[!@#$%!]

im not talking about any kind of charlie sheen's hotel cupboard situation.

we have a cheap audio technica "studio" mic (really bad but that's the best we could get) and a zoom recorder set at 48/16 (it's for video).

levels are hitting maybe -3db tops in the most shrill of moments. should i lower, or is that ok?


any DIY ways to make a pop screen? is pantyhose really the way to go? (ha!).

any ideas under 99 cents (american) will be tested.

--

ps - pantyhose rules.

[DeadDiscoDildo]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

im not talking about any kind of charlie sheen's hotel cupboard situation.

we have a cheap audio technica "studio" mic (really bad but that's the best we could get) and a zoom recorder set at 48/16 (it's for video).

levels are hitting maybe -3db tops in the most shrill of moments. should i lower, or is that ok?


any DIY ways to make a pop screen? is pantyhose really the way to go? (ha!).

any ideas under 99 cents (american) will be tested.

--

ps - pantyhose rules.

It depends what you are going for, I stopped using condensors for vocals awhile ago, because you never use them live.

Lately I've been using an SM57, run thru a guitar amp and guitar reverb pedals etc. Put the amp in the closet to absorb the sound and then stand about a foot away from the mic...it sounds badass, no pop, great proximity effect...sounds like someone just singing in the room...or a live show.

Sorry that doesnt quite answer your question. I guess its just an alternative method.


Pantyhose works though.

[!@#$%!]

on no that's fucking brilliant so you record the amplified voicer rather than right out of the throat?

i wish i could do that, but i have no amp, just a peavey PA and a shitty shitty shitty shitty radio shack brand speaker. it's crap on the ears and we use it in a market ha ha ha ha. furreal.


thanks for the answer though. i might try to replicate that w/ a friend who is in a band.

as for today the zoom recorder just said "Good Bye See You!"

ha ha ha ha-- engrish rules.

thanks man.

[hevusa]

Try to make the closet as "dead" sounding as possible. The less "reverb/echo" being recorded the better. Put heavy cloth on all surfaces. Levels topping off at -3 is good.

DIY pop screen for free = take the "speaker guard" off your stereo's speaker and hold or fasten that between your voice and the recording device. A pantyhose based device will work too but I find it affects the quality of the source more (and when you think about the speaker guard's purpose in life that sort of makes sense). If your speaker doesn't have a guard try the old ones at the thrift store. They will sell you a busted speaker for next to nothing. But the best pop screen really = no pop screen. If you deaden the closet you wouldn't need to put the mic right in front of your mouth and it would still sound dope (and no pops).

Happy recording!!!

[DeadDiscoDildo]

Oh Hevusa good call on the speaker guard! Nice

and no problem @)(*#)(*%&)#$

I like alot of reverb on my vocals and keeping them low in the mix etc. but if you just put an sm57 thru a guitar amp, then mic the amp with another 57...it sounds brilliant...you can distort those mics in nice ways too...think RAW POWER etc.

[hevusa]

Originally Posted by DeadDiscoDildo

Oh Hevusa good call on the speaker guard! Nice

Thanks!

Originally Posted by DeadDiscoDildo

I like alot of reverb on my vocals

I like reverb on them too. I forgot to mention that the whole point of recording the vocals as "dead" as possible is so you can add reverb in the mix later (or not). You have total control as you can put the vocals up in your face in the mix without reverb or you can splash them to hell to put them at a distance.

[!@#$%!]

thanks guys

yeah the closet was full of winter coats & shit & i covered the outside door with a thick yoga mat to dampen outside noise. it was pretty dead, but never before i realized we get so many airplanes overhead-- airport and AF base nearby, not so near you can't sleep at night but when you put on headphones it's pretty clear.

then i still had to clean the shit out of them with audacity and my version didn't have the freeverb plugin so i'll look for it or something or maybe add it in avid/protools.

anyway if you didn't get rep from me here it's cuz i need to spread more santorum. just so you know.

[terminal pharmacy]

Originally Posted by DeadDiscoDildo

It depends what you are going for, I stopped using condensors for vocals awhile ago, because younever use them live.

Very very untrue.

Originally Posted by DeadDiscoDildo

Lately I've been using an SM57, run thru a guitar amp and guitar reverb pedals etc. Put the amp in the closet to absorb the sound and then stand about a foot away from the mic...it sounds badass, no pop, great proximity effect...sounds like someone just singing in the room...or a live show.

Sorry that doesnt quite answer your question. I guess its just an alternative method.


Pantyhose works though.

This sounds like a fun idea.

[terminal pharmacy]

Highpass from about 180hz too, this will get rid of some of the plosives on stuff you have already recorded.

[Anngella]

fucking hipster

[DeadDiscoDildo]

Originally Posted by terminal pharmacy

Very very untrue.





This sounds like a fun idea.

I've only used like shure beta 58s and etc. those kind of silver dynamic mics at live venues. Ive never seen anyone use a condensor/recording mic. Or maybe it's been so long Im confusing things and there are condensors t hat look like regular microphones. Rather than the ones that look like hot pockets haha.

But lately Ive been using 57s live instead.

[terminal pharmacy]

Originally Posted by DeadDiscoDildo

I've only used like shure beta 58s and etc. those kind of silver dynamic mics at live venues. Ive never seen anyone use a condensor/recording mic. Or maybe it's been so long Im confusing things and there are condensors t hat look like regular microphones. Rather than the ones that look like hot pockets haha.

But lately Ive been using 57s live instead.

i think you may be confusing things, condensors don't just come in large diaphragm versions. condensors aren't just studio mics, in fact my stages are generally fairly full of condensors, hats, overheads, any strings, winds, even my favourite kick drum mic is a split dynamic/condensor. the neumann 105 is a vocal condensor as is the shure sm87

[DeadDiscoDildo]

Yeah, I went to the recording workshop in 2005. It was an intensive course where they throw u right in, I learned alot but it was abit overwhelming to remember it all if you dont keep up with it, which I didnt'.

I should dust out my old books and brush up.

[StevOK]

I thought you might like to take a look at this article on re-amping. It would probably be preferable to re-amp your clean vocals for some real reverb rather than to use freeverb or something similar. "While digital emulators have gotten significantly better over time, sometimes there’s just no substitute for moving air."
http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/550039

[hevusa]

Originally Posted by StevOK

I thought you might like to take a look at this article on re-amping. It would probably be preferable to re-amp your clean vocals for some real reverb rather than to use freeverb or something similar. "While digital emulators have gotten significantly better over time, sometimes there’s just no substitute for moving air."
http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/550039

reason why this isn't a great idea for people recording at home = the rooms they would use to reamp in are an acoustical mess.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Anngella

fucking hipster

ha ha-- who? certainly not me! i eat animal protein 3 or 4 times a day (including industrial chicken and beef) and despise edamame. just saying.

Originally Posted by hypertonic

For materials I've a fairly cheap suggestion. I shadowed a recording engineer when I was young and picked up this tip for homemade sound proof rooms. Instead of costly Auralex foam or whatever, you can go to your local coffee brewery/shop and ask for the burlap bags that the coffee beans come in. The place here gave me a stack of 20 or so for free. Most of the time they give them away or take them home. I deadened most of the basement I had last year with them. Just be careful as they might be a fire hazard. You can get flame retardant chems (from Walmart or wherever) to spray on them if you are concerned. You might want to crumple regular brown bags and stuff them inside to give random angles to break up the sound reflections. Staple down to the walls. Anyway, a room treated like this does pretty well for next to nothing.

oh, that is brilliant-- burlap sacks. i have a lot of places where i could get those, but coffee smells better of course. this is a REAL closet however so i can't have a permanent installation, but maybe some movable panels or something. i have this folding room divider... hm....

Originally Posted by StevOK

I thought you might like to take a look at this article on re-amping. It would probably be preferable to re-amp your clean vocals for some real reverb rather than to use freeverb or something similar. "While digital emulators have gotten significantly better over time, sometimes there’s just no substitute for moving air."
http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/550039

oh, that looks cool, it's s0rta like what DDD does but mixing w/ the original signal.

but yeah, i live in a small apartment and the closet is not that great. then there's the bathroom, but it has a shitton of echo and it's no good. the closet is as quiet as it gets, considering the nearby traffic.

i got a decent recording out of the hanging coats (in all walls), pretty dead, trying to add reverb w/ bomb factory plugins in protools/avid. it's got a reverb thing.

been also trying to install Gverb for audacity but the instructions are a bit fucked.

anyone know of a place to get FREE vst plugins that will work w/ PT? the selection i have is limited and i'm sure they would love to sell me more for $$$.

alright. gotta go work. thanks again.