VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Darren Altman]

Hi all,

We've just moved house and I'll be setting up a new studio in the new year. I'll probably have a few questions for you, but here's one to start off! I have been in touch with The Foam Centre who specialise in acoustic foam, far cheaper than all the usual outlets such as Auralex. The guy was very sweet and told me that I need wooden slats on the wall to create a gap of an inch or 2, followed by the foam.

My question is that he said that they are able to create acoustic foam with the exact depths of peaks and troughs I want. Amazing! So... in your wisdom, do any of you know what the optimum depth of the troughs and height of the peaks that will create a great sounding acoustic room for voiceovers? Is there an industry standard?

Many thanks in advance.
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[Deirdre]

I'll bet Mike Sommer will tell you it depends on the room.
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[Darren Altman]

You're probably right. I never knew you could dictate the height of the peeks and troughs, sounds very geeky to me, but if they can custom-make it, then I guess it's worth knowing.
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[Mike Harrison]

My guess, Darren, is that unless you are able to move some walls so they are not parallel and/or perpendicular to each other, it's more important to have your wall surfaces anything but flat. Peaks and valleys will create places where sound can be absorbed, or at least reflected toward another surface that will absorb it. Absorbing sound inside the booth will reduce the possibility of standing waves and reverberation (that 'room' sound). Overall, the thicker the foam, the better it will be able to absorb sound of a particular frequency range, but I wouldn't necessarily think there would be recommendations for specific heights of peaks you create with the foam.

You didn't mention it, but I think you know that acoustical foam alone is not able to make a recording space soundproof, in the true sense of the word. It can make the acoustics in the room better, but if you're also plagued by sound from outside your living space getting into the microphone, then the task becomes stopping the transmission of sound, through the air and through vibration. All the foam in the world won't stop the sound of an idling truck right outside, for example.
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Mike
Male Voice Over Talent
I have taken leave of my sensors.

[jsgilbert]

The thing about accoustics is that it is indeed very much a science. There is a bit of artistry involved in the sense of the "structure" of the final product. Even without tweaking a knob, there's a lot to be said as to how the intended listener is going to "enjoy" the ultimate sound shaping of your spoken voice. Too dead or too live, not enough low end coming throgh or too much. Too many transients, or unwelcome peaking at 5k.

One can spend huge amounts of time and money on the final equation. But, most of it, is about some simple mathematical formulas and the choices of materials. Unfortuately, evey space is different when you start out, so making blanket statements about what one can or should do is a form of guesswork.

Foam is an interesting creature, in so much that two different brands of foam can look almost identical and yet have completely differnet acoustical properties.

The industry has sort of settled on Auralex as a bit of a standard. Ratings are quite uniform and numbers relatively easy to play with. The down factor is the relatively high cost even for a small room, plus foam only plays a small part ofthe overall equation.

The price/ perfromance ratio of rigid insulation has been gaining a lot of popularity as the numbers are constant and the bang for the buck tends to be quite nice.

I know that MikeSommer recommends this product quite a bit.

Again, foam or insulation would be one part of a complete package that is esigned to keep out unwanted noise, vibration, etc. and allow for the cleanest capture of audio as possible.

I know it's about working within budgets and using what you got, but it is also one of the most important apsects to the profession.

I would receommend "Home Recording Studio: Build It Like the Pros ", by Gervais as an excellant investment for under $30 to really provide you with a concept of what can be done, different methodology and price points, as well as a good general understanding of accoustics.
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[Scott Pollak]

Interesting topic and responses.

However, the thing that worries me most was that Darren said the guy was 'very sweet'.


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Scott R. Pollak
Clients include Pandora, NPR Atlanta, Wells Fargo, Cisco, Humana, Publix, UPS, AT&T, HP, Xerox and more.

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[petenewman]

not that there's anything wrong with that

[Darren Altman]

Thanks for the replies guys, very helpful indeed. I've also been told about these guys who I think I'll have a chat with in the new year.

http://www.acoustipro.com/

Much appreciated and have a great Christmas
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