Cleaned Out My Closet

So, I bought this M-Audio USB Mobil Preamp. I got this crap jWIN handheld mic plugged into it (until I can cop a decent condenser) and I got it hanging with scotch tape from the hanger pole in my closet. Don't laugh. The closet is roughly 2 1/2 by 2 feet and about 10 feet high I think.

Now, my boy spits in there and we can get a pretty good, strong sound from the mic if he stands close enough, doesn't move his head and I apply some live EQ settings to the vocal track as it's recording (boosting the highs and mids, cutting the lows). I'm tracking his vocals into CEP 2.0. However, I'm getting a lot of hiss and air with his voice and I also get these ridiculous spikes in the wave when he says words that begin with P or B with a little too much emphasis. I hope ya'll get what I mean by that.

I've found that messing with one of the compression presets under Dynamics Processing levels out the spikes in the wave pretty well and using the hiss reduction helps get rid of the air in the background, but his vocals just aren't coming out clean enough for me. I really want it to sound as clean as possible from the get go.

I gotta get a decent mic. I know that much. The closet is not totally empty, as their are boxes and stuff on the shelf just above my standing height (which is about 5 feet 7 inches). Should I remove the shelf and all the boxes? I've also noticed that there's a natural reverb in the closet that the mic picks up, which I don't mind, although it sounds a bit "tin-y" or metallic. Would padding the walls of the closet get rid of that slight metallic reverb? Are there any effects or EQ settings you would recommend applying to the vocal track as I'm recording for an overall better sound? Oh yeah...what does a pop screen do...that filter thing that goes in front of a mic?

I hope I provided enough information for a response. I'm just trying to be a producer. Thanks.

By the way, anybody here near or in the Bronx?

Pop screen will get rid of the strong 'p' and 'b'

get a cheap compressor efx box and feed your mike into that. It should help with levels

if you dont have a pop screen/filter, you could temporarily use pantiehose stretched over a hanger. works great, plus you can tell that chick to take of her pantyhose for good reason

^^^^^ha ha. Yea, and putting sound diffusers would get rid of that
reverb. The hiss could be from your pre amp. What are you using?

before u get a better mic, get a decent mic stand, hanging from a pole by scotch tape in ur closet just wont do. and yes, girls will take their clothes off if u tell them it has to do with making the song.

always do



what up tan! headz goin crazy over the look! only like 2 more jams and my albums complete. good looks

cheapest diffusers are egg crates, the card board ones, works magic. and what kind of mic is it, in terms of polar patterning

cardioid, omni. or hyper, this is important as well as the positioning, and distance. if you clear out the room, you gonna have more reverb, caus the boxes are curretly breaking up and standing waves, so you may have to line the whole closet. also you could use a bed sheet hung about 2inches from the ceiling. and eliminate any corners in there by placing carboard roles, like those tht cloth come on, cut them in half and place them in the corners, is the floor caperted? the same set up will benefit you in the studio as well. as for compession, i dont use software, i stck with racks, dbx are very good for vocals because he have the over easy function on it. kinda like an automatic stting , to have it smooth, and not harsh. stay away from eqing live, if you can, only use compression really. and very importantly is your mc, voice trained, like to move away from the mike, when spitting hard and closer very slightly on less emphasied parts of the song??

Thanks for the responses.

I suspected that the popscreen was for the vocal pops. That pantyhose-popscreen idea was genius. How close should the screen be to the mic? Thanks.

My cholesterol level is high enough as it is. I dunno where the hell I'm gonna get enough egg crates for that closet. And my mom told me about that a couple days ago. I'm still trippin on how the hell she would know that.

I know, a mic stand is also a must...I'm saving up for that too.

The mic is unidirectional, which is cardioid I think, right? It's about 5 inches centered away from the wall. Is that good or bad? The floor is wood, uncarpeted.

Thanks again for all the tips.

dstruction, dont mean to say it in this thread but im definetly feelin that Scentific Dstruction. it f*ckin hard.

careful with the egg crates thing - very narrow freq. range on the diffusion front. Better might be irregular size/width/spaced planks of wood - cut offs from the saw mill kinda thing, or what your crazy neighbour has lying in his garage.

word on the mic technique!

247beatz wrote:dstruction, dont mean to say it in this thread but im definetly feelin that Scentific Dstruction. it f*ckin hard.

on behalf of the team thanks you

arctec wrote:careful with the egg crates thing - very narrow freq. range on the diffusion front.

On behalf of the team. thank you. Meaning that egg cartons will only absorb some high range frequencies letting the mids go through. Try blankets or mattresses instead. Set it up so you are facing out of the closet and singing with your back to the mat.

Anyway, if you are using a dynamic mic you don't need any of that stuff anyway. Just close the windows!