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JakeBond1
New member
I have a new setup and I need help with the gain settings on my interface. The interface is a Scarlett 2i2, the mic is a Rode NT1, and I'm recording vocals in a closet lined with 2'' Auralex foam.
VSpaceBoy
..loading
Just plug it in, turn on the phantom power, turn the gain up on the Scarlet until its getting a solid signal, but NOT close to clipping, then make sure you're not clipping in the daw.
RawDepth
New member
Think of gain as not being necessary unless it's really necessary. What I mean is, it should only be turned up far enough to boost the signal level to a usable level for the rest of the system.
I typically leave all levels in my recording DAW at full strength or unity. Then while testing the mic, I only turn up the gain on my interface until I see adequate meter level showing in the recording track meter in my DAW, (perhaps bouncing between -12 and -24 dB).
I typically leave all levels in my recording DAW at full strength or unity. Then while testing the mic, I only turn up the gain on my interface until I see adequate meter level showing in the recording track meter in my DAW, (perhaps bouncing between -12 and -24 dB).
Mr Clean
AKA Teddy Wong
Why on earth are you doing that?
Dogbreath
Im an ex-spurt
come out of the closet man.
(nyuk nyuk)
(nyuk nyuk)
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JakeBond1
New member
Budget, No space, Whats wrong with that?
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
A closet -- one of the worst possible places acoustically speaking -- covered in foam -- one of the worst possible treatments acoustically speaking (especially for something like a closet).
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JakeBond1
New member
What would be the best way, acoustically speaking, to treat a small closet.
Farview
Well-known member
The best thing would be to ditch the idea of a closet.
You would be much better off treating the corner of a room and doing the vocals there.
The smaller the room, the more acoustic problems there are, therefore the more bass trapping you need to fix the problems. Once you get down to something the size of a closet, you will need more bass trapping and acoustic treatment than will fit in the room. It just doesn't work.
Commercial studios get away with it because the walls are made out of thick trapping. In a closet, you have to put the trapping on the walls instead of in them, which leaves you no place to stand.
You would be much better off treating the corner of a room and doing the vocals there.
The smaller the room, the more acoustic problems there are, therefore the more bass trapping you need to fix the problems. Once you get down to something the size of a closet, you will need more bass trapping and acoustic treatment than will fit in the room. It just doesn't work.
Commercial studios get away with it because the walls are made out of thick trapping. In a closet, you have to put the trapping on the walls instead of in them, which leaves you no place to stand.
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
Not much to add to that. 
I know a guy who had no other choice -- He tore down all of the drywall (walls and ceiling), filled the studs with Roxul Safe-N-Sound, covered everything with two layers of burlap. Didn't sound too bad. Didn't sound too good either, but it was quite usable for voiceover and such with a (he either had a 7b or RE20).
I know a guy who had no other choice -- He tore down all of the drywall (walls and ceiling), filled the studs with Roxul Safe-N-Sound, covered everything with two layers of burlap. Didn't sound too bad. Didn't sound too good either, but it was quite usable for voiceover and such with a (he either had a 7b or RE20).
Mr Clean
AKA Teddy Wong
As above. There's nothing right with it. What you see RE: closets, in the films or on YouTube, is a pile of shite. You may as well of lined it with egg boxes while you were at it.
Get out of the closet man.
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daringnovelist
New member
What if the closet is the only place you have that doesn't have street, electrical box or heating/cooling noise?
It's fine to tell people that closets have problems, but don't assume they have better alternatives. (Also, how bad it is will depend on what they are recording, and how much time they've spent assessing the acoustics.)
It's fine to tell people that closets have problems, but don't assume they have better alternatives. (Also, how bad it is will depend on what they are recording, and how much time they've spent assessing the acoustics.)
JimmyS1969
MOODerator
What if you only had a 16oz cup to poop in and it was cold and people were watching? Would you expect others to suggest how to make it warm and ignore that people were watching you poop in a cup?
No, you would recommend a way to solve the issues and not create a new one by wasting money on the small cup.
Sorry for the poopy analogy, but there are much better ways to get the job done well. Understanding the issues and dealing with them is better than creating new ones IMO.
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drtechno
Active member
A picture is worth more than 1000 words. So, post a picture inside and out with internal dimensions, and I will tell you how the closet could be setup to be used as a vocal booth, a guitar cab closet, or it is a waste of time to utilize that space.
Without proper data, it is incorrect to assume something is wrong to do.
Btw there is recordings out there done in closets, and they sound just fine.
Without proper data, it is incorrect to assume something is wrong to do.
Btw there is recordings out there done in closets, and they sound just fine.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
A closet will never "sound good" but it can sound "dead". In a typical small, low-ceilinged domestic room, dead, with room reverb added in the mix, is often the better option.
Yeah, I'd love the choice of acoustics at Abbey Road but for now, dead is my best compromise. I do think that sometimes this forum gets too hung up on trying for the impossible.
Yeah, I'd love the choice of acoustics at Abbey Road but for now, dead is my best compromise. I do think that sometimes this forum gets too hung up on trying for the impossible.
c7sus
Disenfranchised Member
At least he has the foam to clean up the aftermath!
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
Just quoting stuff.
There is a disconnect occasionally though... There are different tools for different jobs. If I want to scramble some eggs and all I have is a flame with grill grates, it ain't gonna work. I could put a large rock on the grill and wait for it to warm up and try to scramble the eggs on that, but it'd just be better to have a pan. There are race cars and cargo vans. Either one is relatively necessary for a particular task. You can race a cargo van, but it's not going to do the same job as the race car. You can deliver stuff to a job site in a race car, but you're going to make a lot of trips.
Closets are really good for storing things. Well, I guess a properly constructed vocal booth could be used for storing things also... There goes my analogy [poopy].