New Gear Review: VISO Booth by GIK Acoustics

GIK Acoustics offers vocalists an enticing mobile solution to achieve cleaner and more isolated tracks. Can the VISO booth solidify its place in your vocal rig?

Acoustic treatment is one of the most essential parts of any studio. Knowing precisely how your room influences your sessions and decisions—whether you’re recording, mixing, or mastering—is critical. Alas, the entire subject matter is too commonly ignored or misunderstood by audio engineers.

We’re all lucky enough to live in the 21st century, so a simple internet search should easily clear up any confusion, right? Of course not. Popular audio forums are riddled with substandard advice from featherbrained fools.

Thankfully, there are a handful of experts providing advice online based on dependable research—not snake oil. One of the most prominent voices is Glenn Kuras, founder of GIK Acoustics. For over 15 years, his Atlanta-based company has held a respectable position in the industry. GIK Acoustics offers a wide variety of broadband acoustic panels, bass traps, diffusion products, room kits, and DIY supplies. Additionally, on their site, you can find educational videos on identifying reflection points, how diffusion works, and tests for bass trap placement.

For the purposes of this review, we’ll be looking at GIK Acoustics’ newest treatment option, the VISO Booth (Portable Vocal ISOlationBooth). The effectiveness of portable vocal booths is hotly debated. Some professional audio engineers swear by them (to the point of endorsing specific products) while others plainly write them off. As always, it boils down to your individual needs.

So, with that in mind, let’s see what the VISO Booth could potentially offer singers, voice actors, and/or podcast hosts.

Features

Much like most vocal isolation shields, the VISO Booth is a fairly straightforward product. Vocal shields are typically angled or curved—this one is the former. The main components are two panels (16.5” x 11.5” x 1.5” each) that form a 162” triangular area. Both panels are comprised of rigid fiberglass with a black fabric covering.

On the back of the panels are rigid wood veneer plates (fusion maple) with horizontal slats. It’s quite similar to one of the options in the company’s 2A Alpha Series. The purpose of the slats is to allow sound energy to be scattered in a horizontal plane.

The individual panels are secured together by top and bottom brackets. The bottom bracket is the part that connects to the mic stand. Behind the connection point to the stand is a hole to feed a mic cable. The booth can also be placed on a desk for podcast recording. It weighs only 10 lbs, so it can be moved around the room and, in theory, brought anywhere.

In addition to carrying a Class A fire rating, GIK Acoustics uses “formaldehyde-free, soy-based adhesive, [and] 100% North American-made wood and sound absorption insulation” for all of their products, including this new vocal booth.

In Use

The VISO Booth arrived firmly packaged in a medium-sized box. I was surprised to find the contents were packed inside without the use of protective foam or inserts. The box housed two panels (with the aforementioned plates on the back), eight screws, self-adhesive screw cover caps, two brackets (a top and base), mic stand extension piece, and a washer.

Assembling the booth was quite simple. All I needed was a Phillips-head screwdriver and a mic stand. For convenience, the screws were already mounted into the panels. After removing the screws, I positioned the panels together and secured the larger bracket into place first. Next, I flipped the booth over and did the same exact thing with the smaller bracket. Everything came together easily and looked quite elegant when assembled.

It was then time to mount the booth to the mic stand. I placed the unit on top of the stand and tightened the provided extension piece to the bottom bracket and the mic stand itself. Of course, when adding anything to a mic stand, the weight will begin to distribute differently. The booth made the stand wobble a little bit at first. After adjusting the tripod base for a few seconds, it became more stable.

A view of the VISO Booth’s wooden back slats.

Next, I was ready to record. Instead of heading into my acoustically treated production room, I opted to test the VISO Booth in a less controlled environment—my bedroom. I decided to use a handful of dynamic mics as well as one condenser mic. The mics were a Shure SM58, Shure Beta 58A, Electro-Voice RE-20, and Mojave Audio MA-200. Each of these mics, with their tight polar patterns, are already quite good at minimizing background noise. Still, I wondered whether the VISO Booth would assist in reducing the sounds of the birds chirping out the window, cars passing by the apartment, and reflections in such an untreated space.

To my ear, the differences between having the VISO Booth on and off were fairly negligible when speaking at a conversational volume. During playback, I could hear myself clearly either way, as well as a smattering of singing birds and rumbling cars in the background. When singing, the results were slightly more pronounced. The VISO Booth did appear to help reduce the room reflections. Conveniently, at a louder volume, my voice often overshadowed the sounds outside the room as well. While I believe a little bit of comb filtering played a part in the occasional difference of tonality between when the booth was on and off the stand, this didn’t strike me as cause for concern. This effect, as some will already know, is common with any vocal shield design.

Going around my apartment with the vocal booth, I did testing near an air conditioning unit, refrigerator, television, and computer fan. Overall, I found that the VISO Booth performed best in eliminating noise coming from the refrigerator and my computer’s fan. Unfortunately, the television and hum of the AC unit were too unruly. They undoubtedly made themselves known during the recordings.

Ideally, in an untreated space, it would be best to pair the VISO Booth with a broadband absorption panel behind you. That should limit even more reflections from finding their way into the recording.

To Be Critical

While smaller microphone holders and clips posed no problem, I found it tricky to attach larger shock mounts to the VISO Booth. Unless I positioned and twisted the larger shock mounts in particular ways, the sides wouldn’t allow it to squeeze by the inside panels. In fact, whether using smaller or larger mounts, it always took a bit of tinkering to get the mic positioned properly.

Personally, I wish the VISO Booth was more portable in the sense that it could collapse or fold up when not in use. It’s somewhat awkward and clunky to store. Ideally, it would be incredible if you could fold it, place it in a bag, and bring it wherever you desire. If you are a voiceover artist that only uses the VISO Booth in your own studio, this might not be an issue at all. However, if you are a musician with only one mic stand, you might not want to keep the booth attached all day. It really comes down to your particular usage and workflow.

Another notable downside of most, if not all, vocal isolation shields is that they cause visual obstruction. This product is no different. Not being able to see your DAW, fellow musicians, and/or producer could be a hindrance for some.

Keep in mind, there’s a major difference between soundproofing and treating a room. If you’re hoping this will achieve soundproof-quality isolation, it will not. That’s clearly not the intent of this product. The VISO Booth is specifically geared towards reducing room reflections when it comes to vocals and voiceover work. Additionally, it is not ideal for recording acoustic guitar or, say, to be placed in front of an amp cabinet. A better solution for those would be the company’s much larger Portable Isolation Booth (43” x 78”).

Summing it Up

For the sake of full disclosure, my own production room is outfitted with numerous Monster Bass Traps and FreeStand Bass Traps by GIK Acoustics. I firmly believe the company has top-of-the-line treatment options. If you don’t have any acoustic treatment in your room, I highly recommend building or buying a few bass traps to start. The difference can really be night and day.

With that said, not everyone has the time or resources to delve into that right now. So, if you’re in a lackluster acoustic environment, $119 for the VISO Booth is not a bad price to help subdue your room sound. While my testing was not as scientifically advanced as others, I found that the VISO Booth can only eliminate a fraction of mid and high-frequency noise around you. Still, if you figure it could be useful for your work, at least your stir-crazy neighbor will be less likely to make a guest appearance on your next recording.

Michael Duncan is a record producer, engineer, and writer who lives in NYC.

Please note: When you buy products through links on this page, we may earn an affiliate commission.