Looking for WARMER/Richer vocals

  • Thread starter Thread starter gt2008
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dintymoore said:
I wouldn't say "little to do with it" because really expensive gear often sounds good no matter where the knobs are!
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I'm only arguing this with you because it's fun, but do you really mean that? What is this gear you speak of that makes everything sound better just by being in the signal chain, regardless of how it's used?
 
The Cancers said:
If I understood you correctly, you need to turn the input gain up so high to hear your vocals over the song playing back. Then your problem is not in the actual preamp, it's in your monitoring chain. If you are able to clip the preamp talking, that's way too loud for recording. You're probably getting a plenty hot signal going in, you just need to adjust the ratios of what you're hearing during playback/recording.
The software monitoring program is most likely exactly the issues. I'd read you have everything turned up to zero (you wrote something like that, forgive me for not going back and finding the exact quote) in that program. Well, that program is (I'm assuming here, but pretty sure) basically a software monitoring/routing mixer. That is, it gives you the tools to decide what things go to your speakers, headphones and other outputs on your interface, and in what amounts. So find the channel in there that controls the level of the song playing back from your recording program (probably labeled something like "from DAW") and turn it down. Make sure your input channel's level is at a decent volume, and you ought to be able to hear yourself fine.
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lmao. This is frustrating, I know. To hear myself with no back music on at all everything needs to be all the way up, it's not just the music drowning me out. Also, the input channel for my mic (1-2) is up to zero (you were right, It's from -50db up to 0db in the software control panel). So as far as I can see it's as high as it goes. I dunno. You're right it's something in my path but I'm going to wait for pops to actually mess further with control panel and stuff.
 
**output channel, I'm sorry.


Anyways, M-Audio free 30 day phone support is non existant. Just spent 45 on lunch waiting on hold. Yesterday, left my phone on hold for 1.5 hrs. "We are currently busy...your call will be ans. in order it was rec'd...





also, their forums don't produce answers either. i posted friday. no response.


I submitted a 12-24 hour email request, supposed to hear from them in 12-24 hrs. that was about 30 hours ago. :)
 
What are the input levels in your DAW looking like through all this? Regardless of whether you can hear yourself or not, do you need it truned up that far to get any signal input into the DAW? I've never used an interface where a phantom powered mic wouldn't clip the input levels on the DAW when turned up anywhere near that high.
The reason I ask is that I have heard of various interfaces with headphone channels that seem like afterthoughts. Not saying I've heard it about this one, or that I think it's probably the problem, but it might be something to look into. If you're getting decent signal levels going in, you might just have an interface with a really weak headphone amp in it. If that's the case, you can get some cheap products from Art and the like that will boost that signal. It won't sound great but, since this isn't part of your recorded signal chain, it'll do the job for monitoring during tracking without affecting your overall sound in a negative way.
 
bozmillar said:
I'm only arguing this with you because it's fun, but do you really mean that? What is this gear you speak of that makes everything sound better just by being in the signal chain, regardless of how it's used?
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I don't take any of it as arguing. If I thought anyone was arguing I won't reply, I try not to bring negative crap my way!

My Summit EQF-100 would qualify for that. It's a tube eq and the eq is passive so it's really, really subtle. Beginners will turn the knobs and say there's no difference. But I've never heard it sound bad and no matter where the knobs are there's, to me, an improvement in sound.
http://www.frontendaudio.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=9999-06258
The Summit TLA-100 compressors are also pieces that you'd really have to work at it to make them sound bad.
 
The Cancers said:
What are the input levels in your DAW looking like through all this? Regardless of whether you can hear yourself or not, do you need it truned up that far to get any signal input into the DAW? I've never used an interface where a phantom powered mic wouldn't clip the input levels on the DAW when turned up anywhere near that high.
The reason I ask is that I have heard of various interfaces with headphone channels that seem like afterthoughts. Not saying I've heard it about this one, or that I think it's probably the problem, but it might be something to look into. If you're getting decent signal levels going in, you might just have an interface with a really weak headphone amp in it. If that's the case, you can get some cheap products from Art and the like that will boost that signal. It won't sound great but, since this isn't part of your recorded signal chain, it'll do the job for monitoring during tracking without affecting your overall sound in a negative way.
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Well the headphones work perfect for listening to regular jams through the Interface, can't be that.

I don't know about the DAW levels, I'm back at work after a lunch break on "hold" with m-audio. fun fun!!!~
 
I've found M-Audio and Ableton horrible to deal with. Presonus was great.
The worst of all time, no comparison - Apple Computer Co., but I still use Macs :( They were free and are ok as long as you accept that the company, for all intents and purposes doesn't exist, and fix everything yourself.
 
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dintymoore said:
I've found M-Audio and Ableton horrible to deal with. Presonus was great.
The worst of all time, no comparison - Apple Computer Co., but I still use Macs :( They were free and are ok as long as you accept that he company, for all intents and purposes doesn't exist, and fix everything yourself.
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lol.

I was hoping that more helpful persons browsed their user forums, but no such luck there either. I guess it's a nature of the beast sort of thing.
 
gt2008 said:
To hear myself with no back music on at all everything needs to be all the way up, it's not just the music drowning me out.
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Turn your fader on your DAW up for monitoring. Record your levels at -9 dbfs peaks. Try different headphones to monitor unless you can boost the headphone output on your interface. Do not add more gain to hear yourself during monitoring.

Please, just try using a high shelf eq and dipping out 5 db from 5khz and up. See if you think it's more warm :).
 
Erockrazor said:
Turn your fader on your DAW up for monitoring. Record your levels at -9 dbfs peaks. Try different headphones to monitor unless you can boost the headphone output on your interface. Do not add more gain to hear yourself during monitoring.

Please, just try using a high shelf eq and dipping out 5 db from 5khz and up. See if you think it's more warm :).
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I'll try that EQ tip for sure.
 
Erockrazor said:
... Please, just try using a high shelf eq and dipping out 5 db from 5khz and up. See if you think it's more warm :).
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That's what I was thinking - roll the top off.

A few years ago I made a box that I plug my synth into that is just a pot and a capacitor. It's your basic guitar treble knob, except I have it on my synth. It's different than rolling the top off with the on-board synth filter in many ways. For one I can use it to roll off the sound of my MIDI tracks as well as it's on the whole mix. I've found that on a lot of gigs when they tell you to turn down they mean "less treble".

It's very handy, and my first response to it was "it sounds like tubes".

So you might say that in many cases less treble = warmer.
 
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