Vocals : Isolated or open room
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Posted on Oct 10, 2003 02:04 pm
murray the k
Member Since: May 23, 2003
Any feedback on how to record vocals? I have been recording up till now in my closet which has been converted into a sort of mini iso booth with foam padding on the walls and clothes to dampen the sound. Should vocals always be done this way, or can I record in a large open room for a more open sound?
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brockMember
Since: Jun 28, 2002
Oct 10, 2003 02:28 pm that should be fine what your doing there. remember there arn't really any rules on how to do something the big open room might sound better for a different style song. remember if your in a small room you can use reverb to make it bigger
Oct 10, 2003 10:48 pm i do all mine right here at the computer.. not even 5 feet away. all open room. works for me.
juesContributor
Since: Dec 30, 2002
Oct 11, 2003 07:59 am I record my vocals in the room next to mine.
This eliminates any background noise from the PC (very annoying) and also alows me to monitor the performance on my studio monitors while the vocalst uses headphones.
In the actual room used for recording, I have setup a matress and a few pillows to deaden the sound of the room as much as possible (but it's still not completly dead). To find out how dead your room is, strad where the microphone will be (pointing towards where the vocalist will stand) and clap your hands, if the room is not "dead" you will hear an echo which you will need to deaden.
regards
jues.
Oct 11, 2003 08:07 am My Dell is really quiet (Plus it's kind of isolated in a little box). I record in my basement, which seems to be pretty dead. I've got acoustic ceiling tiles which supposedly absorb sound pretty well, which may help (especially when I get them all up...) I usually record vocals about 20 feet away from the computer. I don't get noise from my PC, but my furnace is another issue... Could be worse, and I don't notice it in my recordings, but it is rather annoying-- especially in the winter.
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
Oct 12, 2003 07:30 am buy a big coat!
olddogMember
Since: Jul 02, 2003
Oct 12, 2003 01:21 pm I'd like to have separate rooms to record in along with soundproofing but I'm stuck with a single 10X10 room so thats what I make do with. :)
I'm thinking of building a small soundproof box to get into when I do vocals though so no one can hear me. LOL
Dan
wrmach I'm Roscoooo P. ColtraneMember
Since: Apr 12, 2003
Oct 12, 2003 04:16 pm You know, for years I would hear some studio techs talk about total isolation. They felt the only way to record was to absorb every bit of sound. I can understand that you should have good control on the mix but I agree with brock, sometimes it may not work with certain songs. It does depend on what your trying to do. I've recorded in small places(sound proof & not) I've recorded in big open rooms with echo. It's true there are no rules. But a good thing I think to keep in mind is to keep control of your mix. Unless, thats not what your looking for. Thats whats great about home recording... You set things up the way you see it!
Oct 12, 2003 04:36 pm Well, "total isolation does not mean absorbing every little bit of sound, it means "isolating" it from any interference with background sounds like traffic, a toilet flushing, a furnace kicking in and stuff like that.
Rarely, if every do you want a totally "dead room". You want a "tuned room". Big difference, a dead room reflects nothing and abosorbs everything. If you have ever been in a "dead room", it's really weird, you can practically HEAR your heart beat...what you do want is a "tuned room", which means every frequency is reflected and /or absorbed accrodingly to give the room a flat frequency response and not cause phase cancellation and things like that. Having reflection in the room and ambience and depth to the recording, but too much relfection causes it to sound like a racketball court...not pleasant.
wrmach I'm Roscoooo P. ColtraneMember
Since: Apr 12, 2003
Oct 12, 2003 05:07 pm I see what your saying dB. I read somewhere once that there is some kind of device that can help you determine, what kind of noises you need to eliminate from your studio. Have you ever heard of that or how do you tell when you have a "tuned room"?
Oct 12, 2003 06:49 pm Good point.
Oct 12, 2003 06:54 pm stay tuned, I have been approached by a company to review just such a device...just not sure if the deal will go through or not yet. typically you can just do it by ringing the room out as described in one of the 3-article series of setting up your home studio somewhere in the recording tips section...or at least ringing it out is a good start in the right direction.
Oct 12, 2003 06:54 pm Sweet.
Oct 12, 2003 06:55 pm Hey Flame-- The funny thing is that even though the furnace is down there (and makes a lot of noise...) and the basement is finished off, the place isn't heated at all! So I get all the noise of a furnace without the benefit of its warmth :) I do have to wear a big coat anyways, and I'm thinking about getting a small heater down there since routing the furnace to heat the basement would be a huge project. At least it's cool in the summer (I just bought an air conditioner a few months ago-- Of course, I turn it off while recording).
Oct 12, 2003 06:58 pm I recorded a vocal track last night in my dining room. Its rather spacious and opens up into a lower floor livingroom. First problem I noticed was that the track was not, lets say, as focused as if it was done in a closet. What I did gain in return was a slight bit of ambience, but only slightly. I thinks what I need is some of that nifty padding foam that goes on the wall to deaden the reverberation.
Oct 12, 2003 09:24 pm are you singing directly into the mic? i have recorded vocals in really big rooms before...what i found works best is if you keep the mic pointed toward a corner in the room (4-6 feet off). make sure that your mouth is on the mic man. the more space between your lips and the mic, the more room the vibrations get to breath.
Oct 13, 2003 12:55 pm I'm using a large condensor mic. I always sing about 4-6 inches away as I thought this was a best practise, and also due to the fragile nature of the mic.
flame...bringing sexy backMember
Since: Jul 01, 2002
Oct 13, 2003 01:00 pm that rings a bell murray...i dunno how sensitive they are, but i know youre meant to be careful and avoid recording loud guitar amps and stuff with them...
anyone know for sure?
Oct 13, 2003 03:40 pm alot of condensors are rated to accept more than 120 dB before distorting, so i think it's safe to use them on guitar cabs. just use a reasonable distance from the speaker, like more than 6 inches
glynbMember
Since: Dec 16, 2002
Oct 14, 2003 10:03 am I use a large condenser. I sing about 10 inches away, with a pop screen in between. Generaly i don't notice ANY noises coming in, though last night it did pick up the sound of the door bell ringing (very quietly in the background). I figure the closer you get the more it will pick up of your voice and the less of the room, which is fine by me as I can then add reverb etc in the mixing stage to change the voice as I please. Any sounds coming from the room once tracked are difficult to remove later, so best avoided IMHO.
Though I know some argue that a nice room sound along with the vocal is desireable. Whatever works for you and your voice is the crucical thing. Just experiment and remebr there is no right and wrong, only good and bad!
