MondoTrap or bass trap solutions for a very small booth

[MikeTone]

Hey all, I've been reading a lot of posts and not finding an answer to my problem...

I've been using the PVB and love it but recently moved my studio to an apartment where there is too much external noise to use it in the open. I also acquired a very small vocal booth (3x4', ~7' high) from a friend who had it built, and it is not professional... the interior is lined with some sort of sound board, I'm not sure what... it looks almost perforated and is about 1/2" thick. Anyway it sounds horrible in there, and I can't afford to fully treat it right now, but I'm wondering what my options are, or if it's even worth it to put the money up to treat such a small space. I don't have many other options so I might be stuck trying to make this booth work.

I know that low frequencies will be my biggest problem in this small of a space and it would probably be best to just deaden the booth. All of the corner traps I'm seeing are waay too big for this space. Instead of bass trapping all of the corners I was thinking of getting one MondoTrap to put up against the door behind the performer for now, and eventually line the rest of the booth with 2" wedge foam. Will this work?

My other question is... I'm thinking of throwing my PVB in there for now, and if the MondoTrap is a good idea, using it like that for a while. But will the MondoTrap even make a difference? Should I just use the PVB by itself in there? I was reading in another post Ethan mentioned that there is little benefit to having absorption behind you if you're singing into the PVB as it will absorb everything. Is this true in such a small space?

Any ideas or suggestions much appreciated.

[James Lehmann]

Originally Posted by MikeTone

I was reading in another post Ethan mentioned that there is little benefit to having absorption behind you if you're singing into the PVB as it will absorb everything.

Whether or not Ethan stated that I don't agree. A PVB does not 'absorb everything' and absorption behind the speaker/singer can make a substantial difference, depending on a number of factors such as mic choice etc.

[MikeTone]

It wasn't absorb everything but here is the post from March 2008...

There's little benefit to having more absorption behind you if you're singing into our PVB. When you ding into the PVB it absorbs the sound right there, before it even has a chance to get out into the room.

--Ethan

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by MikeTone

I know that low frequencies will be my biggest problem in this small of a space and it would probably be best to just deaden the booth.

I agree. One MondoTrap or two MiniTraps will help, along with a bunch of foam that's at least two inches thick. In this case you'd want our HF style traps. We can make any model as "HF" to absorb mids and highs as well as bass.

As for absorption behind you: When the absorber in front of you is large, like the PVB, I've found that's enough. Both of the demo "slide show" videos on our site let you hear the effect of just the PVB with nothing else behind the talent. Both demos were recorded in small bathrooms with all the towels etc removed, so they were both very live rooms. In the parts when the PVB is used you can hear that the result is very clear and dry just with the one PVB.

--Ethan

[MikeTone]

Thanks Ethan!

What if I'm not going to use the PVB inside the booth? That was only going to be a temporary solution until I can buy the foam.

So will 2" Auralex wedge be ok all over the booth if I'm using a MondoTrap? Or should I have thicker 4" stuff along the front wall where the performer is facing, along with the MondoTrap behind, and 2" on the remaining surfaces? And should the MondoTrap be in front of or behind the performer?

thanks

[Ethan Winer]

^^^ It's really tough to say without being there to hear what it sounds like. Have you tried it yet?

As for foam, I'd use at least two inches thick, but four inches is better still. Adding bass traps will help further. A room that size has very strong resonances in the mid bass range. A bass trap will probably help no matter what corner you put it in or near.

--Ethan