Jay Menon
Joined: 30/09/07
Posts: 497
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Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
#566382 - 12/01/08 01:07 AM
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Here are a few photographs of my little DIY vocal booth, constructed with the knowledge
I've picked up on this forum. (the pictures must be at least good for a laugh..!)
The Mount (cost £2, parts from Wickes)
By jaymenon, shot with
Canon DIGITAL IXUS 800 IS at 2008-01-11
Vocal Booth
Front and Rear. 2 planed softwood frames with a 600 x 600mm slab of rockwool in each
(£3, Wicked General Purpose Insulation, 50mm thick) covered with cotton dust sheet. The
last was recommended by Max (not so miserable git) - great stuff, thank you Max! I've
tacked it down with upholstery tacks (£4 for 100 on eBay, incl postage).
By jaymenon, shot with Canon DIGITAL IXUS 800 IS at 2008-01-11
By jaymenon, shot with Canon DIGITAL IXUS 800 IS at 2008-01-11
Mic, Stand &
Mount. I painted it black and also stuck some velcro on the superior surface, to fix the
booth more securely. (got it free at a conference, they were handing it out for affixing
name badges...)
By jaymenon, shot with Canon DIGITAL IXUS 800 IS at 2008-01-11
Mic, Stand,
Mount and Booth Assembled
By jaymenon, shot with
Canon DIGITAL IXUS 800 IS at 2008-01-11
Assembly +
Ceiling Reflection Point Slab + Suspended Duvet (I stitched curtain tape along one edge of
the duvet and then suspended it with on curtain hooks from hooks placed in the ceiling)
By jaymenon, shot with
Canon DIGITAL IXUS 800 IS at 2008-01-11
Total cost about
£15. It took a long time to make - but it was great fun...I do hope you like it.
Regards
Jay
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Doublehelix
Joined: 04/12/02
Posts: 4162
Loc: USA
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#566393 - 12/01/08 02:11 AM
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Great!!! Haha! Nice job!
--------------------
James
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake" ~Napoleon Bonaparte~
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Streety
Joined: 26/08/07
Posts: 228
Loc: Brighton, England
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#566554 - 12/01/08 04:54 PM
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looking good! got any audio samples with and without the 'vocal booth'?
--------------------
I'm a student. Don't listen...
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Paul_XT
Joined: 04/06/05
Posts: 112
Loc: Nuneaton, Warwickshire, UK
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#567460 - 14/01/08 09:44 PM
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This looks great! I'd be interested to hear some before and after audio samples too
Cheers
Paul
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The Killerz - The UK's premier Killers Tribute The Ultimate Killers Tribute Band
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John Hartley
member
Joined: 15/07/03
Posts: 46
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Paul_XT]
#567586 - 15/01/08 08:46 AM
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Nice one Jay. Are you happy with the difference it's made to your recordings?
Cheers,
John
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MUSIKLAB - music production & mastering
www.musiklab.co.uk
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Jay Menon
Joined: 30/09/07
Posts: 497
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#567632 - 15/01/08 10:50 AM
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Hi Guys...
I have to admit that I'm putting the finishes to my studio before I
start recording - but within the next few days, I'll try and put up some 'with and
without' vocal booth recordings...
However, I can certainly confirm that my
little vocal booth does sound really dead when I sing into it...
Regards
Jay
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Glenn Kuras
Joined: 22/12/05
Posts: 321
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#567716 - 15/01/08 01:17 PM
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Very cool and well done. I will say that if I was going to do all the work myself I would
make it twice the size though. But, NICE JOB, I am sure it will work great!!
Glenn
--------------------
www.GIKAcoustics.com
Now with offices in the USA and Europe
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Jay Menon
Joined: 30/09/07
Posts: 497
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#567717 - 15/01/08 01:19 PM
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Thanks Glenn...!
Regards
Jay
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Armadillo
new member
Joined: 21/01/03
Posts: 270
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#567749 - 15/01/08 02:25 PM
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Looks great Jay. One thing I just don't understand: why would you still have the christmas
tree around on 11th January. 
--------------------
www.myspace.com/arcanamusic
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Jay Menon
Joined: 30/09/07
Posts: 497
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#567815 - 15/01/08 03:52 PM
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My wife keeps asking me that - over and over and over again...
Jay 
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Jay Menon
Joined: 30/09/07
Posts: 497
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#568001 - 15/01/08 11:42 PM
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Glenn...I note your comment about making it bigger. However, it consists of two 60cm x 60
cm (or 2 ft x 2ft) square panels, which makes it significantly larger than the SE
Reflexion Filter...
Do you think that's not large enough? Would it be worth
making a larger one?
Regards
Jay
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Glenn Kuras
Joined: 22/12/05
Posts: 321
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#568098 - 16/01/08 10:08 AM
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Jay,
Bigger is always better!  But it is
not like what you have will not work and I am sure it works great. My point was if you are
going to go through the effort then I would go with it to cover more area.
Glenn
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www.GIKAcoustics.com
Now with offices in the USA and Europe
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dickiefunk
Joined: 17/06/05
Posts: 1689
Loc: Cornwall, UK
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#580186 - 13/02/08 07:28 PM
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Hi Jay,
How you getting on with the audio samples? Your booth looks the best
DIY one I've seen!
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www.richardpenrose.com
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Guitarmaniac64
Joined: 03/09/07
Posts: 7
Loc: Luleå Sweden
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#585118 - 26/02/08 06:06 PM
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Hi nice booth is the mount made of Herringbone Joist Strut??
I looked on Wickes
webpage and the only thing thatr look similar to your mount is Herrinbone Joist Strut.
Hopefully i managed to build one myself
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Guitarmaniac64
Joined: 03/09/07
Posts: 7
Loc: Luleå Sweden
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#585119 - 26/02/08 06:06 PM
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Hi nice booth is the mount made of Herringbone Joist Strut??
I looked on Wickes
webpage and the only thing thatr look similar to your mount is Herrinbone Joist Strut.
Hopefully i managed to build one myself
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Jay Menon
Joined: 30/09/07
Posts: 497
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#585561 - 27/02/08 08:37 PM
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That's right...!
Wish you the best of luck with your mount..!
Regards
Jay
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Zukan
Zukan
Joined: 12/09/03
Posts: 7837
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#585660 - 28/02/08 09:05 AM
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SE better watch out. 
--------------------
Samplecraze
Stretch That Note
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Jay Menon
Joined: 30/09/07
Posts: 497
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#585967 - 28/02/08 06:14 PM
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Hey Thanks Zukan...! Coming from you (even if in jest) that means a lot to me... 
Thanks again...
Warm regards
Jay
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UnderParDrums
Joined: 27/08/06
Posts: 59
Loc: Seattle Area, Washington
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#589342 - 10/03/08 07:07 AM
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That looks nice! Any before and after samples yet? 
I think I might try and make one of those!
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Jay Menon
Joined: 30/09/07
Posts: 497
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#589602 - 10/03/08 07:46 PM
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You know I've been too busy to even go into my little studio lately...
i'll get
down and make some recordings soon. The only thing is - my room is now a rockwool palace
- and probably even without my vocal booth, the room sounds dead...!
By the
way, thanks guys - I've had over 1000 views of this post - and in such august company too!
I'm feeling really chuffed!
Warm regards
Jay
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SiriusBlack
Joined: 20/01/06
Posts: 98
Loc: UK
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#710671 - 24/02/09 10:14 AM
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Hey Jay,
A few questions before I try to build one of these too.
1) How did you attach the three Joist Struts together, i.e. what did you use. Can the
two side joist struts move in 2D (i.e. in the plane of the middle joist strut) or are they
static. Please explain what did you use.
2) How did you attach the middle
joist strut to the mic stand?
3) What sort of load do you think can your the
joist strut structure take (in kg or pounds)?
Cheers ...
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alanw
Joined: 16/08/06
Posts: 66
Loc: Manchester, UK
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#745354 - 19/06/09 10:41 AM
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Great idea.
I'm part-way through building a couple of these - will probably
make more if they work out well. Can always double them up as bass traps.
I've
built the frames and taken a different approach to attaching the frames. I've only used
only one 450mm herringbone strut. It's the one that attaches to the mic stand itself. I've
enlarged two holes at the ends of the strut as well as created a central hole for the mic
stand thread.
I've put tee-nuts in a few positions in the base of the frames.
The idea being that I can alter the angle by bolting the frame to the strut from
underneath using different holes in the frame.
The one thing I've noticed is
that you either need:
- a very strong strut or
- find
the balancing point of the whole contraption
or preferably both.
The
frames (even without the rockwool in) will tip forward or back, depending on where you've
attached them. This causes the ends of the strut to twist and I can't see how using
another two struts (like the original) would stop this. They're all attached to the end of
the main strut anyway.
I don't like the idea of something staying upright near
an expensive mic, just because it's balanced. So I'm thinking of looking for a stronger
strut, The difficulty is finding a suitable material for the average consumer. Time for a
visit to Jewsons or similar I think. Maybe an angle-beam and hacksaw the uprights
off at the ends to allow wooden frames to sit on it. Still not convinced that will be
strong enough either.
If you look at Jay's photos, you can see string on the
ends. That's the clue.
Thanks for the initial idea. It's got me thinking
Alan
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alanw
Joined: 16/08/06
Posts: 66
Loc: Manchester, UK
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#746331 - 22/06/09 06:44 PM
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For anyone thinking of building one of these, I'd strongly suggest not using the
herringbone struts; they bend too much.
I picked up a flat steel bar (code
CIBFX220) for just over £2 from the builders metalwork section of my local Jewson. It's a
few mm thick and works a lot better than the herringbone struts. There's a lot less twist,
preventing the front or back from dropping.
Usefully it already comes
predrilled with a lot of holes meaning that the there's more scope for changing the
position. I did have to drill a hole right in the centre though.
I had a
thought of using aluminium channel to build a frame that you can slot the rockwool and
cover into instead of having a wooden frame. Using the channel as a frame brings with it
its own set of problems though.
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Stratt
Joined: 12/03/05
Posts: 44
Loc: Northampton, UK
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#746597 - 23/06/09 12:52 PM
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Here's a pic of my portable vocal booth - http://img32.yfrog.com/i/screen1nhm.jpg/
I made it a couple
of years ago and went a bit overkill on the rockwool, a double layer of the soft stuff
sandwiching hardboard to provide rigidity. It's about 7' tall, three 2' wide sections
hinged. Cumbersome to move about but it doesn't half work!
As used here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaK9Qy0PypU
Stratt
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nulldevice
Joined: 03/01/05
Posts: 4
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#747773 - 26/06/09 01:32 PM
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It heartens me to see other people doing this. I've been debating trying something like
this for a while. I'll probably sort of compromise and buy the panels premade because,
while I can use a screwdriver and a hammer reasonably well, my abilities in the fabric
aesthetics department leave much to be desired.
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alanw
Joined: 16/08/06
Posts: 66
Loc: Manchester, UK
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Re: Photographs - DIY Portable Vocal Booth
[Re: Jay Menon]
#768116 - 05/09/09 09:12 PM
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Here's an image I took part-way through the build with the frame attached to a cheap mic
stand.
The bolts fit up through the metal bar into the
t-nuts in the frame to hold the frame onto the mic stand. I placed gaffer tape on top of
the t-nuts to seal the holes. Possibly not a long-term solution though.
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