VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[vkuehn]

I budget a small amount of time for just chasing interesting looking You-Tube episodes. "How I built my Studio" show-and-tell will capture my attention everytime.

Watched a guy in Europe show how he built his studio. He did all the traditional, accepted and right things. But toward the end of the 3rd episode as he began to flesh-out the decor I muttered "Say What?" or some slightly less socially acceptable. He had a lot of wall space covered by sound absorbing materials and then he began laying something over the center of each wall. Strips of wood. Some pieces of wood that looked like they wanted to be diffusors when they grow up. And then he began waxing poetic about the "tone wood" he was using.

He probably does more music recording and editing than he does v-o recording. So maybe he simply wanted a decor that would impress his music friends. But he had a number of wood "slats" maybe 6 inches wide, 3 to 4 feet long, and lined up side by side with gaps between the slats like a shadow box privacy fence around your patio.

Now I've read how many of the older (classical music) concert halls in this country are patterned after the great European concert and opera houses with a lot of wood panels for acoustic enhancement. If it was good enough for stradivarious to use to make great violins, why not a great listening hall?

Has anyone ever incorporated "resonating wood" slats or panels in a studio?

[Frank F]

Yes, and wood is great IF you know how to use it.

I will dig out some old pictures and show how wood and acoustic stones/rock a mesh well in a studio.

Frank F
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[DenaliDave]

Well they make violins and acoustic guitars out of certain woods for their tonal qualities....

I would imagine it might add warmth or wooliness to a room.
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[sdaeley17]

Promo Pro Beau Weaver has a perfect (and beautiful) example of using wood and stone in his booth, which you can see here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3Vf2-ZUDoY
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[vkuehn]

[Mike Harrison]

My high school's auditorium walls featured wood paneling interspersed with acoustical insulation. It sounded great in there.
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Male Voice Over Talent
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[Jason Huggins]

Use Maple if you want a tight focused bright fundamental tone, Mahogany if you want a warm and woody mid range focused tone with slightly dipped high and lows, East Indian Rosewood if you want a luscious deep complex tone with heavy harmonic content (Brazilian Rosewood will reward you with greater depth and complexity but is very expensive because the species is now protected due to over harvesting in the past), Koa if you want a bright but still woody tone with a depth that develops with age and if you want something really special try Cocobolo. It will give you solid and complex bass frequencies a slightly scooped midrange but shimmering crystalline highs when paired with powerful Adirondack Spruce or balanced Sitka Spruce.

[Monk]

Jason,

Ya made my morning.

Don't forget balsa wood for a light airy sound and for a room that needs a solid lumberjack sound, nothing beats the mighty scotch pine.
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[Lee Gordon]

Good thing Trish Basanyi isn't a regular here, or she's be lining her booth with purpleheart. And do you need to add extra bass traps if you use basswood?
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[Rob Ellis]

[vkuehn]

[DenaliDave]

A combination of woods in the correct ratios could really add a "shine" to a room's acoustics.

Based on what's been said here already about the tonal qualities of specific wood -- using those woods in the right spots, in the right shapes, and in right amounts would be awesome.

I bet it is a finely dialed in science, and very space-dependent. No two areas are the same, and even an expert would probably have to listen to the room's natural acoustic signature for a while and experiment to get it dialed in.

I would imagine the smaller the space, the less wiggle room you have. Tolerances would be higher as to placement, quantity, and wood type. With less air to move and less surface area for it to hit, you'd want to make sure every sliver of wood had a purpose.
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"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." - Buddha
www.alaskamic.com

[Bruce]

Two things... I used to record in a studio in Phoenix that was 60% wood surfaces... floor and much of the walls, and 20% windows. The rest was acoustical panels. Whatever he did it sounded just like the best padded cells, er booths, I've worked in.

Other thing from watching the Beau Weaver video: I have a new CAD100 mic and I'm getting lots of low rumbling noise that shows up on my VU meters but is almost inaudible. I'm sure it's a combination of the very short and tight o-rings they use in their shock mount not absorbing much vibration PLUS the flexible mic boom that I use that is attached to my desk. It wobbles every so slightly every time I touch the desk as in rolling the mouse wheel to advance copy on the screen. Beau appears to have wrapped some heavy cloth or such around one of his flexible booms and strapped it tight. I'll give it a try and see if that helps.

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. .

[Jason Huggins]

As a side note from my earlier post, all descriptions of wood qualities are based on them being a quarter inch thick and able to vibrate freely. Get any of those woods in lumber form and I highly doubt they would impart anything other than varying levels of delightful aroma. Man I LOOOOVE the smell of Cocobolo. I used to have a magical guitar (2008 Taylor Fall Limited GA Cocobolo) and every time I put it down after playing I would stick my nose down in the soundhole and breath deeply. Maybe I'll get some Cocobolo and make some raw trim around my bass traps out of it. I would never want to leave my booth

[Jason Huggins]