Grrr...not happy...come and sympathise

  • Thread starter Thread starter noisedude
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noisedude

noisedude

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Ok so I did an acoustic set last night, just me and my friend's Taylor (thank God for rich friends). I've never been sure about my voice because it sounds great in my head but crap on tape.

So with no band, last night I could really hear my singing properly and I was REALLY impressed. My voice sounded full and smooth, as it does in my head, rather than nasal and thin how it does when I record it.

The worst part is that I was singing through an SM58 rather than my usual e845, through a nothing-special PA system (although it did have some reasonable nice Mackie 15" cabs) and it still sounded really good.

Here's the point: I don't think my signal chain is gonna do justice to my voice. And that pisses me off. I'm using an SE SE2200 into a Behri UB1204 and my Delta44.

Would I benefit from trying a dynamic instead (I have quite a loud voice that needs to be kept warm in the chain) or will all my problems be solved by not being too poor to afford something like a DMP3?
 
A 58 has a pronounced proximity effect. I'd bet money you stayed right on the grill while singing in a live setting.

Most LD cardioid condensors have proximity effect too. but you need a GOOD pop filter and need to get within 3 inches of the grill to really make use of it. Of course, then your gonna need compression or maybe even limiting to keep from redlining...............
 
you'd think so ....... but this was the first time i've ever sung not up to the grille!!! i figured i didn't need to cos there wasn't gonna be a tonne of leak coming from drums over my shoulder!!

figure that. i'm listening to my recordings and i'm not happy.
 
Hiya noisedude.

Congrats on the gig and finding a setup that worked. Did you know that Annie Lennox would record through an SM 58? In our band the Sennie 845 is a good live mic for the fem vox but not for the blokes. I'd bet that you're a big strong singer whose SPL's would get that Shure diaphragm rattling from a good foot away.

If it works, just use it. (By the way if you ever come to London we've got a collection you'd be welcome to try - only payment accepted is in liquid form from the pub next door to our studio:) )
 
I suspect the Behringer pres--if they are anything like the older MX pres they are brittle. The DMP3, in that case, will be a large improvement. It is warm and detailed. Also, if you sounded good on an SM58, you might sound fab on an SM7.
 
Let's take a step back here for a second -

FOH systems are designed for that particular purpose -

If you had a recorder hooked to the tape sends on the FOH mixer, chances are that the recording would still sound thin and somewhat lifeless.

We're talking about (several hundred? several thousand?) watts of power that are meant strictly for the purpose of filling a room with sound at high SPL. Completely different, mostly opposite from a studio setup.

If you ever have the chance, take a straight recording of your voice and hook it up to the same PA system. See if it sounds rich and full - It probably will.

If not, THEN it's an equipment / technique issue. What's your resolution, what are you running it through, etc.

There are dozens of spots where something can happen to make a recording sound thin - All of them (not just some or most) have to be overcome for the recording to sound "natural" (for lack of a better term).

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com
 
Garry Sharp said:
Hiya noisedude.

Congrats on the gig and finding a setup that worked. Did you know that Annie Lennox would record through an SM 58? In our band the Sennie 845 is a good live mic for the fem vox but not for the blokes. I'd bet that you're a big strong singer whose SPL's would get that Shure diaphragm rattling from a good foot away.

If it works, just use it. (By the way if you ever come to London we've got a collection you'd be welcome to try - only payment accepted is in liquid form from the pub next door to our studio:) )
Click to expand...

that sounds good, i do try to pop down evey so often, it may not be til summer this year but if i can convince my girlfriend she wants to drive to her friends in watford ......:D
 
Massive Master said:
If you had a recorder hooked to the tape sends on the FOH mixer, chances are that the recording would still sound thin and somewhat lifeless.

If you ever have the chance, take a straight recording of your voice and hook it up to the same PA system. See if it sounds rich and full - It probably will.
Click to expand...

you're almost certainly right.

Massive Master said:
If not, THEN it's an equipment / technique issue. What's your resolution, what are you running it through, etc.
Click to expand...

most of the recordings i was listening to were made by a friend (mis)using my equipment for me. They are, bizarrely, almost all at 96kHz and 16-bit on my Delta44. Some were made through my Behri and some through the mixer stage of my Roland CPM300. The behringer ones are better.

Originally posted by Massive Master There are dozens of spots where something can happen to make a recording sound thin - All of them (not just some or most) have to be overcome for the recording to sound "natural" (for lack of a better term).[/url]
Click to expand...

Ok, give me some ideas. I don't think my voice is crap any more, but it needs a certain treatment to make it not sound it. In my head it sounds like "get it louder and with more bass" because that was my experience of it sounding good, but clearly that's no help for recording.
 
Guys, this is supposed to be where you commiserate and offer advice ..... BUMP!
 
As you are recording "in the box", (as I do, also) I would suggest using one of the plug-ins from PSP. The mix-pressor (included in the mix-pack) and the Vintage Warmer both do great things for vocals. And of course they have free demos.

http://www.pspaudioware.com/indexen.html
 
Try the old

Motown trick.

Print your vocal to two tracks. Now squash the crap out of one of the tracks, like 10 DB. Now blend it in underneath the straight vocal.

Add any reverb, delay, etc. to the uncompressed one.

I've been playing with this, it really does help fatten stuff up.

Chris
 
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