I have been avidly reading Paul White's book Creative Recording 2, which I'm finding very helpful. I am at present converting the spare double bedroom in my terraced house into a working studio. From the advice given in Paul's book, I am going to put an additional 'studded wall' up on those walls which I share with my neighbours on either side of my house, and I'm fitting 'Lamella' flooring.
The plan is to have some sort of vocal booth for two people, but I am not sure how to do it and which materials to use. Should I make it out of plasterboard, as in a freestanding studded wall, with a double‑glazed window and some sort of small door or would it be better to make it out of perspex?
Paul Lee
Editor Paul White replies: Good vocal booths are trickier to build than you might think, and I've heard a lot of badly designed ones that sound boxy. Plasterboard/studding should be fine for the main shell, but make it as big as you can and don't skimp in the depth of absorptive material as this leads to a lot of high‑end control but poor low‑mid absorption. This in turn produces a 'boxy' sound. I'd be inclined to play it safe and use between four and six inches of high‑density rockwool and/or acoustic foam covered by acoustically transparent fabric.