1st Time Vocal Booth Builder: Please Help

**Please Help It Is Really Appreciated** So I am building a vocal booth in my room. I was going to add it to 2 existing walls. I'm adding the other 2 and i was thinking of doing (starting from the outside) plywood, drywall, the 2x4's and Rock Wool insulation, and then a sheet of plywood on the inside. The booth's dimension's would be about 5'x4'x8'. Possibly add a layer of low shag carpet on the outside to cover the walls. Also needs to be able to break down if I move. Not sure about the door but I am pretty sure I'm buying one pre-hung, I've heard that double glass is best but I'm not sure. Then it comes down to acoustics, and this is a new concept for me. I recently saw that i need a/some bass traps. I watched a video from some company called SOS and they made one that covered the back wall using Rock Wool also, and I should have extra. Then I will eventually get acoustic foam. That's another step so I'll wait until I get there. But I'm working with $400 at the moment and that's enough for all of the supplies except maybe the door depending on which type I get. And I most likely need to get the Foam at a later time as well. **I plan on building the basic structure this weekend so any info as soon as possible is greatly appreciated**

Hi "xjtherapper". Please check the rules for posting. You seem to be missing something important.. :) Regarding your plan: there are several things wrong with it. First, it will not isolate ("soundproof") your booth very well, since the surface on the inside will still be coupled to the surface on the outside, because they are both attached to the 2x4 studs in the middle. Depending on how much isolation you actually need (which you can easily measure with a sound level meter), that might or might not be good enough. And forget the carpet: it won't do anything at all to isolate the booth. That's a myth. Regarding the door: Pre-hung is fine, and makes it much easier to build, but the door MUST be solid-core, not the typical foam-core (or even worse, hollow-core). It also needs to have rubber seals all around all the edges (top, both sides, and bottom). There must be no gaps at all where air can get through. If air can get through, then so can sound. So you need a very heavy, thick, solid door, so therefore it must also be mounted on heavy-duty hinges.

I've heard that double glass is best but I'm not sure.

Yes it is, but it has to be done right. Are you talking about putting a window in the door, or in one of the walls? Either way, both pieces of glass have to be thick, and there has to be a large air gap between them, if you want high levels of isolation.

Then it comes down to acoustics, and this is a new concept for me. I recently saw that i need a/some bass traps.

For a vocal booth? Not really. Well, yes, you need a lot of absorption, but in a vocal booth you can't really make it thick enough to call it a "bass trap", and in any event the human voice does not have much energy in the "bass" range, plus small rooms do not support "bass" frequency modes, so "bass trapping" isn't really what you need. Yes, you need lots of absorption in there, but you also have to be careful not to make the booth totally "dead". That makes it unpleasant to be in. Make at least one of the walls into a slot wall.

they made one that covered the back wall using Rock Wool also,

Rockwool (mineral wool) and fiberglass insulation are two very good ways of treating booths. Just buy it directly in your local Home Depot or Lowes, or whatever.

Then I will eventually get acoustic foam.

You don't need it. Mineral wool does exactly the same thing, acoustically, and is much cheaper. Mineral wool and foam are both just open-cell porous absorption. If you have mineral wool, then you do NOT also need foam. - Stuart -

Stuart - you are amazing. :)

Stuart - you are amazing. :)

Woohoo!!!! :yahoo: Coming from you, John, that is very high praise indeed!!! :D You just made my day! :) - Stuart -