Thinking about buying an isolation booth

[Beau Randall]

Hey Guys,

I've done some research on iso booths, don't mind paying a premium for
one I can take down quickly and reconstruct seeing as I tend to move
every few years... OTOH, I don't want to dump $5k on a 5'x7' 1/2 ton
box that doesn't do what I need it to.

It seems the main players are Whisper Room, Soundsuckers, and Vocal
Booth. Any others I may want to look at? I'm in the US so I assume
Wegner is out of the question.

One message I read in the archives from this group put up a big red
flag - a fellow mentioned he could have a conversation through his
closed Whisper Room without a talkback system. I understand these
things are far from soundproof, but I would think you'd have to
_shout_ to make any sense of what someone was saying from the outside.
Is this not the case? In this thing I plan to crank electric
guitar/bass, vocals, mixing/monitoring, and I don't want the neighbors
to hear any of this. The only real outside noise would be a yapping
Pug dog, the community I'm in rather quiet and far away from any major
streets.

Perhaps an explanation of what I should expect from the decibel cuts
would help some. If I recall correctly in my limited understanding of
sound physics, a 3db cut is equal to 1/2 power. But you must cut
power by a factor of 10 to halve SPL? At low frequencies these boxes
cut about 25-30 decibles up to 45-50 in high range. So would they not
appear to be something like 1/3 - 2/5 as loud on the outside as the
inside? Is that in the ballpark?

Seems to me if this is true these boxes have pretty limited usage -
probably adequate for vocals, not say cranking a 4x12 or even playing
a bass at moderate levels. At least in my situation where it would go
in my 7'x9' dining directly adjacent to two other neighbors' dining
spaces.

Would it be wise to give up my dream of a home studio and buy a small
iso booth just for recording acoustic guitar/vocals, then do all my
electronic stuff direct?

Any advice much appreciated. Thanks.

[Mike Rivers]

In article > writes:

> It seems the main players are Whisper Room, Soundsuckers, and Vocal
> Booth. Any others I may want to look at? I'm in the US so I assume
> Wegner is out of the question.

Wenger may be out of the question because of the cost, but they have
distribution in the US.

> One message I read in the archives from this group put up a big red
> flag - a fellow mentioned he could have a conversation through his
> closed Whisper Room without a talkback system. I understand these
> things are far from soundproof, but I would think you'd have to
> _shout_ to make any sense of what someone was saying from the outside.

There are several different models and designs, including one that's
just walls, no roof - good for ventilation but hardly full isolation.
There are others that do have a fairly low sound transmission
coefficient (STC "rating"), but nothing as good as a floating box with
solid concrete walls. You need to figure out just how much isolation
you need. If you live upstairs of a carpentry shop, you'll never be
able to record narration until they quit.

> Is this not the case? In this thing I plan to crank electric
> guitar/bass, vocals, mixing/monitoring, and I don't want the neighbors
> to hear any of this.

Oh, so you want in isolation box to bottle up your instruments, not an
isolation box to keep the instruments out of a vocal mic. This is a
good build-it-yourself project. You can put the amplifier on a
floating pad to isolate it from the floor, and can add more mass to
the sides of the box until your neighbors stop complaining. Of course
you might end up making it heavy enough so that you need a crane or a
friend to lift it over the amplifier, but that's another problem.

> The only real outside noise would be a yapping
> Pug dog

You'd be amazed at how well the sound of a barking dog carries.

> Would it be wise to give up my dream of a home studio and buy a small
> iso booth just for recording acoustic guitar/vocals, then do all my
> electronic stuff direct?

That works for some. Remember that a good part of the sound of a
cranked amplifier is the sound out in the room. Unless you're able to
make a very large isolaton box (which isn't what I conceived), you'll
end up miking the speaker close, and probably deadening the space
around it so much that you won't get any ambient sound at all. It'll
sound like if you put your ear a few inches from the speaker with the
amp cranked. Ever do that? DON'T! Not even for the sake of scientific
research.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

[Beau Randall]

Anyone? Please? At least could someone address my comments on my
thoughts on dB reduction vs. apparent sound reduction?

(Beau Randall) wrote in message >...
> Hey Guys,
>
> I've done some research on iso booths, don't mind paying a premium for
> one I can take down quickly and reconstruct seeing as I tend to move
> every few years... OTOH, I don't want to dump $5k on a 5'x7' 1/2 ton
> box that doesn't do what I need it to.
>
> It seems the main players are Whisper Room, Soundsuckers, and Vocal
> Booth. Any others I may want to look at? I'm in the US so I assume
> Wegner is out of the question.
>
> One message I read in the archives from this group put up a big red
> flag - a fellow mentioned he could have a conversation through his
> closed Whisper Room without a talkback system. I understand these
> things are far from soundproof, but I would think you'd have to
> _shout_ to make any sense of what someone was saying from the outside.
> Is this not the case? In this thing I plan to crank electric
> guitar/bass, vocals, mixing/monitoring, and I don't want the neighbors
> to hear any of this. The only real outside noise would be a yapping
> Pug dog, the community I'm in rather quiet and far away from any major
> streets.
>
> Perhaps an explanation of what I should expect from the decibel cuts
> would help some. If I recall correctly in my limited understanding of
> sound physics, a 3db cut is equal to 1/2 power. But you must cut
> power by a factor of 10 to halve SPL? At low frequencies these boxes
> cut about 25-30 decibles up to 45-50 in high range. So would they not
> appear to be something like 1/3 - 2/5 as loud on the outside as the
> inside? Is that in the ballpark?
>
> Seems to me if this is true these boxes have pretty limited usage -
> probably adequate for vocals, not say cranking a 4x12 or even playing
> a bass at moderate levels. At least in my situation where it would go
> in my 7'x9' dining directly adjacent to two other neighbors' dining
> spaces.
>
> Would it be wise to give up my dream of a home studio and buy a small
> iso booth just for recording acoustic guitar/vocals, then do all my
> electronic stuff direct?
>
> Any advice much appreciated. Thanks.

[Beau Randall]

(Mike Rivers) wrote in message news:<znr1069419150k@trad>...
> In article > > > Is this not >
> Oh, so you want in isolation box to bottle up your instruments, not an
> isolation box to keep the instruments out of a vocal mic. This is a
> good build-it-yourself project.

Mike,

Thanks for the input. What I want is a space to create noise, to
experiment in. I have no interest in making quality recordings - what
I want is a sanctuary where I can sing/play my heart out without
worrying of disturbing the neighbors, at any time of day or night.
I've been playing guitar forever, but just now really taking the art
of songwriting seriously, and as well have begun taking vocal lessons.
I don't have expectations of making anything aside from demos in
production quality. I also would rarely dime an amp in there
considering what it would do to my hearing and am not too concerned
about outside noise made by my dog - I put that forth to guage the
limitations of these booths.

What I'm really interested in is whether or not my assessment of
perceived sound attenuation is accurate. I'm having difficulty
finding a clear explanation on this. - Beau

[Steve King]

"Beau Randall" > wrote in message
om...
> (Mike Rivers) wrote in message
news:<znr1069419150k@trad>...
> > In article > > > Is
this not >
> > Oh, so you want in isolation box to bottle up your instruments, not an
> > isolation box to keep the instruments out of a vocal mic. This is a
> > good build-it-yourself project.
>
> Mike,
>
> Thanks for the input. What I want is a space to create noise, to
> experiment in. I have no interest in making quality recordings - what
> I want is a sanctuary where I can sing/play my heart out without
> worrying of disturbing the neighbors, at any time of day or night.
> I've been playing guitar forever, but just now really taking the art
> of songwriting seriously, and as well have begun taking vocal lessons.
> I don't have expectations of making anything aside from demos in
> production quality. I also would rarely dime an amp in there
> considering what it would do to my hearing and am not too concerned
> about outside noise made by my dog - I put that forth to guage the
> limitations of these booths.
>
> What I'm really interested in is whether or not my assessment of
> perceived sound attenuation is accurate. I'm having difficulty
> finding a clear explanation on this. - Beau

Unless you consider a padded coffin on its end a suitable sanctuary, I think
you will be disappointed with the WhisperRoom type booths for your purpose.
Even if the sound attenuation is satisfactory... from your neighbors point
of view, consider the following. The ones I have been in (to do narration)
just suck up the sound. It is difficult to hear your own articulation
because of the extreme high-frequency attenuation on all surfaces. I know
they make bigger ones than the 4 foot by six foot, which is the largest that
I have been in, but I am skeptical that the accoustics would be improved
even at double that size. I do know that a Whisper room allows a friend of
mine to do voice-over recordings even when the lawn service is whacking away
outside... so long as they aren't right under the studio window and only the
rare corporate jet on low approach to an airport 7 miles away interferes.
But, yes, one can converse with an engineer outside the booth if one speaks
loudly and conditions are relatively quiet otherwise. Put you and an amp in
there and you'll be bleeding from the ears while still not hearing any
highs, and your neighbors will wonder what the thump, thump, thump of the
bass leakage is... probably calling the cops.

Give the WhisperRoom folks a call. They are nice chaps according to my
friend. I suspect they would tell you if they have customers in the area,
where you could take a look for yourself.

Steve King

[Beau Randall]

"Steve King" (Take our WORMBLOCK to reply)> wrote in message news:<mcxvb.265959$HS4.2375616@attbi_s01>...
> "Beau Randall" > wrote in message
> om...
> > (Mike Rivers) wrote in message
> news:<znr1069419150k@trad>...
> > > In article > > > Is
> this not >
> > > Oh, so you want in isolation box to bottle up your instruments, not an
> > > isolation box to keep the instruments out of a vocal mic. This is a
> > > good build-it-yourself project.
> >
> > Mike,
> >
> > Thanks for the input. What I want is a space to create noise, to
> > experiment in. I have no interest in making quality recordings - what
> > I want is a sanctuary where I can sing/play my heart out without
> > worrying of disturbing the neighbors, at any time of day or night.
> > I've been playing guitar forever, but just now really taking the art
> > of songwriting seriously, and as well have begun taking vocal lessons.
> > I don't have expectations of making anything aside from demos in
> > production quality. I also would rarely dime an amp in there
> > considering what it would do to my hearing and am not too concerned
> > about outside noise made by my dog - I put that forth to guage the
> > limitations of these booths.
> >
> > What I'm really interested in is whether or not my assessment of
> > perceived sound attenuation is accurate. I'm having difficulty
> > finding a clear explanation on this. - Beau
>
> Unless you consider a padded coffin on its end a suitable sanctuary, I think
> you will be disappointed with the WhisperRoom type booths for your purpose.
> Even if the sound attenuation is satisfactory... from your neighbors point
> of view, consider the following. The ones I have been in (to do narration)
> just suck up the sound. It is difficult to hear your own articulation
> because of the extreme high-frequency attenuation on all surfaces. I know
> they make bigger ones than the 4 foot by six foot, which is the largest that
> I have been in, but I am skeptical that the accoustics would be improved
> even at double that size. I do know that a Whisper room allows a friend of
> mine to do voice-over recordings even when the lawn service is whacking away
> outside... so long as they aren't right under the studio window and only the
> rare corporate jet on low approach to an airport 7 miles away interferes.
> But, yes, one can converse with an engineer outside the booth if one speaks
> loudly and conditions are relatively quiet otherwise. Put you and an amp in
> there and you'll be bleeding from the ears while still not hearing any
> highs, and your neighbors will wonder what the thump, thump, thump of the
> bass leakage is... probably calling the cops.
>
> Give the WhisperRoom folks a call. They are nice chaps according to my
> friend. I suspect they would tell you if they have customers in the area,
> where you could take a look for yourself.
>
> Steve King


Hmm... that does make sense being an acoustically dead room, something
I hadn't considered. Perhaps workable though if I mike and monitor
everything through headphones? On the upside in doing so I can
probably reduce fatigue by turning amplifiers away, maybe sing and
play more adeptly with greater control over the levels my ears hear.

Looking at the Whisper Room website it appears a local university is a
client, I'll see if I can check them out. Maybe they'll rent me a
booth for experimentation. Thanks for your insight.

[Mike Rivers]

In article > writes:

> Thanks for the input. What I want is a space to create noise, to
> experiment in. I have no interest in making quality recordings - what
> I want is a sanctuary where I can sing/play my heart out without
> worrying of disturbing the neighbors, at any time of day or night.

Oh, well then what you want is a house in the country, or a night job
(assuming your neighbors sleep at night and aren't bothered by your
music during the day).

> What I'm really interested in is whether or not my assessment of
> perceived sound attenuation is accurate. I'm having difficulty
> finding a clear explanation on this. - Beau

It's never as much as you'd like, unless you build it yourself from
the ground up.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo