Recording in an open room

[Arion]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone has any experience with recording stringed instruments (such as a violin or guitar) and/or vocals in an open room. My studio is setup in my basement which is pretty spacious. I want to minimize the ambiant "roomy" sound I get. Some of the roominess is lost in the mix but I am still not happy with the sound. Any suggestions?

Thanks alot!

 

[mjbphotos]

Sound blankets! Hang them from the ceiling around your recording area.

 

[avieth]

If you don't like the open room sound, try recording in the bathroom and/or shower.

 

[dualflip]

Close micing is always a good solution to reduce ambient sound. But regarding instruments like violin, its not good (in my opinion) to eliminate the room sound, violins sound very cheesy and harsh if closed mic'ed, the room entirely affects the sound of the instrument, so a violin needs a good sounding room to sound good and close mic'ing it is not the way i like to record it. In fact open rooms are the best things for stringed instruments like a violin, i dont like close dead rooms in that kind of instruments.

 

[jarrydee]

Close micing is always a good solution to reduce ambient sound. But regarding instruments like violin, its not good (in my opinion) to eliminate the room sound, violins sound very cheesy and harsh if closed mic'ed, the room entirely affects the sound of the instrument, so a violin needs a good sounding room to sound good and close mic'ing it is not the way i like to record it. In fact open rooms are the best things for stringed instruments like a violin, i dont like close dead rooms in that kind of instruments.

+1...what I do is close mic and I bought some moving blankets from home depot for $14.00..after you mic up the cab..put a blanket over the whole thing..It helps..and for $14.00 you could place the blankets all over!I made some gobo's out of pvc and moveing blankets..works great!!!

 

[dualflip]

Hey 14dlls, nice cheap solution!, thats also useful reducing bleed from other instruments when you are recording several instruments at the same time

 

[jarrydee]

Hey 14dlls, nice cheap solution!, thats also useful reducing bleed from other instruments when you are recording several instruments at the same time

Oh ya its cheap..compared to frickin gobos that cost $200.00 for a 3x3.

I made mine 9ft. tall and 6ft. wide..but I will be making smaller ones soon.
After you make the frame out of pvc. you use those clips from home depot that look like big ass metal cloths pins to hold the blanket around the frame!

 

[Alden_Sloe]

Close micing is always a good solution to reduce ambient sound. But regarding instruments like violin, its not good (in my opinion) to eliminate the room sound, violins sound very cheesy and harsh if closed mic'ed, the room entirely affects the sound of the instrument, so a violin needs a good sounding room to sound good.

I'm following this thread with great interest since we're blessed to have a large open room in which to record. It seems like this thread has a lot of people's opinions, preferences and experience rather than equations and facts so I'll add mine to "the mix".

Back in my college days there were two things that determined how "good" a sound system was; how many watts it had and how much it cost. It seemed to me even back then that the room and speaker placement made more of a difference than anything else. It's undeniable that the room has a huge influence on the sound. What you do with that depends on what you're after. I find it ironic that given a large room people hunt to find ways to make it small and at the other end of the spectrum you've got folks using effects like reverb and chorus to make it sound big

We have a grand piano which sounds fantastic in the setting that it's in. Reproducing that sound on a recording is another matter. Having the top open and aiming a mic at the lid from a few feet away has worked. So has close micing the sound board with a stereo pair. Change the mics or orient them slightly different and it sounds like you're under water. Having a large room makes recording more difficult only in the sense that you've got so many more possibilities to work with.

My son was selected to sing in the All State choir last year. 300 talented kids and a fantastic director. The practice room was maybe 40x100 feet with a 12 foot ceiling. They sounded great but where you were standing around the periphery changed the sound completely. Want to turn up the bass, move singers left. Unfortunately the performance hall was the Yakima Sun Dome. A concrete cavern better suited for indoor rodeos. The sound sitting up in the stands was a disappointment to say the least. Of course being proud parents we coughed up the obligatory $20 or so to buy the CD even though I was sure it would have the quality of a tin can and string arrangement. To my amazement the CD sounded great. None of the rattle and hum from the HVAC system, no echo echo echo, and the various sections of the choir were even in balance. I don't know how they did it but I guess sometimes even the pros get it right

 

[jarrydee]

I'm following this thread with great interest since we're blessed to have a large open room in which to record. It seems like this thread has a lot of people's opinions, preferences and experience rather than equations and facts so I'll add mine to "the mix".

Back in my college days there were two things that determined how "good" a sound system was; how many watts it had and how much it cost. It seemed to me even back then that the room and speaker placement made more of a difference than anything else. It's undeniable that the room has a huge influence on the sound. What you do with that depends on what you're after. I find it ironic that given a large room people hunt to find ways to make it small and at the other end of the spectrum you've got folks using effects like reverb and chorus to make it sound big

We have a grand piano which sounds fantastic in the setting that it's in. Reproducing that sound on a recording is another matter. Having the top open and aiming a mic at the lid from a few feet away has worked. So has close micing the sound board with a stereo pair. Change the mics or orient them slightly different and it sounds like you're under water. Having a large room makes recording more difficult only in the sense that you've got so many more possibilities to work with.

My son was selected to sing in the All State choir last year. 300 talented kids and a fantastic director. The practice room was maybe 40x100 feet with a 12 foot ceiling. They sounded great but where you were standing around the periphery changed the sound completely. Want to turn up the bass, move singers left. Unfortunately the performance hall was the Yakima Sun Dome. A concrete cavern better suited for indoor rodeos. The sound sitting up in the stands was a disappointment to say the least. Of course being proud parents we coughed up the obligatory $20 or so to buy the CD even though I was sure it would have the quality of a tin can and string arrangement. To my amazement the CD sounded great. None of the rattle and hum from the HVAC system, no echo echo echo, and the various sections of the choir were even in balance. I don't know how they did it but I guess sometimes even the pros get it right

You are right...but if you have a room that sounds like crap..say a basement, some people dont want that in there recordings.

Yes a big room could be used for great results, but if you want it clean..there are cheap ways to do it!!

 

[Arion]

Thanks guys for all your advice! It is much appreciated!