Please help me with my vocal tracks

D

DropD

New member
I'm used to recording guitars and basses, but this is the first time I record vocals. I don't have high-end equipment, they were recorded using a dynamic mic (a good one at least: ATM61HE) through an AKAI mixer as the preamp. I compressed them using the BlueCompressor plugin (don't have an analog compressor yet) with light compression (2.5:1) and gated them with the Cakewalk FX1 Expander/Gate. I don't think they sound bad, I just feel I could make them better. I haven't used any EQ or reverb yet, I want to avoid EQ unless needed and I tried different reverb plug-in (BlueReverb, DSP/FX and the reverb in Cakewalk FX1) and I always get one of those 2 results: 1- it doesn't change a thing, or 2- the reverb is too apparent and make it sound like it was recorded in a church. So anyway, if you have the time, please download
, listen to it and tell me what I could do to improve my vocal tracks, or suggested settings for the reverb plug-ins I have access to. At the same time, if you can provide constructive criticism on the rest of the mix so I can improve it, it would be welcome. I know the vocals are sometimes out of tune, I know I can't change this, but we need this fast to send to a contest.

Also, a live recording of this track can be downloaded at www.mp3.com/dropd/, if you feel like it, check it too.

Thanks!

[This message has been edited by DropD (edited 03-10-2000).]

[This message has been edited by DropD (edited 03-10-2000).]
 
DropD,
First off, I thought the overall recording was quite good. With respect to the vocals, the dynamics sounded a bit squashed to me which can be indicative of overlimiting.(been there, done that, and hated every minute of it) Release setting is the most crucial and therefore takes some experimentation to arrive at the optimum setting for the type of signal being treated. Too short of a release time and you'll experience distortion (i.e., "pumping" and "breathing")whereas too long of a release time and the material sounds dull, lifeless. Also,a 10ms delay has a nice effect on vocals. That's just my two cents worth. Hopefully Sonusman, Recording Engineer will respond to your post and then we'll both learn something.
 
DropD,

Check out this reverb directx plug-in: Timeworks Reverb 4080L. It may not be pro-quality (I'm not sure) but it sure beats the hell out of the Cakewalk FX reverb.

Maybe check out Anteras Auto-Tune directx plug-in for fixing flat notes on vocals (use as a last resort though, can make things sound worse sometimes)
 
I have the Timeworks delay and it sounds pretty good, I should maybe take a look at their reverb.

I tried using an auto-tune plug-in called Voice Tweaker, and instead of making the out-of tune notes in tune with the guitar, it made all the other note out of tune (by like 1-2%, just enough to give an horrible feeling), although we were tuned in 440! Anyway...

Thanks for the tip
 
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