Help With Vocal Sound

M

Milkman

New member
Hey Everyone,

I just got a Rode NT1a for Christmas, and just made a test recording to play around with the sound I was getting.

Here's what I came up with:



Part of a tune I wrote...please ignore the singing, I keep tryin'.

I'm not really happy with this vocal sound but don't know quite how to describe it/fix it. It seems too airy or sibilant or something. There's a touch of reverb on it (preset in Cool Edit Pro). I also don't have real monitors (just stereo) so someone may be able to hear something I'm not.

Any help is appreciated. I'm just trying to evaluate what is wrong with this vocal sound, and how to fix it.

Thanks,

Milkman
 
ehh, i dont know much... but it sounds like your singing through a telephone.

somethings not right ? .. whats your set up
 
Milkman said:
Hey Alec,

Thanks for the reply. Set up is Rode NT1a through Mackie mixer into Audiophile 2496.

Milkman
Click to expand...

How far away from the mic are you? What is your vocal recording space like?It sounds like you're about 4-6 feet away from the mic and you are getting all sorts of reflections from your room. If that's the case, buy a pop filter and get closer. Try singing somewhere about 6-18" from the mic. If you are already doing this, you may have a faulty mic. It definitely shouldn't sound like that. I have an older NT1 and it sounds much better. The mackie mixer preamps probably aren't helping, but I doubt that's your problem here.
 
Thanks scrubs.

I'm recording this in a room next to where my computer is so I don't get all the noise from it. The room is carpetted, drop down ceiling with wood panelling. Lots of book shelves.

It does sound far away and I don't know how to fix that...I have a pop filter on it which I have positioned about 5 inches away from the mic, and I was singing 2 or so inches from the pop filter.

Any more ideas?
 
Is your mixer channel set pretty much flat? It really sounds mid rangy. Sorry to use such technical terms :D
Check you wiring and make sure all the right inputs and outputs are being used. Other than that I don't know what it could be. Does that mic have a low freq roll off switch?
 
Great song man, I really like the piano. How did you rec it? Anyway, like the other said, it sounds like you have alot of wall reflections, and your far away. That's just my take. Sounds great otherwise.
 
Thanks for the help guys.

Keyboard is just direct in. Yea, the mixer EQ is all flat. I'll try again, and see if I can get it sounding better. But it was recorded not too far from the mic.
 
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