AT3035 on vocals - 'Boxy' sounding??

[Freudian Slip]

I used to sing way to close too my AT3035 before I figured out that that was the reason why it wasn't sounding too great.

I sing about 8 to 10 inches away and haven't had the issue? I have a pretty boomy voice to

Maybe you're talking closer yet. I sing loud so at 10 inches there's virtualy no room in the track for me.

Different for everyone and every room I guess

F.S.

 

[mrface2112]

boxy sounding is usually a room problem. cheap acoustic control would be to hang some packing blankets, comforters, etc on the walls. all they'll really do is control some of the slapback off the walls, but it's *something* and you'll notice a bit of improvement. a more expensive (and acoustically better sounding) solution is something like RealTraps or owens corning 703.

it's also possible that the 3035 isn't a great vocal mic or it's not the right one for your voice.

i had a similar experience with my studio projects B1. it's perfectly solid on acoustic guitar (among other things) but on my voice it just didn't sound good, no matter what i did with it. some mics just don't work on some voices. fwiw, i've only recorded one singer who sounded great on the B1.

so do what you can to remove the room from the picture and you might need to find a mic that's a better fit for your voice.


cheers,
wade

 

[Nick98338]

I have an AT3035. Vocal tracks played back, just the single vocal track, with nothing else... yes, it does sound boxy. I'll agree. It is a cardioid mic, afterall. It's not designed to pick up sounds from all over the room. It doesn't pick up a lot of reflected sound from all around it. It just picks up what is in front of it. IMHO treating the whole room around the mic will not do much to help. The mic doesn't pick up the whole room, anyway. Yea, it picks up a little bit, but not a whole lot.

But, with a little reverb added, and mixed with all the other instrument tracks, the boxy sound goes away. Instead, it becomes a rather "up front" kind of sound. I use that effect, myself. I often try to get lead vocal to be more "up front", anyway. This mic makes that easier to do.

 

[dmbfan1981]

I have an AT3035. Vocal tracks played back, just the single vocal track, with nothing else... yes, it does sound boxy. I'll agree. It is a cardioid mic, afterall. It's not designed to pick up sounds from all over the room. It doesn't pick up a lot of reflected sound from all around it. It just picks up what is in front of it. IMHO treating the whole room around the mic will not do much to help. The mic doesn't pick up the whole room, anyway. Yea, it picks up a little bit, but not a whole lot.

But, with a little reverb added, and mixed with all the other instrument tracks, the boxy sound goes away. Instead, it becomes a rather "up front" kind of sound. I use that effect, myself. I often try to get lead vocal to be more "up front", anyway. This mic makes that easier to do.

If the reflected sound is winding up in front of the mic, it is going to pick it up. You could just try different spots of the room and see how the effect changes. You can try a corner, closer to a wall, or far out in the center. reflected sound bounces all over, including right back to your mic. Just like your ears pick up the reflected sounds of monitors when sitting in front of them.

not saying that you are completely wrong. Treating the room might NOT be the main problem. could be your vocals, or simply the mic. treating the room certainly couldnt HURT the situation though. I recently got a 3035, but have not tried it out yet, so I cant give my opinion on it. I have heard great things though.

 

[Obstacle1]

If you can't treat your room and you've tried everything then why not just use the 58 on vocals and the AT on guitar?

well i was looking to use the condenser to gain more clarity and detail. I do use my 58 for some vocal applications.

Thanks for everyones comments. I guess I am in the box - never thought of it that way. Plus i learned a valuable lesson in that the room is really important. I'll try and get creative - maybe a lecture theatre or something. they have some good acoustics in those places.

 

[cactuseskimo]

Hang some blankets all around you. You don't even want the "room" in your recording half the time. Take the "room" equation out of the picture. Unless all your other instruments are recorded with the same "room" sound, the vocals will sound like it's not entirely part of the mix.

Record the driest vocal you can, and I swear it will sit in your mix like your ass on a beanbag chair. Nice and comfortable. Add ambiance to taste after going to tape.

 

[lapieuvre]

I have an AT3035 and an AT4040. The 4040 is just awesome, but I found a good trick to make the at3035 sound as good: Scotch tape a wood pencil on the mike, vertically, right in the middle of the diaphragm. You can then boost the bass to give it a rich sound. I tested it with 2 signers and they both preferred the 3035 over the 4040.

Thierry