I sat down with Mark Pirro, bass guitarist for the Polyphonic Spree and Tripping Daisy, to talk about the greatest of DIY recording...
I sat down with Mark Pirro, bass guitarist for the Polyphonic Spree and Tripping Daisy, to talk about the greatest of DIY recording techniques: recording something in the bathroom.
Pirro had a completely unique take on the subject, using the bathroom as a mixdown echo chamber!
Some background first: Pirro is one of those sonic geniuses who always has an ear for the unique. When Polyphonic Spree frontman Tim DeLaughter was looking for a lo-fi vocal sound, Pirro invented the Copperphone, a microphone that uses components from vintage communications equipment to achieve a limited bandwidth frequency response similar to an AM radio or early recordings.
The Copperphone (and his other mics) are now handmade by his Texas-based company, Placid Audio, and are quickly becoming industry standards for low-bandwith recording in many studios. (Full disclosure: I use a Copperphone for my vocals in concert and on recordings. It freakin’ rocks.)
Things You’ll Need to Make Your Echo Chamber:
• Bathroom (preferably tiled)
• Some sort of recording setup (digital audio workstation/tape machine or four-track)
• At least one powered studio speaker monitor
• At least one microphone (We used a Placid Audio Copperphone in the pictures, but other recording mics can work as well.)
• A few long mic cables
• Some pre-recorded tracks you wish to re-amp in order to add some echo.
STEP 1: Clear your bathroom of all sound-absorbing materials such as shower curtain, towels, rugs … even the roll of toilet paper. You want to start out with the bathroom as reflective as possible to gain the maximum amount of echo. Hopefully your bathroom is at least partially tiled, as this will be a big factor in generating reflections in a relatively small space.
STEP