One bedroom apartment - finding the quietest spot for the vocals room

L

Luc the Tinkerer

New member
Hiya folks, I've been sporadically visiting this forum and now that I think I have a semi-decent setup, it's painfully obvious that the better quality the microphone is, the crappier a room full of ambient noises and refexions can screw up a clean vocal track.

By process of elimination, the rooms from noisiest to quietest:

1- the bathroom. Yepper, that exhaust fan is permanently on (older building) and the sound of water flowing through the pipes can be heard whenever a neighbor turns on his/her faucet. Very loud and audible.

2 - the living room. That's where I keep my PC. That Audio Technica AT2020 really picks up that noise.

3 - the kitchenette. There's a bit of ambient noise from the fridge but it's barely audible. In spite of hanging a duvet comforter as a makeshift sound barrier the mic still picks up the PC fan and the bathroom fan (while keeping the bathroom door shut solves the latter, the former is still audible). And try to figure out bass traps for a 10' X 4' kitchenette with a fridge and oven...:rolleyes:

4- the bedroom. The quietest room of all, though not 100% silent (it shares a wall with the bathroom) I think it could easily enough become a decent vocal recording room with a bit of care, but...I'm both performer and engineer! :facepalm:

I'd need a remote keyboard (wireless?), a PC monitor cable long enough to make it to the bedroom (so I can keep track of the levels) and either wireless headphones or an extension cord long enough to make it from the PC to the bedroom...

I've been making do with a Voxguard and duvet comforters, but since getting the AT2020 (which is much more sensitive than my EV RE510) more of the apartment's crappy acoustics are being picked up!

A few quick and dirty things I've come across that may or may not help (if you already knew of them forgive my noobness ;) ):

* in lieue of a pop screen, a Pencil can be taped to the body of the mic (the pencil needs to be at the centre of the diaphragm, deflecting the plausives from the centre).

* the AT2020 did not come with a shock mount...until I get one I'll use a few squares of foam matting (kinda looks like a jigsaw puzzle, got some for cheap at the Dollar store) underneath the mic stand to reduce floor vibrations (and hopefully mic rumble).

Any tips for quick and dirty bass traps? Something that can easily be folded and stored when not in use (a la duvet comforter)?
 
Quick edit - I decided to take a noise test - crank up the gain on my M-Audio Fast track Ultra and just listen to the noise through headphones. Then take the cans off and eliminate the noise sources. i closed the bathroom door, still noisy. I switched off the PC, much better: 80% of the ambient noise was gone but there was still this low hum.

Took the cans off, walked around the apartment to locate the noise...problem. It comes from next door; the electrical control room of the floor. What I'm hearing is a drone of 60-cycle hum :(

Replacing the power supply and fans of my PC may help reduce the noise, but that 60-cycle hum I can't get rid of.

So...the bedroom is indeed the quietest (or at least least noisy) room in the apartment...looks like I'm in the market for a wireless keyboard & wireless headphones! :facepalm:
 
This might sound stupid, but do you have a walk in closet? That could be an option to consider...
 
Actually, a closet is one of the worst places to record anything. So, it's a good thing you don't have one.
 
Use a quality dynamic microphone, like a SM7 and quit trying to compete with the 'outside' issues. Just sing and record. Let go of the crap going on around you. Just sing dood.....
 
jimmys69 said:
Use a quality dynamic microphone, like a SM7 and quit trying to compete with the 'outside' issues. Just sing and record. Let go of the crap going on around you. Just sing dood.....
Click to expand...

Where's the fun in that? ;) I have a SM58 and a EV RE510 hyper-cardioid...they sound okay but I'm ready for that next step, something with a bit more clarity and air to it. Besides, I'm always up to upgrading my PC, the "silencer upgrade" sound good to me! ;)
 
That's kinda the point? The fun to me, is the performance, the room is all about the feel that one has in the performance. Record in the bathroom at the State Capitol building in Denver for all I care. Do it naked! But for god sake, do not use a condenser unless you just want to get the room! Or get caught naked there. :eek:

Wait......is that what you want? .....

Hey, I know a guy. I can get you in the....

SM7b would be the next step IMO, if you want to keep the room out of the equation. That is why I offered my opinion.

Surely, a condenser mic will give you more 'spizazz', but it will include all of the room noise, as well as the room you are recording in. That can actually be a good thing, if you are looking for 'the fun in that'. :D
 
Here's one possible solution for me to use the bedroom as my vocals recording room without dumping another lump of cash on my home studio setup...since I already have a Wi-Fi laptop computer connected to my desktop PC via a wireless router; I can try this:

How to Use a Laptop to Control a PC Tower

I can place the microphone in the bedroom and use my laptop to control N-Track Studio (and keep an eye on the meters)! :) The sound might not be perfect through the laptop's sound card, but as long as I can hear myself in the headphones (and that there isn't a huge time lag) I'm happy.

I'll give it a try after work...
 
That would depend on the sound quality of your bedroom. Most are built in sizes that are worst case scenario, regarding standing waves, reflections, and comb filtering. I myself would at least, hang some heavy blankets over some boom stands, forming a 'T'. In this little 'V' shaped cove, you will somewhat eliminate at least the comb filtering and reflections coming from the back of the mic. These are the worst with a condenser mic. There is also that SE reflection filter thing I have heard of, but do not have personal experience with it. Almost bought one just to try out, as the $300 version was on Craigslist for $75 the other day.
 
jimmys69 said:
That would depend on the sound quality of your bedroom. Most are built in sizes that are worst case scenario, regarding standing waves, reflections, and comb filtering. I myself would at least, hang some heavy blankets over some boom stands, forming a 'T'. In this little 'V' shaped cove, you will somewhat eliminate at least the comb filtering and reflections coming from the back of the mic. These are the worst with a condenser mic. There is also that SE reflection filter thing I have heard of, but do not have personal experience with it. Almost bought one just to try out, as the $300 version was on Craigslist for $75 the other day.
Click to expand...

I have the VoxGuard version of it, as well as plenty of duvet comforters and a bamboo room divider on which I can hang said comforters...worth a shot anyway!
 
Update - got the remote access working using Remote Utilities...keeping my fingers crossed that everything works smoothly! :D Mind you I still need to figure out how to carry over the audio settings to the laptop, so I can hear the monitor mix.

Maybe the cluttered bedroom closet can be of use: with the door open at an angle (I have layers of sweaters hanging from the inside of the door, tightly packed clothes and a thick stack of blankets and pillows on the top shelf) it could be used as the back of a vocal booth (plenty of absorbant material in that closet).

The bedroom itself has a thick Queen-sized bed taking at least 2/3rds of the floor space...I know what the general consensus is about recording in the bedroom, but I have this feeling that with a bit of treatment, it could work as a pretty decent vocal booth...
 
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