blocking the back of a condenser?

O

oildrops

New member
For an untreated room, will it help my vocal tracks to block off the back of my At2020? I will usually sing with my back to a heavy wool blanket facing the open room, but I mostly leave my mic on a desk with a lot of books and random hard surfaces. I track close vocals and guitar for song demos. I have been putting a layer of panty-hose on the mic to roll off a little high end sibilence, but started putting a wool sock in the back hoping it helps block some reflection.

Thoughts?
 
Standard practice, here. I usually use some soft foam ruff cut about 10x10-inches. I strap it to the rig using rat trap bicycle pedal straps I don't need to use it that often, but around the desktop it is often employed
 
The AT2020 has a cardioid polar pattern, so it's not picking up much, if anything from the rear. You'll get more absorption by facing into the blanket instead of away from it. Do note that the blanket is absorbing almost entirely high frequencies, leaving the lows and low mids untouched. When the room reverb is skewed like that, it lends a muddy quality to the track.
 
The AT2020 is a cardioid patterned mic. It picks up sound directed towards the front of the mic, but not so much if any directly behind, so the sock really shouldn't help much ('put a sock in it' does not apply here). However the books and hard surfaces on the desk might reflect your voice into the rest of the room and reflect back to the front of the mic, but the blanket you put up should absorb those reflections with proper placement.

As I was typing, Tadpui read my mind :)
 
Tadpui said:
The AT2020 has a cardioid polar pattern, so it's not picking up much, if anything from the rear. You'll get more absorption by facing into the blanket instead of away from it. Do note that the blanket is absorbing almost entirely high frequencies, leaving the lows and low mids untouched. When the room reverb is skewed like that, it lends a muddy quality to the track.
Click to expand...
Blanket to the rear of the mic? where.. "it's not picking up much, if anything from the rear"? :>)

Consider the sides, and above as well, they'll be down only a few dB.
 
mixsit said:
Blanket to the rear of the mic? where.. "it's not picking up much, if anything from the rear"? :>)

Consider the sides, and above as well, they'll be down only a few dB.
Click to expand...

With my 1-inch foam, it's, generally, a MIC sitting in cupped hands not worrying about the top so much. Boom stand, one mic for vocals and acoustic (assuming I can play and sing at the same time) hahah
 
Cardioid mics go omni at lower frequencies, so it can help to have some low absorption behind it. And broadband absorption behind it reduces reflections that make their way around the room. In a small space the second and third reflections don't travel all that far to get back to the mic.
 
There's no free travel VISA around here. I'm pretty picky about what get into the pattern and from what angle. I can fail on background noise, easy enough, though : ) Like that train in Mexico catches the wind, etc..
 
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