Gain Overload!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Washington
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Washington

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I was wondering what kind of advice/thoughts on overdoing to the gain in the mixer before sending it to pro tools.

This would be for vocals in an attempt to create a distorted/gritty sound.

thanks!
 
I guess if it was me, I would record the vocals clean and then add effects to give the desired sound. Unless you can get the EXACT sound you are hoping for. I have never tried to get that kind of sound in vocals before, so I could be wrong. However, I always try to record everything clean sounding under the motto that you can always add effects to get a desired sound, but if you record with the effect and don't like it, then you have to re-record.

Like I said, I have never tried to get that effect in recording vox before, so there might be differing opinions. Just my take on the matter.
 
Me too. The cleanest track will react best to purposeful post-processing better than trying to "get it sort of gritty" on the way in.
 
Okay. I thought of that because of my own amateurism. I wouldnt know how to add grit to vox after a getting a clean sound.

I have tried creating my own grit when recording but then I dont know how to edit that to well. :)
 
Just to expand on this, there are two (at least) different types of distortion. In the analogue world, distortion can sound kind of interesting and is often used as an effect. However, clipping in the digital realm tends to be a pretty ugly sound. Most mixers have quite a lot of headroom so you're more likely to get into digital clipping before you get any "grittiness" from your mixer.

Depending on exactly what kind of sound you want, I've had interesting results using effects designed for guitar distortion on voices...it might be worth trying one of those as a first experiment. I don't know what plugins Protools has built in, but a quick Google for "Free VST distortion plugins" gives literally millions of results.

Have fun!
 
This may sound harsh, but
vocal grit is not accomplished by adding distortion. It's accomplished by a talented vocalist. Record clean and if it sounds like crap, that could be the reason. The tools available to us are an aid, but as been said before, there is only so much polish you can put on a turd.
 
Thinking about what Washburn100 said, "vocal grit" can mean different things to different people. The effect I'm talking about is very much a "special effect" rather than a natural but interesting voice.

Still, have a play and see if it's what you want.
 
Bobbsy said:
Thinking about what Washburn100 said, "vocal grit" can mean different things to different people. The effect I'm talking about is very much a "special effect" rather than a natural but interesting voice.

Still, have a play and see if it's what you want.
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Agreed, It may be something as small as wording that changes the whole "idea" of the sound he is going for.

Do you have any specific examples of the sound you are looking for Washington?
 
phriq said:
Agreed, It may be something as small as wording that changes the whole "idea" of the sound he is going for.

Do you have any specific examples of the sound you are looking for Washington?
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Sure just to see some thoughts on it.... anything from HAIL THE VILLAIN

My friend and I argue over whether that's fry or false cord mainly
 
Washington said:
Sure just to see some thoughts on it.... anything from HAIL THE VILLAIN

My friend and I argue over whether that's fry or false cord mainly
Click to expand...

I have no idea what the hell that means...

If you take a SM58 for example.I've seen many amateur singers cup the ball of the mic with their hand when singing or screaming throughout the entire song.When they do this they literally squeeze all the dynamics out of a dynamic mic.A mic has what's known as proximity effect and when you get closer to the mic(without cupping the mic) you'll notice a more bass heavy sound.Cupping the mic and screaming into it will distort the vocals most times if not all the time.

A good vocalist can use this along with good vocal technique to get his desired sound.I've often seen a singer use his mic properly(not cup it at the ball),stay back a bit,and then if they need a bit of grit cup the mic while eating the mic.
 
In addition to all the other comments...sometimes a really cheap mic that is easily overloaded can get you that real harsh/blown speaker sound, if that's what you mean...but for just "gritty/gutsy" vocals, that's mostly up to the singer.
 
mcmetal said:
I have no idea what the hell that means...
Click to expand...

They are vocal techniques for singing.

Washington said:
Sure just to see some thoughts on it.... anything from HAIL THE VILLAIN

My friend and I argue over whether that's fry or false cord mainly
Click to expand...

From what I can hear, I am guessing all the "harshness" to his voice IS his voice. I don't think there are any distortion effects applied. As far as Fry vs. False cord. I am more classically trained in vocals, and typically fry is used for lower notes. From what I know about False cord, that is more for higher sounding pitches (more of a screamo sound). If I had to guess, I would say this guy has a natuarally "harsh" voice but is probably adding more false cord scream than Fry.

However, since you are working on trying to somewhat reproduce that sound in your recordings, I would suggest alot of practice for the vocalist as your not going to get a good tone, sound and clarity like Hail the Villain with adding "fake" distortion.

I would strongly advice SLOW practice to doing fry and False cord. Neither should HURT the voice. They are trained voices that still used the diaphram and NOT the throat. You never want to strain your vox cords or you will not be singing long.

Hope this helps and let us know if you have more questions!
 
phriq said:
If I had to guess, I would say this guy has a natuarally "harsh" voice but is probably adding more false cord scream than Fry.
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Thats interesting. I have never thought about the idea of mixing false into singing in that way. I have long been trying to sing Hail the Villain with adding FRY and lose my voice fairly quickly that way. I can scream fairly well without losing it (growl, fry, false) but somehow trying to add fry to that singing gets me everytime! thx

Using the proximity effect is a good idea but maybe I should try cutting out all that low crap that comes with it.
 
Washington said:
I have long been trying to sing Hail the Villain with adding FRY and lose my voice fairly quickly that way.
Click to expand...

For sure, Try using it more from the diaphram full voice singing trying to add the false. Just BE CAREFUL. If you're hurting, you need to break.

Give it a few days of practice and let us know the results. Good Luck!
 
Thanks for the advice Ill give that a shot. It will be a few days before I can try it but sounds like a fun challenge.
 
Yeah Id record dry and then you could pass it through a guitar stomp box or a plug in.

G
 
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