Microphones for someone with a poor voice

[sonofabit]

greetings all, I'm happy to have discovered this forum as I'm finally dedicating time to getting back into my "studio" and producing some music...

one thing that has always concerned me is my voice. I HATE my voice...

now I can sing FAIRLY well; that is, i'm not tone-deaf. I can carry a tune, and can sing on key.

what I mean when I say I hate my voice is I hate the SOUND of my voice. there's no resonance, there's no power or boom, it sounds flat (not in pitch, but empty), hollow, boring!!

So I'd like to be able to record and use effects on my voice, because the music I produce is electronic. I like a nice "telephone" effect with some light distortion, and when I get that layered, I'm usually pretty pleased!

but right now all I have is a Nady SPC-25 I got a few years ago. I'm wondering if, since I'm not really trying to capture my voice as it is, I should bother upgrading

and if I should, to what?

are there any microphones out there designed for enhancing vocals that will be fx processed?

this is one aspect of recording I know the least about... but I know I want to sing, I just need to find the right "sound" for my voice.

if you have any suggestions for great effects chains, I'd appreciate that too!

 

[Washburn100]

Most people hate the sound of their own voice. Don't let that stop you.

But to answer your question, here's my opinion. Effects are applied after recording, so get the best, cleanest, uncolored vocal take, then start playing with effects.

 

[Washburn100]

To add,

Also, during the recording process, some people sing much better with effects, so if you can record the dry signal, but apply whatever you need to make it sound good to you (monitoring) while recording, that's ok. The thing is to have that dry take so you can add effects and manipulate to taste!

 

[sonofabit]

To add,

Also, during the recording process, some people sing much better with effects, so if you can record the dry signal, but apply whatever you need to make it sound good to you (monitoring) while recording, that's ok. The thing is to have that dry take so you can add effects and manipulate to taste!

first of all, thanks for your reply!

i totally relate to what you've just said, and this is indeed the process I take when recording. I always get a dry sound then add effects. I'm just wondering if I should worry about upgrading my cheapo mic (it had really glowing reviews at the time and was well within my limited budget) since I'm going to distort the sound significantly anyway...

I have a budget of up to $200 but the more I think about it, the more I feel like I should just use what I got as best as I can...

thanks again for your input

 

[Washburn100]

Great people on this forum, explain everything you have, want , desire, and we can help.

OK, Somebody make some more cool-aid!!!!

 

[Washburn100]

first of all, thanks for your reply!

. I'm just wondering if I should worry about upgrading my cheapo mic
thanks again for your input

Sorrry I didn't read this more carefully. Drunk, PISSSSSSEd should we say????

Yes, get a better mic, condenser, but don't sell the far. I use an MXL(() (about $75) and it is fantastic. It's not the mic, it's the type (condenser) and the application.

Can't remember, what is your interface??

 

[moresound]

Great people on this forum, explain everything you have, want , desire, and we can help.

OK, Somebody make some more cool-aid!!!!

With or without the strychnine?

 

[Washburn100]

Jeeesh,
The kids today don't understand and when you tell then they have they the attention span of an ameoba!

Watch this:

FREE LYRICS, NO ROYALTY ATTACHED. BECOME A STAR::

I like eels, except as meals, and the way they feels.

Look out inbox, you are about to take a beating!!

Why have people become so stupid. Perhaps - " the dope"-

 

[sonofabit]

Sorrry I didn't read this more carefully. Drunk, PISSSSSSEd should we say????

Yes, get a better mic, condenser, but don't sell the far. I use an MXL(() (about $75) and it is fantastic. It's not the mic, it's the type (condenser) and the application.

Can't remember, what is your interface??

I think I might have skipped that, sorry. I'm using an M-Audio Fast Track Pro. Has two xlr inputs, here are the specs from maudio:

Input Impedance 2.7k
Ohms unbalanced, 5.4k Ohms balanced

Maximum Input Level
from +24dBu @ min gain, pad on to -40dBu @ max gain, no pad

Channel-to-Channel Crosstalk
< -110dB

SNR
-101dB, A-weighted

Dynamic Range
101dB, A-weighted

THD+N
0.005% (-86dB) @ -1dBFS, 1kHz

Frequency Response
20Hz to 20kHz, +/- 0.1dB

Pre-amp
Gain >40dB

Pad
-20dB pad

Is what I'm doing to the vocals of no consequence when it comes to the mic?

Like I said I know least of mics than anything else, and what I hear is that your voice can sound different on different mics, but I've never liked the way my voice sounds on any of them. always ends up sounding like I'm singing on a karaoke machine

 

[TyphoidHippo]

I feel like I should just use what I got as best as I can...

thanks again for your input

I am strongly of the opinion that one should use what they have until they actually know *what* it is they want to gain from upgrading. Just going out and buying *something* hoping that *something* gets better is, in my opinion, foolish. People only do that with audio stuff because there's this whole voodoo mystique built up about how xxx is better than yyy because of it's "vintage tone", "smooth warmth", and other words that don't actually mean anything.

Now - that said - after looking up that Nady, and seeing that it's one of those condenser types that doesn't actually need phantom-power, I'm not so sure. I've never heard of anybody successfully recording vocals with a mic like that, and certainly never even had the inclination to try it for myself. With any luck mshilarious will come in here and school us all on what those mics are best for, where they shine, where they blow, and most importantly - how you can tell if it's working for you. He's kind of a mic-genius, heh...

In the meantime - do you have a recording we can hear?

 

[sonofabit]

I am strongly of the opinion that one should use what they have until they actually know *what* it is they want to gain from upgrading. Just going out and buying *something* hoping that *something* gets better is, in my opinion, foolish. People only do that with audio stuff because there's this whole voodoo mystique built up about how xxx is better than yyy because of it's "vintage tone", "smooth warmth", and other words that don't actually mean anything.

I'm right on board with this. I don't want to waste time trying to find the "perfect" setup when I don't know what I'm doing; I want to INVEST time writing MUSIC when I get better, just as you said, when I understand what's missing, THEN I'll be in a better position to upgrade

I'm just wondering if, considering how much I dislike my voice, if there's any immediate benefit or a specific kind of mic I could easily move to...

Now - that said - after looking up that Nady, and seeing that it's one of those condenser types that doesn't actually need phantom-power, I'm not so sure. I've never heard of anybody successfully recording vocals with a mic like that, and certainly never even had the opportunity to try it for myself. With any luck mshilarious will come in here and school us all on what those mics are best for, where they shine, where they blow, and most importantly - how you can tell if it's working for you. He's kind of a mic-genius, heh...

the nady needs a AA battery to run, it gets power from that...

In the meantime - do you have a recording we can hear?

I've written a few songs a few years back just here and there to mess around, but it isn't until this year that I've finally started with lyrics. I HAD something but I really didn't like it so I junked it. when my new headphones get here next week (another story) I'm going to try again. I'd love to get feedback from a rough cut at that point...

thanks again

 

[TyphoidHippo]

the nady needs a AA battery to run, it gets power from that...

lol. I've never even heard of that. How many volts is a AA supposed to supply? Like 1.5 or so, right? Considering that vs the 48 from normal phantom power has my head spinning about what's going on with that mic, and what kind of real, concrete difference it may entail that may or may not suggest that you really should get a different microphone... I have a sick feeling that ms or dgatwood's gonna come in here and say that because of the angular velocity of pluto during the winter solstice that they're actually using equal voltage and I'll feel retarded for considering the difference... it usually goes about like that.

I'm curious about this question:

are there any microphones out there designed for enhancing vocals that will be fx processed?

The answer is almost certainly no, but I'm still curious as to exactly what you're getting at.

 

[sonofabit]

lol. I've never even heard of that. How many volts is a AA supposed to supply? Like 1.5 or so, right? Considering that vs the 48 from normal phantom power has my head spinning about what's going on with that mic, and what kind of real, concrete difference it may entail that may or may not suggest that you really should get a different microphone... I have a sick feeling that ms or dgatwood's gonna come in here and say that because of the angular velocity of pluto during the winter solstice that they're actually using equal voltage and I'm retarded for considering the difference... it usually goes about like that.

lol well it's the nature of the internet, but I'll take any insight I can get. as for the battery, well I don't know what to say, I know less about engineering than I do about microphones

I was just about to buy a shure sm57 when I was like "what is this REALLY going to differently for me than the Nady?"

and I didn't know how to answer the question... so I came here

 

[miroslav]

Microphones for someone with a poor voice

 

[TyphoidHippo]

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"You guys know how like... in cheap movies, everybody acts totally unnatural? Ok, that's kind of what we want, but multiply it by, like... a billion".

 

[moresound]

Jeeesh,
The kids today don't understand and when you tell then they have they the attention span of an ameoba!

Watch this:

FREE LYRICS, NO ROYALTY ATTACHED. BECOME A STAR::

I like eels, except as meals, and the way they feels.

Look out inbox, you are about to take a beating!!

Why have people become so stupid. Perhaps - " the dope"-

These are free lyrics?coolieo...can I have them?

 

[TyphoidHippo]

I was just about to buy a shure sm57 when I was like "what is this REALLY going to differently for me than the Nady?"

You are more wise than most, sir. I can tell you with great certainty that there's not much an sm57 can't do. I had quite a few of them when I did live sound, just because they always seem to spit out a usable signal no matter what they're pointed at. No hassle - just work.

Now that I don't do that anymore, and really only record people occasionally - I've gradually just sold them off and given them away as I noticed I was never using them anymore. Something else always seemed to win-out in the initial testing before recording. I don't know if you find that useful - just saying that (in my opinion, of course) they're seriously well-rounded mics that do fine on practically anything (wouldn't reach for one for a room mic on a harp performance, or anything, but anything common, you know what I mean), but don't really seem to do anything great (except maybe rack-toms - good god they're great for that)...that's been my experience, at least.

and I didn't know how to answer the question... so I came here

Well we're glad to have ya!

 

[XLR]

Only way to tell what mic will work well for your voice is to try them. What works for person x might be crap for person y.

You can use proximity effect to your advantage with a cardioid mic to get a richer, fatter sound. How close you need to be depends on the mic. You can also change the response of a mic by changing the angle at which its diaphragm is facing you, and changing the mic's position relative to your mouth.

Compression, EQ and tape saturation emulation plugs can add beef to the sound also.

Oh, and someone was talking about condenser mic's that use batteries being a problem - an AA battery can power a condenser mic just fine.

 

[TyphoidHippo]

Oh, and someone was talking about condenser mic's that use batteries being a problem - an AA battery can power a condenser mic just fine.

Nobody said they were a problem - I was just wondering what, if any, significant difference it made. I've never heard of anybody using a AA-powered mic to record vocals.

 

[moresound]

Only way to tell what mic will work well for your voice is to try them. What works for person x might be crap for person y.

You can use proximity effect to your advantage with a cardioid mic to get a richer, fatter sound. How close you need to be depends on the mic. You can also change the response of a mic by changing the angle at which its diaphragm is facing you, and changing the mic's position relative to your mouth.

Compression, EQ and tape saturation emulation plugs can add beef to the sound also.

Oh, and someone was talking about condenser mic's that use batteries being a problem - an AA battery can power a condenser mic just fine.

Battery powered mic then add phantom seams to give it a little more of an edge!