Acoustics

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its well known that people think they sound better in the shower but why? also, why do some rooms sound just bad?

thanks, nord
 
nord said:
its well known that people think they sound better in the shower but why? also, why do some rooms sound just bad?

thanks, nord
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Rooms per se aren't really a factor in the example you site. It is actually the lack of clothing that affects a vocal sound the most. This is why people do in fact sound better in the shower. Most wear far fewer items of apparel, especially when taking what is called a "wet" shower, thus there are fewer encumbrances on the diaghragm.

Lennon recorded "A Day in the Life" without a shirt. This resulted in a much cleaner sound than the muddy result when he did "Imagine" in a full cardigan. ;-)
 
Actually I had a theory that the soap was being aerosoled into the air from the steam and making the molecules vibrate better by reducing the friction between them. I intend to do some experiments to see if I sound better with expensive Paul Mitchell body wash or if generic brands like Suave work just as well. :D
 
In all seriousness, acoustics matter a great deal, and because of weird reflections that I have in my apex roofed studio, in tandem with the stairwell corridor leading up, I have had to hang mover's blankets to keep loud sounds/vocals from having a noticeable "ringing" that can't be removed. On the other hand, there are some beautifully reflective old churches that produce a wonderful and natural reverb, and harmonics galore. David Hykes has done some great things using this approach.

BTW, also in all seriousness, Bing Crosby used to practice while singing into a corner of a tiled bathroom.
 
My son was playing around with the effects on the Fostex MD16HD and playing back vocals recorded while playing the piano definitely sounded better with the "Hall" effect. Would a more expensive unit have a "Shower" button :D

A more serious question (although perhaps just as stupid). I'm assuming the "Hall" effect is basicaly a "delay" to simulate the "echo" of a large room. Is this the same as "reverb"?

What about "chorus". I was under the assumtion that "chorus" is supposed to electronically simulate someone or a group singing the same thing and adding it to the original. Is the difference with chorus that the volume level would be the same whereas with "Hall" the "echo" sounds would be much lower in volume and (most likely) a significantly longer delay.
 
Alden_Sloe said:
My son was playing around with the effects on the Fostex MD16HD and playing back vocals recorded while playing the piano definitely sounded better with the "Hall" effect. Would a more expensive unit have a "Shower" button :D

A more serious question (although perhaps just as stupid). I'm assuming the "Hall" effect is basicaly a "delay" to simulate the "echo" of a large room. Is this the same as "reverb"?

What about "chorus". I was under the assumtion that "chorus" is supposed to electronically simulate someone or a group singing the same thing and adding it to the original. Is the difference with chorus that the volume level would be the same whereas with "Hall" the "echo" sounds would be much lower in volume and (most likely) a significantly longer delay.
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I'm so confused.......
 
thanks for the link i read it all

i was thinking of reflections only, in which case a tiled room would just sound louder than a ordinary room


I think the short answer is; in bathrooms reflections dominate, while in other rooms ringing based on standing waves dominate.
So, rooms are bad; they have a resonant pitch which will be excited regardless of the vibrations in the room.
So bing crosby singing into a corner produces very loud reflections which totally over power the natural pitch of the room.

you got me thinking with the clothes thing though, how much volume does come out of the body rather than the head? I know you can hear things which are transmitted to the body. And how do you hear with your hands over your ears?

nord
 
nord said:
And how do you hear with your hands over your ears?

nord
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Lay off the weed, nord, you're gonna hurt yourself.:p


The thing about reflections, is they have quality as well as quantity, ie they can sound good or bad. Reflections will be in different frequency ranges depending on what the room is made out of.
 
nord said:
thanks for the link i read it all
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Yeah, nice concise explaination in the link.
nord said:
you got me thinking with the clothes thing though, how much volume does come out of the body rather than the head? I know you can hear things which are transmitted to the body.
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How many are old enough to remember the BonePhone? It was a padded "collar" you wore around your neck sort of like a priest's stole and it had a speaker on each side that was supposed to let you "hear" the music through your collarbone.:p
And how do you hear with your hands over your ears?
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I don't know but most people seem to think it improves the sound of my singing :o
 
nord said:
And how do you hear with your hands over your ears?
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The sound is transmitted through the tissues of your hands, unless you say "La la la la ...." loudly at the same time.
 
Alden_Sloe said:
A more serious question (although perhaps just as stupid). I'm assuming the "Hall" effect is basicaly a "delay" to simulate the "echo" of a large room. Is this the same as "reverb"?
Click to expand...

The Fostex VF160 manual has a description of all the effects. If the MR16HD manual doesn't have this, you can download the VF160 one -- I'd image the effects are very, very similar.

One thing: Don't overuse them. A little goes a long way. The most effective effects are ones that aren't blatantly noticed.
 
controlling acoustic problems with gobos

Hi,

A gobo is a board that absorbs sound. I made mine with 1 inch compressed fiberglass board covered with burlap.

I was recording a guitar part and one of the notes was missing. I thought I had a dead string. Then I threw a gobo in front of the amp behind my microphones. All of a sudden my note came back.

I tend to think that this kind of stuff adds subtle improvements that you can hear if you listen carefully. In this case the difference was dramatic.

Thanks,

Hairy Larry
 
those people that think they sound better in the shower are all wet.
 
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