New to microphones question?

[bruuen]

hi, as stated, i'm new to mics...i'm wondering, is it possible to achieve good recording results with a condensor mic in a home studio setting without a dedicated vocal booth (or any tips of what to do in place of this)

also, what are some pretty good mics to record vocals with (in the pro sound but amateur wallet category) thanks

ps. i'm using a presonus firebox soundcard, are the pre's good enough for some nice vocal recording? thanks

[dgatwood]

Originally Posted by bruuen

hi, as stated, i'm new to mics...i'm wondering, is it possible to achieve good recording results with a condensor mic in a home studio setting without a dedicated vocal booth (or any tips of what to do in place of this)

What does your room noise sound like? Are we talking about a large living room that just has a refrigerator in the next room producing a tiny bit of noise? Are we talking about a 6' x 8' bedroom containing a computer with a loud, whining fan positioned three feet from the mic? Are we talking about an HVAC system that sounds like a jet engine when it turns on?

We need a little more context to answer that question.... The general answer is "yes, but you'll need to pay attention to your environment and minimize noise sources."

[leddy]

My $.02,

When I have to record in rooms that are less-than-optimal, I stay away from large-diaphragm condenser mics. A cardiod, small-diaphragm can capture great sound while minimizing a bad room. I've had good vocal results with an Oktava MC012 and a good pop filter, as well as dynamic mics like the SM58.

[bruuen]

thanks for the replies guys...sorry, i wasn't even thinking of the room stuff when writing this...


i'm not in a very good room now, but i'll be moving, so i'll give those specs:


room is approx. 6x8 as u mentioned...its hardwood floor. and the only thing in the room that would produce noise is the computer (quite a lot louder then i'd like it to be, i'm planning on getting a new one not to long down the road, are their any recommended components to use to optimize a low noise environment?)

i was thinking cardiod myself...if setuping up mic on the far end of room and facing away from the computer, would this almost eliminate the computer noise? or am i going to be getting noise bouncing off the wall?

[scrubs]

Originally Posted by bruuen

i was thinking cardiod myself...if setuping up mic on the far end of room and facing away from the computer, would this almost eliminate the computer noise? or am i going to be getting noise bouncing off the wall?

this will help some (it's what I do), but you'll likely still pick up some noise, depending on your computer and the room. In a small room with a noisy computer, you're kind of screwed without some serious acoustic treatment.

[mshilarious]

Originally Posted by bruuen

thanks for the replies guys...sorry, i wasn't even thinking of the room stuff when writing this...


i'm not in a very good room now, but i'll be moving, so i'll give those specs:


room is approx. 6x8 as u mentioned...its hardwood floor. and the only thing in the room that would produce noise is the computer (quite a lot louder then i'd like it to be, i'm planning on getting a new one not to long down the road, are their any recommended components to use to optimize a low noise environment?)

i was thinking cardiod myself...if setuping up mic on the far end of room and facing away from the computer, would this almost eliminate the computer noise? or am i going to be getting noise bouncing off the wall?

These days most local computer stores carry quiet fans. Antec makes a line of quiet cases. Use Seagate Barracuda drives.

Then put some absorption in that corner, and you should get serviceable results. It's all about signal-noise ratio, so make sure your signal (vocal) is hot. If the vocal is going in a rock mix, the noise won't matter too much. If it's a quiet mix, you have to be more careful.

[Wiz]

This is my first post on this group...


Hopefully I can help out some...


I think it is possible to get a good vocal sound with a large Diaphragm mic in a small room.

If you use cardiod and face the rejection pattern of the mic, at the noise source (say computer) then it is suprising how clean you can get the mic.

Especially if at mixdown time, you utilise mutes etc, gating/expansion, and if you have it, even better ...noise profiling...that can get rid of virtually all the noise for you.

I record my vocals without headphones on, so I have my monitors, up just enough for me to hear and sing against. I face the back of the mic at the monitors and go from there.....

On my website is a mp3 snippet and the vocals on that were recorded in that fashion.

What I am getting at is, the amount of volume I have coming from the monitors far outweighs any fan noise in the room. Ok, yes, its not ideal but its certainly do ablem.

Also to if you use some sort of absorbative material , say a doona, rigid fibreglass wrapped in cloth, something, moving blankets work good, you can make a little area to record vocals in , that will work a beauty.

In fact doing some cheap treatments acoustically speaking, to your room, might just pay bigger sonic dividends than purchasing another more expensive mic than what you might own...

the mic used in the mp3 on my website is the Studio Projects C3.


cheers

Wiz