Large Portable Soundproof Booth Wall Permanent Modular Vocal Booth Customized Color

large portable soundproof booth soundproof booth wall

Types of Vocal Booths

When it comes to deciding what type of vocal booth is right for you, the options are many! This is where your own needs and budget will come into play.

You’ll have to decide if you want something more permanent, or something that can be transported to a new location. You may need something that is small and doesn’t take a lot of space, or space may not be an issue for you.

Sound quality may be the most important factor in your decision, or it may be price. Here are some of the different types of vocal booth options that are available to you.

Permanent Vocal Booth

Most of the DIY options we will be looking at today will fall into this category. A permanent vocal booth will be built once and stay there. This type of booth will usually provide the highest quality recordings.

A permanent booth will usually consist of two separate layers of sound control. The walls will provide the soundproofing.

This is what stops the unwanted external sounds from getting inside where the microphone can pick them up. They can also prevent the sound of your voice from getting out and possible disturbing neighbors.

The second layer is on the interior of the booth. This is the layer that is comprised of studio foam, sound panels, fiberglass, or acoustic blankets. This layer is for sound dampening and is what stops the reverberations and echos from ruining your recordings.

Modular Vocal Booth

A modular vocal booth is one that is usually purchased. You will probably assemble it yourself, but it should contain all the necessary components. These are often semi-portable.

They can be disassembled, and then reassembled at a new location. If you are worried about the possibility of needing to relocate your booth, this may be an option for you to consider.

Modular vocal booths are often built with a frame, on which attaches acoustic blankets. These acoustic blankets are effective at reducing reverb. Some of the higher quality ones are also effective at reducing a decent amount of external noise.

However, they will not provide the same degree of noise reduction as a hard-walled, permanent vocal booth. They also will not provide the same dampening inside as a booth that is covered with 2” acoustic panels.

This type of vocal booth also tends to be quite expensive.

Portable Vocal Booth

If you travel often, or if you don’t want to be tied down to one specific living space, then a portable vocal booth may be what you’re looking for. A portable booth will be much smaller than a permanent booth or a modular one.

A permanent vocal booth usually surrounds the performer. A portable booth, however, may only surround the performer’s head. Alternatively, a portable box may surround the microphone instead.

Portable vocal booths are small and lightweight. They will fit in the back seat of your car for easy transportation. However, they will usually not offer quite the same recording quality as a permanent vocal booth, or even a larger modular booth. They can help to drastically reduce reflections and echos and still be very useful for a traveling narrator or other similar voice-over artists.