Recording in a dorm room

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HoboPants

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I'm getting ready to go to college next fall and I attend to record my songs in my dorm room and then mix them using logic on my MacBook Pro. Any recommendations for recording from someone whose been in my situation, or just anyone who has helpful insight? What's the best set up I should go for in a tiny dorm room. Would it be a good idea to try and soundproof my room. How important is it that I try for a single room instead of a double? I know that equipment isn't meant for this board but are there any recommendations for a good quality recording mic that can put away relatively easy? I'm also checking into getting an apogee duet 2

Thanks dudes.
 
What's the purpose of your recordings? What are you going to be recording (for example, acoustic guitar, vocals + beats, etc)?
I'd definitely recommend a single room, otherwise you will always be compromising with a roomate on quiet time - but this may not be an option if you are a freshman. Also note that most dorms are not quiet places except for around 3am (sometimes) to 7am on weeknights. :laughings: You can't 'soundproof' a dorm room, in fact the usual size won't even allow enough space for some bass traps.
Any mic can be 'put away' easily. Note you'll need a mic stand, too.
 
I'm know I'm going to be recording acoustic guitar and vocals (both separately). The rest will be Midi and done with Logic instruments. I know mixing will take the majority of my time, I just need the best recording set up I can so I can nail the take and start working on my tunes. After I take the mix as far as I can on my own, I plan on bringing the songs into a professional studio to have them cleaned up, mastered, and what not.
 
Most likely you should do the tracking in a studio, and do your mixing in the dorm room (with good headphones as you won't be able to treat the room acoustically). Recording in a small box (even a double dorm room is about 10' x 12') with no treatment will not result in tracks that can be 'cleaned up' well in a studio.
 
Yup, dorm rooms are acoustic nightmares. Taking the recorded tracks to a studio for cleanup will only result in disappointment.

Plan on doing everything in the computer and directly plugging in any instruments with amp sims.

Consider getting portable hd recorders and recording elsewhere.
 
Well all instruments, such as my guitar will be plugged directly into the computer and run directly through my apogee duet, so the acoustics wouldn't matter there correct? And for vocals, I've heard a lot of people setting up microphones in their closet and using clothes to muffle out other sounds.
 
HoboPants said:
Well all instruments, such as my guitar will be plugged directly into the computer and run directly through my apogee duet, so the acoustics wouldn't matter there correct? And for vocals, I've heard a lot of people setting up microphones in their closet and using clothes to muffle out other sounds.
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The usual dorm 'closet' is about 18" deep and 3' wide. If you want to fill a small closet with clothes AND your body and sing in there, its going to sound muffled and any noise from out in the hall will get picked up too.
 
Ok thanks, I guess I just need to think of a way to record vocals then. It could be difficult without any kind of studio or quiet place
 
Yep. What's the point of the recordings? If its just for demos, don't worry too much about it. On the other hand, if its for making albums. putting songs online for sale, you're going to need to find a different place to record.
 
No it's just to make some demos of my songs which also gives me the opportunity to learn how to mix and record using a DAW. Thanks for your advice, I feel a lot better about this now.
 
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