A compact mini isobar made from chipboard, by Frank

To accurately measure the sound of small amplifiers, Frank started working with custom-sawn natural chipboard. He opted for a thickness of 12MM and ultimately made a cube from it. He finished and covered this to create a small but user-friendly recording cube.

Description by Frank

For the smaller amplifiers I wanted to make a box that dampens the sound just enough to be able to record in space, but it did not have to be completely silent. In the past we have built a larger version with heavier material and it dampens most of the sound, since smaller amplifiers are used here and a more clean sound is used, damping was not extremely necessary.

How I made this project

We made all sides 80.0 x 80.0 cm. This is the size of a large tube amplifier (which will never be installed) but I wanted to make the box a bit larger due to possible heat formation in the tube amplifiers. On the bottom you will also see a thermometer that transmits the current temperature every minute via BT. For the internal finishing, I first sealed the seams and used an old but fairly thick duvet over it for initial cushioning. Later, shark teeth foam plates were placed over it, which ensures a slightly better recording, even though the microphones are close by, the foam still has a reasonable influence. The foam also protrudes slightly, so that when the lid is placed, the foam bends inward and creates a better seal, without too many gaps. The intention with this box is not to not hear the amplifier, but to hear it a lot softer. We are not quite ready yet in terms of finishing, but the result is exactly what we wanted, the amplifier no longer exceeds the speakers of the table and recordings now go perfectly.

Dimensions of my DIY project

80.0 x 80.0 x 80.0 cm