Looking for WARMER/Richer vocals

  • Thread starter Thread starter gt2008
  • Start date Start date
I see your point, but warm isn't a fantasy word to me. I know exactly what I mean when I say warm, and by the sounds of things, so do a lot of others.

I already got "warmth" with the Presonus, the "warmth" I'm looking for when I mention looking for "warmth," it's just that the added grainy noise that came with it was undesirable.

There is no doubt in my mind that a "warmth" exists and is understodd to exist by many, and so we're probably all talking about the same thing when we reference "warmth," you're just being overly particular of how we label it it seems. It doesn't help my problems. :(
 
They are trying to explain to you that "warmth" is a catch all phrase used by marketing guys and reviewers.

If you want less presence in the high end, what some would call warmth, your best bet is probably a dynamic or ribbon mic. An SM58 can be very warm compared to a typical condensor.
 
I'm gonna repeat. Throw out everything the guy at the store "explained" to you. Remember, he's the one who sold you the grainy sounding presonus piece of crap.

The preamps on the lexicon are the best you're going to do in your price range. You're gonna have to pay a lot to get a real improvement on that end.

Warmth really just does refer to something like the ratio of mid range frequency content to high range frequency content. (Sorry, that's an oversimplification. There's a lot more involved that I don't understand well enough to explain. But for our purposes here it's probably sufficient).

You really could warm up your vocals significantly by going ahead and taking the time to learn about your eq plugins. Once you start to understand eq, it can become a powerful tool for shaping your sounds.

As far as the quick question goes: A piece of shit tube pre can do lots to "enrich" your sound. But that's not really helpful because of the ugly noise it can introduce (you already learned that yourself). Behringer makes a tube mic, but I wouldn't trust it to give you anywhere near the quality you're getting from the mic you already have. A dynamic mic can be gotten for as cheap as ten bucks but, once again, you're not gonna see any sort of usable improvement over the sound you're getting now.

You pay for quality in this as in everything else. Look around, read reviews, take any opportunity you can find to try equipment out - you'll find the ideal
setup.
 
The Cancers said:
I'm gonna repeat. Throw out everything the guy at the store "explained" to you. Remember, he's the one who sold you the grainy sounding presonus piece of crap.
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yeah, asking a GC salesman for advice on how to get professional sounding recordings is like asking a McDonald's cashier how to cook a thanksgiving turkey.
 
bozmillar said:
yeah, asking a GC salesman for advice on how to get professional sounding recordings is like asking a McDonald's cashier how to cook a thanksgiving turkey.
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Or like asking a nun for a handjob...lol.
 
gt2008 said:
Now, it COULD BE that my Lexicon's 48db button was on, I have to see when I go home, because that would be double pre-amping the mic..............
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That's not a 48dB button, that's a 48 volt button.
 
GT

#1 get (or try) an sm7.

#2 If you really love your music, learn about making it better. I mean, just commit and say "fuck it I'm not sleeping this weekend" and lock yourself in the studio and screw around with you eq, compression, reverb and anything else you've got. It takes love, patience, and commitment to make it sound right. Put in the hours, you won't be sorry.

#3 Don't know what you're using for plugs, but I use (and deeply love) bootsy's, and they're free.
 
tc4b said:
GT

#1 get (or try) an sm7.

#2 If you really love your music, learn about making it better. I mean, just commit and say "fuck it I'm not sleeping this weekend" and lock yourself in the studio and screw around with you eq, compression, reverb and anything else you've got. It takes love, patience, and commitment to make it sound right. Put in the hours, you won't be sorry.

#3 Don't know what you're using for plugs, but I use (and deeply love) bootsy's, and they're free.
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I will consider this, and the first response, the best posts in the thread.

Last night, I picked up an M-Audio Profire 610 Audio Interface. It's a plus and a minus.

Plus: It has, in fact, made my mic sound cleaner than the Lexicon.
Minus: A condenser mic causes the gain to have to be almost all the way up, and so there's not much play room as far as mic volume.

I'm going to try those plug ins man, thank you. I also have been told to get Pro Tools. (I use Cool Edit Pro 2.0 and have been for like 6 years). Maybe it's time to shake this cob web off my back, because Cool Edit is slowed with some plug ins.
 
Sit by the fire and spend some time reading about audio techniques (and not just gear reviews)...that should help warm up your vocals.

If that's too much work...you can always try singing by the fire... ;)
 
gt2008 said:
Minus: A condenser mic causes the gain to have to be almost all the way up, and so there's not much play room as far as mic volume.
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What???????:confused::confused::confused:

Well, it's up to you if you've decided you don't want to waste your time learning anything. But, the result of that is not knowing what you're doing or what you're talking about, and then blaming your equipment.:rolleyes:



(Hint: You might want to look up "Phantom Power".....but be careful. You might actually "LEARN" something).
 
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gt2008 said:
A condenser mic causes the gain to have to be almost all the way up, and so there's not much play room as far as mic volume.
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A condensor mic requires less gain than a dynamic mic. A dynamic mic will usually get closer to pinning the gain. You should also be recording at around -9db signal peaks (since you're recording digital). Your average level can be somewhere around -18 dbfs.

I can suggest you get some ribbon mic or an sm7 but I think it bears thought that the answer might not be in new gear; but in how you use the gear you have. Learn to make the best of what you have. Then when it comes time to buy new gear, you can hone in on what you actually need.

I doubt a low end pre is going to add a notable warmth to your signal and an SM 7 may compliment your voice even worse. You can try mic's out at a store and see which one tailors best to your voice.

Good luck sir.
 
I'm using a John Hardy mic pre ($2500) and I don't think it adds one bit of warmth to the sound. Actually I don't think it adds anything to the sound except gain.

Isn't that what it supposed to do?
 
dintymoore said:
I'm using a John Hardy mic pre ($2500) and I don't think it adds one bit of warmth to the sound. Actually I don't think it adds anything to the sound except gain.
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There's pre's popular for their color that they add to the signal. Some are meant to be as pristine and clean gain as possible, some impart a bit of their own flavor on the signal. But let's not digress. :)
 
I have an email in to M-Audio about the Profire 610 needing the Gain knob almost all the way up to give my KSM-32 enough juice.

I DID do my research before the purchase and hands down everywhere said it was an upgrade from my Lexicon Omega.

The mic does sound fuller, when I do get the gain almost at max, and I dig the new sound. It's just that with my Lexicon I had more play with the mic's volume and with this I'm not sure it's going to work out. I'll see what their tech support says.
 
gt2008 said:
I have an email in to M-Audio about the Profire 610 needing the Gain knob almost all the way up to give my KSM-32 enough juice.

I DID do my research before the purchase and hands down everywhere said it was an upgrade from my Lexicon Omega.

The mic does sound fuller, when I do get the gain almost at max, and I dig the new sound. It's just that with my Lexicon I had more play with the mic's volume and with this I'm not sure it's going to work out. I'll see what their tech support says.
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I'm glad you did your research but I'm just not convinced that getting a new m-audio preamp got you that much farther to achieving a warm sound. I'm glad you sense that you've made progress.
 
gt2008 said:
I have an email in to M-Audio about the Profire 610 needing the Gain knob almost all the way up to give my KSM-32 enough juice.
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A couple of questions....

1.) Do you have the gain knobs pulled out...or are they pushed in?

2.) Where do you set your Master volume when you say you have the gain knobs almost all the way up?
 
Erockrazor said:
I'm glad you did your research but I'm just not convinced that getting a new m-audio preamp got you that much farther to achieving a warm sound. I'm glad you sense that you've made progress.
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Oh, Profire 610 definitely sounds fuller than it did with my Lexicon Omega. I am happy with the results. Now I just fear I'm going to run into problems with this Gain-Knob issue. This thing comes with its own Control Panel (on the computer) and the Manual doesn't explain it well(the control panel) whatsoever. I'm thinking it's the control panel where I'll find the answer to my gain problem.

I joined the M-Audio forums and did a search, nothing. So, I posted a thread and also emailed support. We'll see.
 
miroslav said:
A couple of questions....

1.) Do you have the gain knobs pulled out...or are they pushed in?

2.) Where do you set your Master volume when you say you have the gain knobs almost all the way up?
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None of that matters without phantom power..........
 
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