Im new to all this and was wondering what should my expectations be as far as sound quality on vcals here's the rundown of my gear mac pro 2.8 ghz 2 tb HD 8 gb ram Avalon vt 737 sp Neumann Tlm 103 Apogee Duet 2 w/ pro tools.. I also constructed an isolated booth w/ a window and 90% - 95% covered in studio foam any ideas?
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You are definitely starting off with fabulous quality stuff. So
You are definitely starting off with fabulous quality stuff. So I already know you are going to come up with some fabulous sounding stuff. That is certainly not entry-level stuff. That's the cream of the crop. Great choices.
You've jumped into the... deep end. Start swimming dammit!
Mx. Remy Ann David
Thanks for the insight guys. @ moonbaby the booth is like 4 ft w
Thanks for the insight guys. @ moonbaby the booth is like 4 ft wide and 6 ft long, the room itself is not much bigger. The only thing that worries me is room treatment. This is critical b/c the studio is an apartment in a busy NYC neighborhood.
Should cover the booth > 90% and what should I do on the outside in control room?
When you are in an environment such as a NYC apartment, you will
When you are in an environment such as a NYC apartment, you will probably also want to utilize some fairly quick downward expansion. This is similar to noise gating but it is gentler and can be controlled to only expand down to a preset level higher than zero. For instance, -10, -20 with a fast attack and a released time around 100 ms. This is doable in most any software that features dynamic range compressor/limiter's. There may be some noise gate presets that will give you some idea of what a noise gate as and you will see how the compression/expansion curve differs from just compression. It is actually lowering the microphone below a preset threshold and is very useful in controlling ambient background noise. It takes a little finagling when experimenting with the compression/expansion curves on the visual graphic. If you'd like to post a current sample, I can provide for you a demonstration from your sample for you. In fact this is something I use all of the time. It helps to tighten up the sound and one can also reduce loud breaths, especially if one has used some compression which accentuates the sound of gasping breaths of air. Cool for recordings of hot looking ladies but not great for panting men.
Plenty of hits have had the background of the number one IRT going northbound southbound Broadway, way in the background.
Mx. Remy Ann David
You should get great results with what you've got. The challenge
You should get great results with what you've got. The challenge will be getting proper settings on the Avalon if you're planning to compress on the way in. Be sure to put a pop screen in front of the TLM 103, and watch your gain staging between your Avalon and the Apogee... ie don't overload the Apogee inputs!
Jeff