Soundproofing

Alan Simmons · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Mar 2006 Posts: 220

Clint,

Welcome! As a recording engineer, I can tell you that you won't want to treat the entire room with egg crate (or any foam). You'll want some reflective surfaces so you don't end up with a boxy sound. Depending on the shape of your room, you can put up acoustic panels or foam in strategic locations to get the best sound. You may have to move them around a little, so no Liquid Nail. Smile

There are some great websites that have really good information on acoustic treatments for rooms. Check out the following:

http://www.primacoustic.com/
http://www.acousticsfirst.com/
http://www.auralex.com/

Best of luck to you!

~Alan

Marc Ireland · Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006, 23:56 (GMT) Post subject:

Hi Peops,

So this pre-amp RNP8380. Will I be able to achieve the warm vintage sound, that is so often heard from radio broadcasting.
I love the warm characteristic presence you hear on certain radio shows My protools studio, is great at the moment, and I have many top plug-ins, and Compressor plug-ins, However I feel that adding a pre-amp, running through my m-box, will add me a more vintage sound and professional feel to my vocals.

Any suggestions folks? Wink

Russ McLamb · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Jul 2003 Posts: 62

As mentioned in your other thread, a good tube mic is a start. Hate to give you the bad news but there is no miracle piece that will give you the sound your after unless your ready to drop some serious $$$. Pearlman, Peluso, Soundelux and Charter Oak are some great tube mics. Plan on spending a minimum of $1200 to $1500 to even start to getting your sound in the ballpark of that vintage sound. Drop some serious cash on a Vintage Neumann or Telefunken and your really on the right path. Then plan on spending at least another $2,000 for a pre. It doesn't come cheap and no plugin in the world can give it to ya.

Russ

Brad Venable · Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006, 01:03 (GMT) Post subject:

The RNP 8380 won't do it for you...

And Russ is right...'vintage' means bucks...and a lot of them.

Remember that when picking out a mic and pre, there are tube and solid state types of each.

Tube mics and pres are generally going to warm the sound like you want because of the presence of vacuum tubes. I have a Rode K2 tube mic,which is very nice and I got for $550 brand new. I also have a Groove Tubes Brick, which is a tube pre and it warms the tone nicely, and it cost me right at $300 new. Expect to pay more than that if you want true vintage tube mics and pres.

Solid state mics and pres are (hopefully) going to be more transparent, and will amplify the signal without coloring the sound. I have a Neumann TLM-103, and that is a really great mic for VO...but the only caveat is that it picks up *everything*. A quiet environment is a must with that mic. As for a solid state pre, I have the Grace 101 and it is the most transparent pre I have ever heard.

The deal is, I tried out all of these pieces of eq before I bought them. I now have the ability to have all possible combinations of tube and solid state mics and pres. If I want to warm the sound to the max, I plug in the tube mic to the tube pre. If I want the flattest-response, least forgiving sound, I use both solid state. If I want a mix, I mix them.

Again, though...Russ is right...there isn't a plug-in in the world that will replace real vintage sound coming through old-school equipment.

Brad

Phyllis K. Day · **Voice Talent** Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 251

Hi, Juliana! I just now read your post from last month (and listened to your demos, FABULOUS STUFF, VERY FABULOUS). Here's what I did with my very tight budget.

I put my studio in my walk-in closet. There are shelves and racks on one side, and racks on the other two walls, one wall is empty. I have clothing hanging on either side of my head and behind me. The computer is on the shelf in front of me, along with my mixer; I record standing up, which is good, actually.

This "studio" of my is not state of the art by any means but the soundproofing didn't cost extra (LOL). The room itself is an "inner" room, so during hurricane season it's a safe room to boot. Now that I have the recording studio in there I can make a soundtrack of lots of screaming during the next power outage in the middle of the night with a storm bearing down hard. Should make an interesting and realistic demo.

Someday I hope to have a more professional set-up but for now, I have the option of driving 45 minutes down the highway to a "real" studio when necessary. Any demo on my website with music, plus the "liners" were done in the "real" studio with the high-end equipment and ProTools.

Everything else was recorded dry on Nero with no EQ in my "studio." (Please forgive my sound; even though I was a working voice for 25 years, I just started back up after a 10 year hiatus while I threw myself into being mommy after a late-in-life baby. I am very rusty and yes that photo is 30 years old. Yikes.) Anyone reading along, feel free to offer suggestions as to how "boxy" or "reflective" or whatever my closet sounds. Do I need more clothing or blankets? Remember my budget and my goal to be a voice mail queen. (My favorite line is "press one for further options.")

I have two mics, both cheapies, an Audio-Technica 3031, and an MXL 990, and an Alesis Multi-Mix Firewire mixer. When I set everything up, I knew pretty much nothing about a home studio and for the most part, experimented with stuff from a local music store. (They let me borrow and play 'till I was comfortable which was cheaper than mail order whoopsies.)

Sorry to run on so, looks like I need to go and post in the "home studio" thread with some questions of my own, like, how to maximize my delivery while deciding what to wear.

Phyllis

Clint Crawford · **Voice Talent** Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 8

Hi Phyllis....Was reading your post....my question is how did you figure out the Nero program. I picked it up a month ago. It came with a small 10 page "getting started" booklet....but nothing else....I'm pretty much a newbie in this part of the biz....I'm using a SAMSON PS01 Mic. and my computer....get a lot of noise...Not background noise though ..I'm set up in my computer room in the basement...its very quiet down here...I'm pretty sure I'm just doing it wrong.....I, like you have a pro studio that I can work with for a finished product...but due to cost I try to do my demo's at home.obviousely It aint working...I've been sending out demos for 4 months now...an average of 10 to 15 per day all to no avail Shocked

..do you have any suggestions....thanks in advance and HAPPY NEW YEAR Very Happy

......Clint Crawford

Phyllis K. Day · **Voice Talent** Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 251

Clint Crawford · **Voice Talent** Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 8

Hi Phyllis....Headsets?....told you I was a newbie Embarassed

..dont have a soundboard either,just the Nero program looks like I have a lot to learn.the file on my site was done at the studio....here is one done on my home computer...thanks Clint

Phyllis K. Day · **Voice Talent** Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 251

Clint Crawford · **Voice Talent** Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 8

THanks Phyllis....I'll play around with it a bit...thanks too for the compliment.....have a Very Happy New Year

Ian Blumfield · **Voice Seeker** Joined: 19 Jan 2007 Posts: 5

Hi All,

I wondered if any of you have seen this forum that is for studio acoustics?

http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php

These guys really know their stuff and they have all sorts of plans and designs for small studios and acoustic absorbtion that you can tweak to your own space. Be warned though you will spend hours reading this forum.

I hope that helps!

Pierre Maubouche · Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007, 06:49 (GMT) Post subject:

Zdravstvuite Juliana, on top of all the good things that have already been said here, a very simple piece of equipement called the reflexion filter from SE electronics is amazingly good at stopping your voice bouncing everywhere and echoing - and it's very affordable. This, a bit of accoustic treatment and you should be well sorted. Good luck!

Kevan Rabat · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2005 Posts: 3

Adding my two cents late in the thread. I stapled carpet padding to the walls and it seems to work fine. Occasionally I can hear the cows mooing....
Good luck
Kevan

J.S. Gilbert

Don't waste your money on the TLM103 it sounds more like the $250 Chinese stuff than a Neumann. A much better choice for the money would be almost any groove tubes mic or Rhode. If you want to go for a little more dough, my singular pick for microphone to own is the Telefunken AK47 at around $1,700 - $1,800 we won't talk about the Telefunken U47, which at $8,000+ would be folly.

Also if anyone is looking for a great mic pre with eq and compression, I think that the Millenia STT-1 is better than any of the Avalon pres and as good as a Manley.

My Neumann sits here and the only reason I have iut is because I have a long term project with several hours of work already logged onto it and I have to replace or add audio every month or so and it has to match. I'd trade it in for something else if I could.

Also, a little secret that most people don't know about are the Peluso microphones designed to sound like vintage Neumann's and Telefunkens.