Gobbled by gobos....

mojo1 · 7th February 2010

I'm not sure quite where to post this.... here goes!

How does a person learn to use gobos effectively?

I record acoustic (bluegrass, etc.) and will have a decent size room for tracking. It's really going to be a family living space/teaching room/office... (650sq ft ish).

What I need...

Excellent isolation between Upright bass, Ac Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle, Banjo, Reso guitar, Vocal, etc. I will have one moderately sized isolation booth and the "control room" for additional tracking if necessary.

I have tried to isolate folks with gobos before and have always been disappointed with the bleed. If the mando picker wants to fix the end of a solo, the bassist has to punch a couple of notes to get rid of the mysterious 2nd mando player... etc.

I'm not new to recording, have some decent high/mid-end gear, and just want to learn how to do the gobo thing effectively! Any suggestions to that end are welcome!

Thanks a buch! If I should post this elsewhere, I'm happy to do that!

karp47 · 7th February 2010

You are most probably always going to have to deal with a bit of bleed, its just too hard to separate everything when its happening in the same room. Multi-tracking is the only way to eliminate bleed but I guess you would be doing that if you wanted to.

I guess they really have to nail it in the one take, its a bit too hard to change mistakes when recording live because the mistake is still going to be hiding in there somewhere.

As for gobos basically just put them wherever they are going to contain noise the best, its not a bad idea either to hand a doona/duvet over the top of 2 gobos with the player underneath, this will at least stop the sound from creeping out the top, good luck with everything.

PaulP · 8th February 2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by mojo1

I record acoustic (bluegrass, etc.) and will have a decent size room for tracking. It's really going to be a family living space/teaching room/office... (650sq ft ish).

What will the height of the ceiling be in your new room ?

Paul P

SAC · 8th February 2010

A couple of factors and possible alternatives may help.

First, proximity to the gobos will help control 'some'.

Also, the size of the gobos maters. Higher frequencies will wavelengths smaller than the dimensions of the gobos will be blocked. Wavelengths longer than the gobos are large will tend to flow around them.

Additionally, an 'old' valid technique that is coming back in a 'big' way, especially with ensemble style bluegrass recording, is for all to gather around a single mic. Gain for each instrument is controlled primarily by spacing closer or farther from the mic.

Bleed is eliminated, communication between players is optimal, and issues of phase between mic sources and other factors are eliminated.

mojo1 · 9th February 2010

Thanks for your replies!

I'm actually talking about places I've tracked and places my buddies track. These are open room with gobos and thr band wouldn't really need headphones. Almost NO bleed between tracks (all condensers and tube mics). How is it possible??? How can i learn to do it?

Totally baffeled by baffles!

7th February 2010	#1
mojo1 Gear maniac Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 174 Thread Starter	Gobbled by gobos.... I'm not sure quite where to post this.... here goes! How does a person learn to use gobos effectively? I record acoustic (bluegrass, etc.) and will have a decent size room for tracking. It's really going to be a family living space/teaching room/office... (650sq ft ish). What I need... Excellent isolation between Upright bass, Ac Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle, Banjo, Reso guitar, Vocal, etc. I will have one moderately sized isolation booth and the "control room" for additional tracking if necessary. I have tried to isolate folks with gobos before and have always been disappointed with the bleed. If the mando picker wants to fix the end of a solo, the bassist has to punch a couple of notes to get rid of the mysterious 2nd mando player... etc. I'm not new to recording, have some decent high/mid-end gear, and just want to learn how to do the gobo thing effectively! Any suggestions to that end are welcome! Thanks a buch! If I should post this elsewhere, I'm happy to do that!

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7th February 2010	#2
karp47 Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2008 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 726	You are most probably always going to have to deal with a bit of bleed, its just too hard to separate everything when its happening in the same room. Multi-tracking is the only way to eliminate bleed but I guess you would be doing that if you wanted to. I guess they really have to nail it in the one take, its a bit too hard to change mistakes when recording live because the mistake is still going to be hiding in there somewhere. As for gobos basically just put them wherever they are going to contain noise the best, its not a bad idea either to hand a doona/duvet over the top of 2 gobos with the player underneath, this will at least stop the sound from creeping out the top, good luck with everything.

8th February 2010	#4
SAC Registered User Joined: Dec 2009 Posts: 2,622	A couple of factors and possible alternatives may help. First, proximity to the gobos will help control 'some'. Also, the size of the gobos maters. Higher frequencies will wavelengths smaller than the dimensions of the gobos will be blocked. Wavelengths longer than the gobos are large will tend to flow around them. Additionally, an 'old' valid technique that is coming back in a 'big' way, especially with ensemble style bluegrass recording, is for all to gather around a single mic. Gain for each instrument is controlled primarily by spacing closer or farther from the mic. Bleed is eliminated, communication between players is optimal, and issues of phase between mic sources and other factors are eliminated.

9th February 2010	#5
mojo1 Gear maniac Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 174 Thread Starter	Thanks for your replies! I'm actually talking about places I've tracked and places my buddies track. These are open room with gobos and thr band wouldn't really need headphones. Almost NO bleed between tracks (all condensers and tube mics). How is it possible??? How can i learn to do it? Totally baffeled by baffles!