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Spheric Harlot · Apr 19, 2014, 04:17 PM

Use a higher threshold and less compression.

What are you using it on? Bus compression will heavily influence the balance of individual levels, especially when you're running overheads through the compressor as well.

Experiment with compressing overheads separately and pulling them down (for example).

subego · Apr 19, 2014, 04:36 PM

I'm running vocals through the LA-2A. Not using it at the bus stage yet.

If the gain reduction kicks in at all, it makes the vocal sound... I won't try to come up with metaphor... it sounds worse than the uncompressed track.

I was under the impression a little optical on the vocals is supposed to make it sound better.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 19, 2014, 04:49 PM

How much compression? Go easy.

Also, the reason people love the LA-2A is because it colors the sound. It may just not be the right compressor for the source material, or the right sound for you.

I'll be glad to take it off your hands.

subego · Apr 19, 2014, 05:16 PM

Well, I do hope to have more than one piece of source material at some point.

Any thoughts on whether the problem could be me amping undesirable room tone?

subego · Apr 19, 2014, 06:15 PM

As for how much compression, pretty much anything. It won't kick in until I put the threshold in the 20-30 range. As soon as it kicks in, the "soundstage" starts tightening up, in a bad way. It's hard to describe it in any way other than "boxed in".

This is why I keep leaning on the room tone idea. I think I'm hearing what it's supposed to do. It does seem to nicely smooth things out. It definitely makes the track louder, which is generally a good thing to have in a lead vocal. This was the source of my first post. It's clear to me it would make that track be more "up front" in the mix. Made immediate sense.

The problem is that's all outweighed by the "boxy" thing. Louder isn't helping on crappy sounds.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 19, 2014, 07:13 PM

Shit in, shit out.

They're processors, not sewage treatment plants.

Remember the very first post I made in this thread?

subego · Apr 19, 2014, 07:30 PM

Yes. It was why I brought up that possibility right off the bat.

subego · Apr 20, 2014, 12:46 AM

This is on the door from "The Cave" into the studio. I can't get over how brilliant it is on so many levels.

subego · Apr 21, 2014, 03:54 PM

Well, mic tests for drums begin Wednesday, and "real" recording will begin right after.

I'm not particularly nervous, but I feel pressure to improve the room acoustics. Moving blankets helped with the vocals, but a kick drum will shred them. As luck has it, I thought I just might need 12 slabs of 2'x4'x2" 60 pound rockwool.

Today's job is gluing some foam to take care of high frequencies on the front and back and build a lot of frames. Blammo, dual-sided acoustic panels which I can air gap with the wall.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 21, 2014, 04:02 PM

How about working on making the room sound good, rather than dead?

subego · Apr 21, 2014, 04:37 PM

Well, I'm hoping that's what I'm doing.

I've got a drummer who is stuck in the corner of a room. I'm assuming that corner will sound like crap, so I want to kill the walls behind the drummer.

subego · Apr 21, 2014, 04:57 PM

I didn't catch the "dead" comment at the end. A dead room is absolutely not what I want.

I just want to kill the corner of the room behind the drummer.

subego · Apr 21, 2014, 05:01 PM

OTOH, I think I'm pretty limited in what I can do to make the room sound good without digging out the foundation or jacking up the house. I've got 2 meter high ceilings. This is less about acoustic treatment and more about damage control.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 21, 2014, 05:16 PM

Originally Posted by subego

Well, I'm hoping that's what I'm doing.

I've got a drummer who is stuck in the corner of a room. I'm assuming that corner will sound like crap, so I want to kill the walls behind the drummer.

Why are you assuming this?

subego · Apr 21, 2014, 05:30 PM

Perhaps "crap" is jumping a few steps ahead. I'm more assuming it would sound like a drum kit in the corner of a room.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 21, 2014, 05:46 PM

What's wrong with a drumset in the corner of a room — unless the corner sounds like shit.

There's no reason it needs to.

What are the walls? Wood panelling? Drywall? Brick?

subego · Apr 21, 2014, 05:53 PM

Drywall mostly.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 21, 2014, 05:57 PM

That's gonna sound like shit.

Bricks in front? Wood? Even mirror?

subego · Apr 21, 2014, 06:03 PM

Bricks in front of what?

No wood, except some shelves. No mirrors. No garlic.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 21, 2014, 06:33 PM

Bricks in front of the drywall?

The way I see it, you've got two choices: Kill the room, or make it sound interesting and useful.
The latter might be easier and/or more rewarding in the long run.

Well, or three, if copious experimentation with mic placement (including behind the drummer) should yield useful results.

subego · Apr 21, 2014, 10:35 PM

The all important POV shot on the way back from the Deepo.

There may be bricks behind the drywall in parts. Are you suggesting some demolition?

I'm pretty much trying to work option two. I do have a little experimentation time. I will try micing from behind. Thanks!

Shaddim · Apr 21, 2014, 11:44 PM

Great gonzo, major wood.

subego · Apr 22, 2014, 12:18 AM

I can't downplay how helpful it's been that the studio is 2 blocks away from a Deepo and a Guitar Center, three blocks from a Best Buy, and five blocks from my apartment...

Which is a stone's throw from a Radio Shack.

subego · Apr 22, 2014, 03:28 AM

Prototype is mostly finished. It only needs a coat of foam for the high end. This is bass trap density rockwool, not panel density.

I actually like the way it looks with the corner braces, but I may change my mind once it's been foamed up.

ShortcutToMoncton · Apr 22, 2014, 07:58 AM

What the hell is wrong with MacNN? These images are all massive and the text is running on forever.

Laminar · Apr 22, 2014, 11:40 AM

The image he posted is 2448x3264, maybe it's freaking out the resizer. It looks fine on my end.

ShortcutToMoncton · Apr 22, 2014, 12:23 PM

Very weird, not sure what's going on but now I can't see any images at all. Before they were all full-size and outrageous. Maybe it's a server thing on the company end.

Shaddim · Apr 22, 2014, 02:04 PM

On mobile his images screw up my browser, but on a desktop or notebook it's fine.

Mmmm... bass traps.

subego · Apr 22, 2014, 02:45 PM

Oddly enough, looks fine to me on mobile.

subego · Apr 22, 2014, 03:39 PM

Now with an "I'm Ron Burgundy?" shellac.

Aesthetically, I liked the nude more.

Laminar · Apr 22, 2014, 04:40 PM

Originally Posted by subego

Aesthetically, I liked the nude more.

Words to live by.

Spheric Harlot · Apr 22, 2014, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by subego

Oddly enough, looks fine to me on mobile.

It's fine on my iOS devices.

subego · Apr 23, 2014, 12:49 AM

Time for mass production. Let's see how many I can make before a 1:30 PM call time, and get sleep. The sleep may have to wait.

The Deepo really fisted me today. Spent two hours not getting what I needed, even though they were positive they had it.

subego · Apr 23, 2014, 12:50 AM

Fun fact: the wall paint is perfect, neutral density grey.

subego · Apr 23, 2014, 04:15 PM

Made 10. Got three hours of sleep, which will do, but I had to move call to 4.

Not bad considering.

subego · 08:59 AM

Tested the drums. I'm sure I'm doing it wrong because it wasn't a nightmare.

The U47 FET clone cleaned up on the kick. Instantly clear why it's popular. It was best sounding tilted at 45° to the hole, spaced about 6" away.

The Mojave we're using on vocals was the best sounding for the overhead.

Everything else got a Heil. PR22s for the toms, PR28 for the snare, PR30 for the hi-hat. I chose them because it's what I had on hand. Wanted to try others I didn't have with me, but everybody is tired of my shit at this point.

Edit: Didn't even bother testing a ribbon on the overhead. I was aching to try the Coles, but with the ceiling a foot-and-a-half away, I figured it would only accomplish wasting time.

subego · Apr 24, 2014, 07:29 AM

Here's a horrible pic of the deployed acoustic panels. I'll make a few more and extend it a bit.

Laminar · Apr 24, 2014, 10:17 AM

Where'd you get the foam inserts for the panels? I might have to do something like that.

Shaddim · Apr 24, 2014, 01:26 PM

You can cut your own foam, from bulk sheets at Home Depot, or you can get the fancy pre-cut stuff from Musician's Friend or J&R, places like that.

subego · Apr 24, 2014, 07:59 PM

I'm fancy, so I went for the pre-cut kind.

This particular stuff is from Auralex. I picked this mainly because I could get it from Amazon. At the moment, this particular design is unavailable at Amazon, but they carry similar stuff by Auralex, and the exact same design by another manufacturer.

If you want this exact model, I know they still carry it at Sweetwater.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DST114CHA

subego · Apr 24, 2014, 09:05 PM

Also... if you're interested in panels, I'm basically ripping off the MiniTrap design from RealTraps. Double sided, foam covered, high density rockwool.

http://realtraps.com/p_minitrap.htm

Laminar · Apr 25, 2014, 04:02 PM

I need to do something to the underside of the soffits in my theater before calling it done, I've been looking at Owens Corning 703/705. I figured it'd be about $1000 to cover the soffits and do 3 or 4 panels for the wall, and that's if I order 4'x8' sheets from my local Home Depot. That's my biggest barrier to finalize everything.

subego · Apr 25, 2014, 04:37 PM

AFAIK, the rockwool is stiffer than the Owens-Corning. That may factor in to ease of construction.

Also, you probably have the gear to deal with either, but I consider fiberglass to be really nasty to work with. The rockwool tends to molt a bit, but is otherwise far more pleasant material.

subego · Apr 25, 2014, 04:41 PM

It may be cheaper as well. Six 2'x4' slabs are $90 (shipping included) from Amazon.

subego · Apr 25, 2014, 05:36 PM

Eh... never mind. Seems to be similarly priced. You apparently need a ****ton.

subego · Apr 26, 2014, 12:00 AM

Heres a better pic of the panels redeployed on the other side of the room.

I wanted not to move them, but I realized at some point there's a drum kit in the other spot. It's miked. I don't want to **** with it.

subego · Apr 26, 2014, 01:45 AM

On a smaller scale, my "tree" for the Hear Backs turned out reasonably well.

It's kinda crazy they come with a mic stand socket, but nothing to put it at an angle, which would be the only way you would want to use it on a normal stand. I added a rotating adapter for the tilt. A pair of J-hooks for the headphones and cat5. Then another of those Sea to Summit bags as a dust cover to top it off.

subego · 04:28 AM

As far as stands go, I've liked the Atlases a lot. Using their heavy duty model for heavy mics, regular duty for the rig above, for iPads, pretty much whatever, shorty floor mic models for... floor mics, and finally the ones with a divot for compact storage of rehearsal mics.

There's your ad. Now send me money.

For tripod stands, the K&M stands have worked out decently, but there's something which drives me completely batshit.

On a C-stand, which you use on a film set to arm things out, if it's properly set up will self-tighten as it droops.

Why, oh why can't mic stand arms do this?

subego · Apr 26, 2014, 04:24 AM

The ones with the divot are affectionately known as "Wu-Tang Stands".

subego · 10:36 PM

Recorded upright bass today. U47 FET clone a foot away from the f-hole, pointed up to it at about a 45° angle. Mojave pointed where the bassist works the strings. The Mojave is quickly becoming the "go to" mic.

Sounded just okay with plucking. Total disaster with quiet plucking for a ballad. The notes were competing with handling noise. That track is going to bite me in the ass. I just know it. I mentioned it was going to be a problem, but unfortunately a good solution didn't present itself.

OTOH, with the bow... sounded ****awesome.