imperfect vocal quality.

O

orange mc

New member
ok, im standing 4-7 inches from the c100s and im not clipping, all the levels are right (i think) and our vocals STILL sound like were doin it in our apartment bedroom. what do i do?!?! we put a tad bit of reverb on it, which makes it sound better, but, why cant we sound any closer to a professional recording (as far as the vocals go)? we sometimes run the mic into the 1/8" jack on the soundcard, and sometimes we run it through a mixer, doesnt seem to make a difference. ive been wondering if we need a pre amp, or compression (though i have an idea as to what they do)...
hear what im talkin about at www.mp3.com/hectic/
focus on mdr 26
 
I took a listen and I think a compressor is a good idea, but I don't think that is all you need, IMHO, I think the c1000 is a great mic - for instruments. There are great mics designed with vocals in mind for about $300 - the Rode NT-1 and the AKG C3000 come to mind.
I can vouch for the NT-1. I was having the same problem as you, I had a compressor, but compression only solves part of the problem. Finally got a new mic as well, and WOW - what a difference!
Good luck !
 
Im going to pick up where I think recording engineer above was going with his line of questioning.1/8"directly to the sound card I would avoid.What kind of mixer are you using.The pre-amps in the mixer may not be very good.Are your input and output levels high enough.Where are you recording your vocals. What kind of room, booth etc.Check all your cables for shorts, bad connections.Are they XLR when you use your mixer?I use an external tube pre-amp direct to tape or hard disc when taking vocals down.We use an insulated room with little sound reflection.I try to avoid using compression on vocals but sometimes its unavoidable. If recorded properly, you should only have to use a very light compression at most on a vocal.You can kill the dynamics of a vocal with compression.Then again it may depend on what type of compressor you are using.

Bill
 
Did you guys listen to the Mp3? The connection doesn't seem to be the problem-at least that is how it sounds to me. I only recommended the compressor because the levels seem all over the place. I think a better quality mic through a decent mixer will get the quality he is looking for.
 
You're probably right. I wasn't disputing your compression theory, and no I didn't listen to it yet.I was guessing blindly.Will you forgive me? lol
I'll check it out.

Bill
 
oh guys, im sorry! the mp3 i submitted hasnt been posted on the site yet, i guess they have to approve of it and all that. but i have the song that im talking about at <a href="http://www.midre.com/MDR26 Roars.mp3">http://www.midre.com/MDR26 Roars.mp3</a>

[This message has been edited by Dragon (edited 08-31-1999).]
 
what kind of sound card are you using....if it is just a regular sound blaster type for your pc, well, good luck ever getting a great vocal sound, or for that matter any instrument sound going to the hard drive....all the above advice is very good and things to consider, but, you need a much better A/D and D/A converters to really get some good quality on HD recordings......a good sound card with nice converters is going to set you back at least $500...but what a difference it will make.....

ed
 
I listened to something at that URL. Was it still you Orange? just a different song?
And Bill, you are forgiven, guessing blindly is what I do all the time! :)

[This message has been edited by Brad (edited 08-23-1999).]
 
Anyone who has ever done time at a "Professional" recording studio is going to lament the absence of a high dollar vocal mic when it comes to the home recording gig. Here's a trick that I use (and I won't pretend that i AM THE FIRST...) OK...
Take your best 3 mics (or your 3 most unusual...) and duct tape them to one mic stand. Run 3 lines to 3 seperate tracks. After you have recorded your vocal track... work with each of the three tracks one at a time. Give each of them a slightly different EQ and reverb. Shift one of the tracks slightly out of time with the others... (Slightly). Pan one to the left and one to the right. experiment with the relationships between the three tracks and you can come up with some amazingly phat vocal sounds from a cheap set of mics.
Try it.
Satan.
 
Well, I'd never run a mic through the 1/8 input on the sound card - so my advice is to scratch that - try S8-N's advice about clustering the mics perhaps w/ your best dynamic @ close proximity and the 1000 a little further away as an overhead. I haven't heard the tune yet, but I always add a little compression for smoothing the overall vocal track. Just my 2 cents.
 
As long as your using a preamp of some sort, send it into 1/8". No problem doing that, just adapt the output from your mixer/preamp to 1/8" stereo. An adapter that gives you two 1/4" female - 1/8" stereo male would work fine.

Emeric
 
Hey...these vocals actually sound pretty good from the recording standpoint. What you want to do I think ist provide some "space" in the form of different reverbs for the different vocal parts. That's a mixing thing.

But watch those pops and breath noises.
 
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