Vocal help?

P

pasqualy

New member
im recording vocals with an sm58 running through my berhringer mixer for a pre. whenever ever i add vocals they sound out of place with my instrumental tracks and dont sound in your face ( if that makes sense ). anything i need to do like mic placement or something to get a better sound? :confused:
 
Try recording your vocals "behind" the music and then build them up with additional layers. Without a studio tech, getting your vocals balanced with the instruments is very difficult. Try laying down a vocal track which will be too quiet at first. But then lay down more tracks over your original until you hit the right balance. Sometimes one over-dub will hit it just right.
 
VomitHatSteve said:
I actually use a very similar setup. I compress and double track the vocals to bring them out.
Click to expand...
Yep, compression, double track, and use eq...You can do this on either side of the chain, well except for double tracking the vocal. Be careful when you do this. You need to have two performances that are as close to exact as you can get it. It will sound artificial if you just cut and paste the vocal track to a second track in the mix.


And a great preamp is also a plus! :D
 
falconer1 said:
Try recording your vocals "behind" the music and then build them up with additional layers. Without a studio tech, getting your vocals balanced with the instruments is very difficult. Try laying down a vocal track which will be too quiet at first. But then lay down more tracks over your original until you hit the right balance. Sometimes one over-dub will hit it just right.
Click to expand...
That seems like a lot of work, when a good compressor would do the same thing, and not come out sounding like a chorus...
 
Have you tried a different mic? I prefer an SM 57 over the 58 myself.

Have you tried making room for the vocal track in the mix by notching out some space in the other instruments?
 
Try a condenser

My first advice would be to record vocals with a condenser microphone. Barring that possibility, I would suggest compression and a treble boost.

Compared to other studio microphones commonly used, I've found the sm58 is a bit dark sounding, which is probably just a function of it being a dynamic mic.
 
Something else that helps the vocals feel like they are in the same space is some reverb. Add that after your compression and eq. If it sounds like your vocals were recorded in a box and your guitars in a giant hall, then something is going to say that those don't quite go together. Also, as previously said, make sure you leave a "hole" in the panning scheme.
 
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