Recording and Voice Processing, Volume 1

4The Acoustic Environment

In this chapter, the arrangements, devices, and all the equipment necessary for a vocal recording, whether it be for a voice-over, a singer, a group of singers or a choir, are presented.

4.1. Location of pickup and sound isolation

Recording voices in a studio generally requires designing the recording location. The acoustics of the room where the recording takes place have a great influence on the quality and the final sound and should not be neglected. A good microphone is useless if the conditions in the space surrounding it are not adequate.

In a closed space a sound propagates from its source in all directions; indeed, part of it circulates in a straight line up to the recording microphone and then continues until it meets a significant obstacle (a wall, a piece of furniture, an object of large proportions, a pillar, etc.) on which it rebounds until it again meets a new obstacle and so on.

Between the source and the microphone, we speak of direct sound; after rebound, it is the indirect sound or reflected sound. It should be noted that some of these indirect sounds are themselves recorded by the microphone.

One of the properties of direct sound is its lack of interaction with the rest of the space, meaning it is not degraded and keeps all its characteristics.

It is quite different with indirect sound, which changes after each reflection to varying degrees depending on the distance it has traveled (size of the room), the elements that it has encountered, ...