Home Setup Question

[Big_Ben]

Ok, ballin on a budget and putting together a home setup for production and prerecording a weekly radio show. I've got a few things on order waiting to get them in. Once all the peices are in I'll have:

1 - Tapco Blend 6 mixer
2 - Marshall MXL V67 mics w/ pop filters
2 - DBX 286a Mic Pre Amps

and recording into Adobe Audition 1.5


Now, my office that I'm setting up in has a few things on the walls, but not much. Plus, the floor is wood. Will I have lots of sound reverb problems with no soundproofing? If so, would a peice of foam directly behind the mics help with that?

Any advice is mucho appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Countrykev]

Seeing as how you have a condensor mic you're definitely going to run into a lot of ambient noise in your room with the lack of soundproofing you have.

Suggestions:

Purchase matress foam. Seriously. It's not fantastic, but at $20 for a queen-sized sheet you can cut it in half and put up some foam that will kill some noise.

Blankets, rugs, drapes, all those will help deaden the noise. How about making a mic booth in one your closets? Hang up some old clothes, coats, etc... it will work great and cost little.

 

[Big_Ben]

thanks for the tips kev!

 

[BofH]

If your budget can stretch, try a quality Dynamic Mic like a HeilPR-40 or a Shure SM7B. Some people also swear by the EV RE20 but I think it's a bit overrated.

You'll find they are *really* smooth on vocals and you won't have the noise issues of a Condenser (both reflected and phantom PSU hiss)

 

[pdwips]

Hi Ben,

For what it's worth, I've had great luck in my production studio with a mic that was designed to interface directly with your computer. Excellent noise-cancelling, and broadcast quality. The price is amazing for it's performance, Connects directly with any computer via usb, without any extraneous gear. Processing is self-contained. It's called a Rode Podcaster:

http://www.rodemic.com/?pagename=Products&product=Podcaster

I use it for all my voice production work and I (and my clients) am very happy wit its performance.

 

[Chuck]

Seeing as how you have a condensor mic you're definitely going to run into a lot of ambient noise in your room with the lack of soundproofing you have.

I think the mic you mentioned is a cardioid, so it should be workable. How much unwanted noise you pick up depends on how close you are able to use the mic. That will vary a lot with your personal mic technique. I use a Marshall tube condenser mic every day in a room with only a minimal amount of treatment, and it sounds fine - or as "fine" as I can sound Have you actually listened to the mic in the room?

You may find that the mic is a lot more appropriate for announce booth duty if you use a foam windscreen, rather than the hoop and nylon mesh type. They are available as an accessory for about $30 from a variety of sources. One may have even come with the mic. Some Marshall’s do.

Before remodeling the room or buying more equipment, I suggest actually recording something and experiment with what you have. It may sound fine the way things are. Moving the mic (or you) just a little bit can make fairly dramatic changes. Be sure not to do something stupid like placing the mic under an air conditioning vent, or next to the fan on your computer. If you think it needs some help, there are some cheap acoustical treatments you can do. Moving quilts are cheap to buy and do a good job of controlling reflections. Be sure to experiment with placement of any acoustical treatment and actually listen to the results.

I would not recommend mattress foam though. It is flammable and if it catches fire, the fumes could kill you. For not much more money, you can buy some acoustical foam that is fireproof. Markertek is a good source for it. They also have a lot of other devices that can help tame down a live room.

If you are on a real tight budget, try recording inside a closet with clothes hanging in it. You'll need a light to see what you are reading, but the clothing will absorb most of the unwanted reflections.

 

[Big_Ben]

I havent recorded yet. I probably won't be able to mess with it for another week or so. I just ordered the second mic, which will come with the hoop and mesh windscreen. the mic I already have has the other type of screen that fits over the mic head. i'll be able to compare the two when i get things set up.

I'd like to put up some type of treatment, wether it be blankets or more expensive stuff, but I also have quite a few other things going on in the room like my desk, filling cabnets, closet. I'm thinking just buying a few of the blankets and putting them up help with the sound issue. (if it's even that bad once I get recording)

that podcaster mic looks very interesting, too. I'll have to look at that for future reference since I've already gotten these other mics.

i'll have to wait until everything gets in and I get it running. thanks again for the advice everyone!

 

[LA_Guy]

NEVER use mattress foam!!

Untreated mattress foam burns like the dickens in a fire. Its nickname is solid gasoline. Make sure that ANY foam you use is fire treated. You can buy fire treated packing foam in 4x4 or 4x8 sheets for about 12 bucks a sheet. This is about twice the cost of untreated foam, but then again, this won't be happening to you: http://www.projo.com/news/content/DAVIDSON_SPEAKS28_01-28-07_GE44VB5.1963671.html