John Sayers' Recording Studio Design Forum Archive

Hey, this is my first post, thanks in advance for any help.

Ok, I've looked over the board and read some web sites, but I'm still a little lost to what I should be doing.

I want to have a small, simple setup, basically a vocal booth.and I'm wondering how I should treat it acoutically.

I record mostly by myself, or with one other person. I have a small alcove in my apartment, that's about 2' by 3' by 8'. One side is a wall, one side is a door to a fold open closet(maybe two feet deep, should I keep this open or closed?) one side is the door to my bathroom, and the other is the open alcove leading to my living room (no door).

1) is this a good place to record? it seems the easiest place I can control the sound.

2) there's no carpet- should there be?

3)what can I get to cover the opening to the LR?

4)should I treat the walls with foam?

5)should I treat the openings in the door and closet? is there something that is movable and removable( I'd still like to use my bathroom, at least)



I'm completly new, so if I sound really stupid....

thanks again.

Greetings!

is this a good place to record? it seems the easiest place I can control the sound

Well, in my opinion, no, it's not much of a good place to record. The reason is because you really won't be able to control the sound too well there. One side is open, two sides are doors...

This is just a place to record- where are you planning to do your mixing or post-production? If you've got another room with a computer workstation or whatever, take a look at that area to see how tough it'd be to get that to sound good. Having a larger space may sound at first like it'd be more work to control, but the space is like the acoustic version of raw materials- in the end, a smaller space won't do nearly as good, no matter how hard you work on it.

Are you doing spoken stuff, or acapella singing, or just laying vocal tracks over something recorded elsewhere? How much sound isolation are you going to need while recording, and how much noise from inside your room can you tolerate (like your computer's fans, for example)?

I know it sounds like I'm saying "that space you talk about will never work", and I don't mean to be discouraging. But with a space that small you'll be getting reflections off of the close walls and doors so much that it'll take a lot of work to make it sound good there. I just think you should find a better room to start with; one that'll take less work to sound good and make a better space in the end. Even just standing in the middle of your living room would probably work better.

Kase
www.minemusic.net

Thanks for the info.

WEll, I'm doing vocals over guitar tracks, and sythns and such. I'm also recording acoustic guitar.

The other option if my living room. I live right outside an expressway, and always have noise outside my windows. Which is bearable, I guess. BUt I was hoping to get away from that.

The LR (where I'm doing the mixing) is about 14x10, wood floors, and is connected to that alcove I already told you about, a kitchette (about 5' square ()no door way here either) and a hallway. Lots of openings, you see, but I don't know how bad that is really.

The other option is my bedroom, which is about 7' x 14', has one window, one one doorway into the LR. PErhaps this is a better option.

ANy suggests are beyond helpful. Thanks again.

If you have a bunch of noise coming in, you could try to treat the bedroom for intermittent use as a tracking room. Then use the living room to mix in.

This is assuming you don't mind having your entire place turn into a recording studio. If you have a significant other living with you, it may be a good idea to discuss it with them first...

Kase
www.minemusic.net