Apartment Recording

Aequitas123 · Post by **Aequitas123** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:09 pm

I'm not sure how many people here are in the same boat as me, but i live in a high rise apartment where i can't be "too" loud.

I get by easily with most recordings, but i'm hesitant to do vocal recordings (i sing very loud) in the apartment.

Any tips from anyone about this?

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:11 pm

do it until someone complains then have a dialog with them on when you can be 'loud.' don't suck at it if you're going to sing loud.

take a day off of work, do it while everyone else is at work, or middle of the day on the weekends.

Aequitas123 · Post by **Aequitas123** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:13 pm

thanks! good tips, especially the 'don't suck at it'

Do you think hanging blankets to make some sort of vocal booth would cut any of the sound?

Tone Deft · Post by **Tone Deft** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:17 pm

some, but not really, probably not worth the effort.

try this, when you can hear them, hang a blanket up, if you can still hear them then you know it makes no difference. same effect.

Aequitas123 · Post by **Aequitas123** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:18 pm

Much appreciated!

djsynchro · Post by **djsynchro** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:37 pm

I made vocal booth out of a walk-in cupboard in my appartment. 9I have neigbours top bottom left & right. Put some foam in to dampen the high reflections. There's a little bit of a resonance but generally I get really professional sounding recordings from it.

A voice is not a kick drum, or a bass synth, these are the sounds that travel right through the walls and annoy your neigbours. Try the cupboard!

djsynchro · Post by **djsynchro** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:38 pm

I made vocal booth out of a walk-in cupboard in my appartment. 9I have neigbours top bottom left & right. Put some foam in to dampen the high reflections. There's a little bit of a resonance but generally I get really professional sounding recordings from it.

A voice is not a kick drum, or a bass synth, these are the sounds that travel right through the walls and annoy your neigbours. Try the cupboard!

doc holiday · Post by **doc holiday** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 11:51 pm

i lived upstairs from someone who worked midnights.. this lead to conflicts between myself and the neighbor. this escalated to the point where the dude put a hole his ceiling from pounding on it to shut me up.

i reviewed the apartments noise policy, and as i was working in the allocated timeframe for noise when i took it to management, they told the dude if he couldn't take it he shouldn't be living in an apartment building.

check out the rules where you live...

Aequitas123 · Post by **Aequitas123** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:04 am

Good tips!

I'm mostly worried about the door to the hallway outside my apartment. The walls and ceilings are thick concrete and i don't think much sound travels through. But the door is where the most leakage occurs.

oblique strategies · Post by **oblique strategies** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:52 am

Aequitas123 wrote:I'm mostly worried about the door to the hallway outside my apartment. The walls and ceilings are thick concrete and i don't think much sound travels through. But the door is where the most leakage occurs.

Try filling the gaps in this particular door with whatever is handy: towels, blankets, etc. Maybe cover it completely as well.

Actually hanging some fabric where you sing can have a positive effect on the vocal recordings, even if it doesn't act as a super noise reducer.

Angstrom · Post by **Angstrom** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 1:06 am

you could look into getting a portable recording set-up, such as a hand-held recorder, go into entertaining sonic locations and sing yourself silly.
You might become known as the crazy person who sings in the local woods, but you will at least keep your apartment block happy.

beats me · Post by **beats me** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:07 am

I have a friend who would take a mini disc recorder (do they still make those?), get in his car, and drive to a large parking structure of a mall after business hours and do his vocals there in his car. Got harassed by security a few times but he got some decent recordings.

onek · Post by **onek** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:12 am

Cool!! this friend is actually you, no???

timothyallan · Post by **timothyallan** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:34 am

beats me wrote:I have a friend who would take a mini disc recorder (do they still make those?), get in his car, and drive to a large parking structure of a mall after business hours and do his vocals there in his car. Got harassed by security a few times but he got some decent recordings.

Let me clarify, let me know if I'm wrong:

By "Friend", you mean yourself.

By "do his Vocals", you mean masturbation.

After business hours in a mall and harassment by security part is true.

ThrowAway · Post by **ThrowAway** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 4:42 am