help recording female vocalist

K

kci

New member
i don't care how long the explaination is or it's step by step or what i need help!!!!! i'm asking anybody for different type of recording techniques for a female vocalist. to help you out even more she's a high altoe but shows signs of being a soprano. if anyone can help me out please do!!!!!!!!


thankz
 
How about some details, such as:

- equipment you have

- physical description of the studio

- style of music, other instruments involved, etc.

- budget, if anything is required
 
I record female and male vocals the same depending on the "power" of their voice. There's nothing special to it. Tell us what problems you're running into , and we'll help you. The problem probably isn't what you think.
 
well i'm in a 20 by 60 room area and i have my mic right next to my computer (can't afford sound proofing for a booth) the type of program i use is adobe audition 1.5 , i have a MXL 990 condenser mic, and my pc is cheap ($539.00)
so is my output but it's stable. I have a Behringer Eurorack UB502 mixer which connects my mic to my pc i use pro audio headphones so that there won't be too much noise caught on the mic. i have a Nady pop filter in front of my mic but i wish i had a better sound card 4 real. i just want her vocals to be smooth, she's an r&b artist. i want her voice to be as smooth as alicia keys trust me she can sing that good.
 
you want it to be smooth but what does it sound like now? to thin? thats the kind of problem that will have you getting a whole 'nother setup. i dont think you could get the alicia keys quality out of that mic and that mixer if alicia was singing into it herself. (i own the UB802) however a little playing with the eq maybe getting a compressor could help. for a makeshift vocal booth you might want to try a couple of those oriental room dividers...i dont know the actual name for them but they are the things that you see in some movies where a woman goes behind it and gets dressed and tosses her clothes or towel over the side of it. you can pick up one at walmart.
 
yes toooo thin, i mean i double but then it sound unnatural her vioce sounds too computerized ya know it's like a robot singer with 5 others backing him up lol any advice
 
How far does she sing from the mic? If there's room to move closer, try that. Beware of hiss & pops, even with the filter. Position the mic upside down, slightly above her mouth, but have her sing looking straight ahead--don't have her tilt her head up at the mic.
 
I had that problem for ages until I got a compressor/Limiter (alessis). I never use the noise gate on it though. Don't compress her voice "flat," cuz you'll probably have a more squished version of what you're already dealing with. You'll NEVER find a singer who will stay in the same position for even one verse, let a lone the whole song. If they do it effects their singing because now you've divided their attention. For the best vocal takes, you want them to forget their being recorded, even if you have to turn the lights off and record them while they think it's a practice take; they usually put alot more "ass" into practices than the real thing.
I use Hard Knee compression ususally set at 6:1 or so, very fast attack and pretty fast release, but the threshold I like to keep at about 10:00 on mine (it's not in front of me and I can't remember the exact settings). What this does is allows for normal dynamics but "grabs" the vocal and starts to even it out at a certain point. With vocals I ALWAYS record the track with compression via the insert on the channel. I even compress it again later when I add verbs & delays (when desired) & it never sounds over-compressed or hissy. If any hiss is added (i'm sure there is) is eaten up by verb and the backround track.
Much can be said for EQ as well, you'll have to play with it since every voice is different.

Also, I have singers that sound great live through a PA, and fabulas when sitting next to you at church, but when end up thin on "tape" because they might sing alot through their nose. Obviously, positioning a mic to only get her mouth is missing the rest of the stuff from her nose, you might play with that too, just be careful of wind & breathing. But most important is to get her sing with "balls," she just might be chocking when the record button is hit.
 
A lot of folks are going to hate me for saying this, but don't use a condenser mic for vocalists. Condensers are good for recording concerts. They're also pretty deccent for recording things like pianos (oddly enough). However, in general, they're best for being a good distance away from a fairly loud subject. They are, in particular, not designed for close micing.

The worst thing you can use a condenser mic for is a solo vocalist. Condenser mic elements output a much lower level than dynamic elements, and thus contain a built-in pre-preamp circuit in the mic itself. That's why they require power. The problem is that those in-mic amp circuits have a degree of "self-noise". The amount varies from mic to mic. That self-noise is masked by complex or loud audio signals like a saxophone, a piano, a rhythm section, a choir, etc., but with a solo vocalist, it tends to overwhelm the signal that you're trying to record.

Condenser mics also tend to have a very flat response, which is usually not what you want for a vocalist. Of course, you can compensate for that a lot with proper equalization (get a good parametric EQ plug-in if you don't have one already), but it's a lot easier to have a mic that's actually designed for recording vocals rather than trying to "fix it in post". :-)

If you have a lot of money, you might find ribbon mics nice, but I haven't ever had enough money to try one, so I can't give an opinion there.

Anyway, my advice is to find yourself a decent dynamic mic. If you're going for low-cost, I'd recomment a Shure PG58 or even a 565SD (eBay). Other folks will have different opinions, I'm "Shure", but in any case, definitely get something dynamic. With any half-way decent dynamic mic, you should be able to EQ it and make it sound solid.

Just my $0.02.
 
I have no idea where Dgatwood acquired his wealth of misinformation, but I'll let the technogeeks here have him for breakfast. Virtually none of what he said is true. First of all, the majority of top vocal recordings of the last 30 years have been done with condensers. Self noise is a function of microphone design, as well as the quality and condition of the mic. That said, it is true that good dynamic mics can work very well for recording vocals, and they are cheaper than good condensers. Top examples include Shure SM7B, Sennheiser MD441, and Electrovoice EV RE16 and RE20.
Understand this, though. I don't usually bash people's gear, and I understand that we all have budgets. I also understand that the way gear is used is a HUGE factor. Your expectations, however, are unrealistic. You have an absolutely awful mic, plugged into one of the cheapest mixers on earth, into an obsolete sound card, and you want to know why you can't make her sound like Alicia Keys!!??.
I don't believe Sir George Martin or Al Schmitt could make Alicia Keys sound like Alicia Keys with that signal chain. You need a vocal mic, a preamp, an analog to digital convertor, and a good room. Even for the entry level, expect the mic to be $700-$2500, the preamp to be $500-$1000 per channel, and the A-D box to be around $700 for 2 channels. The sound you seek is not created by the machine used to record it, it's created by the front end used to capture it. General suggestions for mid-priced gear that works- Mic- AT4060 preamp- Great River ME-1NV Convertor- Lucid AD2496.
Like I said, I'm not busting your balls, I'm giving you a reality check. Over the last 3 years, I've sunk about $35,000 into gear, and only in the last few months have I been able to achieve what you are talking about. That is a function of a lot of gear, and three years of experience. For cheap- almost anything you go to would upgrade your signal chain. Try a Marshall MXL V67 into an M-Audio DMP-3 into an M-Audio 2496 sound card. It won't sound like Alicia Keys, or any other top recording artist, but it *will* sound better. Sell your mixer and the MXL990 for whatever you can get for them. Good Luck-Richie
 
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