several questions about my new room..

[Phil]

I got my mic the other day. I was amazed at how small it is. I guess that's what they say, "it's not the size of the boat but the motion of the ocean!" LOL
I've got a couple of questions...
1. I've never had to deal with the different patterns, i.e. omni, hyper, etc. What do I use the different patterns for?
2. Taylor talked about the best placement of the mic for vocals being 8-10 inches away at the height of the bridge of my nose pointing down towards my mouth... do I put the pop filter right in front of the mic or do I extend it out right in front of my mouth?
3. Will I need to ever worry about using the decibal pad in my little home studio?

I have taken heed of many of the topics in here and replaced my hosa cables with Monster cables, the performer series, I couldn't really afford the studio series right now. A forward move or a lateral move in your estimation?

lastly... I was planning on just hanging blankets or foam in my room for a little sound proofing... is there a difference in the foam they sell in the magazines vs. the cheap foam they sell for bed cushions?

Thanks.
Phil

[Skyline609]

hey phil,
i dont know much about the patterns of the mic, other then it just depends on the area it picks up sound.
About sound proofing, there is a big difference between sound proofing and sound treating. I think what you want to do is treat, but that will not sound proof a room. You need special walls and floated floors and all the jazz for that.
I did the same experiment with the regular stuff that you can get at the store, and the real auralex tiles. Let me tell you that auralex was a BIG difference. It seemed to do the same job, but just WAY more then the cusions and stuff like that.
i think sometimes is not always that great to choke every sound reflection in a room, effects processors can only go so far. Maybe try a few different sounds and find the one you like. I hope this helped