Best way to record vocals in an appartment

  • Thread starter Thread starter dudleys100
  • Start date Start date
D

dudleys100

New member
I am in a 3 bedroom apartment, and would like a good vocal acoustic atmosphere. The things i have found to work best so far is to drape a blanket over the head of the singer with a empty hamper as the support around him with the mic in the middle. Kind of like singing in a blanket tent. And the other is singing into a closet with the clothes as the backdrop to capture the sound. Please help on this one, there has got to be a better way. I have thought about building a 4 x 4 "box out of PVC pipe that could have blankets draped all around like a booth. Thanks
 
I think you're going about it the right way.

If you can't make it sound good, then make it sound dead (and add reverb later).

Over time, though, you might look in to using diffusors and bass traps. Do some homework on them and how they work. If you have any handy skills at all, you might even make some yourself. Those would be about the best way of dealing with the kinds of accoustic problems you're likely dealing with. But untill that time, what you're doing isn't a bad option. Stock up on some packing blankets, by the way. Those work great.
 
I do similar things. Add blankets on the walls of a room and sing in the middle. Add reverb later.

Some apartments are so dead to begin with, you don't need to do that much. Others have different natural reverberations you need to figure out what to do with.

Keep experimenting is the only thing that works for all rooms.
 
Thanks a lot. Hey Chessrock, where would I find some of these packing blankets?
 
chessrock said:
Look in the yellow pages under moving supplies.
Click to expand...

You can buy them from U-Haul or Ryder.

Also, Markertek carries "clean" ones.
 
littledog said:
You can buy them from U-Haul or Ryder.

Also, Markertek carries "clean" ones.
Click to expand...
A word of warning here. I ordered some blankets from U-Haul but they were too thin to be useful. Then I ordered some blankets from Markertek but they were filthy and poorly made. (They were literally coming apart at the seams, and I wouldn't dream of bringing them anywhere near my equipment.) Luckily, a friend recently offered me a couple of old Coleman sleeping bags and I'm going to try those.
 
Also you can use a dynamic microphone for vocals, they're much less sensitive to ambient noise typically.
Works great when the wife is watching television downstairs. :)

Chris
 
HapiCmpur said:
A word of warning here. I ordered some blankets from U-Haul but they were too thin to be useful. Then I ordered some blankets from Markertek but they were filthy and poorly made. (They were literally coming apart at the seams, and I wouldn't dream of bringing them anywhere near my equipment.) Luckily, a friend recently offered me a couple of old Coleman sleeping bags and I'm going to try those.
Click to expand...

With U-Haul and Ryder, the idea is to go to the rental office and pick out the appropriate blankets so you end up getting the right thing.

I ordered a half-dozen from Markertech about 8 years ago. At that time they sent me ones that were pristine and flawless. Maybe things have changed in the interim. Did you try exchanging them or returning them?
 
Yo,

I just got one from Markertek.....

It's absolutely flawless and neat....so much so that i will soon get a couple more.


heylow
 
I was at a studio yesterday and they had packing blankets, it was great. They told me however that in a ddition to those, it's a good idea to put a couple bass traps in the room. With that combo I guess it will do the trick. Let me know if you have had experience with bass traps. Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top