J
joedirt
New member
Can anyone help? My vocals sound well....Boxy. I've tried to EQ them but I just can't find the right frequency to get rid of this. Anyone have any tips?
M
mixsit
Well-known member
Can you narrow down on the term boxy? Too much boom in the upper-bass, hollow in the middle...?
Also, whats' the mic and monitors, and would other vocals tend to sound that way on them?
Also, whats' the mic and monitors, and would other vocals tend to sound that way on them?
crosstudio
New member
yeah, we need the mic, the mic-pre, and the monitors. also, how far away from the mic(s) do you stand while recording?
Shailat
New member
The room you record in is most probably the problem but give all details first.
P
P Hallin
New member
If you find you cant fix it at all with EQ then I would blame the mic, but as the others say, before you can say...details.
J
joedirt
New member
SM58 mic. into 414mk11 (because I don't have a real preamp yet, just something to boost the signal) sblive card (I'm going to get audiophile 24/96 this weekend) Into Cubase. I know this is not the ideal setup by any means but I was wondering if there was something to make my vocals not so ...er...boxy?
crosstudio
New member
how far do you stand from the mic while recording. i ask because i want to know how much the room you are standing in is influencing the sound you capture through the SB card.
the further you stand from the mic, you increase the percentage of indirect sound that is captured by the mic. at the same time, if you get too close to the mic, then you have to deal with proximity effect which makes you sound BOOMY.
so before you reach for the EQ, try moving the mic around in the room and figure out how close/far away from the mic you need to be to stay away from proximity effect while at the same time not getting too much of the room.
the further you stand from the mic, you increase the percentage of indirect sound that is captured by the mic. at the same time, if you get too close to the mic, then you have to deal with proximity effect which makes you sound BOOMY.
so before you reach for the EQ, try moving the mic around in the room and figure out how close/far away from the mic you need to be to stay away from proximity effect while at the same time not getting too much of the room.
V
Vurt
New member
Don't knock your setup. Some records that I consider to be very good were made with considerably less.
J
joedirt
New member
the vocalist is about 6-8 inches away from the mic. And now for the room, well...it's a bedroom, you know with a bed. No hardwood floors or anything like that. Should I move him down the hall to the bathroom? I know this sounds like I'm trying to "polish a terd" but everything else IE. guitars, synths etc. sound great! It's just those damn vocals, they're harsh, very upfront and irritating, not smooth or....er...soft.
Shailat
New member
joedirt said:
Now you are talking about something else. Not boxy but - harsh irritating and upfront........
Move in closer to the mic around 3 inchs and not 6-8.
Are you using any effect on the vocals? or are you talk about a path of mic to pre to recorder? have you applied any reverb to the vocals? Delay? are you compressing? Is the singer screaming? How big is the room....were is he standing? near a wall? is his back to a wall? close to a corner?
Details my man...details....
W
warlock
New member
And post a short mp3 of the vocal track. I cann't give any suggestions without hearing it.
I have recorded some pretty good vocals with a SM58 in a bedroom through some pretty basic equipment.
Keijo
I have recorded some pretty good vocals with a SM58 in a bedroom through some pretty basic equipment.
Keijo
crosstudio
New member
is your singer harsh?
if not then get closer to the mic. the breath will add a certain feel to the vocals if your singer has the control to add a lush breathy quality to the vocal track.
if your singer is harsh, then get further from the mic so that he/she isn't killing the mic.
edit: oh, yeah, and 6-8 inches is a respectable distance
if not then get closer to the mic. the breath will add a certain feel to the vocals if your singer has the control to add a lush breathy quality to the vocal track.
if your singer is harsh, then get further from the mic so that he/she isn't killing the mic.
edit: oh, yeah, and 6-8 inches is a respectable distance
P
P Hallin
New member
Hm, the SM58 is a dynamic mic right? I found that in most cases for most voices a condenser mic works best. You can actually find really cheap ones that sound ok too. 
Try a condenser, five inches from singer, windscreen between, roll of frequensies if needed.
Mayby im wrong, the SM58 might be one of the best things out there for vocals at a lower price. This was just a thought...
Try a condenser, five inches from singer, windscreen between, roll of frequensies if needed.
Mayby im wrong, the SM58 might be one of the best things out there for vocals at a lower price. This was just a thought...