mic preamps for distortion?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jagpunk
  • Start date Start date
Ultimate distorted vocals

If you want super distorted vocals i will tell you the ultimate trick.

1. Get a cheap guitar tuner with a built in mic
2. Plug it into your guitar amp, add distortion
3. Have a great time singing through the most distorted, shittiest reproduction of your voice you have ever heard.

(it works but im not serious)
Dod makes a pedal i can't remember the exact model (Votec)? that has some pretty good settings for distorted vocals, that are controllable and it has lots of other goodies too(darth vader preset haha). Tube screamer is also good for dirtying up vocals without making a mess. I think distortion on vocals is pretty weak though. Alot of people hide behind it (chino from deftones for example). Thats another whole post though. I won't get started.
 
Why not use an ART Tube MP? Just crank the input gain to +60db and compensate on the output. Run that signal to your mixer. It'll be dirty as a motherfucker.
 
ya I would agree on the Art as the best means to get dirty vocals that sound good....but it remains to be seen if Jag wants the whole song/set to sound that way, or just a part.

Its not very convenient to swap in and out a preamp in mid set....unless you shell out for a A/B switch....which if you are serious would be the way to go. (I don't know, I assume they have XLR A/B's somewhere.)
 
I listened to the clip and the vocals do sound like crap. Not because they are distorted but because they are using crappy distortion. An amp wil give the sound balls with a nice controllable break up. An effects unit usually has crappy distortion that I wouldn't even use on guitar. They are usually too thin and fuzzy compared to the nice smooth overdrive of a distorting amp.

Sounds like a cool song.
 
Hi Jag,
Find yourself a used Zoom 1201. The reverbs suck, but the "C" bank of effects includes lo-fi and distortion (also auto-filter, ring modulation and more). You can get some very useful sounds out of it.
Mark
 
Im hearing bad things about Camera Obscura here. Not good. Jagpunk, I saw Camera Obscura live, and I am pretty sure he just hooked in through an amp and went at it. You get a crappy enough amp, turn the settings up as high as they go, and you got it. Camera Obscura live is just _really_ loud, which is why it works so effectively. Remember, you gotta have style like this guy, and play your bass like a badass.

frank
 
distorted vocals

I recently did a recording project where the singer wanted distortion on his vocal. Using the channel insert on my mixer, I found that a Tube Screamer didn't give enough distortion,
my Zoom 505 digital bass effect was way too buzzy & harsh. A ProCo RAT box was usable, although the words got smushed a little too much.

What worked best was a rack mount Chandler Tube Driver running at line level... warm distortion with good intelligibility.

I wouldn't think a VoTec or other inexpensive digital box would sound good... too many crappy digital artifacts (bad digital distortion).
 
bloodloss said:
... Jagpunk, I saw Camera Obscura live, and I am pretty sure he just hooked in through an amp and went at it. You get a crappy enough amp, turn the settings up as high as they go, and you got it...
Click to expand...


Bloodloss, thanks... Glad to see a fellow Obscurite.

Tell me, were his vocals feeding back a lot? If not, what steps did they take to eliminate problems? Did he have a foot pedal?

Give me some more details(if you remember).
 
When I want distorted vocals I use a TCElectronic Fireworx. Sounds really good both live and in studio. A bit pricey though...

Fireworx


/fim
 
Jag: it was so long ago, and I wasn't really paying much attention to it, so I don't remember much at all. I don't remember a problem with feedback at all, though.
 
Jag: also, his recorded voice is different from his live voice... I think the deal on the recordings is that he was just screaming so loud that it saturated the signal. I think he tried to do the same thing live, just scream really loud into poor equipment. It's all in the delivery, I would imagine.
 
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