Recording - December 2009 - 52

On my latest visit to Orange County, Frank Wright proudly showed me around his new studio, and in back there was this impressive vocal booth, at the time still unfinished. He showed me how it was designed to snap together, despite being of quite massive construction, making it possible to dismantle it and carry it to another location if needed. I wondered out loud if that might be suitable for a home studio? Frank assured me that it could be. He hadn’t devised it as a DIY project, he built it out of necessity for his studio. But since he’s had considerable interest from clients who want one in their own studios, he has decided to have the booth made to order and sell it to anyone who doesn’t want to tackle the project themselves. If you are handy with lumber and tools, you might want to consider adapting the concept and building one yourself. The instructions that follow are not as step-by-step detailed as they would be for a project that was meant to be a DIY in the first place, but they should provide a guideline for someone who might want to tackle such a project during the holidays. Just go easy on the eggnog while you handle power tools—OSHA, OSHA, OSHA Over to you, Frank!—LzR ~ Liquid nails or any other glue that can be applied with a caulking gun, for gluing 701 Corning (between walls) and Auralex (inside of booth). ~ XLR and Stereo jack face plate. ~ 120 VAC receptacle. ~ Silent-running air-conditioning unit and approx. 8 feet of 4 inch duct to run clean cool air into the booth. ~ 2 Exhaust duct face place connectors, one mounted in ceiling (air conditioning unit positive air flow) and one mounted in lower wall for return air flow (hot air movement out of booth). ~ 4 sheets of interior sound proofing, 2" to 4" thick Auralex acoustic foam. ~ Door window consisting of 1/4" Plexiglass ~ 3 standard wood door hinges ~ 2 Door handles for inside and outside of door ~ Heavy grit sand paper Tools required: Circular saw Hand jigsaw Hand drill Wood plane Various wood files Screwdriver – flat blade and Phillips Wood door miter set for hinges Colton 7 Vocal Booth The Good sound in a mobile unit BY FRANK WRIGHT Description The industry-standard C7 (Colton7) Vocal Booth snaps together—5 walls, 1 ceiling (top) and 1 base (bottom). Each wall snaps into place at its bottom and top assembly with absolutely no screws or hardware needed to assemble. It takes approximately one hour to assemble or dismantle the C7 Vocal Booth. The 7 parts—sides, top, and bottom— of the C7 Vocal Booth are constructed of 1 /2" maple wood. Sound proofing, including 701 Corning fiberglass between walls and Auralex on the interior, assures the best quality of sound. Air conditioning adds comfort, and connectors for electrical and for audio provide full functionality. Parts Here’s a parts list for the C7 Vocal booth. ~ 1/2" maple plywood (approx. 5 sheets of plywood, depending on desired height of your studio ceiling and available space in your room). ~ 6pcs of 2 x 4 wood for framing. ~ 2 boxes of 2" wood screws. ~ 4 sheets of Corning 701 Series Insulation products which are available in a 24" x 48" standard size. 2" thickness for noise insulation.RECORDING DECEMBER 2009 Dimensions Two back walls: 33 in. x 9 ft. Two side walls: 44 in x 9 ft. Front wall (door wall) 40 in x 9 ft. Top (ceiling) factory fit. Bottom (floor) factory fit. Construction The top and bottom pieces form the rings that the 5 walls will fit inside. Note that they are constructed of 2x4 around the edge and 1/2" plywood in the center. Side Wall, Walls, Booth top: 2x4 wood frame, 1/2" plywood Door, Booth Top, Back Wall, Booth Bottom: The same principle applies. 2x4 makes up the frame and plywood is inserted in the center to create this portion of the wall. 2x4 framing, 1/2" plywood makes up wall center. Air conditioning and connectors An outside exhaust fan and forced air conditioning unit (silent running) are mounted to the top and isolated from the C7 Vocal Booth. It comes equipped with separate control for speed of amount of airflow. At the rear of the back wall an exhaust duct is used for return air movement. The C7 Vocal Booth is equipped with an electrical receptacle for 120 VAC, included

Recording - December 2009

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