{"id":33777,"date":"2025-09-25T11:16:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T15:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/?p=33777"},"modified":"2025-09-25T11:16:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T15:16:23","slug":"building-a-boothanywhere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.suchavoice.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/25\/building-a-boothanywhere\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Booth\u2026Anywhere!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When you tell someone you\u2019re a voice-over actor, they might picture you standing in a sleek, high-tech studio with glass windows, glowing lights, and racks of gear. For some, that is reality (or it used to be before the pandemic) – but for many working professionals, the studio<\/a> started in a much humbler place. Closets, PVC pipes, moving blankets, and even makeshift forts have helped countless actors get their start. Building a booth isn\u2019t about having the fanciest setup right away; it\u2019s about creating a space that works for you<\/em>. I\u2019ve built five of them in my career and have gotten and recorded work in all of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beauty of voice-over is that you can begin almost anywhere. Over time, your booth can grow with you – from a beginner\u2019s closet setup or pillow fort to a mid-level PVC build or various industry \u2018booth-to-go\u2019 products, all the way up to a professional-grade studio. Let\u2019s break down how that journey often looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beginner Closet Booth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Priscilla<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re just starting out, the closet booth is practically a rite of passage. Picture a laptop perched on a small desk or shelf (or even a stool or a cardboard box), a desk mount placed backward on a few books to hold your mic at the right height, and your clothes hanging just inches away. The truth is, closets can<\/em> sound pretty good. Hanging clothes act like natural sound absorbers, soaking up reflections and deadening the space. Many pros still use closets because they\u2019re convenient and surprisingly effective. My first closet booth was unfortunately a bit too close to the bathroom, where an unseen fan that never seemed to stop ruined many of my takes – the perils of a small Manhattan one-bedroom apartment with only one small closet. I built another booth like this when I was in St. Petersburg, Florida, for two months during the winter – that booth cost surprisingly little money, and the quality was pretty spot on. But using a laptop in these booths was a means to an end; once it got too hot, the laptop fan kicked on, and I had to stop recording. So I had to get long cables and run them under the door\u2026 but I liked being able to edit on the fly, so that became an issue. For sessions, I used to put an icepack wrapped in paper towels underneath my computer to keep it cool. Ahh, the memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acoustic foam panels and bass traps can make the setup stronger, and laying down a rug or multiple layers of carpet helps minimize floor reflections (and noisy downstairs neighbors). Is it glamorous? Mmm, no, not really. Will you sometimes laugh at the fact you\u2019re wedged between winter coats, whispering ad copy into a USB microphone? Absolutely. But the closet booth has undoubtedly launched countless careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PVC Frame-and-Blanket Booth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you start booking more work, or just advance in your training and find other resources to put into your career, you might find that the closet booth just isn\u2019t cutting it. Maybe it\u2019s too cramped, or maybe you need a space you can assemble in another room. Enter the DIY PVC booth. With a handful of PVC pipes and connectors from Lowe\u2019s (and a little creativity), you can build a lightweight frame very quickly. This is what I did five years ago when I moved to Hawaii for six months without telling any of my clients \u2013 and since I was using my same microphone, they never knew the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drape moving blankets or heavy sound blankets over the frame, clip them if necessary, and you\u2019ve got yourself a portable sound booth. Mine was 4\u2019x4\u2019x7\u2019 – and I also had Lowe\u2019s cut me a 5\u2019x5\u2019 wood \u2018ceiling\u2019 that I placed on top of the frame, with acoustic foam glued to it on the inside and moving blankets across the outside top. I got some thick shag carpeting for the floor to cut down on any reflective surfaces. Sure, it did not look fancy, but it had a vibe \u2013 and anyway, nobody saw it but me. Truthfully, these setups can get surprisingly close to professional isolation. It was no match for the Saturday morning suburban leaf blower or chainsaw, but it pretty much blocked everything else out. Many actors love the flexibility of this build – it can go in a spare bedroom, a basement, in a corner of any room, or even travel with you if you keep the connections small and you\u2019re doing remote sessions or auditions consistently on the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mid-Level Closet Upgrades<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somewhere between \u201cclothes closet\u201d and \u201cPVC fort\u201d lies a hybrid that works beautifully for many: upgrading the closet itself. Adding foam panels to the walls, using thicker bass traps in the corners, and investing in higher-density sound blankets can take the sound to the next level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this stage, you\u2019re not just preventing reflections – you\u2019re shaping the tone of your recordings. Carpeting or rugs underfoot, door seals to minimize outside noise, and careful placement of your mic and computer (sometimes outside the booth to reduce fan noise) can make a huge difference. When I moved into my latest apartment in Brooklyn, it had several 3.5\u2019x3.5\u2019 closets \u2013 I picked one and got to work \u2013 adding layers of professional rubber acoustic treatment on the floor, placing a perfectly cut piece of wood on top, then adding carpet mats and finally carpet so my \u2018floor\u2019 was probably 5\u201d thick. I foamed out the inside completely, added bass traps in every corner from floor to ceiling, got a small desk, mounted my monitor on the wall, installed a boom arm with a shock mount to the back of my desk for my Sennheiser 416 (shotgun mics are fantastic for NYC apartments), added a few extra touches, and my new studio is considered \u2018broadcast quality\u2019. I did have to hire an electrician to put an outlet in there \u2013 you can\u2019t trust running a professional studio with a bunch of extension cords after all. Also, the big step was buying a used Mac Mini to put in my booth – since it has no fan, there\u2019s literally no sound in there but me. This booth was a bigger financial commitment to be sure, but I made the money back quickly and never looked back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actors often look back on this phase fondly. I certainly do. It\u2019s the moment you start realizing, \u201cWow, I\u2019m really building a studio!\u201d There\u2019s a sense of pride in creating a space that feels more polished and professional – even if at root, it\u2019s still a closet with some acoustic upgrades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professional Builds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, you may want a fully isolated booth – something like a WhisperRoom, Studiobricks, or a custom-built studio. These booths provide top-notch sound isolation, meaning you can record even if your neighbor is mowing the lawn or your kids are watching TV down the hall (although honestly I\u2019ve heard plenty of stories to the contrary – your location and outside environments will always be a factor) I haven\u2019t had the need, or frankly the room, to make that investment and I\u2019ve been a professional voice actor for 28 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are major investments, and not every voice-over actor needs one. But for those who work full-time or live in noisy environments, they\u2019re game changers. Professional booths also tend to offer more space, better airflow, and a cleaner aesthetic – all of which can make recording sessions more comfortable and client-friendly. I recently bought a house in the Pocono Mountains, and actually built a booth from scratch in my shed that\u2019s about twice the size of my booth in Brooklyn. I consulted with a known professional booth-builder, but ultimately decided I was just going to stick with the method that had been working for me so far. This time, I had to replace the shed\u2019s roof, build actual walls, add a door, and put up interior insulation and drywall to actually create a \u2018room\u2019 that was about 8\u2019x4\u2019. It was pretty exciting. I then once again foamed out the inside completely, added my bass traps to round out the corners and pointed ceiling, and even had to add a baseboard heater for those cold Pennsylvania winters. I did buy all new gear, including another Mac Mini, so with the construction, it was definitely a more sizeable investment. But when I bring my mic with me \u2013 again, no one can tell the difference. In fact, it\u2019s even quieter than my Brooklyn studio since I only have to worry about deer and squirrels instead of noisy neighbors or illegal dirt bikes on my street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Big Picture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The journey from closet to pro booth isn\u2019t just about equipment; it\u2019s about growth. Each stage represents an actor investing in themselves and their craft. That first closet read, surrounded by clothes and whispering so the neighbors won\u2019t hear, can feel awkward. But years later, standing in your custom studio, you\u2019ll remember that moment as the start of something real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here\u2019s the ugly truth: clients actually don\u2019t care what your booth looks like! In fact, over Source Connect, ipDTL, etc, they can\u2019t see it anyway. They only care how you sound. If your audio is clean, warm, dry, and free of distractions, then your booth is doing its job – whether it\u2019s built from designer panels or hanging blankets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voice-over is one of the few industries where you can truly start from almost nothing<\/a>. A closet, a mic, and some blankets are enough to get going. With time, experience, and success, you can upgrade your booth into something more advanced. The important part is that you start<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So don\u2019t wait for the perfect setup. Use what you have, improve as you go, and take pride in every stage. Because in the end, building a booth anywhere isn\u2019t just about soundproofing – it\u2019s about carving out a creative space that belongs to you. Be positive and creative, and get excited – happy building!<\/p>\n\n\n

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P.S. If you haven’t yet taken our introductory voice-over class, where we go over everything one needs to know about getting started in the voice-over industry,\u00a0 sign up here!<\/a><\/p>\n

P.P.S If you want to learn more from VO experts and grow the knowledge you already have, join our VO Pro group<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you tell someone you\u2019re a voice-over actor, they might picture you standing in a sleek, high-tech studio with glass windows, glowing lights, and racks of gear. For some, that is reality (or it used to be before the pandemic) … <\/p>\n

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