Editors Keys Portable Vocal Booth Review

As a home studio owner/musician one of the biggest challenges we face is capturing clean, clear audio in an acoustic environment not intended for recording. We deal with thin walls, box shaped rooms, and of course outside noise (those darn lawn mowers!). But that shouldn’t stop you from getting fantastic takes even with a minimal $500 setup (or it’s $300 cousin).

As I wrote about before, you can deal with a bad acoustic environment simply by avoiding reflective surfaces and using a close mic technique. But taking a step further, you can always take advantage of today’s affordable (and portable) vocal booths. One such product comes to us from Editors Keys, sepcifically their Portable Vocal Booth Pro Edition.

If you saw last week’s video review of the Editors Keys USB microphone you may have noticed me singing into the vocal booth. I wanted to address it in a separate review so I could point out the key benefits to this awesome piece of gear. Real quickly, here are 3 things I love about this product:

It’s Really Two Products In One

When you get your hands on the Portable Vocal Booth Pro, you realize that it’s actually two things in one: acoustic treatment around your mic AND a microphone stand. This is fantastic for obvious reasons as it means one less thing I have to carry around with me if I’m recording outside of my studio (and one less thing to setup IN my studio), plus it’s basically a custom heavy duty stand that will hold up under pressure.

It’s Easy To Use

They guys at Editors Keys have really made a simple, useable product. The clam shell design allows flexibility in acoustic treatment while the metal bar protruding out of the center will hold either one or two mics securely and perfectly placed. This takes all of the guess work out of the equation. Simply screw in your shockmount and mic of choice and you’ve got perfect acoustics where you need it most: at the source.

It’s Accessible To Real Home Studio Users

When it comes to all the gear being sold to you every day in magazines and on the internet, most if it really isn’t priced right for real home studio owners. That’s why you don’t see me pushing too many products out there other than your basic studio needs because I think a lot of it is over priced (and usually unnecessary). That’s not the case for the Editors Keys Portable Vocal Booth. This thing comes in two flavors: the Home Edition ($150) and the Pro Edition ($233). A definite investment, but compared to the competition a more economical choice.

Do I Need One?

Given most of us record one track at a time in a second bedroom or office, an investment in excellent isolation and sound absorption at and around your mic (like that offered by the Portable Vocal Booth) seems to be a wise move. As in my experience with it, you get excellent recordings quickly and easily, no matter what room you’re in, which microphone you’re using, or which DAW you’re recording into.

By Graham Cochrane

www.therecordingrevolution.com

There are three microphone recording settings, a low mic gain, high mic gain and for unpredictable and dynamic settings there is also the Auto mic gain setting. In the final mode the microphone adjustes itself accortingly to prevent any clipping (distortion on the recording)

If your a vocalist, musician or any kind of performer there is nothing more valuable than a true reprisentation of your live performance. I.E. A live recording for your act.

The Q3 is also great for high quality video blogging. If you run a blog such as a ‘learn the guitar’ blog, this device will give you high quality audio for your viewer, making them think they are sat right infront of you. It’s also brilliant for musicians looking to promote themselves or to just improve. Take it to your practices, record yourself, this way you can hear what you need to improve on and also you can get your stuff onto a Youtube Channel.

The sound is great and really gives a brilliant representation of the original performance. The video quality it OK (see below) it’s perfect for you tube however the quality suffers in the dark.

The Q3 is light and extremely portable. Although the device is made of plastic it is sturdy and can withstand the occassional knock. The battery life is good (lasting around an hour and a half on two AA batteries)

The Zoom Q3 comes with a carry pouch, RCA Phono cable, foam microphone guard and instructions. I also purchased a tripod for my Zoom and an extra SD memory card so that I could get the most out of the recorder.

Check out the quality

Zoom Q3 Specifications

The different types of stereo microphones are dynamic, ribbon, and condenser. Condenser, also known as capacitor, is the most commonly used type. Condenser microphones require power from a battery, a separate power pack, or Phantom Power, which is power provided by the recording device.

Consider how a microphone will be used for a project. For capturing audio with video, such as news footage or home videos, a microphone that mounts to the camera may be the best choice. For live performances or studio recording sessions, a stereo microphone that attaches to a stand will work well. Handheld microphones are another option for news reporting and live or recorded vocal performances. Microphones that have a pop or wind screen can help eliminate noise from wind, breathing, and harsh “b” and “p” sounds.

The amount of background sound desired in the recording is another factor in choosing a stereo microphone. There are two elements inside a stereo microphone, set at an angle called the X/Y configuration. The angle can be fixed or adjustable depending on the microphone. Generally, a wider angle will pick up more surrounding, or ambient, sounds from the field.

The stereo microphone must also have connections that will fit into the recording equipment to be used. XLR and 1/4-inch (6.35 mm) jacks and plugs are common types of connectors for equipment such as video cameras and audio recorders. Professional stereo microphones usually have XLR connectors. If a microphone needs to be plugged in directly to a computer, look for microphones with USB connectors. For certain condenser microphones, ensure that the recording device has phantom power if needed.

Cost is a big consideration when choosing a stereo microphone. A wide variety of stereo microphones are available with a large range of prices. Beginners and amateurs can spend less than professionals and still get a quality microphone. Different microphones should be tested prior to purchasing if possible. Choose a microphone at the price level that will get the project done and not break the budget.

The name condenser refers to a mechanism called a capacitor system. Made of two plates the outer plate, called the diaphragm, vibrates as sound waves strike it. This vibration causes the distance between both plates to alter, thereby changing the capacitance. This can only occur if a voltage between the two plates is present, meaning that condenser microphones must be powered. This is the first thing to consider before buying a condenser microphone.

The power needed to power a condenser microphone can be supplied by the ‘phantom power’ on board a mixing desk or another power source. Some condenser microphone models are powered by an on board battery so make sure you check that you can power your microphone before purchasing. The fact that the capacitance process between the two plates is so sensitive to sound makes the condenser microphone extremely sensitive to  sound and this is why it performs so excellently in some environments but, not as well in louder environments.

The condenser microphone is almost always the first choice when it comes to recording studio vocals or high quality voice overs. It can also be good in live environments however,  due to its sensitive nature it will pick up much of the other sounds within the environment. Condenser microphones are not the best choice when recording loud or amplified instrument as they may distort and if the sounds are two loud you could damage the plates.

More expensive than their dynamic counterparts condensers are also a little more fragile and you most certainly don’t want to drop one. The different shapes sizes and models out there are all individual to themselves but as a rule those with larger diaphragms will produce a warmer sound making them better candidates for recording vocals whereas those with smaller diaphragms give a brighter sound and are perfect for stringed instruments. Also keep an eye out for condensers with different sized diaphragms on both sides, these prove to be versatile and a good investment for a studio on a budget.

Finally some condenser have different Polaroid patterns, Omni directional so they will record in all directions, unidirectional meaning they only record in one specific angle of focus, all interesting points to consider when looking  at which condenser microphone would best suit your needs.

Check your input (where the microphone is plugged in) you may have plugged your microphone cable into the line input jack rather than the microphone jack, switching this over will remove unwanted noise.

Check your cable. It could be a damanged or poor quality cable that is causing your microphone to generate noise. If you can try a new or different cable this way you will be able to see if the noise is being generated by the cable or is coming from a different source.

Signal to noise ratio. This mean that the higher you turn up your gain (microphone input level) the higher the electrically generated noise will become. Try this out turn your mic gain up to full and you will be able to hear a low level hiss/white noise.This noise is caused by all the electrical processes going on within your hardware, the electrical noise level will depend on the quality and condition of your equipment. The best way to combat signal noise is to manage your recording levels. Make sure your sound source is in close proximity to the microphone, check your recording level is set correctly (so that the input is loud but not so loud that is will peak or go red!) and finally make sure there are no other sound sources to ‘muddy up’ your recording.

Get the gear. Don’t rely on the microphone built into you new laptop/PC or the old karaoke microphone kicking around in your house. Built in microphones are great for skype or webcasts but they will not deliver high quality audio and will will most likely also create a good deal of signal noise or make your sound very thin without any of the warmth your recording really needs. It is important to get a microphone worthy of the effort you are putting into your recordings and the higher the microphone quality the more likely the noise to signal ratio will be reduced (ahhh clear audio)

Microphone owners would do well to check their microphone type. Microphones that are less likely to produce microphone noise are of the electret condenser variety. To determine whether a microphone is a electret condenser, one should look at the microphone plug and find the tip part of the plug. If the microphone tip is silver and has grooves dividing the plug into three, then the microphone is an electret condenser that can easily connect to a computer’s sound card. Dynamic microphones, on the other hand, may present problems with microphone noise due to increased sensitivity and issues with connecting to soundcards.

Noise reduction software and audio recording software. Getting the right software can also help software designed to help you rercord using external microphones will further help your cause and if you are stuck using a cheap microphone software with built in noise reduction effects (like audacity) could also help to purify your recording.

Straight microphone stands have a long, straight, vertical shaft that adjusts in height with a microphone clip attached to the top. A microphone clip is usually made of a flexible plastic so it can hold different sized microphones, and should be firmly screwed into the stand to prevent the microphone from tipping or falling out. The microphone clip is usually sold with the microphone, not the stand. Straight microphone stands may be fixed in height or adjust in one to two places, depending on how much height range the performer needs. Straight microphone stands may have a tripod base or a round metal base.

A tripod base often folds up, making it easier to store, and is usually of a lighter weight than the round base. A round metal base keeps the stand from tipping with the weight of the microphone. This base may be a better choice if the performer has a heavy microphone, especially when using a boom stand.

A boom stand is similar to a straight stand, with the addition of a boom arm. The microphone clip is located at the end of the boom arm. A boom arm is an extension that attaches perpendicular to shaft of the stand and adjusts its angle from the shaft. This feature allows for more options in microphone placement and easy, quick adjustments. Also, if the performer is playing a piano, drum set, or another large instrument that sits in front of the performer, the boom stand’s ability to swing, extend, and bend over the instrument make it a popular choice.

A desk stand is a short straight stand that is often mounted on a table or other workspace and can be adjustable or fixed in height. Many users build their own desk stands out of wire hangers. Specialized short stands with boom arms are also sometimes used to mic floor instruments, particularly the bass drum. These stands, like many other microphone stands, may have flexible necks attached to the microphone clip to allow greater microphone placement options.

Hanging microphones do not use microphone stands and are typically employed for recording purposes. For solo performer recordings, the hanging microphone prevents the performer from knocking into the microphone stand and causing unwanted noise. Hanging microphones are also used in ambient amplification and recording. In this scenario, each instrument usually has an individual microphone and the hanging microphone picks up the combination of sounds. The hanging microphone does not favor a particular angle and gives more reverberation in a recital hall. Reverberation, or more commonly “reverb,” is the continuation of a sound after the sound’s source has stopped, similar to an echo, but constant.

Plosive sounds are created when pronouncing a ‘P’ sound and causes a thud sound on your recording. If you don’t know what I mean listen out for this sound when your next at a concert, listen to a podcast or go to any event that uses a live PA.

If your recording, the pop shield is your saviour from these nasty sounds and will give your recordings the professional edge. Make sure that your pop shield is securely fixed to your microphone stand and position the screen of your pop shield about and inch (3 or 4 centimeters) away from your microphone (see the picture)