looking to use my closet...

Randall Bigham · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Sep 2006 Posts: 90

i was looking to use my closet to house my "poor man's studio" Embarassed

& i was wondering how i should go about setting up my sound foam. i heard it was not good to do all surfaces with the foam because it gives you the "sounding like you are in a box" sound. i was thinking of putting my mic where i put the arrow. tell me what you think.

P.S. all the junk on the floor will obviously be gone! Cool

Chuck Douglas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 22

Randall.

I work with several voice talents that have closet studios. Each one has asked me the same question. These are my recommendations:

You will sound like you are in a box without good treatment of early reflections. Cover everything with good soundproofing foam, Sonex or something, not the mattress helpers. Leave no surface uncovered, including the ceiling. The floor can probably be left alone. Accoustically, floor reflections sound better then those from the wall and ceiling. If you have a carpet on the floor, that should do just fine.

Once all the walls are treated, get long extention cables for your PC/Mac and leave the CPU outside the room.

Put the mic on a stand, in a corner, pointing out. Do not put it on any kind of hard reflective surface, like a desk. This is a biggie that many talents completely ignore. I have sent back penty of recordings that sounded like a steel desk. Putting the mic in a well treated corner, and pointning it out from there will take care of most of the ambient noise and reflections that you may encounter.

Close the door, and treat it with foam too.

You can go a little further and add felt wetherstripping into the door jamb for added isolation from the outside world, if you live in a noisy house like me.

Check what is on the other side of the wall for refrigerators, dishwashers, etc that make too much rumble.

I hope this helps. Post a photo for all of us when you are done!

Chuck Douglas
www.emenceeaudio.com

Keith Jedlicka · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 12

Chuck,

I am working on a similar project as Randall. I have several moving blankets, which seem to be the same thing as the "sound absorption blankets" on markertek.com (http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?off=0&sort=prod).

I currently have them draped on three walls, and am fashioning a sort of canopy for overhead. I was going to buy some foam and put it on the door. Do you think that my solution will work, or will it be better to place foam on all the surfaces.

Thanks,
Keith

Randall Bigham · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Sep 2006 Posts: 90

thank you all for your responses. i am currently looking for some sound foam and brainstorming on the final configuration.

hope it happens soon, i wanna get to work strichauge

Brad Venable · Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006, 02:38 (GMT) Post subject:

I have one of the Markertek blankets...I like it...I drape it over the open door in my "booth corner" to help isolate me even more...although there will be some of you that will use blankets and comforters out of your linen closets. Do it. The more fabric, the more absorption.

Good luck everyone,
Brad

Chuck Douglas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 22

I have seen the blankets used pretty effectively. I am biased towards the foam, because you can affix it to the surfaces more easily, but if you don't mind the draping, the blankets should work for you.

The hemp filled moving blankets are not exactly the same as the sound absorption blankets, but they are a good substitute because of their mass.

Remember, there are two things you are fighting in a closet:

First is reflections. The blankets may not be as effective in fighting reflections as the foam, since they are inherently flat, and not wavy like the foam. In the closet, reflections are the most immediate issue you will have, because the reflections are what makes it sound like you are in a box.

Second is isolation from other sounds in other rooms. Depending on your living situation, this may not be as big of a problem. The blankets are very good at isolation, they are actually better than the foam for this. I have seen gobos made out of the good sound blankets, and they performed very well. I have also seen temporary vocal booths made just by hanging these blankets from portable frames.

There is a point of diminishing returns with isolation, and you need to be the judge where to stop. My studio has cut up pieces of neoprene stapled to the studs, with a layer of Celotex SoundBlock, and then the gypsum board, and the only thing I can hear outside my room is footsteps from the floor above.

Do what you can, I still say start with the foam, and take a reading. If you can find a portable noise meter take a reading. If you cannot borrow one, plug in your mic and make a recording. Normalize the file to 0db, and then measure the noise floor. If you are at -50 db or lower, you are in good shape for isolation.

Then, play it in headphones, can you hear the reflections? Then play it backwards, see if you can hear your echo before you speak. Put it on a CD, take it into your car and play it, put it on a boombox, your friend's stereo, etc try listening to the same file in different locations to check for the echo. You will hear it better in other places more than in your own studio. If this all checks out ok, then you have won against the reflections.

Geez, this stuff just gets more and more complex as you go along. Just be glad you are not a session drummer trying to do all of this.

Let me know ho it goes. If you like, I can help you with the testing. You can send me the file, and I will let you know what I think.

Keith Jedlicka · **Voice Talent** Joined: 14 Apr 2006 Posts: 12

Chuck,

Thanks for the info and the offer to help. I need to purchase some foam. I plan to go with Markertek Acoustic Foam http://www.markertek.com/Product.asp?baseItem=MF%2D3&cat=ACOUSTICS&subcat=&prodClass=ACFOAM&mfg=&search=0&off=, 3-in. thick. Do you suggest something different?

Also, do you think it would be necessary to rig a sort of canopy over my head with a blanket, or would that not make much of a difference? Without a blanket overhead, it would be open to an 8-ft. drywall ceiling.

Thanks!
Keith

Louis Tristan · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jul 2005 Posts: 266

Check this out...Really awesome, step by step on how to build a studio in your home....If you take everything out of your closet you could probably work from it as a template if you take measurements.

http://www.minewurx.com/echos/staticpages/index.php/20060830164610501

Randall Bigham · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Sep 2006 Posts: 90

thank you very much for the link. i'd probably have to "ghetto-fy" the plans a little bit since i don't have alot of money, but it definitely can be modified to my needs/budget.

Chuck Douglas · **Voice Talent** Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 22

NICE studio design. Those thick walls would certainly give some good isolation, and the zigzag foam would cut the reflections to nothing. But -80db? I would have to go in there with a good meter and check that for myself.

I would put the markertek foam on the ceiling too. Even if you have to go cheaper to the 2 inch stuff, it would probably be better than just the blanket, and it may afford you some better headroom if you feel like standing up in there, which you should be doing anyway.

And don't forget to cover the door too!

Michael Minetree · Posted: Thu Apr 05, 2007, 10:24 (GMT) Post subject:

Yep... -80 dB on a bad day.. The rating will actually go a little higher (-90 depending on low end ambient noise) but it is that quiet... Tested with a Neumann TLM103... It's complete overkill - but it is that quiet..

Michael Minetree
www.minewurx.com