Hey guys. I have no other choice but to record in my basement which is basically a garage. pretty big. (sorry no dimensions) but the sound quality I'm getting isn't bad at all. it sounds pretty good in my opinion. i'm not even using that good of mics. Do i need to treat the room? or leave it the way it is? any and all help is appreciated. thanks guys.
Garage for Recording?
- Thread starter Jongam33
- Start date
Capriccio
A#13b5b9
Short answer? Yes.
Longer answer: It is your choice. Every room will have the same issues with the way sound bounces off hard surfaces and depending on where you are in the room you will hear sound waves cancelling each other out (nulls) or doubling up (peaks). If you are listening to music from loudspeakers then the reflections will blur the stereo image as well. As you will be recording then you will probably want your mics to pick up the sound you want to record without additional room issues included in the recording.
Steenamaroo
...
I agree with capriccio,. There are two answers because you said "it sounds pretty good in my opinion"
If pretty good means room for improvement, then yeah, room treatment is something you should investigate fully, but if it means you're happy enough, then why bother?
Just enjoy recording
I mainly record in a garage that sounds pretty bad, but it's amazing what you can do with close miking and a bit of thought.
If i need to do nice full guitar work, or a close voiceover, i go to the living room or bedroom.
Im gonna get blasted for this ,like I have in the past, but you dont have to record in a treated room to get good sounds/recordings. Work with what you got, do the best you can, get the best performance as possible and have fun and be creative. While having a perfectly sounding room would be great, its just not a reality for most people on this site including myself. Most of the crap recordings Ive heard have nothing to do with the room. Listen to some of the links on here and you will know what i mean.
Dogbreath
Im an ex-spurt
While I agree with "work with what ya got" ...AND that you can learn the discrepencies of your room and how it translates...
I also think that you couldn't know how much better your tracking AND your mixing might be if you haven't tried it.
?
JimmyS1969
MOODerator
Not to mention, treating a room is not that damn expensive.........Cut out beer and weed for a week should cover it.
Oops, forgot the smiley.
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Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
There are garages and garages (says Capt. Obvious).
My old garage back in England was actually pretty good from a recording point of view--wooden plank walls with exposed stud work to break up the large flat areas, a peaked roof (again with exposed beams and studs. The floor was slightly uneven brickwork. The only issue was the big metal door (easily covered with soft stuff) and the lack of sound proofing (but I was on a quiet road anyway).
My present garage here in Aus would be terrible for recording and take a lot of treatment to sound half decent--plaster board walls and ceiling, hard concrete floor and everything parallel. Besides, if I tried to record in there it would take my pool table out of use!
So...if the OP is happy with the sound he's getting, that's the main thing. Perhaps instead of fixed treatment, just experiment with positioning in the room and maybe build some folding portable screens you can use to break up the space as required. That would only mean giving up half a week's beer....
My old garage back in England was actually pretty good from a recording point of view--wooden plank walls with exposed stud work to break up the large flat areas, a peaked roof (again with exposed beams and studs. The floor was slightly uneven brickwork. The only issue was the big metal door (easily covered with soft stuff) and the lack of sound proofing (but I was on a quiet road anyway).
My present garage here in Aus would be terrible for recording and take a lot of treatment to sound half decent--plaster board walls and ceiling, hard concrete floor and everything parallel. Besides, if I tried to record in there it would take my pool table out of use!
So...if the OP is happy with the sound he's getting, that's the main thing. Perhaps instead of fixed treatment, just experiment with positioning in the room and maybe build some folding portable screens you can use to break up the space as required. That would only mean giving up half a week's beer....
Capriccio
A#13b5b9
If that is so it seems a bit daft to ask, "Do i need to treat the room?" if he really is happy with the sound he's getting and has no intention of doing anything.
JimmyS1969
MOODerator
Or giving up beers or weed.......lol!
Without casting judgment on the OP but the average person doesn't know what sounds good. We all know people who show you something that they think sounds good and its full of problems, show how it could sound and you change their world. You think what you recorded is amazing until you compare it to your favorite album, its all about a standard and with out one our ears adjust to it and we don't notice any issues.
The other thing no one asked is what’s in the room, if its like most cluttered garages where we squeeze our band in; a lot of the contents acts as diffusion and absorption so a pretty decent sound is conceivable.
If it’s an empty garage I can't imagine it sounding good unless you’re playing emo....nothing can help you sound good
The other thing no one asked is what’s in the room, if its like most cluttered garages where we squeeze our band in; a lot of the contents acts as diffusion and absorption so a pretty decent sound is conceivable.
If it’s an empty garage I can't imagine it sounding good unless you’re playing emo....nothing can help you sound good
rayc
retroreprobate
a) if you want commentary on your space post something recorded in the space. It'll help me work out where your ears & expectations are at.
b) yep, use what you have
c) improve what you have as & when you can
d) look into the people giving you suggestions: suss out their preferences, the're reputatuions &, if possible, some of their recordings THEN decide whether or not to accept their advice.
There are people I know to ignore or know to pay attention to as well as newer/less frequent participants who seem interesting/have potential that I will track for a while until I decide whether to trust them or not.
We all have some poor stuff for a variety of reasons. The room may be one of those reasons. A bad room will have a stacked effected when tracking and an even bigger one when mixing - add those together & a good song will suffer sonically.
By the way dreib, I don't see any links to your stuff so I can't make any judgements about the room at your end. I know I get a big bass build up in my little space that increases mid mud congestion & it's the next thing I'll address when I can afford/manage it. In the meantime I'll do what I can with what I have.
b) yep, use what you have
c) improve what you have as & when you can
d) look into the people giving you suggestions: suss out their preferences, the're reputatuions &, if possible, some of their recordings THEN decide whether or not to accept their advice.
There are people I know to ignore or know to pay attention to as well as newer/less frequent participants who seem interesting/have potential that I will track for a while until I decide whether to trust them or not.
We all have some poor stuff for a variety of reasons. The room may be one of those reasons. A bad room will have a stacked effected when tracking and an even bigger one when mixing - add those together & a good song will suffer sonically.
By the way dreib, I don't see any links to your stuff so I can't make any judgements about the room at your end. I know I get a big bass build up in my little space that increases mid mud congestion & it's the next thing I'll address when I can afford/manage it. In the meantime I'll do what I can with what I have.
I posted a song on the mp3 forum here awhile back its probably buried in there some place. It was recorded in my basement with all the typical basement problems. Other than really basic treatments for reflections, it is what is is. After reading countless threads about room treatments I finally came to my senses and said to myself, Im recording in a fucking basement and I have no real expectations other than to have fun, so I just quit worring about it. It turned out decent for my first try.
Ive been trying to get some more stuff recorded to post but my wife and kids keep escaping from their duct tape handcuffs.
If the OP is getting what they think sounds good, and i agree that is subjective, then hit record and go for it.
Sorry for the super delayed response but i really appreciate all the comments. Learned a lot of studf i didnt know. I just recorded the drums for the first time like last week and they sound like they are getting a lot of the room sound in them. I was thinking of just building something kinda like a drum shield but of soft stuff to absorb the sound. Good idea or bad? It would basically surround the drum set.
westcotestudios
Recording Studio 21
We Rehearsed in a garage for about a week...then rented a studio. So much better.
Then we bought an old stables mews and treated one of the buildings with no expence spared.
No more needs to be said. Other than TREAT Your SPACE and YOURSELF.
Then we bought an old stables mews and treated one of the buildings with no expence spared.
No more needs to be said. Other than TREAT Your SPACE and YOURSELF.