VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[juliaknippen]

So, about a year ago I moved into a new apartment in Brooklyn. When I was looking at the space and deciding whether or not to rent it, I couldn't hear the subway at all. But after we moved all our stuff in? It's a basically a little earthquake every 5-15 minutes. Nothing that would disturb regular life, but the only way I could work around it for recording was to wait for a subway-free moment. During rush-hour in the morning and evening, it's difficult to get even 2 uninterrupted minutes.

The building is an early 1900s brownstone and we live at the garden level (there is a cellar basement beneath our unit).

I was embarrassed to ask for help, because what kind of a stupid VO artist moves into a building over a subway? So I've been renting an inexpensive studio space in Manhattan that has worked out relatively well.

Long story short, I'm losing the studio space at the end of March, and I'm wondering if there is ANYTHING I can do treat a space at home (where I also have to deal with street noise and noise from the upstairs neighbors), or if I should bite the bullet and rent another space if I can find it.

The lower overhead and convenience of working from home is so appealing, and I'm willing to invest quite a bit of money into a home solution that is appropriate for a rental. But I fear that no amount of money will solve this problem. I wonder if there's a room treatment/equipment/post-production solution? Simply waiting for quiet just isn't an option when a client wants to do a phone patch (which happens quite often lately).

If you've read this far, I thank you for your time and patience, and any advice you might have.
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www.juliaknippen.com
Her Voice Will Grow on You

[Frank F]

A couple of questions before answering yours, please?

Do you have space available in your apt.?

What kinds of funds do you have available for the retrofit?

Do you desire permanent or portable? (Note: permanent may fix the entire room and become an asset to the landlord.)

Will you hire someone to do the work or will this become a DIY project?

Now, to answer (partially) your question: Yes it is possible and feasible to create an isolated space.

Cost being no problem; the ideal way would be to create a completely isolated room-within-a-room; i.e.: a floor on rollers, sound isolated existing walls and ceiling, etc. This may be problem however as it would decrease the room size by as much as a foot in all directions and may be cost prohibitive.

Option two: create a room-within-a-room or a booth which is tear-downable, portable, and built on an isolated set of floor rollers or cushions. Cost: reasonable, but as a DIY project for a beginner -- not appropriate.

Option three: Buy a booth and put large mass isolation rubber or vinyl pads (several) under the booth and enough to raise the booth two to three inches above the floor. The MLR or MLV is not overly expensive if purchased properly. Make sure the "booth" is portable, well lit with LED lighting, and well vented.

Any other options are most likely very expensive or require rent of a new/other studio location.

What you desire CAN be done. It is not difficult but may be a pain in the a$$ets. The key will be to create a "floating floor" and walls and ceiling to isolate the noise and vibration.

Your situation may not as much be a "sound" problem as it is a vibration problem.

Good luck Julia!

Frank F
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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

[Bish]

Sorry to hear this Julia... I have to be honest though and admit to thinking of Brad Pitt's apartment in Se7en... I'm sure it's not that bad though (I hope).

You are going to get a bucketful of suggestions... anything from rubber-mounted booths to StudioBricks... May I suggest that you post a file here... set up at your normal recording level and let's hear the problem. You may be surprised what can be done with some high-pass filtering or other jiggery-pokery. The subway may actually feel worse than it sounds. Hardware solutions may well be cost prohibitive... but let's hear the problem first.
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

[Bruce]

Peter's got a point. Every few weeks the flight path to the airport here seems to come right over our house and if it's a low overcast day I can hear the rumble of their engines come through my headphone housings, but very rarely does anything actually show up in the recording.

Our tech gurus here can listen to samples and give you some fix ideas.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[juliaknippen]

Thank you so much, everyone!

Here's a link with my mic set up in the bedroom.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ucyha1fofbx4ys5/subway.mp3

It's a Rode NT1A going into the Scarlett 2i2 and into Audacity on my SSD Macbook Pro.

Since I'm still working out of my offsite studio, I don't have an acoustically treated spot in my apartment at the moment, and this is the room with the most "stuff" in it (carpet, bedding, etc.)

The sound clip has the subway 3 times (along with an airplane for an added bonus!) The first time is just the room tone, the 2nd and 3rd time I'm talking over the subway/airplane. Also, my fiance is puttering around in the kitchen.

Frank, to answer your questions:

There's a 2nd bedroom that we're using as an office. It's 8x16, and it has both a door to the back garden and a window. And a radiator that makes noise. My fiance has his computer and desk in there, but since his piano takes up half of our living room, I think I can lay claim to this room if push comes to shove.

What kinds of funds do you have available for the retrofit?

I can afford to spend up to 10K max.

The more money I invest in the solution, the more I'd like it to be portable so that I can take my investment with me when we move out in 2-3 years. Also, I doubt my landlord would allow me to do anything permanent.

I would definitely hire someone to build out anything custom made or do any sound treatment.

In addition to the sounds you'll hear in the link, there are other noises to contend with: the radiators, the wind, the rain, the couple that lives upstairs with their 2 dogs. Maybe these things aren't that noticeable when I speaking, but they add to my anxiety and my confidence in the quality of my work.

Peter, it's actually a very nice apartment and quite cheery
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www.juliaknippen.com
Her Voice Will Grow on You

[Frank F]

Julia there is good news and not-so-good news. Which do you want first?

The good news is: you have the capability of creating some great sound effects of a subway train.

The not-so-good news? What you desire can be done. A simple suggestion, buy a booth and place it on mass loaded vinyl or mass loaded rubber.

Audibly this is not major problem, but the vibrations, extraneous noise, and distractions will continue to bother you without a booth. The subway did not interfere dramatically with your VO but it is deceptive. The vibrations were not as bad as I had imagined from your description. However, they should be dealt with properly.

A booth would serve you well. Learn to get handy with a drill gun for transportability. Also a booth will give your fiance' some breathing room for the computer (and your recording desk) and minimize any potential arguments. A happy (future) "wife" means a good life.

Good luck and happy recording!

Frank F
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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

[juliaknippen]

Thank you, Frank! That actually is pretty good news. My biggest fear was that any kind of booth still wouldn't solve the problem. It sounds like my next step is finding a reputable booth designer and contractor in NYC. Any recommendations?

Thanks again, everyone.
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www.juliaknippen.com
Her Voice Will Grow on You

[Frank F]

Below are a couple of internet locations for you to view. These will either stimulate your DIY hopes or give you thought on purchasing one.

Personally I like ClearSonic, but that is for reasons other than you might choose. The Clear Sonic choices also would require you to Mass Loaded Viny; or rubber for the floor. (Conatct me for suggesting on purchasing this, I will help you get what you need.)

For the DIY'r in you (even if you hire someone to build it for you) search the net for DawBox, DIY Vocal Booth, etc. I am able to offer some thoughts on making this useful and size conscious while isolating the sound properly.

The ubiquitous “Whisper Room

http://www.vocalbooth.com/

ClearSonic: http://www.clearsonic.com

http://www.acousticbooth-studiobox.com/application_simultaneous.php

Frank F
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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

[juliaknippen]

Thank you so much for all this generous insight and advice, Frank. I've got some research to do!
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www.juliaknippen.com
Her Voice Will Grow on You

[ballenberg]

I'll still trying to imagine this part

[Frank F]

Bill sorry to countermand your discourse, but, yes, the ClearSonic booths have walls... look at the specs. They also suggest use of additional materials to keep echo's down when necessary.

The noise Julia is experiencing is coming from below (for the most part), which means she must encapsulate an area, isolate from the noise below the floor, minimize any additional extraneous noise infiltration and potential echo or reverberation, and finally be transportable when she no longer wishes to be in the area she is located now.

Each of the suggested "boxes" do just that with the addition of mass loaded vinyl/rubber.

Just saying...

Frank F
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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

[Jason Huggins]

Someone needs to invent a platform for a booth that employs active noise cancellation for the lower frequencies. Sono has one coming that you can put on a window and actively cancel noise. Why not take it a step further and do the same things with the walls, ceilings and floors.

Has that been tried for a recording studio?

[juliaknippen]

[Frank F]

Take a recorder and leave it inside the room for several minutes ---20 min. if you can and see what you really have as a noise floor and what noises are included.

Then, you need to choose the reality of sound-dampening your "new spaces. adding a booth in YOUR apt.

Reality, Absorbers are not cheap, reality, you may need to add MLV/R in your "new space" and bass traps, absorbers, etc, are not as inexpensive as you may think.

Julia, In your home studio space you might well remember it is a combination of keeping the bad sounds out, and the good sounds IN the space you desire.

Wish you luck on either choice.

Frank F
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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

[ballenberg]

Frank, I stand corrected.

I can hardly wait for the brickbats that fly my way on this, but I must say a downward expander in the chain ( I'm talking about hardware rather than a software gate) can do wonders..really. Is it pure? No. Is it effective? Very, very effective.