would this work

My dad is about to get married and move out and leave me the house. So, I've got an extra room now that I want to turn into a recording/music room. Soundproofing the room is not an options as that is majorly expensive! What I though about doing is building an isolation box to put my amps in when recording/playing. I will probalby build it 36"w x 40"h x 24" deep so it can accomodate my combo's and my 4x12 cab. I will construct is with 3/4" MDF and line it with 2" soundproofing foam. When recording I will have the mic placed infront of the amp wherever it needs to be, then close the front with a latchable door constructed the same way, and have a little cutout for the mic cable to come out. Would this allow me to run my tube amps loud enough to really push the tubes, but still keep the volume to a minum? At least to where it's not very noticable standing outside the house/room. Do any of you have better solutions?

Building the isolation boxes like you said should do the trick. If it's built right, you shouldn't be able to hear it outside of the house with the amp cranked high to push the tubes.

If it's a house, why do you worry about noise levels? Unless it's a semi-detached or townhouse, I guess.

Here's a link where they talk about different iso box designs.....

http://www.amptone.com/g234.htm

Id not spend too much on it until you know what you want to to sound like. Much of the sound from an amp that you hear is reflected sound and you may find that the ambiance in the iso-booth doesn't work for you.

I have a friend who went and deadened all the reflections in the room he records in and ended up ripping it all out as it sounded horrible !!

Have you checked out the aurolex web site ? The have a lot of acoustic info there that might be useful. other useful places to check in on would be www.homerecording.com or www.recording.org

Originally Posted by: iamthe_eggmanIf it's a house, why do you worry about noise levels? Unless it's a semi-detached or townhouse, I guess.[/QUOTE]

Yes, it's a townhouse. My neighbours house is only around 8' away. If I play loudly in the livingroom (which is in the middle of the house) you can hear me out in the street :eek: . My neighbour has told me they've heard me playing while inside there own house...lol.

[QUOTE=Dr_Simon]Id not spend too much on it until you know what you want to to sound like. Much of the sound from an amp that you hear is reflected sound and you may find that the ambiance in the iso-booth doesn't work for you.

My house is a small house with no ambiance at all. I normally use different types of reverb and delay to get a "live" sound.

My dad isn't leaving for a couple of more weeks, so I've got plenty of time to figure out how I want to deaden the exterior sound.

Originally Posted by: PRSplayaMy dad is about to get married and move out and leave me the house. So, I've got an extra room now that I want to turn into a recording/music room. Soundproofing the room is not an options as that is majorly expensive! What I though about doing is building an isolation box to put my amps in when recording/playing. I will probalby build it 36"w x 40"h x 24" deep so it can accomodate my combo's and my 4x12 cab. I will construct is with 3/4" MDF and line it with 2" soundproofing foam. When recording I will have the mic placed infront of the amp wherever it needs to be, then close the front with a latchable door constructed the same way, and have a little cutout for the mic cable to come out. Would this allow me to run my tube amps loud enough to really push the tubes, but still keep the volume to a minum? At least to where it's not very noticable standing outside the house/room. Do any of you have better solutions?

if you're going to build an iso booth of any sorts....can i suggest not going for a box design? just because you have the sound reenforcement doesn't mean you'll be catching anything.....if your tube amp has any power to it...pushing a 4x12 will be pretty loud. 2" soundproofing foam really won't do much of anything...i'd suggest if you're determined to do anything, you should soundproof the room itself and eliminate any corners (boxed/square rooms are horrible for recording in). if you want the booth.....make it bigger....that's my main advice......well for a few reasons...main one will be because it'll sound like what it is......an amp inside a box. as opposed to something more natural sounding.

if you just want to do it anyways, it'll kill some of the sound.....but i don't know what kind of amp you have so i have no idea how much power you'd be using.

basically, make it bigger than the cab.....if you can't stand in the box comfortably....your sound won't beable to either.

Well, I just got another PODxt so I wont really be needing the iso box/booth, but I would still like to make the room more soundproof, so I can at least play my classic 50 turned up a little bit without disturbing the neighbours. What would be the best way to do that? I doubt soundproofing foam all over the walls would help enough. What about putting up some sheets of 3/4" MDF on the 2 walls that are parrallel to the outside brick walls, and then line them and the other walls with soundproofing foam? I'm open to any and all suggestions....

Lots of very heavy carpet all over the door, walls and roof will help. Doesn't have to look nice but the heavier the better !

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonLots of very heavy carpet all over the door, walls and roof will help. Doesn't have to look nice but the heavier the better !

yeah.....this is basically the best method without going overboard with the expensive type of soundproofing materials. and like he said, the heavier/thicker the better.

..course the other choice is just give up & go direct.
I record from like, midnight to about 8 a.m. & the neighbors bedroom window is only about 15 feet away. So I end up going direct line in and use either a redbox cabinetulator or AmpliTube & record with headphones all the time.
If you want to get a feedback on certain notes, all you do is turn up the computer speakers slightly, hold the guitar close to em and you get sustained feedback without all the amp noise.
I kinda miss the 'ooomph' ya get from an amp, but the advantage is you can record a direct clean signal and then add whatever amp simulation you want later.

Originally Posted by: schmange..course the other choice is just give up & go direct.
I record from like, midnight to about 8 a.m. & the neighbors bedroom window is only about 15 feet away. So I end up going direct line in and use either a redbox cabinetulator or AmpliTube & record with headphones all the time.
If you want to get a feedback on certain notes, all you do is turn up the computer speakers slightly, hold the guitar close to em and you get sustained feedback without all the amp noise.
I kinda miss the 'ooomph' ya get from an amp, but the advantage is you can record a direct clean signal and then add whatever amp simulation you want later.

that does work.......but one thing i hate about going direct is that the signal is much colder and not nearly as warm or responsive as when you're recording speakers interpreting your sound....afterall....going direct can't sound like a 4x12 and won't catch the resonance of the room or space or anything.......but whatever....i think i'm probably too leaning more towards the professional side of things to get too involved in recording discussions.....because what i find works for best recordings normally isn't practical for everyone else in the world.

but yeah, going direct is an option...i just could never bring myself to say it because i hate amp modeling units and don't agree at all with it sounding like the real thing.

I dunno.... I don't really hear any difference when recording direct compared to using an amp, except there's less noise and you can customize the sound directly to the song.

I did this demo ages ago using AmpliTube....

http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/mp3/AmpliTubeDemo.mp3

...basically the first 30 seconds is straight line in, then it's repeated every 30 seconds with a different amp patched in.
If it sounds a little too cold, just add PSP Vintage warmer into the mix.

I gota agree with old Schmangie boy!

As much as I love playing through my TSL100 / SM57/ large diaphragm mics / mice preamps etc, the best results I have had have been recording direct with Mr Podpro shooting striate into either my sound card or the D1200 via the S/PDIF out.

I also need to say that I am limited in my options due to living in a shoe box with neighbors below and to one side (apparently the law says Im not aloud to have them stuffed ! Pooo !). Even then the acoustics of our pad are terrible so direct is my best friend !

Have you checked out this site ?

http://www.auralex.com/

there is a lot of good info there however Auralex kit is not even slightly cheap !

I have used their GRAMMA pads and built one of their hover-deck acoustic isolation platforms. They sort of work but Im not sure they are worth the price !

I will probably mostly record direct with my rockmaster preamp going into a behringer direct box with 4x12 simulation, and also with my PODxt that's on it's way. But I still want to be able to use my Gibson GA-5 5watt tube amp with MXR wylde overdrinve infront mic'd with a 57 (this amp is seriously loud for 5 watts and an 8" speaker). I also love the mic'd sound of my classic 50 on the clean channel when pushed almost to break up (gives me the warm and fuzzies).

Lining the whole room with soundproofing foam will be a little pricey. The room is a little bigger than I thought it was being 11' x 11' w/ 8' ceiling. I'll probably try out the carpet first. Then I'll move on to more drastic measures if that isn't enough.

I haven't had time to check out that site yet Doc, but I will soon. It will probably be the first of the year before I'm able to actually do anything with the room, since all my dads crap is still in there.

Thanks for everyone's help!

Have you considered a hotplate. This lets you run the amp full up but keep the volume down to room levels.

http://www.legendarytones.com/thd_hotplate_power_attenuator.htm

Afte doing a good bit of research....I give up...lol! What I've decided to do is make some plugs for the window's and put up some studio foam to "deaden" the room so I can get a better mix. Just not going to be possible to get it quiet enough to record live with a mic, but I'm not giving up yet... :p

Non-biodegradible Egg Cartons all over the walls and ceiling. It deadens the sound but cuts down on the police giving me noise complaint tickets.