any techniques to prevent phasing, or combfiltering?

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jugalo180

jugalo180

www.moneyistherecipe.com
i have an sm58, and i am about to get a sm87. one is a dynamic, and the other is a condencer mic. if i do vocal stacking(doubling, not multiple recordings of the vocals), will using two different type of mics that offer very different harmonics prevent phase cancelation or comb filtering? if i'm guessing correct the sine wave should be different from both mics. if i'm half right or all wrong, can anyone give me tips on preventing this other than doing multiple takes of the vocals.
 
Please don't take this the wrong way, but that's a really bad idea, if what you're trying to do is thicken a vocal track. The slightest head movements will cause major phasing problems and drastic level changes.

The only time (all of this is in my opinion, of course) it makes sense to use two mics on a single vocal is if the song goes from really soft vocal levels to screaming. You would set one mic for the soft levels, one for screaming levels, then switch back and forth at the appropriate times during mixdown.

You're better off putting down two separate passes on the vocals, use a whisper track, or add some chorusing and delay if you want to fatten the vocals up.

But, you might as well try it since it will only cost you a little time. If it doesn't work, you've learned something, and who knows - it may create an interesting effect, and that brings up a whole new subject - what to do with mistakes.

Always think "outside the box" when listening to everything. Let's say using two mics on the vocal sounds really weird when you play it back. Don't just throw it out. Stop and think, "Hmmm, would that sound good on just the verses? Or maybe just on the chorus?".

Sometimes a strange effect may not work on a whole song, but it may be perfect for one verse, one line, or maybe even just one single word in the whole song.

I guess I'm saying that, yes, it's a bad idea, but it may have interesting results for other reasons, so it makes sense to try it, and then learn from it.

If it doesn't work, file that sound away in your head (and how you got it) for future use someday.

BTW, when you have about a million of these "fuckups" stored in your brain, congratulations, you're now a professional recording engineer.
 
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thanx harvey

just to clarify things, if doing one mic at a time,(the multiple takes i was trying to avoid).would that still impose the same problem with the head movement? i hear that the multiple takes are a good technique because humans are imperfect btw would result in two different polar patterns. so instead of doing that with one particular mic, would two different mics add a bit of effect or affect? hopefully a useful one.
 
hey harve

thanx again, for some reason i missed the last few sentences of your post. funny stuff, thanx for the help, much appreciated, now what other information can i tap you for?(i'm scratching my head), oh well back to the lab for now. but i'll be back, us newbies always are.
 
Re: thanx harvey

jugalo180 said:
just to clarify things, if doing one mic at a time,(the multiple takes i was trying to avoid).would that still impose the same problem with the head movement? i hear that the multiple takes are a good technique because humans are imperfect btw would result in two different polar patterns. so instead of doing that with one particular mic, would two different mics add a bit of effect or affect? hopefully a useful one.
No, multiple takes create a chorusing effect, since humans don't sing EXACTLY the same way twice. And yes, using a different mic on different takes can "SOMETIMES" create an interesting effect.
 
cool

okay, i was just trying to get some facts straight. i try to soak up as much advice as i can from this forum, and sometimes i mix em up. thank you harvey.
 
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