I started this project by researching on the internet and came across many ideas on how to make a mini-sound booth. I ultimately decided to do a paired down version knowing that I can upgrade the basic structure with real sound foam for the future. What I learned was that you don't just want a box as a frame because it will act as a resonating chamber, causing all the acoustic reflections to be trapped within it! You want to have holes in the structure so that any frequencies that are not absorbed immediately by the foam are allowed to pass through, diffuse in the room, and once again, pass back through the foam on the way back to the mic! I had no idea! I also learned that studio foam is best to use because it is more dense and has a greater dampening effect. The picture below shows foam board with a mesh backing and holes throughout the chamber to allow sound through.
As we would be using this type of set up in the library for various classroom projects, I also zeroed in on a budget friendly mic that seems to get great reviews on Amazon: the Samson Go Mic Portable. It is flexible to use in various settings, it houses a professional condensor microphone, and has a USB port students can easily connect to their chromebooks or laptops. The video link for this mic can be found down below.
https://d1y6jrbzotnyjg.cloudfront.net/V3MSA/3c60853fdaad4138a01df2ff5669794f/V1/5f2f6e3a0bbd42938f86a3e2e5511cae/ShortForm-Generic-480p-16-9-1409173089793-rpcbe5.mp4?Expires=1564524564&Signature=PSJJJq1yh4Up3-vO1jF1KDcrGyovStaLJ9rIKA8jEphgKyY8F0mNdHuH79dI~Ud1o2Td6wgU9snfMgKyFLTI4TFSPI~9DCgnXD29mBQaTHKnMZ3hz7Ua8WIAbarz1hyZ6TKpj4EOpqpYJnrDQ35VIPpf9p0ComwyyRzH6QcYbaM_&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJ62XWKZ35EOVO4XA
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