Yes. Believe it or not. Acoustic foam (especially the 1 inch ones on Amazon) are not enough coverage. You need thicker, denser softer material. Pillows, clothing and blankets will give you better sound than ONLY Amazon foam on the walls.
id like to add that this same logic is why a lot of bedroom pop artists have decently good vocals. in my experience as a bedroom studio musician, my bed, curtains, carpet/rugs, closet, and all the uneven surfaces around my room from bookcases and shelves makes it a lot better for vocals since every flat surface my voice could possibly reverberate off of has been pretty much eliminated (the paint on my ceiling being that star splattered paint technique). granted a lot of the quality for me comes from a dynamic cardiod microphone which doesnt really pick up much background noise but when recording with other mics the sound isnt super echoey or muffled due to the room having a lot of natural acoustic treatment
even when i used a cheap blue yeti (imo terrible mic for the value) it didnt sound too terrible either (granted blue yeti’s are already an echoey tin can from my experience and any vibration that makes it to that mic will sound horrible for recordings)
@@pseudonoises Absolutely 100% true! That bed, that sofa, those curtains, those blankets will give you great acoustics. Thick, fluffy things make your audio have less reverb
I recently tried positioning my mic stand in my bedroom closet and draping a moving blanket over the top with the door slightly open forming a V with the door frame. It’s the best vocal I’ve ever recorded to date.
💯 Been saying this for years! People don´t listen, even professionals which I admire. I place a cheap bed mattress behind me and have the back of the mic as far as possible from the wall, aimed at the corner of the room where ideally there is curtains. That´s it, good on you for exposing this scam Dracomies!
OMG I'm the same way too! I swear to God when a bunch of voiceactors gut out their closet and put in thin acoustic foam I tell em, dude, put your clothes back in and toss that foam out rofl!! :D
Moving blankets are amazing. My 3rd floor attic office has no doors, and my fiancés office is on the second floor right in front of the stairwell entrance to mine. Her voice was very clearly bleeding up into my office and becoming a huge distraction for me while I worked. I got some moving blankets off amazon and got them sewn to fit on curtain rods. I put two at the bottom of the stairwell and two at the top. Now I can't hear her working at all as long as I keep my headset on!
I agree with almost everything in this video, except and I an eyeball and it works really well. to be fair, I'm in a untreated basement with a furnace near me so I need max room deadening, but after I record I just eq a bit and throw on some OTT and it sounds great. I think the super dry recording is actually really good to mix with. I'll admit tho I had to add reverb to the headphones cause my artists didn't like hearing their voice so dry while they were singing.
Foam boxes do suck, realized that after trying a couple and being honest with myself lol. I DIY'd some window plugs and BAM huge difference in outside noise as well as reflections.
Well said...the best example was the guy speaking through the acoustic panel...and yes I find moving blankets at harbor freight much more effective... And better on the wallet 😉
I have no idea if anything that you said was true, but you said it with such confidence that I am forced to believe every word you say. It also helps that you sound good.
I would only mount the acoustic foam on thicker panels to suppress the high frequencies. Otherwise, I think it is better to build a frame out of wood, fill it with rock wool and wrap it in fabric. If you have too much time, you can drill holes in the wooden frame and pull the covering fabric over it. A little cotton wool doesn't hurt in this regard either. And yes, you can also take it to the extreme by adding one or two layers of cotton wool in front of the rock wool panels and yes, you could of course add a rubber mat made of recycled rubber behind the rock wool elements and, as mentioned above, you could stick a few foam panels in front of the whole thing. But in my opinion that is more overkill and only a possible solution if there are existing problems with high frequencies, otherwise I see such foam panels more as a possible visual enhancement (of course it is a matter of taste and also depends on the panels and colors used). I can see another application for such acoustic foam panels, for example, if you buy high-density foam in sufficient thickness (10+ cm) as sheet goods and then cover these with inexpensive acoustic foam panels to improve the appearance. I would personally prefer the first version, as it certainly has better properties than the acoustic foam panels and is also certainly more durable than foam.
kaotica eyeball definitely makes audio recordings a tad boomy and muffled, but in my experience if you're in a completed untreated room its sounds much better than without (just have to do some more eq in post) and +1 on moving blankets also i have a few big ones i put grommets in and had hung up in my home studio then i put my old cheap foam panels in the corners of my room and over closet door for extra sound-better-ness (didn't want them to rot in storage)
SOrry for not including the link, I didn't want that to be confused as a scam as this actually does work and is viable ^_^. PVC booth here: th-cam.com/video/D9pHxVCkof4/w-d-xo.html
I think most of this stuff outside of foam panels isn't a scam necessarily just not meant for voiceover purposes. The Kaotica has been amazing for me as an artist, but I wouldn't recommend it for voiceover forsure.
yip just had another singer comment the same thing too. I think for singing the rules are much different and the kaotica eyeball may be something that is useful for singers :P
Woah what the heck? I was about to spend my money on acoustic foam and corner dampeners, when all i needed was pillows? Dracomies is always saving my life!
I have come to hear that ideal conditions large room with full room treatment much as I find these booths interesting an I love when mics are all over the spectrum its cute an raw but having the option of full coverage is nice for when I wanna ASMR some fools
If only I had seen this video before making my purchase. Welp, now I have to just figure out how to get the PVC and set up the booth. Do regular blankets, thick towels or duvets work as much? I don't think we have moving blankets in Nigeria. Or at least the type you have.
The nice thing about Producer's blanket is that they're 10 lbs each blanket. So you can layer 1 per side, but you need 5 of them. Front, left, right, back, top. But with shipping costs they can cost a lot. Alternative ones to check out are moving blankets. This is a general formula I made for other voiceactors: imgur.com/3w7GeoX
Totally different! Singing is ok with reverb. And after I made this video it became very apparent that these devices were intended for singers. But the issue is when people try to use them for voiceover.
THANK YOU! I was planning on changing my reading room with acoustic foam, this vid saved me tons of money. One more question, some of my VO friend said bookshelfs are good for sound treatment. Is it true or should i cover them up with moving blankets?
Bookshelves can be used either for absorption or for diffusion. If you want to do diffusion, put all your books in there but flip the books so that the pages are facing you. If you want to do absorption put pillows inside the bookshelf so it almost acts like a bass trap. Both help with audio.
@@Daniel-lx7hn Great question. In layman's terms, absorption is usually soft, thick and dense material which helps a lot with nullifying reverb. Whereas diffusion it's almost like when you hear it, your brain can't pinpoint what is going on because the sound isn't going on a wall, it's almost like it doesn't what it is, it's the layman's terms way of me explaining it. In other words, one of the worst things you can do to your recordings is put your microphone next to a wall because your brain will know that there's a wall there and it will sound boxy. Diffusion is where when you hear it, you don't know what it is. Hard to explain. the TLDR is that putting pillows on the shelf will help. Edit: This article explains it better than I can: www.reddit.com/r/audioengineering/comments/8p30t5/what_are_is_your_opinion_on_books_being_used_as/
Owens Corning 703 or Rockwool. If you can't build this, then opt for a PVC booth made with moving blankets. If you can't do any of the two, use thick winter comforters and thick pillows (with none of them touching the mic) but giving you coverage around the mic.
Tfw when you first start with pillows. Then remove pillows to add acoustic foam. Then realize what the hell, and put the pillow and blankets back in since they are better than cheap thin foam. :D
this dude is the BEST youtuber for musicians, technicians, youtubers, voice actors, literally anything that you need to speak for, no debate, THE BEST.
thenx for the great video I really trust everything you say on this channel but.... (wavy wayne , edward smith , aiden wolf) !!! Are you trying to say that these names are actually scammers?🤔...Are you sure you didn't rush this video?
If anything they might be sellouts, passive to the problem, or just ignorant.. But I wouldn't say everyone in this video is intentionally a scammer. It's also not really about the people like Dracomies had said.
I think everyone has been taught that foam is good and took it as fact. I don't blame 'em. People often don't think of DIY as the first option, even if it gets you better results.
So using a bunch of blankets, quilts, and pillows will sound better than filling my room with a bunch of foam?
Yes. Believe it or not. Acoustic foam (especially the 1 inch ones on Amazon) are not enough coverage. You need thicker, denser softer material. Pillows, clothing and blankets will give you better sound than ONLY Amazon foam on the walls.
id like to add that this same logic is why a lot of bedroom pop artists have decently good vocals. in my experience as a bedroom studio musician, my bed, curtains, carpet/rugs, closet, and all the uneven surfaces around my room from bookcases and shelves makes it a lot better for vocals since every flat surface my voice could possibly reverberate off of has been pretty much eliminated (the paint on my ceiling being that star splattered paint technique). granted a lot of the quality for me comes from a dynamic cardiod microphone which doesnt really pick up much background noise but when recording with other mics the sound isnt super echoey or muffled due to the room having a lot of natural acoustic treatment
even when i used a cheap blue yeti (imo terrible mic for the value) it didnt sound too terrible either (granted blue yeti’s are already an echoey tin can from my experience and any vibration that makes it to that mic will sound horrible for recordings)
@@pseudonoises Absolutely 100% true! That bed, that sofa, those curtains, those blankets will give you great acoustics. Thick, fluffy things make your audio have less reverb
I recently tried positioning my mic stand in my bedroom closet and draping a moving blanket over the top with the door slightly open forming a V with the door frame. It’s the best vocal I’ve ever recorded to date.
but i need that soundproofing foam in the background of my youtube videos
:D. Yip it's soundproofing! :D rofl
💯 Been saying this for years! People don´t listen, even professionals which I admire. I place a cheap bed mattress behind me and have the back of the mic as far as possible from the wall, aimed at the corner of the room where ideally there is curtains. That´s it, good on you for exposing this scam Dracomies!
OMG I'm the same way too! I swear to God when a bunch of voiceactors gut out their closet and put in thin acoustic foam I tell em, dude, put your clothes back in and toss that foam out rofl!! :D
all those isolation boxes are comb filtering nightmares
Moving blankets are amazing. My 3rd floor attic office has no doors, and my fiancés office is on the second floor right in front of the stairwell entrance to mine. Her voice was very clearly bleeding up into my office and becoming a huge distraction for me while I worked. I got some moving blankets off amazon and got them sewn to fit on curtain rods. I put two at the bottom of the stairwell and two at the top. Now I can't hear her working at all as long as I keep my headset on!
Acoustic foam is not intended to isolate voices, it is to control the acoustics of the room to monitor the audio
I agree with almost everything in this video, except and I an eyeball and it works really well. to be fair, I'm in a untreated basement with a furnace near me so I need max room deadening, but after I record I just eq a bit and throw on some OTT and it sounds great. I think the super dry recording is actually really good to mix with. I'll admit tho I had to add reverb to the headphones cause my artists didn't like hearing their voice so dry while they were singing.
I think if you're using it for singing it makes sense. My approach was definitely was more for voiceactors. :P
Foam boxes do suck, realized that after trying a couple and being honest with myself lol. I DIY'd some window plugs and BAM huge difference in outside noise as well as reflections.
Well said...the best example was the guy speaking through the acoustic panel...and yes I find moving blankets at harbor freight much more effective... And better on the wallet 😉
I have no idea if anything that you said was true, but you said it with such confidence that I am forced to believe every word you say. It also helps that you sound good.
On a less comical note I wouldn't mind hearing what your personal setup is made of.
I would only mount the acoustic foam on thicker panels to suppress the high frequencies. Otherwise, I think it is better to build a frame out of wood, fill it with rock wool and wrap it in fabric. If you have too much time, you can drill holes in the wooden frame and pull the covering fabric over it. A little cotton wool doesn't hurt in this regard either.
And yes, you can also take it to the extreme by adding one or two layers of cotton wool in front of the rock wool panels and yes, you could of course add a rubber mat made of recycled rubber behind the rock wool elements and, as mentioned above, you could stick a few foam panels in front of the whole thing. But in my opinion that is more overkill and only a possible solution if there are existing problems with high frequencies, otherwise I see such foam panels more as a possible visual enhancement (of course it is a matter of taste and also depends on the panels and colors used).
I can see another application for such acoustic foam panels, for example, if you buy high-density foam in sufficient thickness (10+ cm) as sheet goods and then cover these with inexpensive acoustic foam panels to improve the appearance.
I would personally prefer the first version, as it certainly has better properties than the acoustic foam panels and is also certainly more durable than foam.
I got one of those cheap dressing booths and used that as a frame.
kaotica eyeball definitely makes audio recordings a tad boomy and muffled, but in my experience if you're in a completed untreated room its sounds much better than without (just have to do some more eq in post) and +1 on moving blankets also i have a few big ones i put grommets in and had hung up in my home studio then i put my old cheap foam panels in the corners of my room and over closet door for extra sound-better-ness (didn't want them to rot in storage)
rockwool and blankets! rockwool and blankets! yes yes yes
it would've been nice to include some of the videos you showed in the description, i wanted to see more about the pvc booth
Here you go! th-cam.com/video/D9pHxVCkof4/w-d-xo.html
SOrry for not including the link, I didn't want that to be confused as a scam as this actually does work and is viable ^_^. PVC booth here: th-cam.com/video/D9pHxVCkof4/w-d-xo.html
@Dracomies oh i see! thats understandstable, and thank you for the links :D
My plan was to line my closet with rockwool and then cover it with the cheap foam to make it look a little better.
7:00 world changed completly
I think most of this stuff outside of foam panels isn't a scam necessarily just not meant for voiceover purposes. The Kaotica has been amazing for me as an artist, but I wouldn't recommend it for voiceover forsure.
yip just had another singer comment the same thing too. I think for singing the rules are much different and the kaotica eyeball may be something that is useful for singers :P
Amazing video everyone should see. Big up
Woah what the heck? I was about to spend my money on acoustic foam and corner dampeners, when all i needed was pillows?
Dracomies is always saving my life!
That was one of the lessons I learned, I took out all my clothes out of my closet and put acoustic foam and realized the audio sounded much worse :D
I have come to hear that ideal conditions large room with full room treatment
much as I find these booths interesting an I love when mics are all over the spectrum its cute an raw but having the option of full coverage is nice for when I wanna ASMR some fools
If only I had seen this video before making my purchase. Welp, now I have to just figure out how to get the PVC and set up the booth. Do regular blankets, thick towels or duvets work as much? I don't think we have moving blankets in Nigeria. Or at least the type you have.
yes, regular blankets will the job done as well. Duvets will work as well. You can use something like a photo backdrop stand and use clamps.
Hi, do you think Producers Choice sound blanket is worth it? And also which moving blankets do you recommend, links? Thanks!
The nice thing about Producer's blanket is that they're 10 lbs each blanket. So you can layer 1 per side, but you need 5 of them. Front, left, right, back, top. But with shipping costs they can cost a lot. Alternative ones to check out are moving blankets. This is a general formula I made for other voiceactors: imgur.com/3w7GeoX
@@Dracomies Thanks!
what about diffusers? are they no good as well?
Appreciate the perspective, though abrupt end to video was a touch harsh
Great video! ❤ I have a remaining question though, working on the acoustic of a room should be different for signing and voice acting?
Totally different! Singing is ok with reverb. And after I made this video it became very apparent that these devices were intended for singers. But the issue is when people try to use them for voiceover.
thoughts on Beacn USB Mic? also what mic are you using in the video?
I know that the blanket can do the job 😂
Blankets do work!
Just get up close and personal with an sm57 with a windscreen. Cheapest solution 👌
THANK YOU! I was planning on changing my reading room with acoustic foam, this vid saved me tons of money. One more question, some of my VO friend said bookshelfs are good for sound treatment. Is it true or should i cover them up with moving blankets?
Bookshelves can be used either for absorption or for diffusion. If you want to do diffusion, put all your books in there but flip the books so that the pages are facing you. If you want to do absorption put pillows inside the bookshelf so it almost acts like a bass trap. Both help with audio.
@@Dracomies sorry for the stupid question, but what is the different of absorption and diffusion?
@@Daniel-lx7hn Great question. In layman's terms, absorption is usually soft, thick and dense material which helps a lot with nullifying reverb. Whereas diffusion it's almost like when you hear it, your brain can't pinpoint what is going on because the sound isn't going on a wall, it's almost like it doesn't what it is, it's the layman's terms way of me explaining it. In other words, one of the worst things you can do to your recordings is put your microphone next to a wall because your brain will know that there's a wall there and it will sound boxy. Diffusion is where when you hear it, you don't know what it is. Hard to explain. the TLDR is that putting pillows on the shelf will help. Edit: This article explains it better than I can: www.reddit.com/r/audioengineering/comments/8p30t5/what_are_is_your_opinion_on_books_being_used_as/
amazing video tbh
Can you provide links to the best in your opinion thick acoustic treatment than the ones on Amazon
Owens Corning 703 or Rockwool. If you can't build this, then opt for a PVC booth made with moving blankets. If you can't do any of the two, use thick winter comforters and thick pillows (with none of them touching the mic) but giving you coverage around the mic.
@@Dracomies thank you 🙏
first one is littraly motorcycle helmet.
most of these products could be replaced with 2 or 3 pillows for the same effect (i would trust the pillows more)
made this comment halfway through the video, and then you straight up said it later on. hell yeah.
Tfw when you first start with pillows. Then remove pillows to add acoustic foam. Then realize what the hell, and put the pillow and blankets back in since they are better than cheap thin foam. :D
this dude is the BEST youtuber for musicians, technicians, youtubers, voice actors, literally anything that you need to speak for, no debate, THE BEST.
What is the thick dense one called you said it too fast
Owens Corning 703 or Rockwool.
@@Dracomies thank you so much
they look cool though
gud vid
thenx for the great video I really trust everything you say on this channel but.... (wavy wayne , edward smith , aiden wolf) !!! Are you trying to say that these names are actually scammers?🤔...Are you sure you didn't rush this video?
The video is about the booths not about people.
If anything they might be sellouts, passive to the problem, or just ignorant.. But I wouldn't say everyone in this video is intentionally a scammer. It's also not really about the people like Dracomies had said.
I think everyone has been taught that foam is good and took it as fact.
I don't blame 'em.
People often don't think of DIY as the first option, even if it gets you better results.