Philip
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RE: The importance of a Vocal Booth
2008/05/08 02:00:44
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The SE Filter doesn't block all echoes. But like Dave (Bitflipper) stated, it's great for vox.
I have a semi-circular quilt behind me (tacked to the ceiling)
... and insulated foam tacked above and below my larger portable vocal recording booth.
Mine is probably a bit overkill, but I have no regrets at all:
+'s
No reverb gets in.
Vox is extremely dry.
-'s
Can get a bit 'boxy' during whispers and close-mic work (with my setup)
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dappa1
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RE: The importance of a Vocal Booth
2008/05/08 05:02:54
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For a one man army, it's hard to controll the DAW and be in a booth at the same time.. Not if you have a wireless keyboard 
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s_barber
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RE: The importance of a Vocal Booth
2008/05/08 08:42:20
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ORIGINAL: Dave King
I never used to use a Vocal Booth up until the other day. I made a makeshift one which has abit of room for reflection, not majorly, but it has a nice deadness to it that brings up my Vocals right into the mix, even when the volume for the Mic is low it cuts straight through given my songs more dynamics to play with. No high frequencies or muddy distortion. This indeed has been my best eq. Also having a Booth that isolates you, focuses you on your part, gives you added confidence. I wish I had experienced this before.
I am much happier with my Vox which i used to layer I find that I do not need to Layer anymore as the parts sung are fuller, richer and upfront.
When making big claims such as this, I think it's important to consider what the environment is like that it is being used in. For example if the room is all hard surfaces including the floor, I can see how a device like the reflexion filter would make a huge difference. However, if the room is (for example) carpeted and/or has acoustic treatment or curtains, furniture or whatever, I wonder if the results would be so pronounced.
...just my .02.
Yup, that's true.
Listem Here. My web site http://www.lamejohnnycreek.com/. Dell Laptop, 1 GB, 160 GB FW, EMU 1616M, M-Audio 88, Sonar 6 PE, Ozone, CD Arc, EZ, Dim, Dahlia Violin, G & L Guitar.
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Spaceduck
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RE: The importance of a Vocal Booth
2008/05/08 09:32:37
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 A linen closet makes the best recording booth. The best part: it's already covered in "absorber" (towels, cotton blankets, pillows). I purposely left the back wall clear because I like having a little reflection from behind the source. Not pictured (inside the closet, on the right) is my laptop from which I control the whole show. Try it, it costs nothing! But you do need to have a whisper quiet laptop (or a Tranzport).
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The Maillard Reaction
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RE: The importance of a Vocal Booth
2008/05/08 09:45:09
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Is the Auralex for reflecting hi frequencies back to the mics?
kinda like a prescence effect?
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The Maillard Reaction
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RE: The importance of a Vocal Booth
2008/05/08 09:50:27
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ORIGINAL: Spaceduck
A linen closet makes the best recording booth. The best part: it's already covered in "absorber" (towels, cotton blankets, pillows). I purposely left the back wall clear because I like having a little reflection from behind the source. Not pictured (inside the closet, on the right) is my laptop from which I control the whole show. Try it, it costs nothing! But you do need to have a whisper quiet laptop (or a Tranzport).
A linen closet makes the best recording booth. The best part: it's already covered in "absorber" (towels, cotton blankets, pillows). I purposely left the back wall clear because I like having a little reflection from behind the source. Not pictured (inside the closet, on the right) is my laptop from which I control the whole show. Try it, it costs nothing! But you do need to have a whisper quiet laptop (or a Tranzport). What are the Room Modes of you linen closet... it seems to me that there would be a remarkable overlap when considering the natural resonant tones of your Cello? (is it one of the smaller variants?) and the resonant peaking of that room... which could make the instrument sound rich and full... or full and muddy. One thing to consider is that you only need to deaden inapropriate rooms... if the instrument sounds good or even better in a larger livelier room... there's just no reason to deaden it. If using a closet to boost a peak in the lo mid frequencies is working for your project... then it might be useful to know what it is about the closet that is making the magic happen. Does any of that resonate? :-) best, mike
post edited by mike_mccue - 2008/05/08 09:52:48
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Spaceduck
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RE: The importance of a Vocal Booth
2008/05/08 10:21:35
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ORIGINAL: mike_mccue
Does any of that resonate? :-) Hahaha, totally (...otally... otally...otally) Although I'm not sure I'd call it "magic" yet, I'm getting some decent results. (Btw, I'm still looking for suggestions on how to improve it in this thread.) You're absolutely right on all counts. I was looking to boost the richness/resonance/lo-mids of the cello. Without doing any formal calculations of room depth/mode/etc I just got lucky by experimentation. Since the cello, like most wood instruments, naturally radiates in all directions, then having a reflector (wall) behind it helps to focus the sound back to the mic, sort of like an old Greek amphitheatre setup or the Hollywood Bowl. I just realized that this may not be as effective with vocals which are uni-directional. But vocals come out sounding pretty full nonetheless. Acoustic guitar sounds great. You're also right that a cello/piano/big-clunky-wood-instrument would sound best in a large room. I tried that, but the acoustics were too unpredictable based on the position of my mic (and I move the mic around a LOT! It's so hard to find that "sweet spot"). A small closet gives me a lot more control since I can easily manipulate the acoustics (i.e. dumping some laundry in a corner to kill a troublesome node). I guess it's sort of the lazyass/poor man's solution. The real answer is to rent out Carnegie Hall. 
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AndyW
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RE: The importance of a Vocal Booth
2008/05/08 11:51:54
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ORIGINAL: mike_mccue
Is the Auralex for reflecting hi frequencies back to the mics?
kinda like a prescence effect?
According to the ad copy they attenuate/absorb so I don't think they are reflecting. I was wanting to keep the wall(and window) behind the mic from reflecting the sound too much. I am not expert on sound damping material...I just picked up an auralex kit on sale... 
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gurian1
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RE: The importance of a Vocal Booth
2008/05/08 13:05:48
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1+ on the sE reflection filter...It does seem to work
Rob
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Elson
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RE: The importance of a Vocal Booth
2008/05/09 02:44:12
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I use my bedroom closet, run an XLR and headphone cable (via extensions) from the studio to my closet, cover the door with a fleece blanket and the rest of the clothes inside deadedn the acoustics. Tranzport allows me to control the computer in there. Works like a charm and increased my vocal productivity.
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