What kind of room for cello?

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mellotron

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I'm wondering what kind of room would be best for recording cello? I'm going to record it by itself.
 
A large room. Preferably wooden floors with maybe a few rugs on there. High ceilings. Those kind of rooms are usually best for solo piano/cello, etc.

However, if you want a dry recording, then a smaller room would work but it'd be best to have the area deadened but not completely, using "gobos". Gobos are usually 2ft x 4ft, 2-4" thick absorber panels using OC 703 Rigid Fiberglass. They are usually setup around the mic/musician to help tame room reflections.

It really depends on how many other instruments will be in the mix and what kind of song it is. You don't want a "huge, live" cello sound if it's going to be in a dense mix with a bunch of other instruments. And you wouldn't want a "dry/dead" sound if it's going to be a solo cello recording.

Hope that makes sense.
 
Any room that has Yo Yo Ma in it. :p

Seriously, the larger the dimensions (including height) to help tame bass modality, though not an aircraft hangar that is all reverb. You have anything with a sloped cathedral ceiling, maybe?

G.
 
The bigger the better.

Right, and this applies to all acoustic instruments. The biggest problem home recordists face is recording in a room where all the reflecting surfaces are close by. It's the "early" reflections that cause the hollow, boxy, off-mike sound we all strive to avoid. If you can't use a big room, then make the small room as dead as possible (within reason).

--Ethan
 
My parents have a sun room that's about 14 by 14 feet whose ceiling is shaped like a triangle, so the room has a pentagon shape, like a barn or cathedral whose ceiling tapers up. The doorway's pretty wide though and opens into an uncarpeted kitchen. The apex of the triangular ceiling is about 12 or 13 feet. Problem is that it's all carpeted. I'm thinking it'll sound nicer recording in that rather than my 10 by 12 foot bedroom that's totally rectangular and has a very small doorway?

I also have a foyer that has a really high ceiling, maybe 17 feet or so, not carpeted but rectangular. What's more important: high ceiling, non-carpeted, wide room dimensions, or the shape of the ceiling? Ah, I guess you can't really give me advice without me taking some pictures. Plus, I'll probably try each place and see what sounds the best anyway. Maybe I'll upload some pictures later. I'll figure this out by trial and error.
 
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