Damn Man!! I Cant Get My Vocals To Clear Up!!

T

thasoprano

New member
www.myspace.com/thasoprano732

you be the judge

im workin wit

mxl studio condenser mic 2003

alesis 6track usb mixer

cool edit



...anyone kind enough to explain to me what the knobs on the first row of my mixer really do? cause i have them set to the middle except echo...maybe that has sumthin to do with it....but i am really trying to clear up on my vocals, it shouldnt be sounding this garbage....i record in a closet btw.....
 
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good music...
i dont normally like rap r&b or hip hop what not, but i like your song.
um...i really dont know what the problem is, but i would just like to say good music
 
I'm at home on my slow mountain phone connection so I can't listen at the moment. I'm not kidding... it's 24k tops out here. :(

In general, vocals can be cleared a bit by using an equalizer (EQ) to cut (turn down) some of the low-mid frequences (500hz or so) and boost some higher frequencies (2,000hz, maybe). You have to hunt around a bit to find the exact freqeuncies, then you cut or boost only as much as you need to.

As for your mixer... I don't use Cool Edit so I can't give you any specific advice except to look though the manual or online documentation for something like a "getting started" or "First Steps" section. Hopefully someone who knows the program will come along and be more specific.

You said you keep everything in the middle. Safe, and a good way to start. The first thing you'll want to find on that mixer is the "Pan" control- it moves the sound from one speaker to the other. When its in the middle the sound seems like its coming from right between the speakers.

If you have everything panned to the middle... its VERY difficult to get it all sounding clear. Everything fights for space in that tiny little bit of space right in the middle and you might as well just have one speaker. In most pop productions the only things that are dead center are the lead vocals, the bass drum, the snare, and maybe the bass. EVERYTHING else is either just off center of way off center! Then the trick is to get the mix sounding balanced- with neither side being much louder than the other.

That's one way of clearing up space in the middle for the vocals to be more apparent. If you have any stereo tracks make sure each side is panned to the correct side.

Take care,
Chris
 
I can't listen either but read up on complimentary eq. It might well be the case that there is other stuff going on in your mix that is 'sharing' some of the prominent frequencies in the vocal track. So you need to ascertain what these frequencies are and cut them back a bit on the source/s that are interfering and boost it a bit on the vocal. To put it another way you need to carve out a space for the vocal.

It's pretty much the same as what Chris said with panning but instead of making space in the stereo field you're making space for each track within the spectrum of frequencies in your mix.

Compression can also be useful with a vocal to push it to the front of a mix.

The first few posts in this thread might be generally useful:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=155915&highlight=sonusman
 
I agree, a little bit of "playing" with the EQ can do a lot for clearing up vocals. Trim the lower frequencies, try a little (very little) listen then trim more if nessassary. Boost the high mids, once again just a little at a time untill you get it to clear up. A little compression might help to bring out the vocals more after you get them sounding as clear as possible. Another thing you might try is to back away from the mic a couple of more inches, this sounds simple but it does make a difference. Recording is a little different from live where you normaly get really cloce to the mic.
 
I haven't listend either, sorry, but...

condensers can be very accurate at revealing the room, and the echos. if you have muddy vocals, it could also be from the stuff bouncing around the room. What is your space like? Try recording you rnext vocals in a closet with lots of clothes to baffle and absorbe some of the sound.

Daav
 
There is no secret, really, except for recording them clearly to begin with and doing as little in the processing stage as possible that might destroy the clarity. The things you need to focus on are the sound of your recording space, mic, preamp, and soundcard/interface -- in that order. If your recordings are muddy, you probably need more bass trapping in your closet. From the song I listened to, it sounds like you're doubling everything, panning all the vocals to the middle, and smashing the crap out of them with compression. That equals mud most of the time. Try a single lead vocal and only double certain words. For your doubles, try a different mic. Use a low-cut filter as high as you need (100-250Hz) it to get rid of mud. Notch out some eq in the backing track in the range of your voice to make room for the vocal to "sit."
 
Trying to hear any real fidelity through MySpace's wonderful player is like trying to ski on sand.

That being said -

The vocals don't exactly sound "bad" from what I can hear.

I'd start by reading the manual on the mixer and experimenting. I'd imagine also that the preamps are going to be relatively shoddy in that board... Your mic (which is somewhat decent) is only ever going to sound as good as the preamp allows it to. The effects in the mixer are rather noisy and not that great sounding. Same with the EQ.

Come to think of it, just get rid of the mixer and get a decent stand-alone preamp. That'll probably make more of a difference than you'd expect.
 
scrubs said:
There is no secret, really, except for recording them clearly to begin with and doing as little in the processing stage as possible that might destroy the clarity. The things you need to focus on are the sound of your recording space, mic, preamp, and soundcard/interface -- in that order. If your recordings are muddy, you probably need more bass trapping in your closet. From the song I listened to, it sounds like you're doubling everything, panning all the vocals to the middle, and smashing the crap out of them with compression. That equals mud most of the time. Try a single lead vocal and only double certain words. For your doubles, try a different mic. Use a low-cut filter as high as you need (100-250Hz) it to get rid of mud. Notch out some eq in the backing track in the range of your voice to make room for the vocal to "sit."
Click to expand...


ok u right i had em all set in the middle lol...but please expla,in to me

how should i set em up...i got a high, mid and a low knob....
 
thasoprano said:
EQ knobs, that is
Click to expand...

Well, no one can tell you that. Personally, the only EQ I regularly add while tracking vocals is some low-cut (below 80-100Hz). I don't know where the notch is set on your mixer, but you're probably better off using parametric EQ in cool edit, rather than the graphic eq's on your mixer, as parametric EQ's are more precise.

Also, work on your mic positioning to get as close as you can to the sound you want while tracking. Don't rely too heavily on EQ to "fix" problems, especially with vocals, as excessive EQ will tend to sound bad.
 
yep

scrubs said:
Don't rely too heavily on EQ to "fix" problems, especially with vocals, as excessive EQ will tend to sound bad.
Click to expand...

Generally with EQ, less is more - if you can get away with barely touching it that's great! Making things sound as good as possible during tracking is the first step. Then, if necessary, you can dip out some problem frequencies during mixing - and it's better to take away problem frequencies than to add a boost in frequencies that are lacking - for example, if you find your sound is too muddy, take away a bit of low end rather than adding some high end.
 
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