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  • Where can I buy cheap acoustic panels/foam/sponges?

NorioDS Most good mics (and even my crappy mic) will pick up even a quiet fan

Such is the world of condenser mics - though I was thinking some of those ultra silent computer fan's for simple extraction, though they are also probably a bit noisy.

I'm not a Aircon fan (heh), - it'll need to be 38C+ before I would tap out and want it. Makes my throat itchy and I get a bit of post nasal from the change in temp indoors/outdoors. Not that it isn't necessary - in the full on summer heat of Paarl (42C+) I do appreciate the chill of a 28C aircon (yes, I said chill). The std 23C is way too cold for me - I need a jersey - true story! 😆

NorioDS Yeah I'm liking this option more and more. It's between the acoustic insulation sponges and this.

I guess it depends on how invested you get in it - a isolation room would be a longer term thing?

NorioDS r. (The reverb in here is nuts! Not something I ever noticed before but live-monitoring a sensitive mic will highlight a LOT of stuff you don't normally notice.)

Maybe just treat the corners - though I think that's for booming bass response? Draping curtains/fabrics around the walls (and esp glass) will help. There's a deep dark hole of acoustics go delve into for sound treatments - here YT will be useful. Sure there's a bunch of guys who have done simple YT/Voice setups?

No idea on the isotherm stuff - if it's same stuff stuff as what Eskom wrapped the geysers in (I think it is), it's like a blanket - doesn't hold a shape at all.

        I seem to have found the SA equivalent of the fibreglass acoustic panels that Mike Delgaudio talks about in his video:

        https://spkonline.ubssa.co.za/cavity-batt-102mm-1200x600-679633.html

        Apparently it's also called "glasswool" 😆

        That link is for the 10cm thick version, which I think is what Mike recommends. (4inch) And each panel is like R70. Cheap as chips.

        The benefit of making your own panels is that 10cm thick panels are going to absorb a TON more than some of these el cheapo acoustic sponges that are less than a few centimetres at their thinnest points. Good for high frequencies and not much else.

        So guitarists and bassists will do well to try this out. (And drummers!)

        @Yeti this could also be an option for a garage. Won't be cheaper than egg boxes but a handful of well-placed panels could work? (We talked a while back about maybe doing our own garage.)

        I still have no idea how I'll go forward. But nice to know where to get some of this stuff locally.

        Maybe I'll do this for my office:

        • Heavy curtains in front of my window.
        • A "glasswool" panel on each of the 4 walls around me.

        That should be good enough for respectable videos.

        And then this for my closet / vocal booth:

        • 1 "glasswool" panel for each of the walls.
        • A panel for above my head.
        • A carpet / rug for under me.
        • A small stool to sit comfortably 😛 And probably some lighting.

        Option 3:

        • All the stuff I said I'd do for the office plus:
        • Clear my desk, chuck a blanket on it and...
        • Build a mini PVC pipes booth with a hood to go over my head.

        All of the options seem pretty cheap. I'll write back here if I come up with more ideas.

        • V8 likes this.

        V8 The std 23C is way too cold for me - I need a jersey - true story! 😆

        O.o

        V8 Maybe just treat the corners - though I think that's for booming bass response?

        Yep, corners are mostly for bass and luckily I don't really need to worry about that.

        V8 Draping curtains/fabrics around the walls (and esp glass) will help.

        Yeah I seriously need to put curtains back up. I like just having blinds but it's not going to help my cause when I want to record videos. The tricky bit is: if I put up curtains, I need lights. If I don't put up curtains, I'll have awful reverb 🤦🏻‍♂️

        V8 YT will be useful

        Yep that's where I'm spending a lot of my time right now. That and newsletters from voice actors.

                  My recording set up is simple... room has normal carpets, normal curtains and a couple of desks. So nothing special. When I record vocals I just hang a couple of camping mattresses using coat hangers (the mattresses have a loop for carrying on one end). I position the mic a few cm directly in front of one and have the other one roughly in the corner behind me... because that's where it's convenient to hang.
                  I've considered building something more substantial, but to be honest, this does everything I need and my vocal recordings are dry enough for me.

                  Incidentally, I also make sure that I'm singing at an angle in the room, rather than at a wall... and make sure to take the guitars off the wall first, those open strings can ring.

                  Yeti nice tips, thanks Bevan!

                  I have a sleeping bag that might work. Not quite as thick as a camping mattress I'm guessing?

                      An update on this from me...

                      I'm almost certainly going to make some of my own acoustic panels using Mike Delgaudio's "Glass Wool" method. But I don't want to let that to get in the way of me recording some voiceover and singing in the meanwhile.

                      So, after watching his video on how you can use your car as a vocal booth, I'm going to give that a stab. Hopefully this weekend.

                      One nice bonus about using the car is that, if it gets hot, you can stop recording and turn on the AC for a while. Then continue when the car's a bit cooler.

                        I bought acoustic foam from from a place in lyttleton. I forget the name though. Was reasonable. Will see if i can find the name and number

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