VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

tokyofan · Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2008 5:22 pm Post subject: re-treating my vocal booth

I'm using a very small closet vocal booth which is lined with generic 2" 'eggcrate'-like foam and wonder if it's too dead sounding.

If I attach photos, dimensions, sound samples, etc. could anyone make some suggestions as to how to treat it? I'm ready for a pro-level upgrade. However, I rent and can't do any major construction. Any help would be appreciated!
_________________
www.chriskoprowski.com/en

Lizden · Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 6:30 am Post subject:

Hey Chris!
Are your clients happy with your sound now?
If so, why change it, since you're renting at the moment anyway?

There are some threads of studio pics you can look at...Chuck Davis, "Tigermitch" & Connie Terwilliger all recently posted pics of their set-ups.

There have been many discussions nas to what's "too-dead."
Personally, I prefer a deader sound (in the ambiance, NOT my voice! Wink

) because of the bulk of my work being narrations. My clients love the fact that my files are totally clean & they can "liven them up" in post if need be, but most say they love the way they sound as I send them.

I guess it depends on what type of VO you're doing.
If you are doing commercials & promos, you might want a "liver" sound.

Now, I'm NOT as versed in frequency-response-modulation-equalizing-compression-limiting as some others here, but basically my set-up works for my clients, the question is, does it work for yours?

Liz
_________________
Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

Hart · Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 3:22 pm Post subject:

Chris,

I'm not an expert but I have built a few studios. It's darn near impossible to make a small space have a decent room sound and that's why most "booths" are treated to the point of being dead. Really, anything smaller than say 5 x 7 with an 8 foot ceiling qualifies in this case.

When you say egg crate foam are you referring to an acoustic product such as Auralex or Sonex or that stuff you put on mattresses? I like Auralex for foam products myself. I love panels made from Owen Corning 703 or Roxul Rockwool. You can either buy these premade or make them yourself. They provide a lot of bang for your buck. You can search around at www.johnlsayers.com and www.recording.org to learn more about how to build these panels or find vendors that sell them.

Hope that helps somewhat.
_________________
Hart Voice Overs Blog
Brian Hart Productions

Edo · Guest

tokyofan

Am I posting these correctly?

_________________
www.chriskoprowski.com/en

Michael Minetree · Guest

Boy... You really are in Tokyo aren't you...
You could almost rent that space... Gasp

All teasing aside - I think the best you are going to be able to do in that space is treat it with the idea that you are not going to go in and close the door - but instead you will only partially close it to stop some unwanted reflection from the rest of the room. Not closing the door will also keep it from getting too "boomy" in there. Even if you were thinking of closing the door, I doubt it would ever be very quiet when it comes to loud noises from outside.

The walls on my booth are near 10 inches thick and there are two of them - and loud noises can still come through them. So you have to look at it as something that will attenuate noise which is generated inside the space - but not something that will keep a lot of noise out.

Given your schematic it's easy to see you are working with inches, very valuable inches from a Tokyo standpoint. When you begin to treat those walls you are going to start to lose inches very fast. 2.5 inches per wall (approx.) so that interior space just got 5 inches more shallow in all directions. And you are not going to want to stand in there. I also think it will have a coffin sound if you try.

Your best bet is to treat the room, the inside of the door and the ceiling and approach the room with the idea that you won't actually be standing all the way in there - but will have the door partially closed behind you to give you an overall quieter sound.

Let me know how it goes. I have articles about acoustic theory as well as vocal booth design videos on my site.

MM

Frank F · Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:55 pm Post subject:

Whew, what Michael said.

Something to consider when in small spaces is "boominess", it can be so dead that any transient noise in the low frequency range becomes amplified and tends to - well -- boom.

A couple of small bass traps can help with this problem, traps are easily built, do not take up much room (and you do not have any to spare), and can be very portable.

As you have taken the liberty of covering everything with foam, consider a few items to re-direct sound - adding some reflectors in your small space.

Tuning a small room is difficult at best. Tuning requires you know where the sound is going to be directed, how it will be bounced or reflected, what type of microphone you are using, how the microphone is placed, what settings you will use on your pre-amp/mixer/sound card/etc., and where you want the sounds to ultimately end (the focus point).

Keeping sound inside your box is not the problem with small spaces, the problem is keeping unwanted sounds OUT.

Good luck,

Toodles

F2
_________________
Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

tokyofan · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:20 am Post subject: re:

Most Tokyo-ites don't have the luxury of a spare closet to convert into a vocal booth so I consider myself lucky!

When the doors are closed they actually do a pretty good job of keeping extraneous noises out, 'cept for the passing ambulance or motorcycle (doesn't help to live near a hospital!).

I could provide a few sound samples (with doors closed, partially open, and completely open) and get more opinions. I just worry about fan noise from the Powermac G5 in the next room, esp. when it's warm out. I'll try to post something soon. Thanks!
_________________
www.chriskoprowski.com/en

todd ellis · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 12:09 pm Post subject:

threadjack:

is it true that michael minetree has over 16.7 million posts on the vo-bb?!?!?!?!?

now THAT is dedication.

:end threadjack.
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

Michael Minetree · Guest

The VO-BB goddess was nice to me. I guess because I have been a board member for a long time but something was screwy with my account and I could never log in.. Hopefully it stays this way.. It's making up for a lot of lost time..

Nice to bump into you again Todd - I've missed your good cheer.
MM

ConnieTerwilliger · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:19 pm Post subject:

Pinto is going to very very upset with this development...
_________________
Playing for a living...
www.voiceover-talent.com
YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/connieterwilliger

Lizden · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:35 pm Post subject:

We're still in the top 5....'sall good! Wink

L.
_________________
Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

Michael Minetree · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 2:15 pm Post subject:

Ok - I've been taken down about 16 million pegs by the powers that be.. Back to normal, average every-guy.
_________________
"I would rather bask in the warmth of leading others to success than wander the world aimlessly telling others of my own."

todd ellis · Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:54 am Post subject:

well ... i didn't mean for THAT to happen!

for those of you who don't yet know mike ... he is a great guy & a font of valuable information ... and a bit of non-valuable information as well.
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

Lizden · Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 8:07 am Post subject:

Todd, you're always causin' trouble! Wink

L.
_________________
Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com