Vox Help!

[fierojoe]

Hey guys, I recorded my sister a couple days ago doing a demo of The Star Spangled Banner to send to the Cleveland Indians (they really want to hear her). I am having a problem with esses! I have never encountered this problem before with my setup and I really can't seem to get them gone without sacrificing quality. She is the first female vocalist that I have recorded with this system though... I was running an Oktava MK319 mic through an ART TubeChannel pre and direct into my computer to Acid Pro. Take a listen and tell me if any of you can figure out what went wrong. Thanks!

http://www.ricewarsthegame.com/luke/anthem.mp3 - 3.5M @ 1:33 Running Time 320KBit

[TripleM]

I didn't think the S's sounded all that bad. There are such things as deessers, but since I don't usually have sibalance problems I don't know much about them. Personally, I wouldn't sweat it on this one. The S's seemed ok.

There was some preamp hum going on. Maybe it was recorded too hot? Maybe turn down the gain and have your sister get a bit closer to the mic.

A small pitch issue at :24. Slight one at :47. If your software allows you to punch in or edit from another take, I'd recommend fixing those. Not sure about the pronounciation of the word "stripes" - she kind of says "schtripes." I don't know if that will detract from the recording or not...

I think she has a good, powerful voice. She seems better than a lot of people I've heard sing at baseball games. I'm a White Sox fan though. Booo Indians.

[Pedullist]

Good job! Indeed, you can try to fix the silibances. Perhaps rolling some off the highs might help enough. It's not really bothering me, but it can be fixed.

I'm pretty sure Trip means a slight pitch issue at 0:34 not 0:24....

[DonF]

I think the pronunciation ("schtripes" and "schtreaming") is a far larger issue than the sibilance, which I don't find objectionable at all, and the hum. I think the vocalist would benefit a lot from improved breath control. She has a very appealing, pretty sound to her voice, but seems like she's constantly running out of air.

Overall, it is a very good recording which is probably adequate for the purpose you stated.

[participant]

Originally posted by fierojoe
Hey guys, I recorded my sister a couple days ago doing a demo of The Star Spangled Banner to send to the Cleveland Indians (they really want to hear her). I am having a problem with esses! I have never encountered this problem before with my setup...

... I was running an Oktava MK319 mic through an ART TubeChannel pre

Could be as simple as mic selection. From experience, I know that an SM57 makes me sound like a lithpy lil pillow biter... but crawdad from this board swears by 'em as vocal mics. And he sounds hetero thru em!

Do you have any other mics available for her to try?

How are you positioning the mic, before we talk about that? Have you tried aiming the capsule at the bridge of her nose, about 6 inches out and 12 inches above? Slight adjustments in mic position, esp. with large diaphragm mics, can give dramatic differences in tone.

BTW enjoyed the angry-face on your post classic


Chad

[fierojoe]

Hey guys, we have re-recorded the song with some of your suggestions. Let me know what you think of this.

http://www.ricewarsthegame.com/luke/anthem2.mp3 - 3.6M @ 1:34 Running Time 320KBit

We stuck her a little closer to the mic and backed off of the gain a little, and we also used a Rode NT1 in place of my Oktava MK319, and then we also pointed it at her nose.

[Prozkgrl]

Absolutely beautiful! The second mix is much, much better! I think she's a shoe in for the job!

[chrisharris]

Pretty damned nice.

That our flag "WAS" still there...she's barely sharp...I mean, close...but not quite. I'd have her resing it, b/c there's just NO margin for error in this piece, and it's damned good.

Wish her luck from a new fan, lol.