Vocals!

L

LAWGAR

New member
Hello, Gentlemen & Ladies.


First post ever on the subject of recording, but I've been along time avid reader on the subject.

So, now I'm putting my gear to work at same time I'm trying to make more sense of the material I've been writing for a while. I have a bunch of fine equiment I went out and bought over the last years, that have never touched outside of the theoretical world (another thread on getting opinions on my standard routing will be soon to subject).

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out my singing in relation to the equipment to the several diaphram-sized mic positioning on a room that hasn't been acoustically treated for the present time.

That said, what is best, most fast e easy set I can get in that environment to achieve the best vocal tracks posible?
 
Most people will say that treating your room is the best way, first of all. If you can't, I believe the approach is to cover reflective surfaces (desks, walls, windows) with thick blankets or some other material. Recording "perfect" vocals in a treated, studio room can be difficult enough...doing them in a bedroom is probably always going to be an uphill battle. Believe me, I'm in the same boat.

What's worked for me is moving the mic away from walls, but not dead center either. I use a pop filter about 6" from the mic to assure I don't get too close. I lay blankets everywhere...my desk, from the bed posts (they reach up to the ceiling) and the floor is carpeted. I close the blinds and then cover those again with another blanket. You get the idea. Cove stuff that reflects sound, which is...probably everything.

There are people in this forum that can give you more scientific answers, but I can only share what I've done with above-average results.
 
Size matters! Of the room that is. A "small" bedroom in these parts would be 40-50cu mtrs, a really nice old Victorian drawing room might be 70-80cu mtrs . The former will sound crap and need a lot of treatment, the latter not so much. A really big hall will be "echo-y" but not usually badly coloured.

The trick with the tiny room is to prevent as much as possible the voice going out into the room and that means an absorbent sheet (blankets, duvet, g'dad's ww1 greatcoat..) behind the microphone but also AS important, a similar sheet behind YOU to stop reflections coming back into the mic over your shoulder.

LDC mics are of course the sexy jobs seen in all studio vids but you might get better results with a good dynamic, SM7b or one of the EV models. Do not exclude the SMALL D capacitor! An oft overlooked and very versatile tool IMHO. Get one with a 20dB pad and you can use it close up like a dymo...

But, whatever you do, DO IT! Then post a clip so that the Top Men (apologies if there is a gal!) here NOT me, can appraise it and help you further.

Dave.
 
Thanks ANDRUSHKIWT and ECC83. That's exactly the kind of input I needed.

I have a 2x workstation, small office,which is what the M'am allowed me keeping FROM design fanciness and FOR MYSELF in the new appartment. But not that quite, of course, as I have lost some more space for a large coat-hanging closet. As a lawyer, there are plenty of books, as well as wallpaper all over but one wall, the largest one, that only one covered only by paint other then the 7ft high ceiling. It stands 2ft away from my back while I'm facing the microphone. I figured I should over it with sonex, but that seems pretty much all the treatment I'm able to do.

So, it seems to me that ANDRUSHKIWT's cues are the ones that might suit the situation the best, along with ECC83's tips on working with apropriate-sized diaphrams to avoid room business while tracking.

By the way, I've fired the post on my wiring/routing: https://homerecording.com/bbs/general-discussions/newbies/wired-389381/#post4398858
 
My first recording set-up we built a vocal booth in the corner of our rehearsal space - and ended up using it as a control room for tracking because the vocal sounded much better in the room.

I saw a really good quote by someone ages ago that's stuck with me.

"Your microphone does not record your voice - it records the room with your voice in it"

Ideally - you don't want the room dead - you want it tame/controlled. I use a couple of homemade rockwool gobos (placed behind my chair - opposite my monitors when mixing) which I move about depending on what I'm tracking.
Not ideal by any stretch but I'm in a small attic space so it is what it is.
 
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