Good Morning from my Robotics Lab! This is Shadow_8472, and today I am building a sound booth in my closet. Let’s get started!
Designing a Recording Booth
At one point in my year off, I researched the basics of voice acting. I already have a Blue Yeti and Tenacity (fork of Audacity, a free/open source sound recording program), but the recording environment is just as important. Tenacity and other programs that handle audio often come with powerful tools to clean up background noise, and better techniques are being innovated all the time.
But no matter how good post-production gets, it’s still best to minimize unwanted noise relative to signal (voice or instruments) in the first place. This is called the noise floor. And depending on the size and shape of your room, sound reflects back and echos. Vibrations from the building can also travel up a simple mic stand and degrade quality that way. Little tweaks like are endless, but these are the scope of my project today.
Common DIY sound booth solutions range from recording in a closet to draping moving blankets off a collapsible PVC pipe frame to building a mattress fort. My budget is “stuff from around the home,” so no PVC or mattresses for me. The theory behind closets is that the clothes absorb the sound bouncing around. But I read that if you think you have enough clothes for that, you don’t have enough clothes. Long story short: I hung the heaviest, unused blankets I found around the house in my closet for a compromise between the lower two solutions. I also used a dresser drawer to reduce mic vibrations.
Project
What good is a sound booth without a project to test it on? As of writing, I’ve only done test recordings of “Marry Had a Little Lamb” comparing the sound floor loose in my room to a camper when I visited family in the mountains this summer and again within the sound booth. I think the biggest factor I need to worry about is my rather loud laptop fans.
For the longer term, I auditioned for an unpaid role in a fan re-animation project: The Tigger Movie: ReBounced [Link to Casting Call Club page]. I looked it up as I actually have a pretty good Eeyore impression, but that role was taken already. After a little self-debate, I tried out for Piglet since digital manipulation was on the table, and Piglet’s role is as small as he is. My family picked up a copy of the original movie to watch, and I’m finding Piglet’s stutter a little difficult to master, but it is nothing compared to Tigger’s lisp. The project is in need of animators, so if you happen to have some time, feel free to check it out.
Final Question
What entry-level equipment would you recommend and in what order?