Speaker ISO box

[soundrick]

I built a guitar speaker isolation cabinet so I can track guitars at my condo whenever I want.

I based this off a design that I saw in another thread here somewhere. The goal was as much isolation as I could get in a space I could put in the closet. I bought all materials from the Home Depot except the fabric from a local fabric store and the mineral wool insulation from another place here in town.

I don't have much room to build stuff, so I did this on my back patio with pretty basic tools: circular saw, mitre saw, drill, hand tools etc.....

I used 2 layers of 1/2" MDF for the box-

Materials gathered and basic dimensions cut:


It's a "box within a box" design, so I needed a little separation for an air gap between the two layers of MDF. I used the stuff you put underneath laminate flooring. I could have ordered some high density rubber or something, but this thing is heavy enough, and I guess I took a gamble that a little gap would add to the isolation, no way of knowing for sure if one would have worked better than the other..........


Home Depot didn't have "sound" caulk or sealant or anything, so I used some other stuff, I can't even remember what it was, but the guy said it was the closest thing they had:


I built the bottom of the box first then the outside box around it, then I put in the "inside" box and sealed all the seams as I went. This way all the seams were a sort of "stairstep" angle, I've read around these parts that it's better isolation that way.


The lid seals over a 2" lip made by having the "inside box" come up past the "outside box" by 2".
Box done, all sealed up:

[soundrick]

Here's pics of the opening and housing box for the input panel:





Next I made a hole for the cable and sealed that up, then mounted 2 gooseneck stands for the mics:



I made a speaker box from 3/4" plywood and put a Weber 30W alnico speaker in it that I bought from a fellow slut. Before the speaker box went in, I put 2" mineral wool all the way around including top and bottom, and several layers on the mic end to absorb more low frequencies. I covered it all with cheap, thin black fabric.


Where the lid goes on I added weather seal and latches to cinch it down. I used an epoxy paint for the finish so it's really tough, and also added casters because it's stupid heavy. I also forgot to mention I got the rack hardware off ebay.


Closeup of the input/output panel:


All finished, next to the AC15 for a size reference:


I can't figure out why the pictures make the corners look like that, they look fine up close.
I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I'm no master craftsman or anything, and I have limited space and tools, so I do what I can. I had fun on this project, and ultimately it works BEAUTIFULLY!!

I actually can't believe how well it works. I have an AC15 and Egnater Rebel 20 here and I can crank both of them all the way up and BARELY hear anything. The only audible sound is a little bit of the low end rumbling the box, but it's definitely not loud. Once the box is in the closet and we have monitors going while tracking, you wouldn't even know it was there.
The sound is good, I used a 57 and a ribbon and blended them, and I didn't add any EQ to the tracks, there's no boxiness or anything like that, it does it's duty like it's supposed to.
I can also remove the speaker box and put a different speaker in if I wanted to.

I'll put up some samples whenever I get this current project finished.

[dominic hoenig]

looks awesome dude! i really want to make myself one of these. i would LOVE to hear some clips. just so i can make an assumption as to whether i need one!

also how much would you say this cost to make? including speaker as well, etc.

[soundrick]

Thanks,

I will try to post some clips.

as to the cost: the Speaker was $80 here on Gearslutz. The mineral wool and fabric was about $40. Wood, caulk, paint and other materials about $100. Rack hardware/latches $40.

[ianmcintosh]

Hey, I'm totally thinking about making one of these. Your design seems the most promising out of the ones I've looked at. I would be very very interested in hearing clips. :)

Ian