Buzzy vocals

[mrhotapples]

A lot of my vocals come out pretty harsh and piercing. I'm using a CAD M177. These singers have nasal voices and my mic technique or room oftentimes give me this shit result.

I cope by aiming the mic at the vocalist's chest and it helps a lot, but I've also recorded the same singer in a different room and gotten a much smoother result.

Any suggestions or allusions to some mystical formula or dance I can do to make my vocals sound smoother without having the vocalist go back and relearn how to sing?

 

[engine joe]

using a carpeted room?

 

[Flangerhans]

I have had some success by using a boom stand and placing the mic high enough so that the singer must look upward to sing into it. This has a few benefits:
The singer will not be able to crowd the mic, so you don't have to use a pop screen
By looking upward, the singer opens their throat, thus keeping nasality down to a minimum
Since they can't look at the control room, you avoid them looking at bandmates for reaction and make them focus on their singing.
This is not a technique to use on pros or excellent amateurs as it makes mic control not an option, and keeps you from cueing them visually. Hope this is helpful...