possible invest more dinero...if it will make a substantial difference.

thanks again

[giles117]

well the rockwool can be glued into place. dont know if that is temp enuff for yah. or you can create someway to velcro it into place.

Now I hate Auralex, but the 2" junk would work and is light and sturdy enuff for you to velcro it into place. Just not cheap enuff to fit your budget. I recall GC sells it for $11 bucks a sheet (best price I had found)

As far as the wall, just build a frame that is not physically attached to the structure and cover it with plywood or particle board and snug fit it into place with a handle on it so you can pull it out when you leave. Put carpet padding on the edges of the frame so you dont dcratch the walls/floors or get rattling from the structure. Fill it with 3" rockwool put some plastic sheet on the back so the wool doesnt get loose. and hey rock n roll dudue.

[Innovations]

Thanks giles...as I think more on this my wife reminds me that we don't own the place...

Any ideas on a more temporary (meaning easily removed) and non-damaging to existing area...??

What is my goal here to get a better quality mic recording in this temporary set up?

If there is a better solution fitting this criteria then I could possible invest more dinero...if it will make a substantial difference.

I am presuming that the mic is a cardoid.

In such a room you are going to want to make a very dead space. Any reverb from you get from the room is going to be crappy small room reverb so you want a dead space that you can then add the reverb of your choice later. Adding reverb to a track that already has room reverb in it will sound likd crap.

Turn you and the mic around Right now the mic is pointing at all of that door surface right behind you. by turning around it will be pointing mostly at a slanted surface.

Buy a bale of unfaced Owens-Corning 703 rigid insulation or other 3-4 pound per cubic foot fiberglass or mineral wool. should cost you about 135 dollars. I usually just get the 1 inch stuff because you can then decide to to 1, 2, 3, 4 or more choices at your whim.

Buy twelve yards of 72 inch wide craft felt, your choice of colors. Should cost about 60 dollars.

Use this to make eight three inch thick panels of felt-covered fiberglass panels. 2 foot by 4 foot.

You can experiment with the placement but I would start with two on the back wall, two on the ceiling directly in the path of the microphone, and four on the side walls, staggered. You can hang these with eye hooks and picture wire if you wish for minimal impact. You can take these with you to your next place too.

If you still have small room reverb on your tracks repeat.

[giles117]

That is why I am suggesting you slightly angle one wall to break up your parallel walls (left to right) so that you dont end up with a crappy room verb imprinted on your recordings.

I am not a fan of very dead unless i am doing radio voice overs.

Makes it tuff to get a good mix of that lead vocal if it is TOO dead sounding IMO.

[Innovations]

That is why I am suggesting you slightly angle one wall to break up your parallel walls (left to right) so that you dont end up with a crappy room verb imprinted on your recordings.

I am not a fan of very dead unless i am doing radio voice overs.

Makes it tuff to get a good mix of that lead vocal if it is TOO dead sounding IMO.

You're forgetting that this is a rental. building walls is pretty much out of the auestion.

I must admit that what I mostly do IS voiceovers. I still think that this room is too small, even with a slanted wall, to get a nice sounding natural reverb. Maybe he could hand some sort of heavy reflective material at an angle to create the sonic equivalent of a wall, but I am skeptical.

[giles117]

And you underestimate the joy of building a temporary, unattached moveable wall

And having worked with guys who have used an attic closet (here in good old Detroit) which is essentially what he has, We have gotten some pretty darn good results from the old partially deadened attic.

Matter of fact I was impressed with what the guy got and when he showed me where he recorded I was like go head with yo bad self.

Vocal had nice DEFINITION and imaging. I could SEE the vocal in the sound field. Mids were nice and round, etc.. I could go on and on..

So Being a music guy mainly I hate Too Dead. Sounds artificial in music.

(Not trying to dig at yah, just giving more info to my experiences in this with closets. )


Which BTW is why the 1st guy I mentioned vocals sounded so good. his closet was in the corner of a house so he had 2 angles to deflect that sound along with the absorption. Plus he had a nice cedar wood to keep it smelling good