VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

paulstefano

Hello Everybody,

I've been recording a lot of long form for an audiobook, and I'm finding I get interrupted a lot more by the family. I currently am in my basement with a booth made out of PVC pipe and moving blankets and a DIY Harlan Hogan porta booth. I think the sound is pretty good when I have silence. When the rest of my family moves around upstairs, though, it sounds like a herd of elephants and the rumbling of the feet bouncing on the floor gets into the recording

So, planning way ahead, I was looking at whisper rooms. I have seen a lot of reviews, including here on VO-BB but not about this particular issue.

Do you think a whisper room would tame those vibrations of the kiddies running around the floor above me? The booth now is about 2 feet below the ceiling, and the ceiling itself if drywall with fiberglass insulation between it and the subfloor of the next level. It also sits on carpet.

Many thanks on your thoughts.

Paul
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Mike Harrison · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:59 am Post subject:

Booming footsteps from the floor above: the bane of many home studio owners.

Depending on construction, some isolation booths may, at least, reduce the sound. But keep in mind two very important things:

First, lower frequencies, like those generated by footsteps on the floor above, are much harder to deal with than higher frequencies (and EQ can help only so much because many of the frequencies inherent in this particular sound are also present in the lower – and desirable – range of the human voice).

Second, there is a huge difference between a space being acoustically treated versus being soundproof. Meaning, not all – perhaps even few – isolation booths will be able to completely prevent the sound from reaching your microphone.

I don't know if you used the term "Whisper Room" to refer to the isolation booth with that name or if you used it to refer to isolation booths in general but, for an example of what I mean, this was taken from the FAQ page of Whisper Room's website:

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

There's no way I could have successful recording sessions, either on my own or with clients on the other end, without my Whisper Room.

It's Double-Walled and extensively treated on the inside with OC 703 and 705 panels. Expensive as hell but it has paid for itself many times over.

If you get a booth be sure to shop carefully. There are some out there that are priced way less than a Whispy but effectively blocking out noise takes incredibly dense and heavy material and in most cases ain't easy or cheap.

EDIT: I should clarify, I did record successfully in my office closet for about 2 years, but the jobs were sporadic and for mom and pop type clients ( with a few exceptions)....... but that recording space could in no way provide the consistent sound isolation needed for higher-level clients.

Jason Huggins · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:04 pm Post subject:

I built my last booth specifically for this situation (recording under running kids) and it is practically impossible to completely isolate from impact noise. A whisper room is nowhere near as dense and heavy as what I built and I could still see running kid noise in my recordings, but it was only a 3-5dB bump on the low end versus an audio destroying herd noise. If you are directly below the elephants it will be the hardest to block, but I doubt a whisper room would completely block the sound. It sure would help but building a room that is decoupled from the house and putting a whisper room inside that room would probably be sufficient. My kids just learned that they couldn't run on the main level...EVER. Even if it didn't destroy my audio. The construction of your house will make a difference too.

paulstefano · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 5:44 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the replies. I may have to rethink my future strategy. Maybe a booth or whisper room on the 2nd floor. None of the built in insulation of my basement, but it will be ABOVE the herd.

I'm looking at pre-fab because 1. I'm not very handy and 2. I may need to experiment with location.

How effective is a Whisper Room specifically at isolating the voice Inside the booth? My booth would likely be within normal earshot of the kids bedrooms and I'd still be recording mostly at night.
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Jason Huggins · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 7:14 pm Post subject:

2nd floor is even tougher IMO. I built my current booth on the second floor and the impact noise had to be dealt with. I had to do some major construction to be isolated and it still isn't perfect. I plan on moving to the basement whenever I get the money and gumption built up at the same time. When you build on the 2nd floor you have to deal with the entire booth shaking rather than just sound traveling through the air. There are lots of VO pros using whisper rooms with success. It just depends on how much sound you realistically need to block and where it is originating. You just need it to be sound proof enough for your environment and situation.

Frank F · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 7:20 pm Post subject:

The real question is how can you keep your kids corralled into the booth for long periods of time?

You should listen to those folks who have posted previous. They all know well of what you are talking.

FF
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DougVox · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 7:37 pm Post subject:

Yet another reason my studio's not in my house.

(Not always a feasible solution, I know...but it's worth considering when possible.)
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paulstefano · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 7:53 pm Post subject:

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2015 11:52 pm Post subject:

Since you'd still dabbling in this VO thing, I wouldn't buy a booth yet. Just record when the kids are in bed or train them to stop running around.
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Mike Harrison · Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 4:10 am Post subject:

What Jeffrey said.

Clearsonic enclosures, like most of the other enclosures, are not soundproof, especially for lower frequencies. And ONLY soundproofing – especially at your close proximity to the source – will completely stop this type of sound from reaching your microphone. Again, apologies: this is, unfortunately, a reality.
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paulstefano · Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 6:10 am Post subject:

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

I waited two years before I got mine. You'll know when it's time to (or not).

You can often find them on ebay for about 50% of new price. The hard part is transporting them. Mine arrived on a tractor trailer, because the booth components (wall, ceiling etc.) are so dense and heavy.

Frank F · Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 7:59 am Post subject:

Mike said it right. Clearsonic is good when you need to isolate the sound for a loud instrument (such as a drum or brass instruments). Not the outside world from within.

To do as you desire will take a lot of planning, a bit of time and some money. An ISO booth. You have a lot of thinking ahead before you get to the booth stage.

Frank F
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scottnilsen · Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 8:20 am Post subject:

When I finally could make the investment in a Whisper Room, it wasn't long before I really appreciated it.

Keeping the kids in there while I was recording really improved the quality of my recordings. Clients noticed the difference right away.
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