How to get a clean/clear vocal recording?

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Kroduscul

New member
Hopefully this is the right section... I’m just gonna lay down my situation here...

So I just picked up the AKG C414 XLII for recording some vocals at home. I run directly into a Scarlett 18i20 interface. Pretty unexperienced with most technical stuff. I pretty much exclusively go direct line in for keyboards and mics, just find good levels before recording to get it sounding good at the source,, don’t know what else i’d really do?

So anyways, as I’ve been trying to record with the C414 and it seems to only bring out the worst qualities in my voice. It’s been a struggle to find the right levels off the bat, either it’s too quiet or it picks up too much, and of course I’ve tried all kinds of different variations with the bass cut filter and the preattenuation pad.

The absolute BIGGEST problem I’ve been having is the mic picking up all this rasp and throaty qualities and I’m dying to cut that out in some way (especially the raspiness), whether it be mic placement, setting levels differently or any kind of plugins (I record with Cubase)

Might I add, Id rather not, and I try not to do too much to any tracks I record outside of a little eq, as I don’t mix and master myself. I typically record all instrumental tracks at home and then bring the stems into a studio to record the vocals and have it all mastered there. Of course, I never hear much raspiness in the monitoring or finals takes at the studios. I never hear it while recording on phone, and it wasn’t there in the past when I’ve recorded vocals myself with a 35 dollar Tascam condenser, completely dry into the DAW.

My goal is to get rid of this raspiness and high detail of throaty qualities while also getting a crystal clear recording of the voice, as if I was in the room singing upon listening back. I wanna get a great recording right at the source, without much processing, and little to no post-processing. As I’m sure many of you know how important the recording stage is when it comes to the sound of the finished product. Not reaaaallly looking for compression solutions and I have no idea how to use compressors in the slightest, but STILL I would appreciate literally any advice on something like that... And hey, maybe the C414, just isn’t the best fit for my voice? I also considered the TLM103 before this one, but right now, I’m at such a loss...
 
From what you're describing, it sounds like you are getting a clear recording. Fixing it at the source might be a matter of a clearer vocal delivery.

If the raspiness you're hearing is quiet relative to the rest of your vocal sound, moving the microphone farther away from yourself might help.
 
VomitHatSteve said:
From what you're describing, it sounds like you are getting a clear recording. Fixing it at the source might be a matter of a clearer vocal delivery.

If the raspiness you're hearing is quiet relative to the rest of your vocal sound, moving the microphone farther away from yourself might help.
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My reasoning was I’ve never had this problem before with other mics. Even delivering the same song, the same way, it’s been far more straight forward. Also it’s a big problem because it seems like the raspiness is much louder than any other part of the voice. The vocals put in the mix can be a bit quieter or sitting just right and this high, sharp raspiness pierces through everything. I’m going for a far more intimate close sound, but I’ve still experimented with different distances from the mic and trying to set the levels off of that make it either too quiet or too loud
 
What is the level you are recording at? Peaks somewhere maybe -10dBFS?

An MP3 posting of your home recording (no FX/normalization) and then one (just a clip or link) you did in a studio would be illuminating. (Actually, I'd prefer a download of the raw WAV/AIFF recorded into something like Audacity, or fetched from the media folder of your DAW.)

Make sure you're using the cardioid pattern, and as VHS says, set the mic a bit away, and make sure to use a pop screen. something where the pop filter keeps you at least 4" from the mic, and then you would be back at least a couple of inches from the filter.

Do you know what kind of mics you used in the studio? Any reason you chose the XLII? It is a good mic, but if I don't have them mixed up, it has a more "modern" (brighter) sound, which might be a factor, but EQ should fix that. Until you have the "perfect mic for your voice" fall into your lap, it's almost always necessary to manage some of those characteristics that might not be flattered by whatever mic you have in front of you.
 
keith.rogers said:
What is the level you are recording at? Peaks somewhere maybe -10dBFS?

An MP3 posting of your home recording (no FX/normalization) and then one (just a clip or link) you did in a studio would be illuminating. (Actually, I'd prefer a download of the raw WAV/AIFF recorded into something like Audacity, or fetched from the media folder of your DAW.)

Make sure you're using the cardioid pattern, and as VHS says, set the mic a bit away, and make sure to use a pop screen. something where the pop filter keeps you at least 4" from the mic, and then you would be back at least a couple of inches from the filter.

Do you know what kind of mics you used in the studio? Any reason you chose the XLII? It is a good mic, but if I don't have them mixed up, it has a more "modern" (brighter) sound, which might be a factor, but EQ should fix that. Until you have the "perfect mic for your voice" fall into your lap, it's almost always necessary to manage some of those characteristics that might not be flattered by whatever mic you have in front of you.
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I always use a mesh pop filter. The C414 has different cardioid, wide cardioid and hypercardioid patterns, from which I’ve only been using the regular cardioid. It also has a preattentuation pad from which I’ve tried all sorts at 0, -6, -12 and -18. I don’t remember what mics I used in the studios but I do have a few pictures from different odd angles where I can kind of take a guess at what kind of mic it is. I would’ve loved a U87 if it wasn’t for the price which is why I originally considered the Neumann TLM103, but I kept hearing things that made steer away from that. I wanted a great, high quality mic, not just something close to a U87 but not quite as good, and at the same time I was very hard pressed to find a bad review of the C414, hearing things about how versatile it is, and how it’s used in studios all over the world...
 
Try a different placement, like putting it at forehead height angled down. Experiment. You might find an arrangement that works.
 
Kroduscul said:
I always use a mesh pop filter. The C414 has different cardioid, wide cardioid and hypercardioid patterns, from which I’ve only been using the regular cardioid. It also has a preattentuation pad from which I’ve tried all sorts at 0, -6, -12 and -18. I don’t remember what mics I used in the studios but I do have a few pictures from different odd angles where I can kind of take a guess at what kind of mic it is. I would’ve loved a U87 if it wasn’t for the price which is why I originally considered the Neumann TLM103, but I kept hearing things that made steer away from that. I wanted a great, high quality mic, not just something close to a U87 but not quite as good, and at the same time I was very hard pressed to find a bad review of the C414, hearing things about how versatile it is, and how it’s used in studios all over the world...
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I have the same issue with good LDC's- you can hear vocal cord nodes with high quality mics that just don't come across with dynamics. My solution is to get a decently quiet area and a bit of sound absorbers around the mic then place the mic so that you are singing at a pretty high angle to the capsule, 45 degrees or more. You can also place the mic so that it points above your head and sing up to it and get a similar result. The only issue with these types of solutions is that you get a lot of room sound so you have to have a relatively dead or a good sounding room.

Also try in figure of eight. Depending on the room this can fix the whole issue also.
 
Kroduscul said:
I always use a mesh pop filter. The C414 has different cardioid, wide cardioid and hypercardioid patterns, from which I’ve only been using the regular cardioid. It also has a preattentuation pad from which I’ve tried all sorts at 0, -6, -12 and -18. I don’t remember what mics I used in the studios but I do have a few pictures from different odd angles where I can kind of take a guess at what kind of mic it is. I would’ve loved a U87 if it wasn’t for the price which is why I originally considered the Neumann TLM103, but I kept hearing things that made steer away from that. I wanted a great, high quality mic, not just something close to a U87 but not quite as good, and at the same time I was very hard pressed to find a bad review of the C414, hearing things about how versatile it is, and how it’s used in studios all over the world...
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It would answer a lot of questions if you could supply the raw track and a sample of a studio recording you like.

LDCs pick up *everything*, depending on how you have the gain set and the environment. I think the first reference I heard about that was something like "a mouse fart at 20 paces" or something similar. So, your room can impact what gets captured, as well as mic distance/angle and possibly the gain setting on your interface/preamp.
 
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