Effect of room acoustics on home recording

[El Baroda]

Hi. My apologies if this is a dumb question but I really need an explanation. I have just started learning about home recording after years of recording live with a condenser recorder (Zoom H2) or a HD videocam. So far, I'm generally pleased with my recordings using these media, although I can hear the effects of my room acoustics on them. The question that has been bothering me is this: How would room acoustics affect my recordings if I were to record via my computer? I will be using a mic connected to the computer and the backing tracks will be coming from files already stored in the hard drive. Since I will be using a headphone while recording, the computer speakers will be muted so no sound from them will be picked up by my mic. In this set up, I can't see how room acoustics will have any effect on my recording, or am I wrong? Please enlighten me. Thanks and regards.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Hi there,
I think I understand what you're asking. The acoustics of a room will be a part of your recording, regardless of the recording media.
You could record to tape, digital recorder, computer, whatever....they will all capture the natural real acoustics equally.

There are two main ways to reduce the effect.

Your recording is made up of your real voice coming from your mouth to the mic in a direct path, but also of your voice bouncing off every surface in your room and making it to the mic indirectly, so

the first way is to make your surfaces less reflective, or more absorbent. This is called acoustic treatment, and the forum is coming down with advice. Have a search.

The second is to increase the signal to noise ratio, where signal = direct voice and noise = reflections.
The closer you are to the microphone, the louder your direct voice is in relation to any reflections.

I hope that's useful.

 

[El Baroda]

Your recording is made up of your real voice coming from your mouth to the mic in a direct path, but also of your voice bouncing off every surface in your room and making it to the mic indirectly,

I hope that's useful.

Thanks a lot for the quick response. Now, I know better. Looks like I have to save up for room treatment before anything else. Best regards.

PS. I wanted to hear your recordings but, unfortunately, can't access your link from work. Will try again when I get home. Cheers.

 

[Steenamaroo]

No problem at all.

I should have said, there are reflection filters available on the market. They're quite expensive, but they kind shelter the microphone from the room.
You can go the DIY approach and use some kind of dense baffle material to cut down on reflections, but really does have to be dense.
Tshirts light cloth materials aren't really going to help.

Even simpler than that, just walk into every room in your house whilst talking into the portable recorder.
Maybe you'll find a room that isn't too bad in it's natural state?

 

[gecko zzed]

Maybe you'll find a room that isn't too bad in it's natural state?

Chances are that it will be the biggest room.

 

[El Baroda]

No problem at all.

I should have said, there are reflection filters available on the market. They're quite expensive, but they kind shelter the microphone from the room.
You can go the DIY approach and use some kind of dense baffle material to cut down on reflections, but really does have to be dense.
Tshirts light cloth materials aren't really going to help.

Even simpler than that, just walk into every room in your house whilst talking into the portable recorder.
Maybe you'll find a room that isn't too bad in it's natural state?

Hi. Read somewhere that home recording is an expensive pursuit. What you've told me so far confirms that. Well, I won't give up that easy... LOL. Cheers, mate.

 

[mjbphotos]

Read the stickys at the top of this section of the forum about computer recording - not only do you need a mic but you need an audio interface as well.
By choosing the right type of mic, you can lessen the effect of the room - a dynamic mic with a cardiod pickup patter n like a Shure SM58 will pickup less than a typical condensor mic.

 

[El Baroda]

Read the stickys at the top of this section of the forum about computer recording - not only do you need a mic but you need an audio interface as well.
By choosing the right type of mic, you can lessen the effect of the room - a dynamic mic with a cardiod pickup patter n like a Shure SM58 will pickup less than a typical condensor mic.

Hi. Thanks. I've got a Sennheiser E835 dynamic mic which I plug straight on the computer. Am I not doing the right thing (ie, not using an external audio interface)? Sorry if my question is dumb. Regards.

 

[Bobbsy]

There are things you can do to help without spending on a full room treatment.

First off, your mic is quite directional--sensitive at the front with very little pickup behind this. This means that if you can put soft, non-reflective surfaces behind you when you record, it'll help a lot. Even standing in front of thick curtains is good--or, if you don't have thick curtains, hang a quilt or movers blanket up behind you. Basically, because of the directional characteristics of the mic, any reflections have to bounce off the walls in front of you, travel to the wall behind you (which is now softened by the quilt) and only then to the mic. Experiment a bit with the position in the room and the aiming of the mic--small changes can make a big difference.

By the way, another source of problems can be fans and disks in your computer. Putting the computer directly behind the mic in the null position can really help. Similarly, distance. The physics of sound means that every time you double the distance from a noise source, the sound received is quartered. If you can be, say, ten feet from your computer and/or the reflective wall while your voice is 2 inches away, there will be far more pick up from you than the bits you don't want.

Last comment...seriously consider buying a proper interface rather than plugging your mic straight into your computer. Standard computer mic inputs are absolute rubbish--noisy and lacking in headroom. Even a basic USB interface will give a major improvement to your sound.

 

[El Baroda]

There are things you can do to help without spending on a full room treatment.

First off, your mic is quite directional--sensitive at the front with very little pickup behind this. This means that if you can put soft, non-reflective surfaces behind you when you record, it'll help a lot. Even standing in front of thick curtains is good--or, if you don't have thick curtains, hang a quilt or movers blanket up behind you. Basically, because of the directional characteristics of the mic, any reflections have to bounce off the walls in front of you, travel to the wall behind you (which is now softened by the quilt) and only then to the mic. Experiment a bit with the position in the room and the aiming of the mic--small changes can make a big difference.

By the way, another source of problems can be fans and disks in your computer. Putting the computer directly behind the mic in the null position can really help. Similarly, distance. The physics of sound means that every time you double the distance from a noise source, the sound received is quartered. If you can be, say, ten feet from your computer and/or the reflective wall while your voice is 2 inches away, there will be far more pick up from you than the bits you don't want.

Last comment...seriously consider buying a proper interface rather than plugging your mic straight into your computer. Standard computer mic inputs are absolute rubbish--noisy and lacking in headroom. Even a basic USB interface will give a major improvement to your sound.

Thanks a lot, mate. What interface can you suggest to a newbie like me?

 

[Bobbsy]

Well, the choice of interface depends a fair bit on your needs, both now and things you might do in the future. Some of the things to consider would be:

-How many mic inputs might you need? Everyone starts with one--but it's pretty common to quickly wish you could have two for stereo recording.

-Do you need phantom power for condenser mics, if not now maybe in the future?

-Will you need instrument or line inputs in the future--direct guitars, keyboards, etc.?

-Do you need latency free direct monitoring? (In your case, almost certainly yes.)

If you're sure you will only ever need a single mic input, I'd look at an M Audio Fast Track II. It has one mic input, phantom power if you buy a condenser and direct monitoring.

If you even think you might need a second input in the future, it's better to accomodate that now. Have a look at the M Audio Fast Track Pro, a Focusrite Saffire 2i2 or maybe an Alesis iO2.

Hope this helps.

 

[TimN]

Check e-bay for E-mu products, or just buy them new (also on E-bay, too, I suppose--that's where I got my last one). You can build your own bass traps or diffusers, too; it does help to be handy though. Check this site and around the web for plans. I believe SOS--Sound On Sound--has plans up at their website for bass traps.

 

[El Baroda]

Well, the choice of interface depends a fair bit on your needs, both now and things you might do in the future. Some of the things to consider would be:

-How many mic inputs might you need? Everyone starts with one--but it's pretty common to quickly wish you could have two for stereo recording.

-Do you need phantom power for condenser mics, if not now maybe in the future?

-Will you need instrument or line inputs in the future--direct guitars, keyboards, etc.?

-Do you need latency free direct monitoring? (In your case, almost certainly yes.)

If you're sure you will only ever need a single mic input, I'd look at an M Audio Fast Track II. It has one mic input, phantom power if you buy a condenser and direct monitoring.

If you even think you might need a second input in the future, it's better to accomodate that now. Have a look at the M Audio Fast Track Pro, a Focusrite Saffire 2i2 or maybe an Alesis iO2.

Hope this helps.

Hi mate. After reading reviews of the above AI's, I'm now seriously considering M-Audio Fast Track Pro. I have one question for you though. Is this powered solely by the computer or can it also be powered by home electricity. Is there any downside to being powered by the computer? Your advice will be highly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Bobbsy]

The Fast Track Pro takes a "wall wart" power supply that plugs into your home electricity and give 9 volt DC to the interface.

Frankly, either can work--bus power from the computer can be an advantage when doing field recording--but the available power from USB is relatively small (5 volts, 500 milliamp) so it's only sufficient for smaller interfaces.

Make sure you're looking at the proper M Audio device--there's Fast Track, Fast Track Mk II, Fast Track Pro and Fast Track Ultra and sometimes online listings are sloppy about putting the full model details in.

 

[El Baroda]

The Fast Track Pro takes a "wall wart" power supply that plugs into your home electricity and give 9 volt DC to the interface.

Frankly, either can work--bus power from the computer can be an advantage when doing field recording--but the available power from USB is relatively small (5 volts, 500 milliamp) so it's only sufficient for smaller interfaces.

Make sure you're looking at the proper M Audio device--there's Fast Track, Fast Track Mk II, Fast Track Pro and Fast Track Ultra and sometimes online listings are sloppy about putting the full model details in.

Thanks s lot for your reply and tip. Much appreciated.