crap budget vocals

B

bendbones

Member
Hi all,

I have a track I've been working on, but the vocals sounds really shit. Basically my recording chain is as follows (and I'm a student so can't afford so much).

Guitar / vocal mic into roland vs840 (I use this as a preamp). Headphone output of vs840 into soundcard on mac

Record in logic express

Mixdown

So I only had a really crap shure bg1.1 for the vocals, and they sound really appaling. So bar getting a more expensive mic / preamp /recording interface, does anybody know how I might warm up the vocals/make them sound nicer? Perhaps there is some plugin that I don't know about?



Thanks,
Ben.
 
you can't polish a turd. you need to make adjustments at the source and get that working first.

a good singer in a good room into a decent mic is the first step. that said you can get good results without spending a whole lot you just need the right tool for the job.
 
Hi Bendbones,
The music's got something going for it and is pretty well played, but you're right, that vocal doesn't sound right at all. Maybe your voice just doesn't suit it and there's nothing you can do about it! Or, maybe you need to try to sing in a lower tone or something. At the moment the voice is sounding too tinny and raspy, or nasally even.

Without going and buying a new mic, maybe you should simply experiment with different ways of singing – you know, let yourself go a bit and see what happens, that way you might just hit on a new personal vocal style that does happen to suit this track. If not, then get someone else to sing or turn it into an instrumental.

Dreamer ;)
 
Before you get someone else to sing it (and if you do, that's okay--I do the same thing), I'd get the vocal track back to bare bones so you/we can see what you really have.

For starters, it's either doubled (sang twice--and not very accurately) or you've got some slap back verb or delay on it. In other words, it's too wet. I'd get it dry and right down the middle, and bring it up in the mix some.

Maybe you'll still want a new singer--but you might at least be encouraged by the potential after making those adjustments.
 
Thanks!

Thanks man, that's encouraging and will def try out your suggestion later today. It was double tracked...and yes, badly! If I could want one thing for christmas, it would be to sing better lol

Also, I ran the vocal lines pretty heavily through an autotune plugin.

Ben.
 
bendbones said:
Thanks man, that's encouraging and will def try out your suggestion later today. It was double tracked...and yes, badly! If I could want one thing for christmas, it would be to sing better lol

Also, I ran the vocal lines pretty heavily through an autotune plugin.

Ben.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, I was just thinking the same thing yesterday. I wish a great singing voice were waiting for me under the ol' Christmas tree. I bet it won't be. :(

Guess you and I are both gonna have to work on it if we wanna sing our own stuff, huh? (I think the work is worth it--there's somehting powerful about the lyrics coming out of the mouth that's attached to the heart that wrote 'em.)
 
how about this version?

So I've isolated the vocal line and brought it up a little. Still, feels a little loud to me and generally a bit shit sounding still ;-)



Ben
 
I'm not an expert on this, so can't really comment on what the problem is. Just thought I'd say that I def think the music has something going for it, and if you can sort out the problem with the sound quality, I think it sounds like you've got a decent voice :)
 
second skin said:
you can't polish a turd. you need to make adjustments at the source and get that working first.

a good singer in a good room into a decent mic is the first step. that said you can get good results without spending a whole lot you just need the right tool for the job.
Click to expand...

Well I don't know if you guys watch mythbusters, but they polished a turd...
 
thanks!

LOL re turd polishing and mythbusters...So you really think they're ok? Not too loud...? I mean there is always room for improvement...

Ben.
 
You've got a pretty cool sounding voice, but I don't think it really matches the style of music you're playing. It would sound great doing alt rock (a la Smashing Pumpkins or R.E.M.), but for calm, poppy music like this, it sounds a little out of place.

Though on the background parts, your voice does an excellent job of filling out the tone.

As to making things sound better with your equipment, syballance reduction (de-'s'er) would help. Experiment with EQ to see what sounds good. Maybe apply a little compression to make sure your volume is consistently where you want it.
 
thanks!

Thanks man! Love the nick, vomithatsteve lol...Will certainly take on board your suggestions; have been working on this track since around 8 this morning (now 16:41), so am gonna give my ears a break first and have a sleep....

Ben.
 
sounds to me like you are trying to eq a cheap mic into a good mic. This doesn't generally work and just creates a very fatiguing high end. If you are going to use a cheap microphone, it's better to recognize the limitations and work with them than to try to make it sound like something that it isn't.

In other words, I think you have too much eq on the vocals, and a lot of the instruments as well.
 
i bet the problem is the recording chain/room more than it is your actual voice. also some of the layers are not lining up too well and it sounds like that auto tune plug is doing some wierd things.

still through when the voice is by itself it sounds kind of like a kazoo. sorry to sound like a broken record but my first instincts say to try a different mic and make sure that the space you are recording in isn't screwing things up too much as well as adjusting the placement withing that space

some very unique voices have been made to fit into otherwise "regular" music over the years.
 
Hi again,
I've just had another listen and it's better, but still sounds odd to me. The vocals seem like they're singing to a different song in a strange sort of way. Difficult to pinpoint the real culprit, but maybe your voice really is suited to other styles.

The music's very good and it isn't that you've got a bad voice, but it just feels like it needs to be lower, more rounded, or warmer somehow. How you achieve that with your current equipment is the real question. There are others here who should be able to help you more than me, with the technical side of things.

Hope you find the answer,
Dreamer :confused:
 
Leave it

The vocal isn't bad and it strikes me as an effect. If you can get the mix to spread out a little bit frequency wise I think it works fine.

Solve what you perceive to be a problem, by all means. But I vote to leave the vocal on this one alone.
 
Thanks for all the great advice

Hi all, thanks for all the great advice - I slept from 1700 to 2230 earlier now its 03:16 thurs morning and can't sleep lol...Oh well...

sounds to me like you are trying to eq a cheap mic into a good mic. This doesn't generally work and just creates a very fatiguing high end. If you are going to use a cheap microphone, it's better to recognize the limitations and work with them than to try to make it sound like something that it isn't.

In other words, I think you have too much eq on the vocals, and a lot of the instruments as well.
Click to expand...

Bozmillar - you'd be absolutely correct in your thinking. What would those limitations of working with a cheap mic be? How should I successfully work with it and prevent a fatiguing high end sound?

So is the vocal eq lending to too bright a sound? Too harsh? Not warm enough? WIll have another crack when I've slept properly ;-)

still through when the voice is by itself it sounds kind of like a kazoo. sorry to sound like a broken record but my first instincts say to try a different mic and make sure that the space you are recording in isn't screwing things up too much as well as adjusting the placement withing that space
Click to expand...

LOL second skin...like a kazoo; that really aptly sums it up I think...Damn I wish I could sing better...The mic I used is the only one I have. Its a budget dynamic one, cost 30 quid around 10 or so years ago. Perhaps its time for me to buy a new one! :-)

I've just had another listen and it's better, but still sounds odd to me. The vocals seem like they're singing to a different song in a strange sort of way. Difficult to pinpoint the real culprit, but maybe your voice really is suited to other styles.
Click to expand...

Thanks dreamer7....I know they do sure sound odd, I think its just because I'm a crap singer and its difficult for me to put any expression in to what I'm singing without the pitch messing up (hence the use of autotune plugin). Its v difficult for me to sing consistently a single note...I need to practice I think ;-)

The music's very good and it isn't that you've got a bad voice, but it just feels like it needs to be lower, more rounded, or warmer somehow. How you achieve that with your current equipment is the real question. There are others here who should be able to help you more than me, with the technical side of things.
Hope you find the answer,
Click to expand...

Thanks again...I will look into it. Basically I am learning Logic as I record this. I also use Izotope Ozone to add some shine to the overall mix (during mix down) and did experiment using it with the vocals a little but to no avail. Also, there is a lot of hiss on the vocal track...again a sign of using shit preamp and bad mic. I did have to use a noise gate fairly extensively and you can hear the effect in the first verse (can't remember exactly where)....

The vocal isn't bad and it strikes me as an effect. If you can get the mix to spread out a little bit frequency wise I think it works fine.

Solve what you perceive to be a problem, by all means. But I vote to leave the vocal on this one alone.
Click to expand...

Thanks supercreep - think I will experiment with it a little. But when you say the vocal is an effect? LOL, when I write a piece of software and it performs badly I might call it 'feature' of the system. Is that what you mean?

Thanks!
Ben.
 
No. I mean that the doubled vocal doesn't sound accidentally cheap. It sounds like the sound was achieved deliberately.

That may not be the case, but I think the vocal survives scrutiny and suits the song well.

YMMV.
 
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