Questions abt room acoustics

[deejayen]

I've never seen or used one, but at one time was considering buying something like an Isovox portable booth for recording vocals at home. I think there are different versions, and I remember that they weren't particularly cheap, but they might be a good solution for difficult rooms.



The info page, with some demos, is here:-

https://isovoxbooth.com/en-gb/pages/...le-vocal-booth

[lppier]

Originally Posted by alohachris

Good Luck, Ippier. Try to rethink your room configs. for more space . Sleep on a movable futon like I did in one studio space. Or get a smaller bed & put the mattress on the floor. Lean it against the wall when not sleeping, Ha!

I wouldn't do that now at 78. But I did many times up until I was about 50. I found out that older girls actually don't like sharing sleeping space in a recording studio. Ha! Who knew? That's when I knew it was time to live alone again. Guitars & Recording First!!!

alohachris

Haha, I enjoy reading your posts alohachris. I think the location of the king-sized bed is not compromisable Just have to make do I guess! unless i move? It used to be a different story when I had a room to myself, but now my kids have taken up the room :/

[lppier]

Originally Posted by deejayen

I've never seen or used one, but at one time was considering buying something like an Isovox portable booth for recording vocals at home. I think there are different versions, and I remember that they weren't particularly cheap, but they might be a good solution for difficult rooms.



The info page, with some demos, is here:-

https://isovoxbooth.com/en-gb/pages/...le-vocal-booth

I guess my version would be gluing 3 of my memory foam pillows together

In all seriousness, do these actually work well?

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by lppier

I guess my version would be gluing 3 of my memory foam pillows together

In all seriousness, do these actually work well?

For only voice over, they're okay. Serious VO artists have full iso booths installed in a room in their house. The problem for us is that you can't get a guitar into one!

Surrounding yourself with a set of absorber panels is a good technique if you can't treat the entire room. You do need a place to store them when not in use, though. Again, this helps with internal room reflections but won't help as much to cut down on outside noise intrusion.

[j3ffr0]

Originally Posted by lppier

https://imgur.com/a/PT0Dc04

Is this recommended? I put a memory foam pillow behind the shure

This isn't gonna do much. Due to the cardioid pattern, the mic is going to pick up the least reflections (or anything else) from the rear. You'd be a little better off to put something on the ceiling, adjacent wall, and back wall, but you'd still be singing into a corner and subject to low end build up... Actually, you'd be far better off dragging the mic towards the middle of the room with the null facing that window when it's time to use it. And given that position, you could add acoustic panels to the ceiling and some of the walls to further improve things.

Sure -- leave it in the corner when not using it, but drag it out in front of that keyboard when it's time to use it.

[lppier]

Originally Posted by j3ffr0

This isn't gonna do much. Due to the cardioid pattern, the mic is going to pick up the least reflections (or anything else) from the rear. You'd be a little better off to put something on the ceiling, adjacent wall, and back wall, but you'd still be singing into a corner and subject to low end build up... Actually, you'd be far better off dragging the mic towards the middle of the room with the null facing that window when it's time to use it. And given that position, you could add acoustic panels to the ceiling and some of the walls to further improve things.

Sure -- leave it in the corner when not using it, but drag it out in front of that keyboard when it's time to use it.

I did a quick test, can you actually tell which is the corner? I tried 3 placements:
- facing the window
- the original corner
- near the middle of the room (on top of the bed) , holding it of course

If not, I'm wondering whether I'm just overthinking things about acoustics. Or maybe the dynamic mic is fine with the room?

[j3ffr0]

Originally Posted by lppier

I did a quick test, can you actually tell which is the corner? I tried 3 placements:
- facing the window
- the original corner
- near the middle of the room (on top of the bed)e b , holding it of course

If not, I'm wondering whether I'm just overthinking things about acoustics. Or maybe the dynamic mic is fine with the room?

The most important question is can you hear the difference? It's your room/voice/mic. And I don't have any experience trying improve rooms other than my own (which I've been through many trials with). However, I'll play along, although I'm too lazy to fire up my monitors right now.

On my laptop speakers the first one sounds the worst, so I'm going to guess that is the corner. The other two are pretty close... probably the window followed by the bed.... Slight preference for the last one... could be performance difference or it could be the bed actually absorbing some of those floor-ceiling reflections.

[lppier]

Originally Posted by j3ffr0

The most important question is can you hear the difference? It's your room/voice/mic. And I don't have any experience trying improve rooms other than my own (which I've been through many trials with). However, I'll play along, although I'm too lazy to fire up my monitors right now.



On my laptop speakers the first one sounds the worst, so I'm going to guess that is the corner. The other two are pretty close... probably the window followed by the bed.... Slight preference for the last one... could be performance difference or it could be the bed actually absorbing some of those floor-ceiling reflections.

You’re right! You’re also right in that I couldn’t tell the difference ..[emoji3]

[j3ffr0]

It can really take a while to be able to hear this stuff. I couldn't hear the room either when I first started recording -- didn't know what I was listening for. Instead I would just wonder why all my guitars had so much boom/mud around between 150 and 220 Hz. "I guess that's just the way acoustic guitars are, I thought for a while. And I had used a fair bit of room treatment. "isn't that enough?" I thought. But I didn't measure and when I finally did, I found it wasn't enough for what I was trying to achieve.

At this point, I've been through many rounds of trail and error with room treatments in two different rooms and many room measurements with REW. And fifty recordings later, I'm starting to know what I'm listening to sometimes. In some of my earlier recordings, I didn't hear the room as a problem until months or even years later.

The good news is that if you can't hear the difference, a lot of other people won't either. There is no harm adding treatment and changing position as the months go by. Getting all that stuff right and the best it can be is more of an evolution than just taking one shot and forgetting about it. Wishing you the best of luck in the new year.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by j3ffr0

It can really take a while to be able to hear this stuff. I couldn't hear the room either when I first started recording -- didn't know what I was listening for.

Developing good ears is definitely a long term commitment ...and it's often first met with a good deal of resistance from people who think their room is fine and doesn't negatively impact their recordings.

It's been said so often around here that's it's approaching cliché status, but I'd rather have subpar mics in a great room than great mics in a bad room.

[lppier]

Originally Posted by j3ffr0

It can really take a while to be able to hear this stuff. I couldn't hear the room either when I first started recording -- didn't know what I was listening for. Instead I would just wonder why all my guitars had so much boom/mud around between 150 and 220 Hz. "I guess that's just the way acoustic guitars are, I thought for a while. And I had used a fair bit of room treatment. "isn't that enough?" I thought. But I didn't measure and when I finally did, I found it wasn't enough for what I was trying to achieve.



At this point, I've been through many rounds of trail and error with room treatments in two different rooms and many room measurements with REW. And fifty recordings later, I'm starting to know what I'm listening to sometimes. In some of my earlier recordings, I didn't hear the room as a problem until months or even years later.



The good news is that if you can't hear the difference, a lot of other people won't either. There is no harm adding treatment and changing position as the months go by. Getting all that stuff right and the best it can be is more of an evolution than just taking one shot and forgetting about it. Wishing you the best of luck in the new year.

Thanks, I had thought my ears were sensitive but apparently not sensitive enough! Will take my time to tune it.
Pardon if I may ask, what exactly are you listening for? Reflections/reverb?

[lppier]

Originally Posted by jim1960

Developing good ears is definitely a long term commitment ...and it's often first met with a good deal of resistance from people who think their room is fine and doesn't negatively impact their recordings.



It's been said so often around here that's it's approaching cliché status, but I'd rather have subpar mics in a great room than great mics in a bad room.

I’m kind of a tweaker , as I think most of us here in this forum ! Definitely will be trying things out here and there. Getting the kids room is definitely not possible until perhaps 10 years later 🤣[emoji24]

[TBman]

In the OP's situation I would close the curtains and sit on the floor on the side of the bed the farthest from the windows and face the side of the bed. I'd put the mic on a short stand (lower than the top of the bed) between me and the bed.

The bed might stop some of the room reflections before they get started.

OR

Get your muscles out and stand the mattress up in front of the windows.

[j3ffr0]

Originally Posted by lppier

Thanks, I had thought my ears were sensitive but apparently not sensitive enough! Will take my time to tune it.
Pardon if I may ask, what exactly are you listening for? Reflections/reverb?

It's not about reverb. Those first reflections don't really show up as reverb -- they are ever so slightly time delayed enough to cause some comb filtering. That first one has some low end build up from the corner that that is not as present in the other two to my ears. The first one also sounds like comb filtering in the mids that is making your voice sound less natural... compared to the others.

That third one is the most open and natural sounding... that bed is likely absorbing some nasty reflections between the ceiling the the floor that the cardioid mic is otherwise picking up.

If I heard the first one in a song, I probably think it sounds okay and give it no more thought. But compared to the other two, I can tell a difference.


Using a tool like REW to measure the frequency response in your room can be really eye opening and enlightening. I've had a few revelations where "no wonder I'm boosting this or cutting that all the time; I guess I finally ought to find a way to treat that."

[lppier]

Originally Posted by TBman

In the OP's situation I would close the curtains and sit on the floor on the side of the bed the farthest from the windows and face the side of the bed. I'd put the mic on a short stand (lower than the top of the bed) between me and the bed.

The bed might stop some of the room reflections before they get started.

OR

Get your muscles out and stand the mattress up in front of the windows.

I suppose I could get a very long mic cable and a mic stand and pull it all the way to the other side of the bed!
not sure how accepting the wife will be about messing around with the mattress , lol.