singing in the car

[pazinesta]

I don't want the neighbors coming over wondering what's the ruckus all about so I take my lap top and record the vocals in the car in an empty parking lot.

how can I make this sound best? should I hang up a towel or something to sort of fence off the back of the car?

what does it do to the sound when it bounces off the windshield and windows?

 

[thajeremy]

maybe you can try a few bass traps....might help if you buckle in a gobo in the passenger seat. the more 703 you can fit in there, the better off you will be...

 

[WhiteStrat]

I don't want the neighbors coming over wondering what's the ruckus all about so I take my lap top and record the vocals in the car in an empty parking lot.

how can I make this sound best? should I hang up a towel or something to sort of fence off the back of the car?

what does it do to the sound when it bounces off the windshield and windows?

Have you tried it yet and are unsatisfied with the results? Or are you just assuming it'll need some treatment? My point is this: think about the inside of a car--Lots of irregular surfaces (diffusion), lots of soft padded materials (absorbtion). In other words, it may already be better than you think.

In fact, I read on a podcasting blog somewhere, that many podcasters record in their cars because the sound is so good. I've never tried, so I'm only speculating...

 

[Daisy]

Wow. Taking the idea of "mobile studio" to a whole nother level.

 

[pazinesta]

yeah, I just don't know.
I need to experiment. It's sounds OK but I wonder if it will sound miraculously better.

can y'all tell a rookie what a gobo and 703 is?

 

[Armistice]

If you record at home, at least only your neighbours will think you're a little strange...

I worry about noise control.... you could get one of those "If it's rockin', don't bother knockin'" stickers, although I think they were made for a different purpose...

Better answer is to phone in a bomb threat where you live and clear the place out for a while...

 

[dgatwood]

maybe you can try a few bass traps....might help if you buckle in a gobo in the passenger seat. the more 703 you can fit in there, the better off you will be...

ROTFLMAO.

can y'all tell a rookie what a gobo and 703 is?

703 is rigid fiberglass. IIRC, a gobo is a box with sound-absorbing (and/or diffusing) material designed to eliminate reflected sound, but don't quote me on that.

The best thing you can do for your recording is to record in a larger room with a higher ceiling. If that's not possible, add sound absorbing material and bass traps in the corners of the room. Either way, the absolute last place I'd record is in a car. Too small, plus one giant reflective surface (windshield) and a bunch of similar smaller ones (windows) that you really can't do much of anything about....

Just my $0.0495 (2 cents circa 1990, adjusted for inflation).

 

[thajeremy]

I almost feel bad that I was taken seriously.....

 

[Weasel9992]

The real issue acoustically is that you're taking what F. Alton Everest would call "small room irregularities" (with his usual understated flair) and multiplying them exponentially. Even if you LOADED the car with absorptive material the space is still so small and oddly spaced and the surfaces are so irregular both from a shape, spacing and composition standpoint that I think you'd find it nearly impossible to get a usable product. Well...I guess if it was just for a sort of informal podcast type of thing you might come up with something good enough...or if you were looking for that boxy, comb-filtery vibe...

Frank

 

[pazinesta]

what would be the perfect dimensions for a room?

I thought you wanted it to be small. Don't they make those isolation booths small?

so it would be a waste of time to try to foam pad the car?

what if I just wear my seat belt?

 

[whyseye]

LOL...
...but actually - I do have clients that use their cars to record VO auditions while they're on the road....and they don't sound as good as those recorded in a properly treated studio, but they do sound better than those recorded in bad hotel rooms...
...which is damning with faint praise, but it's not a completely ludicrous idea...

 

[Weasel9992]

Iso booths come in all kinds of different sizes, but yes...they're usually fairly small. The difference is that they're well thought out and acoustically treated based on the result you're trying to achieve. The inside of a car is a whole different deal for all the reasons I listed above. Foam padding wouldn't help much.

Frank

 

[whyseye]

..seat belt is mandatory, BTW....

 

[pazinesta]

anybody know a website or an old thread with lot's of info about this?

 

[DAS19]

I almost feel bad that I was taken seriously.....

He was asking for some real help and you just insulted him.

 

[pazinesta]

it's alot like insulting me in Russian.

I have no idea what he's talking about

 

[dgatwood]

it's alot like insulting me in Russian.

I have no idea what he's talking about

Let's see if this board will let me post Russian.

Ваша мать кит.

Courtesy Babelfish.

Wow. It's remarkable how badly that translates back. The original English was "Your mother is a whale." The back translation was "Your mother of Chin."

Yikes!

 

[Greg_L]

This can't be serious.

 

[Mish]

Let's see if this board will let me post Russian.

Ваша мать кит.

Courtesy Babelfish.

Wow. It's remarkable how badly that translates back. The original English was "Your mother is a whale." The back translation was "Your mother of Chin."

Yikes!

It's "Твоя мать - кит" , why the whale insult anyway?

Try "Отсоси моё гнездо, сороколапое угрёбье"

 

[dgatwood]

Draw off my nest, [sorokolapoe] [ugrebe

???

Suddenly, I'm getting the idea that Babelfish's Russian still needs some work.