Part 2 of this project involves turning the floor into the ceiling due to head clearance limits (which is kind of unfortunate since it had a large stage-like presence to the elevated surface), layering the ceiling with soundproofing materials, designing and installing framing for the walls, setting the frame for the studio door, dealing with issues on the backside of one of the two pre-existing walls, and framing in a badass solid wood door for the entrance to the whole studio (got it for $50 at The Rebuilding Center in Portland).
Research, Blueprints, Customization
My original thoughts for the architecture was to use a cattycorner wall instead of a sharp edge to connect the two new walls, and use the two pre-existing walls - one OSB (wood) and one concrete (foundation of the house). In my research I came across these detailed blueprints for something similar that I used as a base for my booth design with some modifications. The biggest difference is that we decided to relocate the door away front he cattycorner wall and closer to the shared bedroom wall - it would have been too difficult to do otherwise (path of least resistance here for the door frame install).
Vocal Booth Build Room Dimensions
L 71" x W 56" x H 83" - long walls
L 60 in (5 ft) x W 45-56" (start-end of cattycorner wall) x H 83" - short walls
These dimensions seemed fine until I lost a ton of interior space from the acoustic panels I eventually installed. This cramped the space slightly but is still just enough room for a vocal artist to be comfortable, have a guitar if he/she wants, and not sound boxy in the recording. Proper acoustic treatment helped immensely with eliminating potentially boxy harmonics.
Soundproofing Layering
In order to achieve an effective reduction in noise pollution to the booth, it is recommended to use several layers of varying density materials to break up the soundwaves from the outside in. Each time the outside sound reaches a point where the density shifts, it acts as a barrier that drops more of the sound with less and less passing though each layer. It is extremely challenging (and even more so expensive) to achieve a truly soundproof room - although not impossible, most applications will be aiming for severe sound reduction, which is more than sufficient for my applications.
By the end of this project there are 6 varying density layers on the ceiling and 7 on the newly constructed walls. The materials include 1/2 in gypsum, 1/2 in OSB, 2x4 framing filled with Rockwool Safe & Sound mineral insulation, 1/2 in sound dampening board, 1 in polystyrene foam, 7/8 in OSB, and a final layer of 1/2 in gypsum.
Design Improvements for Future Builds
The two major differences I will implement in future dedicated sound-room builds are:
- Craft non-parallel walls to reduce/eliminate flutter/slap echo (square rooms are not ideal for acoustics) and a purposely odd shaped room, preferably obtusely "octagonish"
- Plan slightly larger dimensions around 12 x 17 x 10, accounting for the large squeeze/space-loss from acoustic treatment, and leaving room for multiple artists/drums.
Click below to view LBRY video for part 2
Park 1 - Click Here
Click Here for the ELAmental Underground Studio Preview
Click Here for the Beat Making Gear Preview
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