Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

K

Kruspe

New member
Hey,

I decided to build a isolation cabinet i have 2 V30 speakers left so i thought i would build a box out of plywood with isolation foam and other materials to keep it pretty much sound proof, so if the speaker in it is playing loud, it wont create too much noise in the room. Also, the box will be big enough to have SM57 and RbN121 mic in it, i was thinking to use this as a silent recording device in my home studio, since i live in apartment i cannot really record loud guitars in room.

Do you think this would be a good approach vs recording silent guitars with Two Notes torpedo loadboad and IR, that sounds already pretty amazing but i still think that real cabinet is just much much better.

The only concern with this i have is that i am not sure if the box will affect the sound in a way that it will sound boxy, i was thinking to build the box bigger to allow the air move inside little bit more, it would be looking similar to a 1x12 mesa cabinet from the dimensions perspective, just isolation material inside.

Any experience ?
 
Re: Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

Kruspe said:
Hey,

I decided to build a isolation cabinet i have 2 V30 speakers left so i thought i would build a box out of plywood with isolation foam and other materials to keep it pretty much sound proof, so if the speaker in it is playing loud, it wont create too much noise in the room. Also, the box will be big enough to have SM57 and RbN121 mic in it, i was thinking to use this as a silent recording device in my home studio, since i live in apartment i cannot really record loud guitars in room.

Do you think this would be a good approach vs recording silent guitars with Two Notes torpedo loadboad and IR, that sounds already pretty amazing but i still think that real cabinet is just much much better.

The only concern with this i have is that i am not sure if the box will affect the sound in a way that it will sound boxy, i was thinking to build the box bigger to allow the air move inside little bit more, it would be looking similar to a 1x12 mesa cabinet from the dimensions perspective, just isolation material inside.

Any experience ?
Click to expand...
That will work just fine as long as the wood is somewhere around 3/4 inch thick. Just from personal experience anything thinner than 11/16 tends to ruin the sound unless youre using a higher grade wood thats not plywood. But thatd be heavy as hell so I used 3/4 inch plywood with isolation foam inside. Sounded pretty damn good

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Re: Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

Derpottsie said:
That will work just fine as long as the wood is somewhere around 3/4 inch thick. Just from personal experience anything thinner than 11/16 tends to ruin the sound unless youre using a higher grade wood thats not plywood. But thatd be heavy as hell so I used 3/4 inch plywood with isolation foam inside. Sounded pretty damn good

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...



Awesome, thanks ! I thought i would use something at least decent thick, very similar to a wood that the manufacture would use to build the mesa cabs.
 
Re: Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

Kruspe said:
Awesome, thanks ! I thought i would use something at least decent thick, very similar to a wood that the manufacture would use to build the mesa cabs.
Click to expand...
I highly recommend gluing a 1/4 inch layer of cork padding on the wood before adding the foam. Its gonna help keep it sound proof and add too the isolation sound

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Re: Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

Derpottsie said:
I highly recommend gluing a 1/4 inch layer of cork padding on the wood before adding the foam. Its gonna help keep it sound proof and add too the isolation sound

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


I will be using this :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KZ5X7KO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Noico 80 mil 10 sqft car Sound deadening mat, butyl automotive Sound Deadener, audio Noise Insulation and dampening

This will go inside the box before i put the isolation foam, i think that would help a lot, i will also put that under the speaker cone where there will be no foam, the foam will only go in that half of the box that is on top of the speaker.
I thought maybe its not good idea to put the foam inside that speaker area basically that half of the box that the speaker will be resonating.. that could maybe choke the bass or something ..

So basically half of the box (bottom of the speaker area) will only have this isolation material the other half will have that as well as the foam.
 
Re: Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

Kruspe said:
I will be using this :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KZ5X7KO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Noico 80 mil 10 sqft car Sound deadening mat, butyl automotive Sound Deadener, audio Noise Insulation and dampening

This will go inside the box before i put the isolation foam, i think that would help a lot, i will also put that under the speaker cone where there will be no foam, the foam will only go in that half of the box that is on top of the speaker.
I thought maybe its not good idea to put the foam inside that speaker area basically that half of the box that the speaker will be resonating.. that could maybe choke the bass or something ..

So basically half of the box (bottom of the speaker area) will only have this isolation material the other half will have that as well as the foam.
Click to expand...
Perfeeect it'll sound great for sure. Good luck on your recordings!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk
 
Re: Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

Just for reference. This is my Demeter SSC-1. One of the better commercially available iso cabs. 30"x18.5"x18.5"

Actually the more batting behind the speaker will make the space perceived by the speaker to be larger. Obviously the batting shouldn't be installed in such a way as to physically contact the speaker cone.

A heavy rubber layer as a start is a nice idea as mass stops the transmission of sound. I don't know how much the car stuff costs or how effective it is but looking at the cheap rubber backed (and quite heavy) floor/boot mat by my front door has me wondering if it might not work a treat at a considerable savings. Maybe check your local Sam's Club or equivalent... Just a thought. Good luck.

wvNMLwl.jpg


nbO965s.jpg
 
Re: Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

SlyFoxx said:
Just for reference. This is my Demeter SSC-1. One of the better commercially available iso cabs. 30"x18.5"x18.5"

Actually the more batting behind the speaker will make the space perceived by the speaker to be larger. Obviously the batting shouldn't be installed in such a way as to physically contact the speaker cone.

A heavy rubber layer as a start is a nice idea as mass stops the transmission of sound. I don't know how much the car stuff costs or how effective it is but looking at the cheap rubber backed (and quite heavy) floor/boot mat by my front door has me wondering if it might not work a treat at a considerable savings. Maybe check your local Sam's Club or equivalent... Just a thought. Good luck.

wvNMLwl.jpg


nbO965s.jpg
Click to expand...

This looks exactly how i imagined i would build it..

I was wondering about that mic holder, kinda hard to find something that would be practical and would fit there, in the end i went for gooseneck holder and will see if that is going to work or not.. i want to have the ability to move that mic where i want and specially, i want the mic to stay there when the speaker is playing very loud.
 
Re: Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

done with the work..

Measuring at home depot was not the best.. but i did not really go for the best look possible, will probably cover it in carpet or something so the wood wont be visible at all...

Sounds good !

i use SM57 now, the only thing is that if it is too loud the mic will start to sound very flat, so basically keeping the volume on something normal like 3-4 max out of 10 will produce very good result, depends also on the tube head if i use friedman runt 20 i need to play on 2-3 that thing is loud as f***


The sound isolation is very good, i put multiple layers, the only thing is that i need to lift the box out of the ground little bit because of the low end, it resonates a lot, those waves travel, so put it on wheels and got some foam on the ground and it works perfectly..

I like blend of this and torpedo live V30 IR, the torpedo sounds awesome but is missing some of the high end and fullness of real speaker.


IMG_20170523_100259.jpgIMG_20170523_100309.jpg
 
Re: Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

Loks cool! I have a Randall iso cab that I wrap in blankets, place on an Auralex GRAMMA, and then put in a closet to record cranked electric guitars. Works a treat! I have been wanting to get another one for multi mic'ing but have been having good results blending in Impulse Responses with the mic'd signal.
 
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Re: Isolation cabinet custom build - Studio experience

TwilightOdyssey said:
Loks cool! I have a Randall iso cab that I wrap in blankets, place on an Auralex GRAMMA, and then put in a closet to record cranked electric guitars. Works a treat! I have been wanting to get another one for multi mic'ing but have been having good results blending in Impulse Responses with the mic'd signal.
Click to expand...

I was looking on those Randalls as well.. but it was kinda expensive, i already had the speaker at home unused i think the whole thing cost me like 120 dollars or so, no more than that, but some hours getting it ready for sure.
 
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