no booth...need help with mic placement

1

1Chance

New member
i just put together a small set-up that includes an m-audio nova mic (photo shown below).
vocals sound distorted & seem to have excess reverb (they also have excess bass, but figured i could fix that with a low cut filter)
anyway, was hoping some1 could tell me the right position to place the mic in the room & also anyway i can improvise with room treatment & padding.
thanks :) this is all temporary till i can get a booth.
finesse sure boy.jpg
the beginning.jpg
 

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Projecting away from the corner, towards a side wall at a steep angle is generally best.

Room reflections --- Without a reasonable amount of broadband trapping, there's not much you're going to be able to do about room reflections... Foam isn't going to help (well, it'll take all the ambience out, but it'll leave the lows and lower mids a mess of mud).

Using a dynamic will help a lot in that case...
 
everything massive said is tip top.

Although you mentioned that your vox sound distorted. I'm guessin this is a separate problem.

Are you tracking hot? is your interface or your daw showing any clipping?
 
yes it clips sometimes. i try to turn the gain on the interface down, but i can't control the artiste's volume
is that part of the problem?
 
You need to set the gain to the source. Vocals have no real transients - so look for signals that peak at maybe -12dBFS on the louder parts. Lower is fine also (I'm more of a -20 to -18dBFS type myself, as I'm a whore for plenty of headroom).
 
The other thing to try is to use the directional characteristics of the mic which I'm assuming is a cardioid. Put the vocalist in front of those curtains we can see in the photos, facing into the room.

Since the mic rejects a fair bit of input from the rear you shouldn't get too many direct reflections--and a certain percentage of the returning reflections will be absorbed by the two-way trip through the curtains. Play around with facing directly away from the curtains or a bit of any angle, making sure the curtains are still behind the singer. I'm betting a slight angle will work best.

As for the distortion, yeah, turn the gain down some more to leave yourself way more headroom before clipping. There's some good advice above about levels to aim for.
 
1Chance said:
how about placing in the center of the room?
Click to expand...
The reverb problem is caused from reflections of the sound off the walls, ceiling and floors feeding back into the mic. Think of your walls as mirrors and your voice as a laser. The center of the room is where you are going to get the most reflections so that wouldn't be good.

Change to a dynamic cardioid like the Master says and stand up a mattress behind the singer. Another solution is to use another room, preferably a large one with vaulted ceilings.
 
Hang a Duvet behind the performer - this prevents sound from reflecting off the wall back into the mic.

I did something like this years ago when I recorded an album in the front hall of someone's house - it worked very well.
 
Just out of curiosity, and no disrespect to the OP, where is this obsession with "Booths" coming from. It seems like there are many "Booth" posts in the last few months. I wonder what is driving the perception that without one you can't get a good vocal?
Especially when you can easily google how most of the "best" recordings of all time were done and in almost every case they were done in large spaces. And every post on every forum regarding booths suggests that outside of a real studio, where a vocal booth is usually at least as big as a home recorders entire recording and mixing space and is carefully designed and treated, booths will give you a sound like you are in a cardboard box.

I guess I may be behind the times and perhaps this boxy sound is the new in thing

sorry for the tangent
 
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There is a forum called the "MP3 Mixing Clinic" where you can post samples of your stuff and get it reviewed. You might want to post an audio clip of your problem so people can here what it sounds like. I'm perplexed about your comment that the vocals sound "distorted." I'm not sure your room is the cause of all your problems.
 
John Willett said:
Hang a Duvet behind the performer - this prevents sound from reflecting off the wall back into the mic.

I did something like this years ago when I recorded an album in the front hall of someone's house - it worked very well.
Click to expand...

Agree completely.

I've built myself a couple of "L" shaped frames from lightweight plastic pipe (available dirt cheap at an plumbing supply place) and the stock joiners and corners. I then hang duvets or moving blankets from them with big spring clips. This lets me put them wherever I think I need to control reflections and record all over the house. It then packs away into a corner of the garage as a collection of small parts.

(Wish I could claim it was my idea--saw photos of this on the internet years ago and immediately poached it.)

Oh, and for some slightly different treatment, my wife's souvenir three-fold hardwood room screen from New Guinea is useful too--except for the bollocking I get when I move it.
 
man i am using windows xp.my intex headphones with mic.which i use to record rap . now what is hapenning i can listen through the headphones but it is not recording i dont know why i ve tried everything on the control panel,sounds and media. i ve also tried a lot in the my "Realtek HD audio manager " but it is just not recording . i tried with a lot of differetn different setting.it's not working.help me pls.
 
For anyone to give specific help, we'll need to know what operating system (version of Windows) you have and also what software you're using for recording.

However, as a general guide, you have to tell Windows to use the mic socket your headphone mic is plugged into as the sound source (generally by right clicking the little loudspeaker icon on your task bar and selecting "Recording Devices"--your headphone mic is likely "Front Mic" or "Mic Socket" or a similar title").

Then you have to select the right source on your sound software by going to the appropriate set up menu on whatever you're using.

Finally, it's always a good idea to keep your audio drivers updated to the latest version.

Bob
 
Outside on a quiet, still day can be the "deadest" environment you ever find. However, "quiet" and "still" are conditions rarely achieved outdoors!
 
I also like the back ground noises, espically the birds. Though I've had to do many takes in between trucks rolling by. And I like the fact that I can add reverb that I want and not add to what the room naturally has.
 
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