Help getting vocals to punch through

[Gollum]

Weu weu... my first post!

Well, I surfed all the way back to August, and read a bunch of excellent posts.

I'm the typical home recording studio enthusiast: Mackie 1604vlz, Audio Technica AT3035, Creative Audigy (it really is a pretty decent card, especially for the price), Fostex SS-1 monitors (although after reading a lot of these posts, I'm probably going to get the Event 20/20's), and some rack mount effects.

I read the post on "My vocals suck", and I'm one of the sucky vocalists, so I can sympathize there. I have a tendency to waver, and sing a little flat on occasion. I don't really mind however, although if I could sing on key all the time I certainly wouldn't complain.

The problem I'm having is more in recording the vocals. It seems they get drowned out in the mix. I've set the levels on my mixer to where singing the loudest parts results in occasionally hitting 0 dB, as recommended by the manual, so I'm sure the signal is where it should be, and there isn't any clipping. Also, the vocal tracks aren't very dynamic, so I don't think it's an issue of some parts sounding loud and others sounding quiet. It all sounds very distant and quiet. I've read that a preamp is a good investment, but I'm not sure if this would apply in my case as the Mackie has a pre in it, and the signal out of the mic seems very strong compared to the Shure AX5 I was using.

What are some good recording techniques that get the vocals to stand out? I could really use some tips here, as I think the rest of my mix sounds pretty good, and I'm thinking this is where the majority of the problem is.

 

[Shailat]

Since I cant hear he song I'll give you some general tips only.

Are your vocals to low in the mix? bring up the level.
Are you vocals to distant? Bring up the level.
Are you pushing the vocals back with reverb? Delay?.
Reset your reverb.

* Your vocals might not have large dynamic changes but might still need to be compressed to make it more focused. Boxing it with subtle compression (if needed) will bring it more upfront.

* Volume is the #1 issue in most vocals. It has to sit right level wise or else it will be covered /stick out.

* It might be masked with a busy mix or masked by other instruments sitting on it, or an overdose of reverb on a instrument
or other effects covering it up - make room for it.

* Wrong choice of reverb (room type...predelay time...) will make it stick out like a thorn or get losed in the mix. The abuse people do with reverb on vocals is in my opinion worse then most do by overcompressing (yet it seems the ovecompressers have a stronger lobby in the senate).

Thats a start.

Now a pointer on pre's and mixers and mics....

All of those things are very important BUT !!!! if you cant get your vocals to sit in your mix, None of those things will do it for you.
Don't think for a second that if you go out and buy a $2000 pre, ever thing will just sit itself in place.
A good pre is a under estimated by some and Over estimated by others.
Those that are after a better sound under estimate the power of a good pre. Those that think it will fix problems they have, over estimate it.
Those that think a good pre cant bring a heavenly sound, know not what it can do nor can they hear for the life of them.
Those that think heaven is found in a good pre and nothing else will help cant hear as well.

 

[dobro]

And here are two things Shailat didn't mention:

If you sing closer to the mic, the vocals will have more presence.

Second, if you sing with more animation/feeling/interesting articulation, the vocals will stand out better. I only know my own experience, but I'd bet real money that loads of homer vocalists are working so hard at singing in tune that they forget to make it interesting.

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Gollum:

One item I can add to my astute site members sound advice is, put your vocals on TWO tracks; this will give you more punch if you need it.

All the rest has been said.

Green Hornet

 

[Gollum]

Alrighty then...

Heard some good suggestions. With the latest song I'm working on I went back and re-did the vocals, and used a cheesy compressor in this multi-effect processor. It seemed to somewhat smooth out the levels, which helped the vocals to come through a little better. I think the biggest help though was turning down the levels on the other tracks. My mixes are very very busy, so I guess the music was overwhelming the vocals by a large percentage. This also solved the problem of the drums getting lost as well. I can hear the vocals easily now, and the drums come through nicely as well.

Now on to the next question... would a mic pre help to further enchance the vocals, or is it going to be a subtle difference not worth spending the cash on?

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Gollum: [By Gum}

A mic pre will help you highlight not only your vocals, but other tracks as well.

I run tracks from my synthesizer through the mic pre; once in a while I even run the drum machine through it.

But, essentially, I use my ART dual channel mic pre, with the 20db button pushed in, to enhance the vocals.

Check around and demo mic pres before you buy one. High end mic pre would be Martinsound; you can reach them on the net by punching in Martinsound.com [I think] but, you'll get them.

In between, there are many. You can research this site or just look around on your own.

Definitely an asset to any studio.



Green Hornet