Isolation booth - check my work...

I've finished designs on the isolation booth... the previous discussion can be found here. I had even less room than I had expected, and this will be a very tight fit. Basically I'm constructing a booth for use with vocals and loud amps, within a space about 4'8" by 3'8". I can fudge the 4'8" side a little more if I needed, but the 3'8" side is not negotiable. A tight fit for a vocalist, but that's compromise I'll have to make. Sadly, this means Pavoratti will never be able to record here. John and Glenn informed me in my previous post that I could line the booth with 2" 703, which would absorb most of the frequencies except the low-mids around 150hz-500hz. Those would need to be dealt with by using a slat absorber. My design has floor-to-ceiling slat absorbers on two sides, rotated slightly off 90 degrees. The slat absorber design I came up with using the Excel spreadsheet floating around here is made up of alternating 3 1/2" x 3/4" and 6" x 3/4" slats with 1/4 gaps between them. I've got a JeldWen ProCore Quiet Door for use with this, an adjustable closer for the outside, and am considering the Qwyatt door bottom. I've got a few feet of 1/4" neoprene rubber that I will use to make two 1/2" strips that the entire booth will sit on. There will be absorption panels made of 4" 703 on the door, ceiling, and wall with window. No clouds or overhead chambers are possible in this space. The height constraints are already maxed out. The walls will be filled with 703 as well. The wall will be made of one 5/8" sheet of drywall on the inside and two 1/2" sheets on the outside. See the images and SketchUp models attached to get an idea of where I'm at with this. Please, if anyone has any input, now is the time. I'll begin construction in a week or two.

i think you just need to get some air in and out and it looks good...

Here are a couple of questions that I still have... - Is it sensible to have the 703 in the walls and as acoustic absorber inside the booth, or would anyone recommend a different insulation within the walls? - Is the bird's-eye profile of the slat absorbers alright? They are 90 degrees from one another, and 3 degrees off their respective walls. And one last issue to cover... I need to put a light in there. But I can't decide on the best kind. Due to heat and the fact that it will be on the same circuit as the wall sockets inside the booth, I've pretty much realized that it can't be on when someone is inside and recording. They'll be cooked and the signal will be cr*p. I think I'll just use a flourescent bulb in a tungsten socket and keep it off during recording... that is probably the coolest in terms of temperature. Thoughts?

Thanks Glenn. Because I'm in such a compromised position in terms of space, I figured from the beginning that I'd just forego any attempt to circulate air through it. I saw this suggested on other posts about iso booths. Seems like a whole other animal to tame. While I'm waiting for some materials to arrive, I'll do some more research on the air flow issue and reconsider it.

Aloha, It may be hard to see lyrics, charts without lighting. Fluorescent bulbs buzz in some systems. How about one or two strategically placed track light fixtures? Aloha 8)

Hm. I assumed that halogen bulbs used in track lights would cause as bad a signal problem as flouresecent. Even if they don't, halogen bulbs are very hot and the booth would turn into an oven pretty quick. I'm afraid even regular tungsten incandescents would be too hot. I really think my only option for wired lights is to run them to a different circuit and use flourescents, but I don't really have electrical work like that in my budget. But you have good point about reading lyric sheets. Maybe I can find a good quality, aesthetically pleasing battery powered snake light for that. The kind that orchestra musicians clamp onto music stands, maybe.

Aloha, I think that while the rope lights are fun, the orchestra/music stand lights might be a better option. Aloha 8)

I agree with Kendale on the lighting... low voltage/power to keep heating low and a music stand light or LCD panel... as far as absorption, I'd make a hanging absorber which I could reverse so I can deaden or liven the box a bit. the slat resonators should be fine.

as far as absorption, I'd make a hanging absorber which I could reverse

Do you mean to be placed on the ceiling, door, or wall?

Aloha, I would say...ceiling. :wink: Aloha 8)

and perhaps on the door so you can alter the acoustics...

I failed to even consider the fourth option besides halogen, incandescent, and flourescent... LED. Anyone know how much an LED bulb on the same circuit as recording gear or amps would affect the signal? They apparently "do not product heat like incandescent bulbs", so they would be better than regular tungsten bulbs, as far as heat created.

its probably lower heat but what powers the LED? if its a screw in replacement for a regular bulb, it may ahve circuits that reduce the voltage and convert it to DC... in which case it could make noise. in general though, you're best off running separate circuits (with star grounding) for lighting and wall circuits (and I believe this may be a code requirement in some cases).