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Starting with the oldest, and cheapest:

When recording vocals, if microphone 'pop' is a problem use a "pop blast screen". 'Pop' is caused when a singer sings a plosive sound, like a 'p' or 'b' sound. This causes air to get forced out the singers mouth where it hits the diaphram of the microphone causing a pop sound on the vocal recording. Just try holding your hand in front of your mouth sing a few different vowel sound, then try singing a word like "drop". On the 'p' you'll find that a blast of air hits your hand.

A pop blast screen is a gauze placed between the singer and the microphone. It disipates the blast of air without changing the sound of the word. There for no pop!

You can buy pop blast screens. There are cheap ones, but many home recording enthusiasts simply use a metal coat hanger (you know the ones made from a wire) with a pair of nylons, stockings or tights (whatever you call them) stretched over the wire frame. This basically works, not as effective as a pro screen, but it removes the worst effects.

Cheers

John

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well, this tip is for rockers or blues men.

if you want to have a nasty guitar sound but you don't want to make a lot of noise while recording use a micro amp!!

Frank Zappa used this technique a lot during the mid 70's, he used to record with a pignose amp; also Jimmy Page used it with Led Zeppelin, believe it or not, the solo on "stairway to heaven" was played with a telecaster through a supro amp.

this way you can even make feedback noises at a very low volume.

you just have to use a regular mic (sm 57) near the speaker to record the guitar.

I recently bought a 1 watt micro amp that works with a 9 volt battery, it's really cheap and you can get awesome sounds with it, have a lot of fun and also a lot of experimentation.

I recorded some nice solos placing it inside an acoustic guitar body and also I got a natural phased sound putting the amp inside a sealed box and running a 1 1/2 m. corrugated plastic tube from inside the box and placing the mic at the open end of the tube outside the box... :D

here is a link to the post I did when I bought the little amp:

Smokey Amp

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Just one tip that many people new to recording almost always overlook. Quality shielded cords. You don't have to spend a bunch either. Shop around. For gods sake, don't use speaker cords!!!

Another thought; Many people set up their studios in basements................yes, basements with cement floors. Make sure you place some kind of covering on the floor, preferably rubber containing as this will help shield line noise, not to mention a possible shocking experience.

You want to help eliminate room noise?......Do it cheaply buy purchasing some of those foam bed covers. They are large, around 4 feet by 7 feet and can be bought for around 8-10 bucks a piece.

Carry on.

T :D M

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Don't let yourself get swamped by new technology. Find what you need to do the job and stick with that untill you decide to enhance the equipment you have. It's very easy to read the latest gear reviews and think you need a lot more than you do.

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found this....

http://www.download.com/Studio-Buddy/3000-...tml?tag=lst-0-8

 

Studio Buddy provides audio-recording tips for the home enthusiast. It was created by two talented and 20-year-tenured engineer/producers with major credits in recording and record producing, and programmed by the code gurus at Metrolite Multimedia.

Developed by professionals, this free application dispenses very useful audio-engineering tips. Studio Buddy couldn't be easier to use; you simply select a recording topic from the left box, and the right one will display detailed information. However, we wish the app could be minimized to your taskbar, and it would be nice if the window could be resized for easier reading. The program offers quite a bit of information on how to record certain instruments, microphone choice and placement, and usage of outboard gear such as compressors. You'll also find tips for equalizing and mixing music once basic tracking has been finished. Studio Buddy offers a quick-search option, but beyond that, you won't find any features. Professional audio engineers probably won't need this program's help, but amateurs and home hobbyists are sure to find this freebie informative.
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  • 2 months later...
I recorded some nice solos placing it inside an acoustic guitar body and also I got a natural phased sound putting the amp inside a sealed box and running a 1 1/2 m. corrugated plastic tube from inside the box and placing the mic at the open end of the tube outside the box... :D

Smokey Amp

Now that is a bloody good idea...

I've always found that foam in the corners where unwanted reverberations seem to accumulate is helpful, even if it's just from pillows... My recording room is slightly rectangular and I stuck a mattress onto the rear wall, which believe it or not make a night and day difference to the sound...

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Avoid parallel flat surfaces in your studio. Walls (and other surfaces) that are parallel can cause hot frequencies due to standing constructive sound waves, tuned to a frequency that is derived from the distance between the two surfaces. This is particularly true where the surfaces have low absorption. i.e. they don't absob much sound energy.

Remedies are:

Angle one surface so that they are no longer parallel

Limit the size of flat areas that are parallel to each other

Break up the surface of flat areas and make them irregular

Use sound absorption materials to increase the amount of sound energy absorbed on each reflection

Cheers

John

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  • 7 months later...
Don't let yourself get swamped by new technology. Find what you need to do the job and stick with that untill you decide to enhance the equipment you have. It's very easy to read the latest gear reviews and think you need a lot more than you do.

I totally agree with this, especially if your doing live work where you only get one shot at it... I've recorded the Glasgow Jewish Society Choir twice in 2004 and 2005, and that is hard going, very fraught and both recordings were far from perfect, due to the time costraints in setting up and sound checking. The time available for this was non existant, and the acoustics in the Coupar Institute in Cathcart are absolutely frightful...

Anyway, in both cases, we took a multitrack recorder along and a minidisc recorder as an emergency backup, and in both cases there was a crash on the multitrack machine and we had to use the minidisc direct to stereo recording... I was praying, I can tell you, hold together baby! and in both cases, the beat up old Sony minidisc deck came through...

The point being, I totally agree with Steve, what you want to do is to take technology that you have well in hand that is highly reliable, and shape it to the objectives at hand. That's the way to work with the least question marks for foul ups...

GJSC.JPG

Edited by Prometheus
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  • 1 year later...
  • 2 years later...

Damn! Old topic, but I'll bump this to! :) Have anyone used one of those boxes you put between your amp and cabinet to make the volume lower even when you have a highwatt amp? I have an 20watt that I absolutely love, and would like to record it when I play it on 11:p But will ruin the signal, or just descretly turn down the master volume? I don't know what its called, but. Hopefully someone knows what I mean and can say where to get one and what they're called.

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  • 4 months later...

Hey Hari

The Top link is now fixed... thanks for pointing that out :)

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  • 6 months later...

Is it called a power soak? Some people use them. Some people worry about possible damage to the amp. Dunno!

Edward

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  • 2 months later...

Glad you like it. :)

One thing not mentioned in all that is the use of "EQ Holes". They take some effort to get right. This is basically cutting hole in one sound (say a broad spectrum pad) so that another sound lik a vocal or solo can cut through without decreasing headroom by increasing volume where the two sounds overlap in frequency.

:).

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If you have a laptop - try and record in the backseat of a car. It can be a little tricky at times but it's fun and gives a good sound.

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  • 2 months later...

The biggest tip I would make, and one I dont think is covered is getting Studio Monitors.

Nice mics etc etc dont mean anything if you can't listen to them properly so studio monitors are vital for mixing your tracks.

I was sceptical when first told to upgrade my speakers (probably like you), but they really do make a huge difference, so big a difference that you will, like me, feel the need to make the distinction betwee 'monitors' and 'speakers' once you get some.

Broadly put, all hi-fi/computer speakers 'colour' the sound in some way - either to make them sound better, to fit into constraints cause by their casing (speakers can look cool, monitors are generally just boxes, but it affects the sound) or inadvertently.

The idea of monitors is to be completely transparent - the signal going in is what you hear.

Decent monitors start at around £50 - so not much at all (although they go up to the hundreds). I bought a fairly cheap pair for £65, and it was probably the biggest change to my recording.

Sorry if I sound like a marketing freak - but seriously, studio monitors!

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2nd tip, and this will both save money and give better results.

Do not buy acoustic absorption treatment as advertised on music websites! Especially acoustic foam!

A much better absorber and cheaper is rockwool. This is the stuff thats often used as insulation in houses and it is the stuff used in big boy studios. You can even find technical articles from bbc detailing how to create different aborbers with rockwool.

Easiest way: buy some rockwool, buy some fabric to cover it in (don't want to let the fibres out, and it is ugly as hell). Simple cotton fabric is fine. You then need to attach your rockwool panels to the walls where you feel they are necessary. Its often a good idea to put some wood strips at the edges of the panels so there is a small gap between them and the wall as it helps absorption.

So...my 2 biggest tips for more professional recordings - studio monitors and simple acoustic treatment. Much more worthwhile than upgrading to a $500 mic or so. A great mic in a bad room will sound bad. A fine/decent mic in a good room will sound fine.

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Good suggestions! FYI - Going back 25-40 years, what used to be the industry for home studios, around here anyway, was fibreglass insullation covered with colored burlap cloth. The ceiling in my downstairs studio still has 5 inches of faced insullation covered by blue burlap.....dirt cheap! by it's nature though, it is a bit of a dust collector.

Tom

Yeah its really great stuff and important to point out as music shops will try and sell you special 'foam' for ridiculous prices. I think both fibreglass insulation and rockwool have similar absorption coefficients so you could use one or the other. Just make sure you wear gloves!

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