Low ceilings, mixing and recording in same space

B

Bunny Lapin

New member
So like many people, the amount of space I can dedicate to studio is limited and mine is in a room in the basement. The dimensions are 8'6" lengthwise 7'6" widthwise and (the biggest challenge) 6'3" ceiling height. I've read that generally low ceilings aren't great but other than digging out my basement that's pretty much that. So my listening space is in the middle of the shorter wall, with the speakers firing 'lengthwise' in my nearly cubic room. The floor is concrete with a thin carpet on top and the walls and ceiling are drywall.

I have a basic idea of how to set up for listening, but not so much for recording. I usually record everything DI other than vocals but I'd like to get more into recording electric guitars from the amp rather than using a preamp and Guitar Rig (which works ok for me).

So I guess my questions are - what challenges do the low ceilings pose for listening and recording, where would the vocalist best be placed and would treating the room for vocals interfere with treating the room for listening. How would I treat for recording the vocals?
 
PS An alternative would be to record vocals elsewhere in the house with a laptop but I prefer to keep and use all my gear in one place if possible, otherwise it becomes less fun for me....
 
The two main things that pop up would be the general box' resonances of a room, and hard reflections.
Both color the sound, in lingering decay effects (resonance) and 'chatter echo.
Close hard reflections also directly add combed filter effects. The closer the surface the louder that delay relative to the source, the deeper/stronger the effect. They're easier to tame- 1 -2 " of soft stuff goes a long way.
The box resonances are a bit tougher to deal with.
 
You can certainly treat the room for both. I would focus a little less treatments on the front wall and put a little more on the back wall, so you can use the back wall area for recording, while using the whole room for mixing. So, to start, it would probably be something like:

Treating the front corners floor to ceiling. Treating first reflection points to my left and right, as well as on the ceiling. Treating the back wall with thick absorption. Rear corners floor to ceiling. And possibly a few panels on the rear side walls (and probably thicker panels on the ceiling, since your height is so low) to help with reflections in the recordings.

Pretty much, the idea behind this room, but with a stronger emphasis on absorption in the back (since you will be recording back there): Acoustical Room Advice - GIK Acoustics
 
Good advice so far! I would definitely address the corners and use the mirror trick to find the area on the side walls of first reflection. When recording vocals set up a few heavy blankets behind the mic using a mic stand or something you will be surprised how much that can help. Also try recording near the center of the room, then move around and record some tracks, give them all a listen and see what sounds best, there should be some areas in the room that sound good.
 
Adam Tocholke said:
Also try recording near the center of the room, then move around and record some tracks, give them all a listen and see what sounds best, there should be some areas in the room that sound good.
Click to expand...

The center of the room tends to be a bad spot for bass response, but I definitely agree with moving mics around the room to find the best positions for recording. Many people do this and mark the areas that sound good with tape, since these spots aren't always in the most convenient spaces for keeping mic stands.
 
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