not compressor

[jmorris]

The problem is in order to get a nice sound the singer needs to be up on the mic. I think this holds true for any type of music. Too far away give it that "roomy" sound. But if I get the singer up close I risk the distortion, popping, b;s and s's giving me a problem. Some people tell me its the tube mic and the tube mic pre. I dont believe that. I think it may be more a poor use of a compressor or the wrong brand of compressor. The pop I'm talking is like if someone sings a word that starts with a P. That kind of thing. Thoughts. Maybe I nned more of a limiter?

[TexRoadkill]

I would start with a pop filter. One trick is tape a pencil across the front of the mic to disperse the air.

A good way to mic vocals is to put the mic about nose level and point towards the mouth. Tell the singer to sing straight ahead and not directly into the mic.

[mixsit]

Originally posted by jmorris
...The pop I'm talking is like if someone sings a word that starts with a P...

But it happens even if it isn't a P?

"I think it may be more a poor use of a compressor or the wrong brand of compressor..."

Yah that's what I was thinking too.
Lower the record level, loose the compressor and see if it goes away.
Wayne

[jmorris]

I've used pop screens,dont help. I think the issue is distortion. I can deal with pops by mic position.It just seems like too hot a signal. Now Im using a tube mic and Telefunken V72a mic preamps. They are tube also. This should not cause it. My level into the recorder is good. Could it be I be distorting the signal into the compressor?

[TexRoadkill]

In my experience it's pretty hard to distort a mic simply from vocal levels. It's easy to distort the preamp but the meters will tell you if that is the case. Tubes have nothing to do with it. To solve the problem you need to isolate the cause.

Take the compressor out of the chain for the sake of troubleshooting.

Distortion from too much level is fuzzy sounding. Too much air is a boomy, popping sound. Which is it?

[jmorris]

Remove the compressor was my thought. The issue with the compressor I use is I dont know what level is going into it. My preamp has no meter so I'm sending an unknown amount of signal to it. I'll take out the compressor and see what in sounds like. By the way ,its is like a fuzzy sound if I had to lable it. If a singer sings loud or screams it tends to be distoprted/ fuzzy.

[TexRoadkill]

Try turning down the mic input level on the pre and see how it sounds. It's possible you may need a new tube or some repairs if the problem occurs at any level.

[sweetnubs]

pop filter, use the royer one. It diffracts the airstream. Mic 30 degrees off axis from the vocalist. Could be distorting the pre, the compressor input, compressor output (make-up gain) or your recording mediums input. What are you recording to? I am assuming your monitoring chain's gain structure is correct and calibrated. Like I tell people many times if you are not sure it's the compressor then don't use the damn thing. You don't know how to use it. Nothing gives me the willies more then seeing somebody sitting at a mixer or a rack unit and they start pressing buttons and turning pots and they have no idea what they do. Tip: never let an intern play with your digital devices, you end up having to factory reset them and you lose tweaked user programs. Thank god for memory cards.

[sweetnubs]

oh yeah, you might need to padding the mic might help to if it none of the other problems.

[mallcore pop]

Originally posted by sweetnubs
. . . never let an intern play with your digital devices, you end up having to factory reset them and you lose tweaked user programs.

I said I was sorry, man, what do you want from me?

[Timmy2000]

Try the mic at nose height. You can get much closer to it that way without the air from the plosives hitting the diaphragm and causing the nasty pops on P's and B's. Doing the 30/45 degree helps as well (air going slightly across diaphragm rather than straight in to it).

Cool thing to do is set up a mic, hit record and then spend some time speaking (including B's, P's etc) and singing in to it from various positions. Slate each take eg. 6 inchs from mic, mouth level, straight on..... 2 inchs from mic, nose level, 30 degrees....etc and then go back and listen to them all. Doesn't take very long and it gives you a good idea of how different ways of addressing the mic change the tonal quality of the sound.

Actually just re-read the thread and noticed this isn't your problem any more - sorry fella......