VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

dshetterly

I am going to build a voice booth in my basement and have pretty much designed it using great tips I found here and other research.

I'm a little stuck on the lighting, however. What kind and where to place?

A recessed incandescent right above the copy stand? little spot lights just behind and to the sides of the talent, pointing at the copy stand? a free-standing light? or....?

Also, what about ventilation? Is there some kind of small ultra-quiet fan that I can mount in the ceiling, or the far corner?

The booth will be about 7' long, 4' wide and 6' tall. I have to work within a very specific space.

Also, for you specialists in construction...I have a line on some surplus cement hardy siding and considered using that instead of the 5/8" sheetrock as the secondary wall material (the primary will be QuietRock 545THX) It seems to me that the cement would be nice for sound block, but maybe it's too dense?

Other suggestions welcome.

Thanks!!
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Yoda117 · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:27 am Post subject:

be careful when using cement. It can cause some issues.

Otherwise it sounds nice. If you can, use U-joints to increase isolation for the room (but you'll probably have to tear up the floor to use them... not sure how keen you are on that).

Use LED lights. There are companies which make them as wall mounts, and also for music stands. They're expensive, but worth it.

As for ventilation, you're going to spend major bucks for DIY. I believe that Gretch-Ken industries has a system which can be piped in and is about 1000-1500 dollars, but is whisper quiet.
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louzucaro · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:50 am Post subject:

Yeah, LEDs are good because they don't generate much heat comparitively (although they do generate SOME heat depending on the fixture used, contrary to popular belief).

My booth has a fluorescent lamp in it...I was hesitant to use it, worrying about electrical hum, but there's none and it generates very little heat as well. My flat-panel monitor, on the other hand, needs to be shut off when not in use or it'll get nice & roasty in there!
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dshetterly · Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 2:08 pm Post subject:

I didn't think about LED lights. That's a good idea and I'll check it out. I can't stand flourescent, the stuff makes me dizzy. (or dizzyer than I already am!)

What are the problems I could encounter with concrete?

The floor of the booth is basically my concrete basement floor with carpeting on it. I wasn't planning on doing anything further to it.

thanks for the input!
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TheVoiceOfBob · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:26 am Post subject:

For lights I found these small fluorescent lights at Lowes that are shaped like a hockey puck. They have a small tube that zig-zags under the cover. You could buy them individually or in a 3 pack and they gang together. So I got the 3 pack and mounted them on the ceiling above my head. No noise, no heat! They come up real slow.
I looked on their website to see if I could find a picture, but no luck. I'm sure if go to a hardware store they would have them.
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