Anyone have any firsthand knowledge of Whisper Room?

Scott Nilsen

Does anyone by chance have a Whisper Room sound booth in their home or at their studio? If so, what are your impressions?

I am looking at perhaps selling a kidney to get a better setup than what I currently have - we live on a street where it seems everybody needs to modify their muffler so we know they're coming. Also, 3 kids at home all day on Christmas break gets me to thinking about these things.

I've checked out their website, etc., but was wondering if any of you have firsthand knowledge and experience.

Peace out, yo.

Amy Snively · Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007, 22:50 (GMT) Post subject:

I don't personally own one-- I have a custom-built set-up here at home. But I use a Whisper Room a couple of times a week. They're awesome!

J.S. Gilbert

It seems as though even for folks working all the time who can write off expenses that there is still considerable compromise. There are several different "brands" of booths. Within brands there may also be differing grades of booth. Some booths come aprat easily and are literally held together with velcro. Other booths seem to require MIT guysto put them together. Again, everyone's situation is different and there are several decent books that can teach you a little about acoustics and there are also readily available materials to assist you in building a booth. (Should this be a route you wish to take)

Situations are all unique. Do you think you'll be doing long form work that will keep you in the booth for hours at a time? If so, then bigger is better and it's a lot of dough to get something with ventilation that is also quiet. Do you think you'll be doing ADR or dubbing? Do you want to place equipment near your recording setup? This might be something you would want to talk to engineers about or folks at audio supply companies. There are some that sell multiple brands and might offer a relatively impartial opinion.

Also, whether you ever expect to play host to clients, work with other people in your booth. I have a female buddy that lives fairly close by and she and I respond to a lot of 2 person audition requests. The standard 4 x 4 booth can be a miserable place to live, so I suggest you dive in here cautiously. Even the real cheap booths are generally a couple of grand.

One thing you might want to check on is from SE it's called the Reflexion Filter and it is relatively new. It's being discounted for $299 and essentially is device that hooks onto your mic stand. It supposedly keeps out a lot of external noise and also prevents your voice from bouncing around, thus eleiminating the need for lots of expensive soundproofing. There are also companies that cell plastic "gobos" that are often used to isolate drums or other musicians in a large recording studio environment. I recorded in a spot for several years with a window on the street and I would hang a full size futon from the window to keep out the noise. It eleiminated a considerable amount of it. And just so you know, even in professional studios, I've heard clients yelling through the class.

Hope this helps. If you want to send me some more info on specific icircumstances I may be able to point you a little better inthe right direction.

Scott Nilsen · Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007, 04:17 (GMT) Post subject:

Thanks for the responses, Amy and J.S.

This would really be for just a quiet(er) place to record commercials, shorter narrations, etc. So far, things have worked alright, but like I said, with the kids home these last two weeks and the extra noise, I realize the need for such a place. For longer projects, meeting with clients, and having people with better engineering skills, there are a couple of studios nearby that are available. I really just want to reduce the noise level from the traffic outside, as well as other people talking in the house.

I have been looking at the Whisper Room model that is 3.5' x 3.5'. It can either go out in the garage or in the master bedroom (the two spots where the ISDN lines are). I have a very portable setup, which doesn't take up much space, all run through my laptop.

I appreciate your feedback.