Arrrgh! Can't seem to get a decent vocal souond anymore...

octoruss

octoruss

New member
I don't know if I'm losing my mind or if something in my signal chain is malfunctioning, but I can't seem to get a decent, warm vocal track, no matter what adjustments I make to my gear. I'm recording through a Neumann TLM103, dbx386 tube digital preamp (with Telefunken tubes!!) into my Roland 1680 so I got the gear, but just not the sound....

Don't mind me while I complain....
 
Well now.. it sounds like all your equipment is grossly defective... You might as well just get rid of it... speaking of which... I offer a "used gear disposal service" completely free of charge.. just send it to me and I'll "dispose" of it properly.

WATYF

:D
 
Don't fret...

First things first, is your room controlled? If not, get crackin'. Take care of some of those early reflections, and any extraneous noise. If your room doesn't sound "warm, round, sweet, or whatever," acoustically, neither will your vocals. Concentrate on your mic technique. Control your siblance and your fricatives as well as your distance in relation to volume increases and you decrease your need for a compressor and any reparitive processing.

Try singing into the TLM103 about 6" away, 30deg (or so) off axis, pop filter about 1" away from your mouth angled away from your mouth towards your nose a little. IIRC the TLM103 is cardioid only, so you don't need to worry about other patterns.

Set the 386 drive at about 11:30 and the output to whatever is getting you good level. As you are singing, move around the mic a little, this will help you find the right axis that sounds best on your voice.

Oh yeah, engage the lo-cut on the mic or the pre and see which one sounds best. You don't need those frequencies.

Add salt to taste.

Tom Cram
dbx Senior Technical Support
(801) 568-7530
tcram@dbxpro.com

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.
-Noam Chomsky-
 
Good avice Tom , but If I may add something, If you were getting a good result before, look to what has changed in your tecniques since your results have gone south.
 
Did you try
... other microfoon ???
(moister and dirt can f**ck up you mic )

.. other mic input on the vs ??

.. sample rate/dither on the pre ??

.. other pre ???
the vs machine got its own pre's , try that just for the test

hope this helps

remco
 
Maybe you are getting more critical..Your listening skills are getting "fine tuned" and you are hearing much more than before{nuance}..Or you broke something LOL

Don
 
Octoruss, now they're just torturing you. Please tell me about your telefunken tubes. I got a 386 and am very interested in potential upgrades. More info please.- Did it sound right before with *exactly* the same gear? It has been wicked humid in the Boston area and your Neumann may need drying out. Some have suggested an oven on low, but I know nothing personally about this, and sure as hell would sweat before I baked a Neumann.
If there is a change in gear, tell us about it (?telefunken tubes).
By the way, I've heard your voice on previous recordings. How much drive are you using on the DBX? I've had my best luck with moderate drive (1 o'clock), but every voice is different. BTW, is it just *your* voice, or everybody's? Could be just aging and the ravages of a misspent youth.-Richie
 
Are you recording your own voice, or is one particular singer you have worked with lately been causing these headaches?
I sometimes struggle with some singers that don`t sound good on almost any mics, some voices can be really hard to capture right.

Amund
 
Thanks for the thoughts folks. I honestly don't know what it is. I'm not doing anything different than what I did before, at least nothing that I know of. Richie, you could be right--maybe it is extra condensation on the Neumann. I know the Rode manuals state to always keep the mic in the box with the silica gel packet--something I don't always do with my Neumnn...

Maybe the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes will do the trick...
 
I just bought a new mic and had the same problem......... its like learning to record vocs all over again........ .......but we trudge onward...........:(
 
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