Vocals > Huge Empty Room.

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ShanPeyton

ShanPeyton

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I have a very large empty space at my disposal. Like, were talking probably 3000 sq feet of empty commercial space over top of my new office space. I currently can't do vocals where i live because it is an apartment building and i don't think this is place for that.

I have an SM57 and all my other gear that is easily mobile just to record my vocals. But what more would i need to get some vocals done in this room?

If it turns out it needs alot of work done to it then my other options are use the downstairs board room, an office or my cubicle.

Thoughts , suggestions ?
 
I'd use the deadest, driest space available. An empty 3000 sq ft space might be awesome for drums, but probably not for vocals unless you can isolate yourself.
 
gecko zzed said:
I'd say go with the big space.
Click to expand...

Ok. Any particular reason why? Where would you set up at? It is essentially a huge rectangle and the ceiling slopes to the back at a very minute ratio?

Greg_L said:
I'd use the deadest, driest space available. An empty 3000 sq ft space might be awesome for drums, but probably not for vocals unless you can isolate yourself.
Click to expand...

Isolation is the word i think i was looking for. IF i needed to isolate myself it would require a lot of work in the empty room. Where as if i were to set up in the cubicle area of my office and use that space it doesn't get much deader then that. The company spent a fortune on top notch cubicles. Sound transfer among them is nil. They are rather impressive as far as cubicles go.

I could always set up in both and test them out, eh? See which I like best?
 
Also would the SM57 do the job ok? I have been thinking of adding a mic to my arsenal, i have a 150 dollar budget. So suggestions in that arena are welcome also.
 
A "live" room is great for many things. Most of them being for live applications - like recording an entire band or loud instruments. Even then you'd typically want to tame wongo reflections while still maintaining the live room ambiance. Gobos between band members, stuff like that. Vocals though are usually one of those instances in which you want a deader kind of space for the cleanest purest take you can get. And who knows? Maybe that 3000ft space is big and/or proportioned enough that bad reflections peter out before they can become damaging. Try it and see. You can also get right up on that cardoid 57 and pretty much isolate yourself.
 
A 57 is adequate for vocals, but a condensor mic would most likely be better - what do you have for an audio interface, and does it have phantom power?
 
Yeah 57's are used for live vocals all the time, so why not record with one? They pretty much work on anything and their tight pattern really helps if you're in a bad space. And as always, the performance is more important than the mic. A bad take is a bad take no matter which mic you use.
 
If you have a condenser mic, you could try to get the best of both worlds using the big room. You can sing up close to the 57 while placing the condenser a few feet away to capture the reverb the big room will give you. Depending on where and how you place the mics, you might get a nice mix of dry and wet which you can mix as you like.

Might work. Might not. Only one way to find out.
 
If you can manage it move one of your cubicles to the big room. You'll have the best of both worlds. Then experiment.
 
Seriously all great tips. I love this place.

I think i am going to do a sample tracking in each room and see how it goes. I am going to look at some condenser mics too. But not sure what to look for. I'll figure it out.

Thanks everyone!!
 
ShanPeyton said:
Ok. Any particular reason why? Where would you set up at? It is essentially a huge rectangle and the ceiling slopes to the back at a very minute ratio?
Click to expand...

A big room is generally easier to control acoustically than a small one. As others have said, you have the space in which you can erect partititions or whatever to reduce reflections.

However, even though you have said it was large, you haven't mentioned what acoustic qualities it has. If it is like a totally bare concrete bunker, then it might be full of echoes.
 
gecko zzed said:
A big room is generally easier to control acoustically than a small one. As others have said, you have the space in which you can erect partititions or whatever to reduce reflections.

However, even though you have said it was large, you haven't mentioned what acoustic qualities it has. If it is like a totally bare concrete bunker, then it might be full of echoes.
Click to expand...

Yea, sorry, by empty I mean that in the truest sense of the word. Empty. 6 support columns, 18 windows, Oriented Strand Board flooring and a two or three cardboard boxes half full of nails and one ladder.
 
ShanPeyton said:
Yea, sorry, by empty I mean that in the truest sense of the word. Empty. 6 support columns, 18 windows, Oriented Strand Board flooring and a two or three cardboard boxes half full of nails and one ladder.
Click to expand...

What happens in that room when you clap your hands?

Does the reverb continue for a long time or die quickly?

It does seem, on the face of it, an extremely appealing area to work with.
 
gecko zzed said:
What happens in that room when you clap your hands?

Does the reverb continue for a long time or die quickly?

It does seem, on the face of it, an extremely appealing area to work with.
Click to expand...

I can't remember. ?? There is reverberation in there for sure, just didn't think to time it.
 
gecko zzed said:
What happens in that room when you clap your hands?

Does the reverb continue for a long time or die quickly?

It does seem, on the face of it, an extremely appealing area to work with.
Click to expand...

O.K. I did your clap test and the reverb dropped off pretty quickly. It wasn't at all like a loud hall or church. Best describe it was maybe two or three really fast reflections and that was it. Whatever that tells you? I am fairly sure i will try out both areas and see what sounds best.

I think for back up style vocals the big room will win that battle. The only major drawback to this room is that i will be running on that huge air conditioners schedule. But if it works out o.k. i can live with that.

Here are few pictures. Really low ceiling in there!!!


IMG-20121101-00946.webpIMG-20121101-00944.webp
 
That is a low ceiling, but man is that a lot of space.

Stand in the middle. One condensor mic. You're golden.
 
Make up some cheap gobos and place them around where you are singing if the big room sounds too big.

Alan.
 
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