DIY vocal reflection filter/booth

Have you ever been recording vocals and found yourself struggling against background noise. Or does you microphone pick up too much of the ambience of the room when all you want is a clean and dry vocal take?


This is the blog for you!

There are a number of options. You could acoustically treat the room but this is expensive and quite a hard task if you don't understand acoustics. Also if the treatment is done badly it can cause further Problems and luck very messy.

You could also turn a closet In to a vocal booth and line it with carpets, foam, blankets and all sorts of other thick materials.. What if you don't have a spare closet then what do you do?

You use a vocal reflection filter. With your microphone in the middle and the acoustic treatment of the filter around the back and sides the amount of background noise it picks up will be greatly improved.

SE electronics are a notable company for making these as are many others. I really like the editors keys version and will include a link to there website below.

Unfortunately these things cost money. This is where some recording studio DIY comes in.

Materials

Old drum 

The size is up to you as each size will give you different end results.  i used a 16" floor tom.  You can pick up cheap drums on eBay or on many other places online.  Some drum/music shops sell broken drums for spares and repairs that you could use depending on there state.

Acoustic foam

eBay is also a great place for this.  I used some auralex egg box foam but most acoustic foam will suffice just make sure you get a size big enough for your drum.  any excess could make smaller versions or a number of other things.


Wood glue/Hot glue gun

For glueing the Acoustic foam to the drum shell.


Brackets/clamps


Head to your local hardware or DIY store and buy something to attach it to a stand or wall.  i attached mine with butterfly style clamps to a straight microphone stand but the possibilities are huge.

How To

Step 1

Saw your drum in half

This will give you the contour you need for your booth.

Step 2

Grab your acoustic foam and glue it to the inside of the shell. Make sur you use plenty of glue to keep it glued down.

Step 3

Cut off and excess foam. This may vary depending how much you want the filter to wrap around. On mine I've left a bit past the drum shell edge.

Step 4

Attach your brackets or clamps to the drum in the position you want. Depending how and to what your attaching your reflection filter the results will vary.

Step 5

Record some crisp vocals with less worry!

Here's a picture of how mine ended up:

This is a link to the Editors Keys Vocal booth if you were looking to go to the next level and purchase one.

Michael Paul Stavrou - Microphone Hardness (Meaning or Interpretation?)

A few years ago i purchased a book entitled Mixing With Your Mind by Michael Stavrou.

The book was a lot of different ideas for setting up a studio and techniques for approaching a recording session.  How to set up your monitors, how to mic up a guitar and many more.

We looked at this book briefly as part of my degree and one section in particular sparked debates.

MICROPHONE HARDNESS

In the book Michael Stavrou talks about his microphone rating system.  The theory is create a chart of microphone hardness, if your using a soft instrument use a hard microphone and visa versa.  This way you can try and get as natural a sound as possible.

What on Earth Is Hardness?


This is the section question that caused a debate.  In the book Michael Stavrou doesn't state exactly what 'hardness' is.

This could be for a few reasons:

• Maybe he just wanted it to be his little secret (but then why right a book?) 
• Maybe he made the whole thing up to fill a chapter?
• Maybe he wants it to be your choice,  your interpretation.

Personally i think the third idea is probably the most likely.  The way i see it, by not defining it, nobody can go wrong with this technique.  Aslong as you perceive your hardness for your microphones and instruments the same way and apply this perception accordingly then that should in theory work for you.

if you struggle to think up your own interpretation of this then here are some ideas that could get you started:

• Does the microphone hurt at loud volumes,  does it get 'harder'?
• Does it sound dull or bright?
• Where are the harmonics?
• Does it sound smooth or crisp?

in the book Michael Stavrou does list things that he says hardness isn't but like i said above if you apply it in the way in which you perceive it then it is a technique that could work extremely well for you.

How Do I Find My Microphone Hardness?

Get all the microphones at your disposal (studio, home, friends).  using the manufactuers websites and manuals look at the frequency response to see which one will colour the sound as little as possible.  Ideally get hold of a flat response microphone if you can.  This microphone will have a hardness rating of 0

After this you can cary on with all other microphones until your left with a rating that goes from what ever number you want.  If your only doing home recording and/or learning about music technology i recomend a -5 to 5 rating.  If you want to do more thats entirley up to you.

as you do the other microphones decide if they sound harder or softer than the flat response microphone rated 0, then give them a rating accordingly.  

How Do I Apply This To My Next Session?

Now you have that rating chart lets put it to good use.  Print it out and stick it on your wall if you want especially if you have a lot of microphones.

Listen to your audio source (guitar, vocals, piano, etc...) and using the same perception for hardness decide if your source has a hard or soft sound.  if your source has a hardness rating 2 then use a microphone with a hardness rating -2.  basicly use the opposite of the source to help get the most natural response.

Make sure you remember that not every vocalist will have the same percieved hardness just like no 2 of the same guitars or instrumentalist will either, however if you use this system you can get good results everytime!

One more thing to remember is that, like most other things in this industry, this isn't set in stone.  You may want to capture a hard or soft sound so will use a hard mic on a hard source or visa versa.

Where Can I Get That Book?


I highly recommend purchasing this book if you want to learn more of Michael Stavrous' innovative techniques.  The book is full of great ideas and a lot can be taken away from it.

The book can be purchased from one of the two links below

Michael Paul Stavrou - Mixing With Your Mind - Official Author Website

Starting you first home/project studio

Setting up your first home studio can be a daunting prospect.  It doesn't need to be!

I started building up my home recording equipment at the age of 15 and to this day after many purchases its still growing.  My first set up involved using a PC microphone, Audacity and a computer with 256mb of ram.  Since then this has changed a lot  but i learnt so much using that set up.

There are so many different ways you can go about setting up your studio.  Every person will prefer to work with different equipment in a different way.  I think the best way is to outline your options and work one stage at a time.

A full list of my recording equipment can be found hear MY RECORDING EQUIPMENT

The equipment i personally think you should invest in is:

• Computer
• Recording Software
• Interface
• Microphone
• Headphones
• Speakers
• Accessories

On top of this you can consider a headphone amp, a pre amp and a mixer but usually these are down to personal preference rather than necessity. 

Now comes the break down (not the epic musical kind) of each section.

Computer

This is where the age old Mac vs PC argument could begin, I'l avoid it.  Use what your comfortable with. I now use Macs but thats what i prefer not what everyone should use!  If you require more help on this small subject please contact me or use google to find millions of amusing arguments! 

Il look at the technical side and not the logo on the case.  There a few things you will want to look out for on the technical or geek side of a computer.  i wont start explaining what each thing does as this would make this post twice the length.  If theres words you don't understand or want to know more about please google them or ask me!

• Ram - Most softwares state a requirement of a minimum of 2gb ram.  While this is sufficient i would always recommend going for 4gb.  In my experience 4gb is enough,  the only reason i have more is as a precaution when im working on large projects.
• Processor - Anything Intel or AMD dual core or better should be fine! The faster the processor the better and the more cores the better (theoretically).
• Hard Drive - once again the faster RPM the better.  Id say go no less then 5400RPM. I use a 7200RPM as my recording disk and a 5400RPM as storage.  You'll need a decent amount of hardrive space (at least 500gb) as project files can get large as can software packages.  It is however possible to offset these onto a external disk.  Using an SSD will improve speed dramatically but can be expensive (or effect space).
• Inputs - If your not using a external sound card you need to make sure you have an audio in and out on your computer.  Its always a good idea to have plenty of USB ports especially if you plan on using USB sound cards, Mice, Keyboards or flash pens. and also firewire if your desired sound card requires it.
• Graphics card - aren't that important other than if your wanting to run more than one monitor (this again is personal preference).

All software you buy will have a minimum system requirements on there website.  this way you can check you have the right operating system and other things that you need.  Above is just my personal recommendations for a start up! 

Also think about running your computer offline.  This will help keep the speed of your computer fast but can become a pain for licensing and updating software! 

Software

Again to avoid any arguments this section wont be that long.  

I spent my first 3 years learning to use Cubase.  i then moved onto Logic and Pro Tools.  At home i now use Logic and Pro Tools and havent used cubase for a while now.  I have nothing against any software,  i use what i find works for me. 

The three softwares listed above are what i think to be the main industry standard packages.  Theres a lot of other cheaper and free options out there as well such as Reaper, Audacity, Mix Pad and hundreds more! 

Just remember that if you like the look of logic then it is only available for Macs

Interface/Sound card

This is where you should really consider what it is your wanting to record.  Do you really need that shiny interface with its 16 inputs, or would 2 inputs suffice.  If your recording drums at home then obviously 8 inputs will be the minimum you need,  if your just recording acoustic guitar between 2 - 4 should suffice.

Also look at what form these inputs take.  Do you need XLR, Jacks, ADAT etc...

Once you've decided this you can look at other options such as expandable by ADAT, Daisy Chaining, Future expansion and many other special features that manufacturers are packing into there products.

A lot of the time with interfaces you do get what you pay for.  if you buy a cheap interface it will sound cheap and wont be built to withstand heavy usage.  If you spend thousands of pounds on one then its preamps will sound a lot nicer and it will have a lot more features.  

Work within your limits and use common sense at this stage theres no point in buying what you dont need.

Microphones

Microphones are often another case of get you what you pay for in terms of sound and build quality.  This isn't to say all of them will be the same.

I would say your best bet would be to pay for a mid range large diaphragm condenser microphone.  These are great for pretty much every application you will need to begin with and have a great clarity to them that dynamic mics can often lack. 

If you buy a condenser microphone then remember to make sure your sound card has phantom power.

If being used for vocals a pop filter will almost definitely be required to stop implosives destroying your recorded sound.

As every microphone sounds different it would be a good idea to find some friends or a local shop with some microphones you can try out to help you find one thats suits your style, application and ears.

If your recording drums you will most likely need a good set of drum microphones.  you could buy a very cheap set and trigger after recording or you could buy a mid/expensive set which would yield better results.

Headphones and Speakers

Using Headphones to begin with may stop your needs for speakers but i would highly recommend both as mixing on headphones will often yield very different results.  

Using headphones while recording will take away the chance of getting any bleeding signals on the recorded tracks (which is something you do want rid of).

Headphones and speakers all sound different as well so i would recommend, to get used to them, listening to your favourite music on them.  Songs you know the sound of well.  this will help you get accustomed to how your speakers sound.

Pre amp

Often already built into your interface.  However sometimes an external sound card can sound better or maybe your interface doesn't have them on all inputs.

Tube pre amps can add coloration's to sounds. 

A mixer with direct outs ( or Aux outs) can be used as a pre amp if necessary.

Accessories

• Pop Filter - To eradicate Implosives
• Microphone Stand(s) - Sizes and styles vary so consider your needs
• Cables - Depending on what your recording your cabling needs may be tiny or vast.  Make sure you have the correct cables and enough of them.  if your hands with a soldering iron then making your own cables to your desired length can be cheaper and handy.
• Midi Keyboard - To input sounds.
• Acoustic Foam - Can come in handy to add an extra dampening to a room or isolate a sound in a room. 
• Adapters - For headphones, inputs, outputs, Pads and all sorts! 

Conclusions

Everything above is just how i started.  There is no correct way to set up your studio but hopefully now you know how i did it you can start to plan your own way of working.  Feel free to ask me anything more you want to know or to discuss different kinds of set ups that could work for you! 

Need gear check out the sites below for places to buy some of the things you might need.

Editors Keys
Thomann - Just click to go to the UK site at the top!
Amazon

Generating Income From Gigs

Making money from your shows shouldn't be the top on your list of live show priorities.  It is however a great added bonus and can help to re coupe costs and keep you from being out of pocket!

So now i hear you ask how can i start going about making my millions?

• Be paid to play (the most obvious I'm sure)

You can go about this in different ways.

• Share of the door takings
• Share of bar takings
• Set fee from the promoter/venue

Discuss this with the promoter a few weeks before the show if possible.  It's not likely you will be paid if you turn up to the show and demand payment for the first time.  Where possible try and get a written contract or at least an email/text confirming the amount in case the promoter tries to scam you.

Remember as a new band especially playing free is within your best interests.  Getting a name for yourself should be your priority and promoters will be more interested if your free!  As well as this, if you do get asked about payment, play for less, just ask for travel costs or ask for a rider of drinks instead of money.  Most promoters wont mind making sure your not at a loss with traveling to the show.

• Merchandise 

Taking merchandise to a show is a big income generator.  Depending how you go about getting your merch designed and produced this can be where the big bucks are for bands.  On major labels bands make more money from live shows and merch than they do album sales.

Make sure you think carefully about what to put on your merch.  People need to know its your band being advertised.  On badges and stickers you could like to your facebook/twitter  or other internet sites.

Remember not to over charge.  If you printed the designs yourself on Primarks finest tee shirts then you cant charge the same price that your would if you went through a professional printers.

Some cheap merch ideas for you could be:

• T-Shirts
• Badges
• Stickers
• Tote Bags
• Posters
• Wrist Bands
• Plectrums 

Giving away free stickers and badges with other purchases, working on combo deals or even just handing them out to whoever will take one is a great way to promote your band.

For merchandise i HIGHLY recommend www.awesomemerchandise.com/

• Selling Your Music

Selling recordings in the form of EPs and Albums can help you make some money at shows.  Make sure however that the recordings are good and high quality.

you could also give these out free in the hope that people like your songs and come to more shows, buy merch and help your get a larger crowd base.

One of the most innovative ideas in this area i had the pleasure of hearing about was a band called The Brett Domino Trio.  There idea, as far as i remember, was, for a couple of pounds, to sell people there album case with there album artwork in and a blank CD.  They also provided a link to download there album for free.  

• Other Thoughts

Instead of charging set prices for your merchandise and music you could ask for donations.  

Even if you do make a loss its not the end of the world to get your name out there to more people!

• What Should I Do With My Money

I'm going to presume that if your looking at this your not making thousands of pounds a show and this isnt your only career.

Keep a band fund or bank account? use it to sub recording and rehearsals.  If you split the money all thats going to happen is you'll buy pizza's or spend it on practices anyway.  This is a great way to feel like the band isnt sucking away all your money.

Invest it in more merchandise.  The more you sell the more fans you get.  The more fans you get the more you sell.  It's a win win situation.

Its your money at the end of the day.  Enjoy it and spend it wisely.  Being out of pocket is not fun but may be a reality at least for the first few months of your career.

Equipment - Recording

Computers


Mac Book Pro - Intel i7 - 16gb Ram - SSD
Mac Book - Intel Core 2 Duo - 2 Gb Ram - 120 Gb HD
Acer Desktop - Intel Quad Core - 4gb Ram - 750Gb HD

Software

Logic Pro
Wave Burner
Pro Tools
Ableton Live
Reason


Interfaces


M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8r
Line 6 Toneport UX2

Microphones


Blue Spark
Blue Encore 100
MXL V63M
MXL 990
MXL 991
Samson QKick
Samson QSnare
Samson QTom x 3
Samson CO2 x 2
NJD NJ755AA

Speakers/HeadPhones


Samson Rubicon R5a's
Harmon Kardon Sound Sticks
Targa Computer Speakers
AKG K271 mkII
AKG K77
Unique Melody In Ear Monitors

Processing/Preamps


Focusrite Trak Master Pro Preamp
Line 6 Pod 2.0

Other


Roland Midi Keyboard
4 Channel Headphone Amp
DI Boxes
Various Cables
Various Stands
Vocal Booth

Equipment - Instruments

Drums/Percussion - 

Liberty Drums Custom Kit (Endorsement)

Los Cabos Drum Sticks (Endorsement) 

Dream,Istanbul,Zildjian,Paiste,Sabian Cymbals

Evans Drum Heads

Tama Iron Cobra Chrome Single Pedal

GIbraltar Ultra Adjust Snare and Hi Hat Stand

Pearl Cymbal Stands

Pearl Jam Block

Zoggs Sex Wax

Yamaha DTXplorer Electronic Drum Kit

Baracuda Djembe

Natal Bongos

Performance Percussion Congas

SG Percussion Cajon
SG Percussion Bongo
SG Percussion Conga Prototype

Various Shakers, Tambourines and other percussion

Guitars


Epiphone EJ200CE
Tanglewood Cutaway Electro Acoustic
Tanglewood Solid Top Electro Acoustic
Ashton Electro Cutaway Acoustic
Hohner Country Man Acoustic
EKO Acoustic
Pure Tone Acoustic
Sue Scott Kiro Acoustic

Epiphone Les Paul Electric

Axl Pro Bass Guitar

Other Stringed

6 String Banjo
Mahalo Electro Acoustic Les Paul shape Ukulele
Mahalo Ukuele
Stagg Mandolin

Keys


Roland Midi Keyboard


Other


Harmonicas
Accordion
Ocarinas

Most required links can be found below or by doing a simple google search


www.libertydrums.co.uk - Liberty Drums - Hand Crafted!

www.loscabosdrumsticks.com - The best drum sticks around!

Preparing For Your First Gig

Preparing For Your First Gig

Sections:

1. Rehearsals
2. Promotion
3. Equipment
4. Set list
5. Warm Up
6. Safety
7. Recording
8. On Stage
9. Other Thoughts

So your band *insert awesome band name here* has there first gig.  Whether it’s in a tiny pub venue, a stadium or anything in between you’ll want to make sure your well prepared and feeling as confident as possible before stepping on stage.

Let me briefly elaborate on my background.  I did my first gig to 200 people when I was 14.  Since then I've been gigging on average at least once a week with all sorts of bands in all sorts of places.  I wouldn’t say I'm an expert at gig preparation but the following information is just to be a guideline for those who want it or need it.  Take from it what you will and ignore or interpret the parts you feel necessary.

Rehearsal

Before you consider booking your first gig you need to know your ready.  Having one strong song and then another five mediocre or unperfected songs is no good.  For your first show and every show following it you want people to listen to every song and think WOW.  You should be able to walk into a practice room and play your set comfortably and confidently.

Needing lyrics on stage is not ideal but also not a total loss.  If deadly necessary Just gaffer tape them to the floor if required but try to use them just for cues otherwise you will never engage with the crowd.

For more information on rehearsals see this article

Promotion

You will want to make sure people turn up to your show.  Ideally people that have never heard of you before will arrive so you can start building your fan base.  How do you ensure this I hear you ask? 

Obviously the promoter/event organiser of the gig should do a large piece of this for you.  Usually they will put up posters in relevant locations and hand out flyers.  You should try to request some of these to hand out yourself so that you can target a much larger collective of people.

If the promoter/event organiser hasn’t already done so you should set up a Facebook event group.  Invite all your friends and try and get them to invite all of theres.  The more people you ask the more likely hood there is of them saying yes!  As well as this there is a lot of online sites that advertise peoples gigs,  a quick google search should yield plenty of results.

Some local newspapers may be interested in your show and you could always ask them to publish a press release with or without a picture. 

My final and most obvious recommendation is to ‘annoy’ your friends.  I don’t recommend spamming people but posting on your friends Facebook Timelines and texting people advertising the show wouldn’t be so bad, and again ask them to ask there friends and so on and so on. 

After all a Gig with no crowd just becomes a glorified band practice

Equipment

This is such a huge area to cover so I'm going to split it up into sections of instruments so you can skip as needed.  I’ve only listed the 3 most common band instruments but feel free to ask if you play other instruments and require help! 

Before arriving at the gig you need to know what gear you actually need.  This will be different for every band in every venue.  

PA and microphones will usually be provided but the quality and hygiene of this is sometimes questionable.

Between yourself and the other you should try find gear that you can share. Drum shells, Guitar cabs, Bass rig are the usual shared items.

Drums

Find out if the venue has a drum kit or if another band is supplying a drum kit.  In most small to medium venues its not for every band to take there own kit as this would make change over times too long and sometimes the storage back stage just cant accommodate.  

If a band is willing to share drum kit is likely you will still have to provide your own breakables/stealables.  These include Cymbals, Snare Drum, Sticks, pedal(s) and if possible or requires Stands as well. Sometimes you will only need Cymbals, Sticks, and Snare Drum but its better to take more than you need.

Make sure your kit is tuned as best it can be if you are required to take your full kit.  A spare set of skins in a bag will never go a miss but hopefully they wont be needed! 

Also make sure you have plenty of sticks that your comfortable using.

In my bag I keep a few things as a precaution:

• • Drum Key (I have multiple drum keys across different bags incase)
• • Sex Wax (The stick grip wax, nothing naughty)
• • A set of Allen Keys
• • Pliers
• • A set of Screw Drivers
• • Gaffa tape and Electric insulation Tape (NECESSITY!)
• • Spare Cymbal washer and felts and wing nuts

Guitars

You should know what sounds you need and how to produce them on your own amps.  Ideally take your amps with you.  If you use a head and cab set up then see if you can share a cab to avoid taking unnecessary bulky items. 

If you use effect pedals consider investing in a pedal board so that you can lift them on and off stage in one movement.  Keeping them cabled in the order you want on that board will also quicken the process up as you will only require the input cable and output cable to be plugged in each show. 

On those pedals if you need to change settings in between songs consider sticking tape as arrows on controls so your not spending too much time in between songs getting the right sound. 

Do you own multiple guitars? Consider taking two incase a string snaps on stage.  This is also handy if you have songs in different tunings, you could tune a second guitar to a different tuning in preparation.

In your bag you should carry:

• • Spare Strings (A string winder speeds up string changes)
• • Spare Plectrums (Lots of them,  You’d be surprise how fast they vanish)
• • Spare cables 
• • A Tuner (consider a tuning pedal)
• • A set of allen keys
• • A set of screw Drivers
• • Gaffa tape and Electric insulation Tape (NECESSITY!)

Vocals

Most venues will provide a microphone but remember these have been used by many other artists and riddled with there spit.  Now you may not care about this but then again you might

I would recommend buying yourself a microphone that’s suited to your voice that only you will use.  An investment that will always come in handy. 

Also consider keeping a long XLR taped to your microphone if you’re the kind of singer that likes to dance around or swing there microphone anywhere it can be fired.

In your bag you should carry:

• • Spare Cables
• • Throat sweets
• • Gaffa tape and Electric insulation Tape (NECESSITY!)

Set List

This is totally different for every band and a lot of shows.  Il give a very general overview but really just play around over a few practices until your feel you’ve got it right.

Don’t play all your best songs a the start of the show.  If you do this people will be bored by the end.

This doesn’t mean play you worst song at the start.  People will remember how your set starts more than anything and theres always doors they can walk out of.

Scatter your set list so you don’t run out of your best songs before the end and aren't playing to many similar sounding songs after each other.

Warming Up

For any show I'm about to play I make sure I'm warmed up,  I use to do a lot of athletics and I treat my shows in a similar way.  As a drummer I feel I move a lot of my body quite vigorously on stage and like to know I can avoid injury if possible.  

All band members should stretch

Drummers should do some rudiments and finger warm ups on a practice pad

Guitarist should play some scaled and stretch there fingers

Vocalists should warm the voice up slowly in a way that wont tire them out.

Safety

Following on from warming up comes the dreaded health and safety.  

Don’t worry about this the venue should have the major aspects covered( if you do see something that could cause harm make sure you express your concern to an appropriate member of staff)

Make sure amps are sturdy and not going to fall over.

Singers DON’T CLIMB ON SPEAKERS,  It may look great and make you feel on top of the world but even speakers that are safety chained can fall or at least be damaged.

On stage there are a lot of hazards.   You can minimise your risks by being cautious of where cables are and taping them down where possible. Don’t put your clothes over the top of a light or your amplifier as these get extremely hot.  

Keep hydrated, the last thing you want is to pass out on stage or loose your voice half way through.  Buy bottled water or get some from the venue and keep drinking it! 

Recording

Some venues offer this for an added cost but it is not so hard to do it yourself.  Even a very low quality recording can come in handy to analyse your stage presence, your set list, and how the crowd took to you. 

Try get a video camera set up on a tripod and microphone at the back of the room.

On Stage

its up to you! So il keep this short 

Just remember:

• • Keep the audience keen 
• • Tell people your website and where to find music
• • HAVE FUN

The rest really is up to you,  put on a great show! 

Other Thoughts

• • Stay professional
• • Enjoy the other bands
• • Thank everyone involved especially if your shared equipment

All of the above are not set in stone,  there just for you to think about.  I hope I've helped.   

Im sure I've missed off things and included irrelevant things. This is just how I would approach it.   If you want more information then feel free to contact me and ask!  Il help you as best I can!

And if theres any other articles you want me to right also request them!

Some useful purchases