mic test... - Page 9

rick-slo · #**121** 08-12-2016, 10:17 PM

Near shields like that affect the sound in an artificial way. It has been discussed in prior threads. However if it suits you, fine.

Yamaha Man · #**122** 08-12-2016, 10:45 PM

It suits me fine for two reasons...cuts down on room noise and provides me with some separation while playing guitar and singing at the same time. This is awesome for mixing. I can make the vocals really stand out if I want. What's surprising me is the volume I'm getting out of the SM7b going thru just the Focusrite on vocals...plenty of volume to work with in Sonar. It'll be interesting to see how the Cloudlifter CL-1 affects the signal, it's scheduled for delivery on Saturday.. So we'll see. I'm loving these mics !!! I'm not able to treat this room because it's my living room. Way too much stuff in there already. So this setup is the next best thing for my situation.

Yamaha Man · #**123** 08-12-2016, 11:08 PM

See the big problem is that when you use only one or two mics in a session with someone playing guitar and singing at the same time, you have no way to change the balance between the guitar and vocals, what you get is what you get. Having that separation between the vocals and guitar, allows you to vary the mix as you like. THIS IS KEY to a good recording !!! I can't tell you enough about how cool it is to be able to adjust the vocals over the guitar...it was very evident to me as soon as I started my trial mix. I'm thrilled with the first test results I'm getting.

Yamaha Man · #**124** 08-12-2016, 11:30 PM

You see, I want to be able to play guitar and sing at the same time while recording. The alternative to that is to lay down a guitar track, put on your headphones, adjust the headphone volume, make sure there's no latency, THEN lay down your vocal track...if you ask me, that's a big PITA. It's just more natural for me to play guitar and sing at the same time. With this rig, I just stand up and record, easy peasy.

Rudy4 · #**125** 08-13-2016, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Maniac

See the big problem is that when you use only one or two mics in a session with someone playing guitar and singing at the same time, you have no way to change the balance between the guitar and vocals, what you get is what you get. Having that separation between the vocals and guitar, allows you to vary the mix as you like. THIS IS KEY to a good recording !!! I can't tell you enough about how cool it is to be able to adjust the vocals over the guitar...it was very evident to me as soon as I started my trial mix. I'm thrilled with the first test results I'm getting.

The horizontal foam looks like it's a crude version of a Jecklin disc setup. If you're unfamiliar you might gain some insight on the proper methodology by reading up on it a bit.

Hot Vibrato · #**126** 08-13-2016, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rudy4

The horizontal foam looks like it's a crude version of a Jecklin disc setup. If you're unfamiliar you might gain some insight on the proper methodology by reading up on it a bit.

Doesn't the Jecklyn setup employ two omni mics, separated by a vertical barrier, in order to capture a stereo image? Seems like this is a very different setup with an entirely different purpose.

Hot Vibrato · #**127** 08-13-2016, 08:50 AM

I think that it's a bad idea to have that foam literally laying on top of your guitar mics. I would suggest losing the foam and trying something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WrMhr2nUJI

Yamaha Man · #**128** 08-13-2016, 10:36 AM

Why is it a bad idea to have the foam where it is ?? I'm getting great results from it. It's providing me with the separation I was looking for to make mixing a lot easier. Having the vocal on the third track is just what I wanted.

Thanks for the video on mic placement. I'll keep it mind.

I'll keep the foam setup for now, because I love the separation I'm getting with it.

With the moving blanket clamped on, it really deadens the sound in there. I can scream in there and it just soaks up the sound. That was just what I wanted !! It almost has the same sound as being in a professional sound booth.

Yamaha Man · #**129** 08-13-2016, 10:59 AM

I took a class in music production at the local community college. Part of the class was to do a few actual sessions in a professional studio. I was really concerned about doing everything properly, using standard recording techniques. The sound engineer at the studio told me, " Do whatever works."

That phrase opens up the mind to be creative, and to try different things for the best results.

He's a very good engineer, one of his credits are recording Grand Funk Railroad's best stuff.

sdelsolray · #**130** 08-13-2016, 12:27 PM

Foam like that does not attenuate bass or midrange frequencies and what it does to high frequencies is quite minor.

Yamaha Man · #**131** 08-13-2016, 12:49 PM

The foam I used for the separator is just cheap cushion foam from Walmart. I'm not concerned about it's acoustic properties, I just want to use it as a block between the vocals and guitar. The Auralex is to block room noise. It's not meant to add any audio magic dust. The moving blanket is just to extend the Auralex's reach to block out room noise. All I want to record is guitar and vocals, nothing else. This is very important to the final mix. You have to have a good sound to start with. The better your starting sound, the better the final mix.

I tried burning a cd to see how it would sound on my truck's sound system...I'll put it this way, I'm very happy with the end results. Best recording of me ever. The vocals stand right out in the mix. The guitar is in the background...just what I wanted. I was only able to get this mix because the guitar and vocals are on separate tracks.

Yamaha Man · #**132** 08-13-2016, 02:18 PM

I just received the CloudLifter CL-1....wow is this a keeper !!!! It brings the SM7b right to life, really nice sound thru the monitors and really nice sound in Sonar. Very impressed !!

sdelsolray · #**133** 08-13-2016, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Maniac

...
I'm not concerned about it's acoustic properties, I just want to use it as a block between the vocals and guitar.
...

What do you believe it blocks?

Yamaha Man · #**134** 08-13-2016, 03:06 PM

Reflections. It just absorbs almost everything. It puts the guitar and vocals right out front. The 2" horizontal foam blocks the vocals from the guitar, and the guitar from the vocal, which gives me the separation between tracks I want for easy mixing. It's not a 100% separation, but good enough to aid in mixing.

In other news the guy that sold me the MudGuard today sent me a really nice mic stand to use with it !!!! Much nicer than the one I was using. So I just got done switching everything over. I mounted the CL-1 to the mic stand with plastic tie wraps, and have a short XLR cable coming next week.

Rudy4 · #**135** 08-13-2016, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hot Vibrato

Doesn't the Jecklyn setup employ two omni mics, separated by a vertical barrier, in order to capture a stereo image? Seems like this is a very different setup with an entirely different purpose.

Yes, and that's why I stated it looked like a CRUDE version.

Martin Maniac's results from using the foam pretty much defy the laws of physics, but whatever makes a person happy is OK in my book. There's myriad examples of seat of the pants rigs that reinforce that this type of rigging is somewhat of a waste of time once the honeymoon is over, but none of us can throw out his overwhelmingly great results. I'm personally happy for him!