P
Protocall
New member
Nice, I wonder how much reverb is prevented from the back, I currently have a similar model but my back end is wide open (no pun intended lol)
Nice, I wonder how much reverb is prevented from the back, I currently have a similar model but my back end is wide open (no pun intended lol)
Muddy T-Bone
New member
I've never done an A/B comparison of behind/no behind the vocalist blanket stand so I can't honestly say.
What I can say is that every room I record in I give it some strong stacatto vocals and some hand claps to hear what kind of room verb I'm dealing with.
As I'm setting these stands I do both to hear the effects. When there are only 2 stands behind the mic-in front of vocals, the reverb is cut, but it's still there. It's when the 3rd one behind the vocals gets pulled in tight that the verb goes away.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Really you have to just experiment BUT...
I'd start the experiment with the blankets behind the vocalist...probably a metre of so...then, if you need more, gradually add more deadening up the sides, hopefully stopping sort of half way past you. The last place you want to go is in front of you--your cardioid mic takes care of most of that anyway so only place blankets back there in dire acoustic emergencies.
As has been said, except maybe for the spoken word, the goal is to control room reflections, not necessarily remove them entirely.
I'd start the experiment with the blankets behind the vocalist...probably a metre of so...then, if you need more, gradually add more deadening up the sides, hopefully stopping sort of half way past you. The last place you want to go is in front of you--your cardioid mic takes care of most of that anyway so only place blankets back there in dire acoustic emergencies.
As has been said, except maybe for the spoken word, the goal is to control room reflections, not necessarily remove them entirely.
Muddy T-Bone
New member
Bobbsy,
That really depends if you are recording a vocalist with a strong voice or "whisper vocals". In my case, having spent years on stages belting songs out, I'm a belter. My voice is LOUD. I like to record me belting out a song because it captures more vocal emotion that way. In the room I usually record my vocal takes in with the blanket gobo's, just having the one blanket gobo behind me would not do much at all as my voice would reflect off the windows/wall that is 22' in front and the reflections get picked up by the side of the cardiod.
The other thing I noticed is there is still a bunch of room reverb in the gobo cubicle until I pull in the 3rd gobo pretty tight to fully enclose me in the cubicle.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
In the summer of 1986, I lay on my back at night with the moon shining on a beach in Wales, right at the beginning of the Irish sea and I looked skyward at the moonlit horizon at the shoreline and that was when I knew for a certainty that the world was shaped like a ball and not flat even though paradoxically we don't fall off it.
They should've known that thousands of years ago.
It sounds bizarre now, but it's true. I have a book on home recording, written in 1979 that encourages egg cartons on the walls and I recall in the early 80s a friend of mine talking about egg cartoning his walls. What's really odd is that the theory back then was connected, not with controlling/enhancing the sound, but soundproofing.
That said, the Rolling Stones first album was recorded in a studio that had egg cartons on the walls. And quite a few British hits were recorded at that studio. But even then, most studios never entertained the notion. I may be wrong here but I suspect that this was one of those unique British eccentricies and people just got "blinded by science" as a former discredited practice got hardened into urban myth then argued as internet dogma.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
Well, there is ghetto and there is forgetto.
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
The answer to both of these questions is actually "most likely, yes."
"Reverb" is often a good thing - you're probably putting some back on your vocals after you record, right? The problem is really things like phase cancellation from early reflections, and high end flutter, rather than a nice smooth natural decay. In a really nice large room it's possible to track and capture some of the "room sound" and rely on that instead of digital reverb, which will often times sound very musical and most likely more natural.
In a small bedroom studio, the next best thing you can do is deaden. Heavy blankets will likely help, but if you can do it see what some people around here are doing for broadband trapping. Focus on quelling any room ambience, and then selectively add artificial ambience back in with the best reverb you can find and afford to create artificial space. I like ReaVerb with Bricasti impulses, though you can only do so much to configure them.
Bobbsy
Boring Old Git
Yup...see where you're coming from which is why I really think the answer is to experiment. The size of the room, what's on the opposite wall, the voice and tons of other things all affect the ideal layout.
However, I guess my point was that, when experimenting, it's best to start with the soft stuff behind the vocalist, then gradually add more movers' blankets on either side and only get to building a full "box" if things are really bad. I'd typically position the vocalist nearer the far wall (say 2 feet out) with lots more space in front of them in a room that had lots of bookcases (and books) on the wall the vocalist was facing. For me in that room, I generally got best results with a movers' blanket behind the vocalist plus side walls that ended roughly in line with the mic. This worked even with belters.
However, every situation is different and, just to repeat again, the only solution is to try it and see!