Loud singer microphone etiquette question

[acoustichris]

So I am relatively new to recording. The singer I am record with has a BOOMING voice and we are recording in a tiny space ( it's the size of an outhouse). I am using an AT2020 large diaphragm mic with a pop shield. I use Garageband as my DAW and an Inspire 1394 as my interface. Because I pretty much don't know what I am doing, I asked him to stand very far away from the mic because when he was standing close the sound was becoming distorted when he hit his loud notes. He was saying he didn't want to sacrifice his performance for the sake of sound quality. I told him in some of the other tunes we have recorded, his voice gets distorted. He said he didn't notice it and no one else would.

Is there a way around this?

Is this on me to fix the problem or him to tone down his vocals a little bit since we are in a small space and I am inexperienced?

Thanks guys.

 

[FunkDaddy]

It's on him to learn proper mic technique. He sounds like an idiot to be quite honest. Is he a paying customer? If so, tell him you've informed him that the recording quality will suffer but it's his choice. If you're doing it for your own reel/experience, tell him he can give you what you want or find somebody else.

That said, he shouldn't be "standing" away from the microphone. He should back off it when he turns the voice up to 11. You don't want to lose the intimacy when he's singing quieter. Just tell him this is how it is done in all situations, recording and live performance, so he should learn it quick.

 

[guitaristic]

So I am relatively new to recording. The singer I am record with has a BOOMING voice and we are recording in a tiny space ( it's the size of an outhouse). I am using an AT2020 large diaphragm mic with a pop shield. I use Garageband as my DAW and an Inspire 1394 as my interface. Because I pretty much don't know what I am doing, I asked him to stand very far away from the mic because when he was standing close the sound was becoming distorted when he hit his loud notes. He was saying he didn't want to sacrifice his performance for the sake of sound quality. I told him in some of the other tunes we have recorded, his voice gets distorted. He said he didn't notice it and no one else would.

Is there a way around this?

Is this on me to fix the problem or him to tone down his vocals a little bit since we are in a small space and I am inexperienced?

Thanks guys.

Tell him to quit yapping and that you won't sacrifice your sound quality for the sake of his performance

He sounds like a tool. However, maybe try recording in a different (bigger) room.

 

[acoustichris]

He's actually one of my bandmembers. Actually the only one because we're pretty much an acoustic duo. We're trying to record some of our stuff on our own. It is pretty much demos but I want it to sound a good as I can with the setup I have. I had him a good 3 feet away from the mic and it still clips when he hits those big notes. We got that far sounding recording because of how we had it set up. We really don't want that kind of sound but it's tough because he is so loud.

Isn't there anything I can do with GAIN to help?

Is is true that clipping can't really be fixed later on so I should try to get as good as a vocal performance as I can because of this?

Do I have my gain too loud?

 

[gehauser]

The AT2020 SPL is listed at 144db. Shure Sm7b can take over 180db according to Shure. Since the pain threshold is about 140db, I cannot imagine your singer singing loud enough at 3 ft away to clip the mic. These SPLs are listed for recording extremely loud sources like guitar amplifiers or drums.

Are you sure it's not some other part of your signal chain (e.g., the preamp in your audio interface) that is the problem?

If you are sure it's the mic, you might try the Shure Sm7b, or use an inline pad.

 

[acoustichris]

The AT2020 SPL is listed at 144db. Shure Sm7b can take over 180db according to Shure. Since the pain threshold is about 140db, I cannot imagine your singer singing loud enough at 3 ft away to clip the mic. These SPLs are listed for recording extremely loud sources like guitar amplifiers or drums.

Are you sure it's not some other part of your signal chain (e.g., the preamp in your audio interface) that is the problem?

If you are sure it's the mic, you might try the Shure Sm7b, or use an inline pad.

I have no idea. I'm sure I don't have the presets set up right. Any idea of what kind of levels I should have or does it differ in every system?

 

[moresound]

It's on him to learn proper mic technique. He sounds like an idiot to be quite honest. Is he a paying customer? If so, tell him you've informed him that the recording quality will suffer but it's his choice. If you're doing it for your own reel/experience, tell him he can give you what you want or find somebody else.

That said, he shouldn't be "standing" away from the microphone. He should back off it when he turns the voice up to 11. You don't want to lose the intimacy when he's singing quieter. Just tell him this is how it is done in all situations, recording and live performance, so he should learn it quick.

^^^^^^This ^^^^^^

+100000000000000000000

 

[acoustichris]

^^^^^^This ^^^^^^

+100000000000000000000



I agree he needs to learn technique but I feel like I should have me recording devices properly set up and I'm not sure if I do. How do i make sure i do?

 

[homerecor]

Try turning your preamp down some. It should only boost as much as needed.

 

[lmf]

Tell him "he broke the equipment" and go home. Saying that is no more "out of line" than his attitude.

Best wishes,

Lloyd

 

[moresound]

Tell him "he broke the equipment" and go home. Saying that is no more "out of line" than his attitude.

Best wishes,

Lloyd

LMAO

 

[miroslav]

He was saying he didn't want to sacrifice his performance for the sake of sound quality.

Priceless....

Is his name Aretha...?
Must be cool working with a diva.

Yeah...try turning down that preamp...it may be the source of your distortion.

Does he sing that loud when you guys do your acoustic duo thing?

 

[acoustichris]

Priceless....

Is his name Aretha...?
Must be cool working with a diva.

Yeah...try turning down that preamp...it may be the source of your distortion.

Does he sing that loud when you guys do your acoustic duo thing?

Yes, he sings that loud when we play acoustic. I am a newb so what do you guys mean when you say "turn down the preamp"?

 

[guitarplayr82]

We mean to turn down the gain on your interface. If you still want him to have that "warm" sound when he's up close to the mic, just turn down the preamp a bunch and have him get real close to the mic. It still important for him to back away on his loud notes, though.

 

[grimtraveller]

Yes, he sings that loud when we play acoustic. I am a newb so what do you guys mean when you say "turn down the preamp"?

Whatever it is that your mic is plugged into is in some form or another, a preamp. Have it turned down low to see if it makes a difference. If not, smack his head in !











Just joking !!
I can see where he's coming from but not sacrificing performance for the sake of sound quality is a really poor cover for not doing something properly. Lousy distorted vocals on a demo might turn some people off, might attract others but either way, your bandmate needs to know that there's a time and place to maybe distort, but unless your death metalling or anger rapping or something, mic technique is important and being able to adapt is the sign of a half decent singer. Failing all that, just take him to your computer, log in to HR and show him what we're all saying.
Then smack his head in ! With the mic, for a touch of artistic irony....

 

[FunkDaddy]

Yes, he sings that loud when we play acoustic. I am a newb so what do you guys mean when you say "turn down the preamp"?

On your audio interface there should be an "input" or "gain" knob right beside the XLR input where you plug in the microphone. Turning this down will lower the level.

As I was writing this I googled your interface, yours is entirely software controlled it seems by the "CONTROL PANEL" software. Turn down the input level and toggle "preamp boost" to off.

3 feet away from the microphone is too far, tell him if he wants a decent recording he has to control his voice. I have a very powerful voice myself but I know when to tone it down and in a recording session is definately one of them. If he doesn't care about the recording quality, he's an idiot as I previously theorized. If it's really that much of a problem for him to turn his head away and back off the microphone when he sings louder, I don't know what to tell you. (FYI, if his voice is always blowing powerful enough to distort the recording, he really really needs to learn the beauty of dynamics)

 

[ido1957]

Look at the manual for your interface and see if it has an input gain knob. If so turn it down. Look at the manual for Garageband see if it has an input gain knob. If so turn it down.
You input is too high and needs to be turned down. You're clipping your input.

 

[acoustichris]

On your audio interface there should be an "input" or "gain" knob right beside the XLR input where you plug in the microphone. Turning this down will lower the level.

As I was writing this I googled your interface, yours is entirely software controlled it seems by the "CONTROL PANEL" software. Turn down the input level and toggle "preamp boost" to off.

3 feet away from the microphone is too far, tell him if he wants a decent recording he has to control his voice. I have a very powerful voice myself but I know when to tone it down and in a recording session is definately one of them. If he doesn't care about the recording quality, he's an idiot as I previously theorized. If it's really that much of a problem for him to turn his head away and back off the microphone when he sings louder, I don't know what to tell you. (FYI, if his voice is always blowing powerful enough to distort the recording, he really really needs to learn the beauty of dynamics)

Thanks FunkDaddy.

Here is what my digital interface looks like. Anything else I should do?

 

[benage]

That said, he shouldn't be "standing" away from the microphone. He should back off it when he turns the voice up to 11. You don't want to lose the intimacy when he's singing quieter. Just tell him this is how it is done in all situations, recording and live performance, so he should learn it quick.

I think the best way to record vocals in a studio is to keep a constant distance from the mic, often 9"-12", I know mic technique is used on stage, especially when there's no compressor (and sometimes just to look cool), but if you do that when recording, what about the inconsistant proximity effect? And if the vocalist himself isn't consistant with the distance or forgets on occational notes or dosent slighly pull back on medium loud notes it can end up being alot more work to mix in the long run.

I personally can't use this technique in my bedroom, because if I pull back from mic I start getting 'bad room sound' coming in.

 

[FunkDaddy]

Thanks FunkDaddy.

Here is what my digital interface looks like. Anything else I should do?

I think just notching down the input and making sure the boost is turned off is all you can do with that.

I think the best way to record vocals in a studio is to keep a constant distance from the mic, often 9"-12", I know mic technique is used on stage, especially when there's no compressor (and sometimes just to look cool), but if you do that when recording, what about the inconsistant proximity effect? And if the vocalist himself isn't consistant with the distance or forgets on occational notes or dosent slighly pull back on medium loud notes it can end up being alot more work to mix in the long run.

I personally can't use this technique in my bedroom, because if I pull back from mic I start getting 'bad room sound' coming in.

Well, I can only speak from experience. As a person who can do the soaring loud notes and often mixes them in with quieter songs, the technique has worked for me. I've never had problems with the proximity effect, a good compressor paired with a good ear evens out the meat of the vocal track.

I don't know how else you'd do it. If the singer keeps a constant average decibel level I guess that works, but if the singer employs dynamics, how do you control the peaks?