--- title: 'Yes, I really need a Vocal Booth! - Part 2' url: 'https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/yes-i-really-need-a-vocal-booth-part-2' markdown: 'https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/yes-i-really-need-a-vocal-booth-part-2.md' date: '2014-02-24' description: 'So, it turns out, that after doing some pretty thorough research (see last week’s article), I do in fact indeed need a Vocal Isolation Booth. And, with all of the choices on the market, it seems like a good idea to document the process. Question #1: Do I want to permanently transform part of my hom…' taxonomy: category: - Journal tag: - 'os x' - software - audio - 'vocal booth' - voiceover - daw - audacity --- # Yes, I really need a Vocal Booth! - Part 2 ## [Yes, I really need a Vocal Booth! - Part 2](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/yes-i-really-need-a-vocal-booth-part-2) 24th Feb 2014 [os x](https://stevenjaycohen.com/tag:os%20x#body-wrapper) [software](https://stevenjaycohen.com/tag:software#body-wrapper) [audio](https://stevenjaycohen.com/tag:audio#body-wrapper) [vocal booth](https://stevenjaycohen.com/tag:vocal%20booth#body-wrapper) [voiceover](https://stevenjaycohen.com/tag:voiceover#body-wrapper) [daw](https://stevenjaycohen.com/tag:daw#body-wrapper) [audacity](https://stevenjaycohen.com/tag:audacity#body-wrapper) So, it turns out, that after doing some pretty thorough research (see [last week’s article](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/do-i-really-need-a-vocalbooth/)), I do in fact indeed need a Vocal Isolation Booth. And, with all of the choices on the market, it seems like a good idea to document the process. **Question #1: Do I want to permanently transform part of my home into a booth?** Not really. The kids are nearly grown. We might shift things around when they go to college. We might even move, who knows? So, personally, I’d prefer a booth that I could move around if needed. *If you answered yes to this question, you should consider calling a local contractor. You could even share [Paul D. Ford’s plans](https://web.archive.org/web/20150413010549/https://pauldford.com:80/resources/Studio+Plans.pdf) as a starting point.* **Question #2: Do I want to build it myself (or assist with building it)?** Again, my answer is no. Usually, I like learning about things. But, in this case, I want a truly professional job, and I am willing to pay for it. *If you answered yes to this question, you still should consider calling a local contractor. You could even share [the DawBox plans](https://dawbox.com/) as a starting point for your modular booth.* [![Hestia - Our Pellet Stove](https://stevenjaycohen.com/user/pages/files/2014/02/hestia-200x300.jpg)](https://stevenjaycohen.com/files/2014/02/hestia.jpg) **Question #3: Do I have any special sonic circumstances to consider?** Yes. Meet [Hestia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hestia "Hestia"), she is our pellet stove. She heats our home all winter (October through April here in New England). She has a fan and an auger that loads the pellets from the hopper. This is what she sounds like… Using [Audacity](https://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/) to monitor the ambient noise in the space, I figured out that Hestia creates a relatively constant sound registering around -43 dB. I would like to get that down near/below -60 dB before any post-production. This eliminated booths like the [ClearSonic IsoPacs](https://www.clearsonic.com/collections/translator-isolation-booth-packages) from consideration, since research for my previous article showed that they handle about 16 dB of noise reduction. I might be able to get an extra 4 dB with carpeting and other treatments, but I would rather get better performance from the booth itself. This is disappointing really. The ClearSonic booths are simple, light, and not as claustrophobic as some of the other options. **Question #4: Do I have any special spatial circumstances to consider?** Yes. The best place in my home to record is in our basement. But — here’s the issue — the basement is 82″ (6’10″/208cm) in height. So, not only does the finished booth need to fit in that space, but it needs to be able to be assembled without needing more room from above. This eliminated [WhisperRooms](https://www.whisperroom.com/) from the list. All WhisperRooms are 6’11” for single wall and 7’1″ for double wall construction. No customizations are available. [GretchKen](https://gretchken.com/) offered to shorten the booth free of charge. They told me that the finished booth would be 5’10” tall internally. [VocalBooth.com](https://www.vocalbooth.com/) said that they could customize the height as well, but that it would require custom built wall panels and a special door frame. They did not provide a price for the customization in their email. They also let me know that their internal height would be 78″ (6’4″), 6 inches taller than the GretchKen solution. [StudioBricks](https://studiobricks.com/music-recording/) said that because of their modular design, they could provide a custom D Level that would allow the booth to be assembled either with an internal height of 188cm or 213cm. The customization would cost $200. I also contacted some lesser known builders like [Custom Vocal Booths](https://www.customvocalbooth.com/) and [Scott’s VO Booths](https://www.scottsvobooths.com). Any of them could handle building a custom height. Custom Vocal Booths offered that as a free customization. Custom Vocal Booths tailors the project to your budget. When Scott saw where I lived, he let me know that being based in Los Angeles, he can only serve a radius from San Francisco to Phoenix. So, no matter how pretty his booths are, I just could not consider getting one. **Question #4a: Could there be other kinds of spatial issues?** Sure. I used to live in a New England home built in 1880 with very narrow, winding stairways. And, before that, I lived in Brooklyn, NY apartments with lots of stairs, no elevators, and narrow doorways. So, making sure that the pieces of the booth are small enough to be carried into a space individually could be an important consideration. **Questions #5: Anything else that should be considered?** Maybe. Do things like [Off-gassing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outgassing "Outgassing") in the booth matter to you? How about [Carbon Footprint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_footprint "Carbon footprint")? Or supporting local businesses? Or aesthetics? As you can see, most of the other questions that I could come up with moved from the realm of fact into opinion and personal preference. If you have other quantifiable questions that I missed, please let me know, and I will gladly add them to this article. Otherwise, [tune in again next time, for Part 3](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/i-finally-bought-a-vocal-booth-part-3/), to find out which booth I finally decided to buy, and why. #### Cup of Coffee A ridiculous amount of caffeine was consumed while researching. Add some fuel if you would like to help keep me going! [ Click here to give whatever amount works for you](https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/6NMZ3LXKADZ88) and thank you 🙂 ###### Related articles [**Part 1** – Do I really need a vocal booth?](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/do-i-really-need-a-vocalbooth/ "Do I really need a Vocal Booth? – Part 1") [**Part 3** – I finally bought a vocal booth!](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/i-finally-bought-a-vocal-booth-part-3/ "I finally bought a Vocal Booth! – Part 3") [**Part 4** – I bought the new StudioBricks One Plus!](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/i-bought-the-new-studiobricks-one-plus-part-4/ "I bought the new StudioBricks One Plus! – Part 4") [**Part 5** – 12 Questions to ask when buying a Vocal Booth](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/12-questions-to-ask-when-buying-a-vocal-booth-part-5/ "12 Questions to ask when buying a Vocal Booth – Part 5") [**Part 6** – Yes! I finally have my StudioBricks Vocal Booth!](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/yes-i-finally-have-my-studiobricks-vocal-booth-part-6/ "Yes! I finally have my StudioBricks Vocal Booth! – Part 6") [ Previous Post](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/do-i-really-need-a-vocalbooth) [Next Post ](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/i-finally-bought-a-vocal-booth-part-3) --- ## Navigation - Parent: [My Journal](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal.md) - Previous: [I finally bought a Vocal Booth! – Part 3](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/i-finally-bought-a-vocal-booth-part-3.md) - Next: [Do I really need a Vocal Booth? - Part 1](https://stevenjaycohen.com/journal/do-i-really-need-a-vocalbooth.md)