Recording vocals without acoustic treatment?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Re-tox_stl
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Re-tox_stl

Re-tox_stl

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So, I am geting ever closer to the purchase of my first audio interface, condenser mic, etc. And a problem just arose in my mind:

At the moment i cannot afford acoustic treatment for my room, and i was wondering how much that will affect my vocal recording. I do though, have a basement filled with "natural" acoustic stuff (couches, book shelves, a couple mattresses against the wall, and so on, so forth) and was wondering if that would be suitable. Thanks!

Much love, Drew
 
You might look into dynamic mics. They pick up a lot less of what's going on in the room.
 
What exactly does your room look like in size? may be you have a good room to begin with!



:cool:
 
Well, the room were my setup is in is an 11' by 11' (ish) square with very little against most of the walls (acoustically horrible). My basement though is more like 15' by 20' or so, with a fireplace, tv and file cabinets against one wall; my drumset, other computer desk and a door against another; a staircase, two mattress and a book shelf against the 3rd wall; and a couch, big ass bass cab, windows, and some random junk on the other wall. If that helps paint a picture in your head :)
 
Re-tox_stl said:
So, I am geting ever closer to the purchase of my first audio interface, condenser mic, etc. And a problem just arose in my mind:

At the moment i cannot afford acoustic treatment for my room, and i was wondering how much that will affect my vocal recording. I do though, have a basement filled with "natural" acoustic stuff (couches, book shelves, a couple mattresses against the wall, and so on, so forth) and was wondering if that would be suitable. Thanks!

Much love, Drew
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Since vocals are close mic'd as long as you are not situated right next to a reflective surface your basement should work just fine.
 
ocnor said:
Since vocals are close mic'd as long as you are not situated right next to a reflective surface your basement should work just fine.
Click to expand...



.^^^^ this is what I was getting at.... 1+



:cool:
 
Your room is large enough to get reasonable vocal recordings, so I echo what the others have said above.

Clutter is good, and heavy clutter (couches etc) is better. Stuff scattered around the walls is good.
 
Awesome! But my ceilings are just standard height (8 or 9 feet)
 
gehauser said:
+1 on the heavy clutter for bass traps.

In addition, you could also use a home-made reflection filter (hang moving blankets or sleeping bags over mics stands arranged in a V-shape, then sing into the V). This will limit early reflections into the mic. It won't do anything for bass, though.

Or build a PVC frame for the blankets, like this one:
http://www.palmcitystudios.com/timobrien/music/soundbooth/simplesoundbooth.html
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^^ thats a pretty sweet as booth!
Do "moving blankets" specifically work the best? or is there other types of blankets/sheets that would also work?

So if have 2 rooms, one room is about 3m x 3m and only has my studio gear in there, and the other one is about 6 x 6m and has all my bed, drawers, tables and furniture etc, your saying it would be better for me to record the vocals in the centre of my bigger room?

....This is a good thread, im in the same situation myself - learning to record the best possible vocal recordings in my bedroom.
 
ryanwoollerton said:
^^ thats a pretty sweet as booth!
Do "moving blankets" specifically work the best? or is there other types of blankets/sheets that would also work?

So if have 2 rooms, one room is about 3m x 3m and only has my studio gear in there, and the other one is about 6 x 6m and has all my bed, drawers, tables and furniture etc, your saying it would be better for me to record the vocals in the centre of my bigger room?

....This is a good thread, im in the same situation myself - learning to record the best possible vocal recordings in my bedroom.
Click to expand...

Sleeping bags/comforters work well too instead of moving blankets.

I would record in your bigger room with all the "stuff" in it, but not in the dead center of the room (read up on room modes). Close mic, use the reflection filter and it won't matter too much where you record, just stay away from reflective walls. Generally speaking you would avoid the exact center of the room but I would not let that stop me from trying it there.
 
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