Multi-track Isolation with Iso Booths

[ChadNuttall]

Multi-track Isolation without Iso Booths

Hey All,

I am new to the bbs ... lots of quality information here for sure.

My question is about multi-track recording without isolation booths.

We are an acoustic duo ... so we've managed to record two albums at home by overdubbing all the parts ... record guitar, then vocals, etc.

However we recently grew from an acoustic duo to a trio with drums/ hand perc. We are going to have a hard time laying down a track at a time and still keep the right "feel."

Equipment is honestly not that big of an issue ... my band mate works at a Pro Audio rental place so we have access to any equipment we may need.

I also have a small 8 channel mixer as well ... and we've always recorded to the PC into Cakewalk. He has an Audigy sound card ... its alright. And I recently got an old Audiomedia III with Pro Tools (4ins).

Our big issue is we have no Iso booths ... I can't sing into my condensor mic anywhere close to an acoustic guitar ... never mind a drum kit.

We are not interested in a live off the floor recording ... and yes I know ... I could just hit the studio. But for this particular project we would like to do it ourselves ... or atleast partially at home.

With access to free/cheap equipment ... it seems lame to rent a studio just for the rooms.

Any ideas?

 

[mshilarious]

Hey All,

I am new to the bbs ... lots of quality information here for sure.

My question is about multi-track recording without isolation booths.

We are an acoustic duo ... so we've managed to record two albums at home by overdubbing all the parts ... record guitar, then vocals, etc.

However we recently grew from an acoustic duo to a trio with drums/ hand perc. We are going to have a hard time laying down a track at a time and still keep the right "feel."

Equipment is honestly not that big of an issue ... my band mate works at a Pro Audio rental place so we have access to any equipment we may need.

I also have a small 8 channel mixer as well ... and we've always recorded to the PC into Cakewalk. He has an Audigy sound card ... its alright. And I recently got an old Audiomedia III with Pro Tools (4ins).

Our big issue is we have no Iso booths ... I can't sing into my condensor mic anywhere close to an acoustic guitar ... never mind a drum kit.

We are not interested in a live off the floor recording ... and yes I know ... I could just hit the studio. But for this particular project we would like to do it ourselves ... or atleast partially at home.

With access to free/cheap equipment ... it seems lame to rent a studio just for the rooms.

Any ideas?

You don't need perfect isolation, just good isolation. That's not too tough with acoustic guitar and vocals, you can use cardioid or hypercardioid mics, sit across from each other (or at 120 degrees with hyper), and build some cheap absorption panels.

The drums are the tricky part, but if they aren't too loud, close mic 'em with cardioid or hypercardioid dynamics, again with the absorption panels.

The real low budget way is to record a scratch track live and dub all the parts to that track, which gets thrown away in the end. Or you could record drums & guitar, and dub vocals.

Finally, your room might need treatment if you're getting a lot of reflections off the walls into somebody else's mic.

 

[tubesrawsom]

total isolation is ok but bleed can be a good thing it makes the music sound more live and well blended just close mic everything throw some room mics in there and u wont regret it

 

[ChadNuttall]

cardioid or hypercardioid dynamics, again with the absorption panels.

The real low budget way is to record a scratch track live and dub all the parts to that track, which gets thrown away in the end. Or you could record drums & guitar, and dub vocals.

.

I had thought of that scratch track idea as well. But still record each track seperately and just dub what needs to be re-done ... ie vocals. I guess if you close mic the kit you will get very little bleed from the acoustic guitar.

However if we mic the guitar won't we get a tremendous amount of bleed from the drums?

So when you say cardioid ... do you think I should go with a cardioid condensor or dynamic mics?

 

[ChadNuttall]

Room mix to a track

total isolation is ok but bleed can be a good thing it makes the music sound more live and well blended just close mic everything throw some room mics in there and u wont regret it

So you actually like the bleed ... I'm usually dissapointed with how ... muddy it sounds when we record "the room." But perhaps I will be pleasantly suprised with cardioid mics. And some panels.

So you record "the room" to a seperate track and incorporate a bit of it into the final mix?

 

[mshilarious]

I had thought of that scratch track idea as well. But still record each track seperately and just dub what needs to be re-done ... ie vocals. I guess if you close mic the kit you will get very little bleed from the acoustic guitar.

However if we mic the guitar won't we get a tremendous amount of bleed from the drums?

Generally you'll have very little bleed into hand percussion mics because they are close miced with dynamics and don't need much gain. If you are recording a full drum kit it's a little more difficult.

Also, you shouldn't get much bleed into a vocal mic for much the same reason.

The acoustic guitar mic is the toughest, since the best acoustic sound is gonna be with a condenser from a couple of feet out. Thus that track is most likely to need dubbing.

My basic strategy would be a hypercardioid condenser on guitar, hypercardioid dynamics on drums, whatever vocal mic you need, let's say a cardioid condenser. The musicians in the room as follows: guitar, 2:00, vocals, 6:00, drums, 10:00, everybody facing into the center. Use a decent sized room, get a little bit of space between the musicians, and put a panel between the drums & guitar.

 

[ChadNuttall]

Perfect, thanks.

Thank you very much for your suggestions.

I think that plan would work best because we would be dubbing the acoustic guitar ... instead of the vocals. So I think the "feel" would be largely in tact.

Even if he went direct the first time through ... and then dubbed with a condensor mic. And left a bit of each guitar part in the final mix.

Thanks,

 

[mshilarious]

And left a bit of each guitar part in the final mix.

Be careful about that though--if you get any scratch guitar in the vocal track, you'll probably want to recut the vocal. It's tough to get an intricate guitar part perfectly synced up--you need a real consistent guitarist.

If you get a little guitar in the drums, you can get rid of it with a gate on the drums, but if the drumming is real busy like hand percussion can be, this doesn't work as well.

 

[ChadNuttall]

acoustic barrier

Cool. Thanks for the advice.

We will see how it goes.

Do your think acoustic curtain ... like the black stage backdrop curtain would be a good enough barrier between the drums and guitar?

Chad