Need Help Getting Crisp Vocal Audio When Recording.

The Lexicon does not have phantom power, so you will need to use a dynamic mic with it. Or get a separate phantom power supply for a condensor mic, then might as well sell the Lexicon and go for a decent audio interface with built-in phantom power.
 
I've already converted my 'booth' thing into a large 'V' shaped object to go behind the mic.

Put it in the bin, man. It's light foam.
If you wanna cut down on reflections and do some good you'll need heavier rock wool stuff like Jim's picture shows.
 
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You built a podcasting setup

I could offer advice, but anything I say will involve getting rid of the ice-chest "booth"...getting rid of that mic...getting rid of the whole USB approach....getting something that resembles a decent mic/pre combination....getting the mic away from the computer and out in a better environment....and then finally, focusing on your singing technique....

...but I'm not sure how much of that would appeal to you.

Agreed. Garbage in, garbage out. You need to work from the ground up to get a better quality bit of kit. I don't sing, but I do a lot of VO work from home. I have a decent XLR powered mic and a Tascam recorder that supports it and NO PC generating fan noise and electromagnetic waves. I have a larger foldable, fabric covered panel set and this is all in an acoustically dead room. There is no shortcut around the laws of audio physics. That's why studios look the way they do.
 
I've done recordings with a simple 58 Beta handheld through my VS mic input that did neither sound tinny nor muffled (nothing around, scibble down an idea...). They definitely did miss that 'pro' silky high end shine (but a lot of my recordings do ;) ) I also assume that you're doing something wrong. Have you heard about the proximity effect? The nearer you'll approach your Mic, the fuller it will sound. You will probably remove your head from the mic as you sing louder or turn it away a little. If you don't use a pop shield, your plosives like 'p' and 't' will be PITA. Experiment first before buying nu gear. You should be able do do a voice recording that is - kind of ok. (I assume you don't record in your locker, or a bathroom)... A problem might be missing compression, too. IMHO, most voices tend to disappear in a mix unless rather heavily compressed. Try out some dynamic mics in a store. If you go the shure way, maybe a sm58, sm57 and beta 58. What fits you voice best? 8Advantage: you can always use that mic as your rehearsal room or gigging mic)...

Don't get me wrong: all stuff to buy mentioned above WILL give you a possibility of doing better recordings, but IMHO, you should start learning to walk before learning to run... :)
 
I agree with most of the advice posted in this thread. I prefer dynamic mics when recording my voice (I prefer a Shure Sm7B or an EV RE-20), as I have a very big voice with a large dynamic range and it always seems to overpower condensors.

That being said, a new product that *really* makes dynamic mics pop with clarity and presence is the CL-1 Cloudlifter. It's amazing. And only about $120 USD. I'm telling ya, if dynamic mics are what yer gonna use on vocals, get the CL-1. It will blow you away.
 
Crisp vocals

There are several reasons why you might be having trouble. I will not criticize your set-up. But might I suggest you purchase a Samson CO3. It far outstripped the other budget studio condenser mics in tests when it was known as the CO1. I have it and I get great vocals. Now here's the catch. Your vocal mic must be run through a good pre-amp. Focusrite has several available. They are spendy but not impossible. A pre-amp is the secret to making a great crisp vocal. We're talking about $400 to $600. I hope that helps and is not too far outside your budget. Good Luck,
Rod Norman,
Engineer.

I have thus far successfully recorded the instrument parts for three of my songs. But i'm having major issues recording vocals.

I have a Behringer C1-U USB Studio Condenser Mic

I have CUBASE LE5 Editing software.

And after testing the mic out when I first got it and thinking the audio quality was a tad lacklustre I built a small sound booth for recording. Like the one in this picture:
View attachment 85262

But even now the vocals come in either incredibly tinny and sharp without the booth, or muffled with it.

I've used various Inserts and VST plugins. As well as messing around with the 4 track Equalizer on the recorded track, so as to cut out the unwanted high and low end noise. Which does help a little, but not enough, I can't seem to find a middle ground between muffled or tinny.

I've also messed around with the sensitivity of the Mic in the Win 8 control pannel, but still it kind of sucks.

I can't even get the basic crispness average youtube vloggers get.

Can anyone give me any suggestions as to what else I can do i.e. get a better mic or something? (bearing in mind I have a very limited budget.)
 
You should return it back and a get an audio interface and a shure microphone. I got a USB microphone (samsung & blue) and then replaced it with audio interface and shure microphone. The USB microphone is pretty much like your laptop mics I felt.

And you can always try things out and return it. You get like 1 month return time.
 
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