Recording vocals in a room with constant background noise.

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ErikH2000

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I'm in a room full of noisy computers that create constant background noise. And say this is where I have to record and I can't turn them off. I know that sounds stupid--I will explain the reason if you want to know.

I want to record spoken vocals. I'm using a cheap dynamic mic. Any ideas for shielding the microphone from the background noise? Like an idea I had was to make a little box that the microphone and the speaker's mouth are inside of. Or throw a thick blanket over the speaker and microphone. Or throw thick blankets over the computers.

Also if there is a FAQ about this or even a set of keywords to search for, (I don't know what audio people would call this kind of thing) then I'd gladly go read about it instead of bugging people here.

-Erik
 
You can cut down a lot of the noise if you can erect highly absorbtive baffles, both in front an behind your mic position. Even better would be some side absorbtion and overhead, kind of like a windjammer on a motorcycle.
you can probably buy some 2" thk compressed fiberglass panels (they come in 2ft by 4ft sections) and mount them to mic stands or wooden frames (they are light) for a final touch you can cover them with an open weave material.

tom
 
packing blankets
gobos
extention cords to another room
makeshift isolation booth
common sense

Any of the above
 
ErikH2000 said:
I'm in a room full of noisy computers that create constant background noise. And say this is where I have to record and I can't turn them off. I know that sounds stupid--I will explain the reason if you want to know.
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Yes, please do explain why this is your only option. Why make it more complicated than it has to be?
 
It would be easier and cheaper to run a mic cable over into another quiter room.
 
scrubs said:
Yes, please do explain why this is your only option. Why make it more complicated than it has to be?
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Because I am sending mic and other equipment to amateur actors to record remotely, and don't have a lot of control over their recording environments. It is valuable to avoid having to troubleshoot their space if possible. Of course, I would ask them to turn off fans, computers, move to quiet space, etc., but that is not always possible. Computers would be the most common noise problem because a computer is being used to record with, so you can't just shut it off or move away from it. I'm already picking up artifacts from my actors that come from the computers.

I know this begs the question: why would I have these actors record remotely instead of having them come to a studio and record there? Answered here.

I read stuff about ISO boxes that are used for different purposes, but not much about recording vocals. What about some kind of small foam-lined cardboard box that the microphone and actor's mouth are inside?

-Erik
 
apl said:
It would be easier and cheaper to run a mic cable over into another quiter room.
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Yeah, that sounds good there. Should I worry about longer cables messing up the signal?

-Erik
 
ErikH2000 said:
Yeah, that sounds good there. Should I worry about longer cables messing up the signal?

-Erik
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If you're using balanced cables there wouldn't be a problem.
 
Use a highpass filter to remove the hum (or at least most of it). Your mic probably doesn't have it but any EQ software or hardware would work. Go as high as you can without affecting the tone of what you actually want recorded.
 
A noise gate with the threshhold set just barely above the room noise helps a bunch too. Set the attack and release to easy (slow side of middle). Dave
 
explain to the actors that if they must record in a room with noise, how to position the mic off axis to reduce the noise.
 
syrupcore said:
explain to the actors that if they must record in a room with noise, how to position the mic off axis to reduce the noise.
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Heh. How do I position the mic off axis to reduce the noise? Like I would aim the head of the mic away from the noise source?

-Erik
 
ErikH2000 said:
Because I am sending mic and other equipment to amateur actors to record remotely, and don't have a lot of control over their recording environments.
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Are you expecting good results by letting the actors try out as recording engineers? Hell, why not let your local carpenter fly the plane next time you wanna go somewhere. It could work.
 
Stefan Elmblad said:
Are you expecting good results by letting the actors try out as recording engineers? Hell, why not let your local carpenter fly the plane next time you wanna go somewhere. It could work.
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yeah, throw up a thread on the Home Aviation BBS.
 
This is the beginning of many frustrations

You may find it just plain less stressful to find actors in your area. I mean, you do want this project to be fun right? Maybe you could try going to an independent play house, I have several in my area. Calling up local schools and talking to the theatre teacher wouldn't be a bad idea either. These would also probably get you free help considering it's all volunteer work. I'm telling you this out of experience. I tried to keep a vocalist that moved 250 miles away in the loop like this and it failed failed failed. I'm assuming you are going to want to direct these people to some extent and boy, it would be so much easier in person. If you can't make it perfect, make it fun.
 
the sound you will get is going to be 90% the person at the console recording and 10% the gear you send.

so regardless if they all have the equipment you shipped them the recordings will all sound vastly different.. even if you can somehow assume they all have a quiet room.
and while speaking of rooms.
what if two people have completely quiet rooms but one persons room is 40'x20' with high cielings, hardwood floors, and concrete walls while another persons is a 10x6 with carpeting?

this is just the tip of the iceberg :P there is so much more to recording voice than volume and room noise. and once a sound is recorded you can only go so far EQing it yourself. there is no way i know of to EQ two sounds recorded differently to sound the same.

the ONLY way to get consistent recordings is to do it all yourself :( or hire someone to do it. or find a recording engineer and mail him out to them along with gear and an isolation booth.

not to be discouraging.. but i would hate to see you go through all this trouble only to find out none of what you get back sounds at all like the other stuff you get back.
 
Set up the mic where you are going to record the vocals and record them. Then record the room on its own. Then invert the phase of the room recording and match it up to the vocals. Play simultaneously and this could kill the room sound.
 
Ooooohhhh!! Pick me!!

Put a matres in front of the computers (I've done that before), then drape blanket over top and staple to wall. This still gives the CPUs airspace for cooling, but cuts the noise. Plus, hey, a fort!
 
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