Photo Request for Andy

If generally a sm57 in put so close to the speaker, what does it matter how big the room is? I could see if it were 3-5 feet away. But for direct micing I dont notice the difference in the room.. Now if Andy could post some templates of songs that were complete with all the plug ins he used. That would rock!!!
 
adrianvillan said:
If generally a sm57 in put so close to the speaker, what does it matter how big the room is? I could see if it were 3-5 feet away. But for direct micing I dont notice the difference in the room..

I used to think the same thing. But then I recorded a track in my room and then moved the cabinet outside and recorded a track to compare. The difference was astonishing.
 
The one outside was way tighter and more focused. The one inside was a lot muddier. I didn't expect much, if any, difference, but it was definitely hearable. I'm in the process of building bass traps at the moment.
 
We treated the room when we built it (it's our rehearsal space also), but it obviously needs more work. We put 703 on the walls in floor-to-ceiling strips, alternating with open spaces of nothing on the walls. Just used our ears, because we needed to tame all those reflections but not have it too dead since we track drums in there as well. We put a little bit of 703 straddling some corners for makeshift bass traps, but obviously it wasn't enough. I guess basically what's happening is the low end is still a bit out of control while some of the highs are tamed. It sounds pretty good while you're in there, at least so I thought, not overly boomy or anything, but I know now that there's definitely still a mud problem. So I'm building some wood-panel bass traps and also some broadband absorbers to hopefully get this straightened out.

I need to get some foam walls or something to put around guitar cabs for tracking. That would probably help too, I just worry about early reflections and whatnot so I don't want to get the wrong stuff.
 
How does one "tune" a room? I have foam on all but one wall and used seperate peices on the corners as bass traps. But it still gets reflections. Is it better to cover all walls and corners with bass traps? I guess I can only do so much in such a small space. Can cabinets be mounted on concret blocks to get that "solid" feel? I also have a fairly low ceiling, what treatment does that need?
 
Matt Smith said:
You mean around the cabinets? Or are you talking about the room?
Would that be those MaxWall things?

He means this: See the red panels behind the drum set? That's the Aurlex absorber Andy is talking about.

kit-1.jpg
 
A trick I've found works pretty well for guitars and vocals is to build a little "booth" about 6 or 7 feet square and just as tall by hanging packing blankets (or any blankets, really) over mic booms in the middle of the room. It's important that the blankets hang all the way down to the floor and are taped together at the corners. Make sure it is a good solid floor, and put a rug or another blanket or something underneath the cab and the mic to cut down the floor reflections. It's kind of ghetto, but it's cheap and easy, and I've gotten pretty good results that way. Doesn't isolate for shit, but it does keep nasty reflections at bay.