De-esser recommendations???

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ido1957

ido1957

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I need a de-esser but would like a few recommendations. I just need a de-esser not a preamp. I found a DBX 263A and a 263X for sale. They look ok for the price (75 bucks) but I've never tried one.

They are also older and no warranty so I am not sure they will be the best buy.

I've also heard you can hook up an equalizer to de-ess vocals. I would consider it if it gives the better results but I just don't know. And I need to know how to hook that up (INSERTS?)

Any recommendations from anyone who has de-esser experience is greatly appreciated......

I don't want to take away the quality of the vocals either....
 
The best de-esser is mic selection and mic placement.........
 
Some De-esser help

Well,
I could say, the best de-esser is having your teeth re-capped and maybe getting surgery on your tongue so you won't have the physical problem any longer. Also a few years of speech therapy and some Vocal Pedagogy classes might do the trick.
But since that isn't going to help you at ALL!
http://www.waves.com/content.asp?id=145
I think this de-esser is really nice. For 150 bucks you can buy it in the Native format and use it on all of the tracks that you want. Seems really nice to me. I am a singer that experiences really bad sssss problems on my vocal tracks. I have developed techniques of my own to reduce it. Not singing directly into the capsule can help. Find a sweet spot on the mic. Sometimes the mic itself is the problem. Something like the Studio Projects C1, which I have tried, sounds like nothing but ssss sounds when I sing into it. I overemphasize the ssss sound as well as 'p' sounds. For me getting a KSM32 and a nice preamp helped me considerably. But De-essers are something I can't live without. I find them especially useful on comped tracks that have multiple vocal overdubs. Those ssss's even when controlled well, can add up. You will also find them useful on all other kinds of instruments. When things are harsh, I love being able to de-ess. I hope that helps you out. Also, many recording programs include plugins that will de-ess. If you are computer based, I would definately go with a software plugin.
Good luck!
 
I just bought a pair of DBX 263A's on eBay. I should get them in about a week, so when they get here I'll let you know how they work out. I paid $100 for the both of them.

The thing about mic selection/placement and vocal coaching is that in many cases the person mixing the music is not the same person that recorded the tracks, and will not have control over that aspect. I'm in that situation myself right now. So yes, that is good advice about mic placement, but no, that doesn't really help if sibilant tracks get delivered to your door! :eek:
 
the 263A and 263x are great tools. i have both. go for it.

"The best de-esser is mic selection and mic placement........."

all due respect, sometimes performance comes first. these are very helpful tools - and not just for de-essing. wish i had em long ago. :eek:

see ya.

Mike
 
bigtoe said:
all due respect, sometimes performance comes first.
Click to expand...
Um.... over-sibilant delivery IS part of a vocalist's performance.........
 
Lennon and McCartney were so good in the studio, they would actually wave their hand past their mouth to avoid sibilant problems etc...along with other techniques.

Those dbx boxes aren't the cleanest sounding on the planet but they'll do. I use the SPL De-Esser as far as software is concerned.

If you have a compressor with a side-chain + an EQ you could de-ess it yourself with those two boxes. Plug the EQ into the side chain of your compressor, then find the sibilant frequency with the eq and start cranking it UP until the compressor is taking care of it the way you like it.

There's something to be said for the performance being less sibilant. There's also something to be said about all of the de-essing devices available which says it's happening and an engineer should be able to make things sound better.

War
 
I'm not advocating to avoid the use of these tools - all I'm suggesting is that if possible (and applicable), rather than reach for a box first, hone the recording technique.

There's far too much of the "what box will give me this sound" ethic these days, and far too little emphasis on performance and technique.
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
Um.... over-sibilant delivery IS part of a vocalist's performance.........
Click to expand...

i agree with you completely as with the mic technique, but it's not the part of the performance i'm talking about.

trying to fix the vocalist's technique I view as a long term plan…not really one I pull out 'in battle' unless the guys are in long term. usually i get the bands that need something done in a few days.

if you get "the take" and you have sibilance for whatever reason - wrong mic - poor mic / vocal technique - use a de-esser. great tool.

if the kid yer recording has two false teeth up front due to being born with a smaller palette than normal and whistles like a teapot thru an sm7 even way off axis and is nailing takes...so be it…use a de-esser. (has happened to me :eek: - in fact i think that's when i bought my own.)

shit happens. save the take…fix the sound is all i'm saying. also a cool tool on guitars.

edit oh hey bruce - totally agreed - i respect your posts a lot and learn from you so i hope you don't take offense at my post.

Mike
 
i got a de-esser in my symetrix 528, it works but actually i don't really like it, too bad you can't adjust the bandwidth, only the frequency and amount...
i find that it just cuts away too much of the selected frequency,
now that i got a little fully parametric eq i'm gonna see how that works in the sidechain of my dbx166xl , but the bad news is that i don't like the dbx on vocals... feels like downgrading my signal so what option does that leave me?

maybe we all should try that mysterious 'pencil trick',
put a pencil in the middle of your condenser and this might kill some sibilant frequencies... never did it, but sure will in the near future
 
dbx had a big lunchbox thing that could fit 900 series modules in it. i had a couple of the de essers and they were pretty good. these are cool biog lunch box things and the comps gates eqs are all pretty good for em. i retired my rack of em and it just kinda chills out if anyone is interested. i could prolly fund some new pres with it.
 
I mix stuff all the time that I didnt track, so mic choice and mic technique are frequently two parameters that are out of my control, though I AM expected to make it all work in the end result.. (arent we all?)

I actually like the Waves plug in De-esser, or a cheapo one that I have and use all the time is an orban 536. Those can be found for cheap, and sound really cool. sometimes the make up gain is a little crazy, as it is fixed and really hot on the output side weirdly enough... I will frequently wind up with some insane stacked chain on a main vocal in a really dense mix, with multiple compressors and a pultec and a de-esser. My favorite de-esser is a crazy, giant old RCA tube de-esser which is basically a BA6A voiced in the detector for frequencies over 3k only. Pretty amazing unit. I even use that one on a mono room mic sometimes....
Really though: in your DAW, the waves De-esser and ren-deesser are great. Outside of that , BSS made a great one, RCA made a great one, fairchild made a great one,Dbx (the 9xx series as mentioned above) orban made a couple of good ones as well.I really like de-essers even if the vocal is well tracked, as I can get just a little more "air" around the voice with a de-esser to take care of the rest...

Have fun!
 
Warhead said:
Lennon and McCartney were so good in the studio, they would actually wave their hand past their mouth to avoid sibilant problems etc...along with other techniques.
Click to expand...

damn thats cool.
 
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