Vocal tracking safety

[Engle]

One of my bands was in the middle of vocal tracking (in my home studio when the Covid shutdown happened. I'm in Vancouver, BC where out government has announced as of May 15 restrictions are being eased and we can have some people over.

I'm considering resuming tracking, but it occurs to me we need to shield the others in the room from anything the singer might be emitting. I thinking I could build a 3 panel shield to go behind the mic and put a washable cover on it - maybe a blanket.

Has anybody else done this or considered it?

 

[DigitalMan]

Anything could potentially help. Vocal isolation has been done in many forms for the purpose of eliminating ambient noise. Perhaps even one of those ready-made solutions makes the most sense.

Google "portable vocal booth" and you'll find a lot of different solutions. I think that maybe one of the smaller solutions that is closer to the mic might be the most effective.

In any case, whatever we are doing as individuals is only going to be somewhat effective. We are making a best effort to slow down the virus so the aggregate infection rates don't overwhelm the medical system. It's not like we are all creating medical grade isolation rooms with UVC cleaning systems and negative air pressure. Just do your best and remain optimistic. And keep up the hand washing and maintaining distancing. Continue to wear masks when not singing, and try to take it outside during breaks.

 

[And I]

Get some pantyhose and a wire clothes hangar and build yourself a pop filter. After each session dispose of the pantyhose safely and use a fresh one before the next session.

Don't have more than one person come to your studio at a time. Get some extension XLR and headphone cables. Schedule things so each person comes in one by one, and set things up as much as possible so you and this person are not in the same room for more than a few mins.

Either that or wait a while longer and hope the curve has flattened enough...

 

[kevindahl]

Can the singer sing in another room? Maybe face the singer towards the wall away from everyone. I think we are doing pretty good here in BC in regards to Covid 19. Nice to hear from a fellow lower rainlander!

 

[EastCoastThump]

This [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] tracks a few cases of infections that were traced to asymptomatic carriers. Worth reading, but if TLDR: the danger boils down to spending time exposed to a relatively dense field of virus droplets.

• outdoors, passing 6 feet away from an infected person walking in the opposite direction? low risk

• in an enclosed space for with an infected person, especially if they are breathing/exhaling deeply? high risk

Based on a couple actual cases of group infection, the article includes a couple figures illustrating how the virus spread based on air-flow patterns. These ought to give you pause. A plosive screen on the mic isn't going to do much to stop droplets from an infected singer from circulating in a smallish room. The larger the room and the less the air recirculates, the better. But not many of us have cathedral sized tracking rooms.

You might also remember the outbreak among a church choir in Washington. An infected singer is particularly dangerous, because they're exhaling from deep in the lungs.

 

[Guild B301]

As recommended above. Small, portable vocal booth. Other than that, play standing further than 6 ft apart.

 

[Kro]

Is there any option for the vocalists to track where they currently are, or were self-isolating?