ACOUSTICALLY SPEAKING

I may have mentioned here before that I've been dissatisfied with the 
sound of my recordings, mostly due to the ungodly racket that my 
Zareason machine makes.  Loud as a lawnmower, it requires me to use 
alternate (and ungainly) methods to make decent recordings.  Oh, I've 
mulled a-many methods in my time, but I've yet to come to any 
satisfactory conclusions.  Did I talk about my homemade micbox?  I must 
have.  Assuming I didn't, though, it's a cardboard box with a cardboard 
mic stand inside, lined with bedfoam.  It's purpose was to block the 
noise of the Zareason machine enough so I could make a decent recording 
without that bulldozer in the background.  And it does exactly that.  
Unfortunately, it also sounds like I'm recording from within a muffled 
box.  We're not after reality here.

So, today I trimmed off three of the sides to this thing, save only the 
back and the bottom, and a framework of cardboard all around, leaving 
the internal foam exposed.  It now makes my voice sound awesome!  No 
muffled box to be heard.  Just me and...you guessed it: the Zareason 
machine.  All that helicopter noise is back.  Again, it seems I can have 
one (that is, no computer noise OR good vocal quality) but not the other 
at the same time.  To get the absolute BEST sound, I had to put a pillow 
and blanket over my head and record using my eeePC, running Puppy Linux.  
For a couple of reasons, this little machine is capable, but also really 
limited in its capabilities.  And my goal is to improve on all that, 
naturally.

My basic procedure here is a bit refined, then.  I can't say improved, 
necessarily, though I'll likely use this box in conjunction with the 
eeePC method of recording for the time being (sans the blanket -- way 
too awkward): I mean, I WANT to use the Zareason machine for recording; 
and I want to record in this room.  It seems elusive, though, this chase 
after good sound quality. I KNOW what can be achieved, even with my 
modest equipment and skill set -- I just haven't been able to achieve it 
all at one time.  I can interface my software with my computer, and 
thereby gain the convenience and power of using a decent desktop machine 
for recording; I can eliminate the noise of said desktop with a micbox; 
i can record with a micbox without a disturbing boxy sound; I can record 
nicely on a (mostly) silent eeePC.  Yet none of these approaches is 
close to perfect.  I have big issues with them all.

So, all said and done?  The search goes on.

Monday, February 28, 2011
(c) 2011 lostnbronx
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