Why Do Some Artists Record In Bathroom ?

J

jimi

New member
OR KITCHEN I DONT HAVE ANY REVERB UNITS OR EFFECTS JUST THE 4TRACK TASCAM , JUST WANNA KNOW WHY ITS BETTER TO RECORD IN BATHROOM OR KITCHEN CLOSED ????
WHATS HAPPENING THERE ?
DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH EFFECTS ? like because i dont have any therfore it gives effects ?
 
If I've eaten too many burritos or a six pack of White Castles, I have no choice but to record in the bathroom.
 
i record in my bathroom, but that is simply because everywhere in my basement sucks.


i have my bathroom carpeted almost entirely, minus a few spots here and there. it sounds good.
 
i still dont know the difference between regular room and bathroom ? whats so special about the bathroom ?
 
Its a reverb...Hard reflective surfaces , generally small spaces.. meaning that the reflections are more "controled"..Tile is a very hard surface...Alot of rev boxes and programs have a tile room for example..


Don
 
so is it better to record in such a room like a bathroom or a tiled kitchen ? like better than my bedroom for example ?
 
That would depend on what effect you're trying to achieve and more importantly, how your bathroom and/or bedroom sounds.
 
i dunno i heard its always better sounding in the bathroom atmosphere for some reason ? maybe the tile ??
im still confused about this (ill try putting up some carpets on the wall or one wall of the four ??
and look for less hisss sound and more controlled sound u know ? like what we all listen to on radiohead songs and stuff like that ??
 
Henri Devill said:
Its a reverb...Hard reflective surfaces , generally small spaces.. meaning that the reflections are more "controled"..Tile is a very hard surface...Alot of rev boxes and programs have a tile room for example..


Don
Click to expand...
 
Most likely both the bathroom and the kitchen will sound like shit. Unless you have problems with echoes/reverb where you record now, it will probably be better to stick to your current location (the bedroom, I assume?)
 
what if i have a song whcih vocals go up and high also in volume ?? it peaks and then not its weird i cant get an even vocal line recorded
ps. i use 4 track tascam not mic preamp or effects unit just mic right into the 4 trac and micing guitar amp ??
any suggestions ?
 
it's all about the ambience, it's really cool messing with natural reverbs and echos of the such, you should try churches, even outside sometimes... it's all cool.
 
*OT on
...Because people singing while taking a bath, and cooking in the kitchen... whistle and humming at least... Thus why they think it's cool to capture there...

*OT off
 
use to be in bathrooms that the there was tile on the walls and wood or tile floors.

the tile and wood gave the small bathroom a hard reflection reverb... good for ballads. i'm f***ing up my rep by saying this but i love singing luther vandross songs in the shower, the bathroom makes you sound good.

now a days the shower walls of many new homes are plastic, so you don't get the same effect.
 
jimi,

Lots of things to consider and learn. I'm also somewhat of a newbie on vocal recording but this data may help you.

It's often better to record in as dead a room as possible. This is how the big boys do it. After the vocal track is recorded they add effects like reverb, chorus, compression, etc.

If you want a very easy effect to apply to your recordings and will make your voice sound fuller, similar to alot of pop/rock tracks, simply record your lead voice twice and adjust the 2nd version just so it's slightly lower in volume than the 1st track. This is known as "doubling" and can be applied to pretty much any instrument to "fatten" it up. Primarily applied to vocals and guitar tracks though.

Go sing in a clothes closet, then sing in your downstairs basement and then your bathroom. Chances are the bigger rooms will give you impression your voice is carrying better, sounding much louder, etc. Go sing a church and compare the "natural reverb" there.

Reverb is usually suited to ballads. In most modern rock/pop songs very little reverb is used. Most reverb types will push your vocals further back in the mix. Since you're using a 4 track system you "may" want to invest in a cheap reverb effects unit and plug it in to your Tascam or whatever and record your vocals in your clothes closet and then go through the reverb into your recorder.

Compression requires alot of skill to use properly. In a nut shell what it does it "make the loud notes soft and make the soft notes loud". This in effect is supposed to "even the vocal out".

Some professional live singers use their "built in compressor" and push the mic further away when the sing louger or bring in it closer when they sing softer. :)

I just recently learned about draping thick blankets over/around the singer to record a better up front vocal. Works great!
 
wow thank you very much great advice
one question though : iwhat if i dont like singing without reverb ?:can i sing with reverb in the headphones then record it dry ?

cool im starting to like this , i put blankets and carpets on the wall of a small empty room and it sounds wayyyyy much better than anything i tried before:)
im so happy about that
ill put up more blankets now lol :)
 
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