Mix tips on this?

[jeff0633]

Started writing this last night, recorded most of it, did vocals today. Little trouble with the vocals using my Meek VC3Q because of the pumping on my vocal. I put avolume envelop on in sonar and tried to quell the volume pumps on the quiet partws asw they trailed off and the meeks pumped them up. Love the meek but that compressor is so touchy.

SoundClick artist: Jeff Stewart - page with MP3 music downloads

 

[RawDepth]

What exactly are you calling pumping? I am not hearing it.

To me, pumping is when a loud volume peak from one instrument causes the whole mix to change in volume. Then it comes back up after release. This can occur when you compress the whole mix, but not a single track.

Are you compressing the vocal track by itself?

 

[TripleM]

I'm hearing a bit of what I guess you'd call pumping here and there on the vocal track. I'm hearing it mostly as a harsh bit of sibalance on a vocal note here and there. If it were me I'd: 1) retrack the vocal without the HW compressor issues, or 2) take care of the issue with a compressor plug with set with no attack time.

Can't say for sure, but I think #2 will still leave you with sibalance issues, just slightly quieter ones.

I also thought the vocal level was too quiet.

 

[RawDepth]

...I'm hearing it mostly as a harsh bit of sibalance on a vocal note here and there...

That harsh sibilance you hear is not pumping. That comes from compressing tracks that were recorded using budget microphones.

You see, many cheap mics are a slightly hyped in the upper-mid/high region, (maybe around 4000 to 8000 Hz,) making them a bit harsh or mechanical sounding when driven hard. It just happens to be where the spoken letter "S" occurs. Your higher quality mics are generally more smooth and silky (flatter or not hyped,) which gives a more realistic and natural sound.

To make matters worse, compression tends to exaggerate this region making it noticeably stand out. This is why the de-esser was invented. It simply applies a narrow notch filter to the area where the S's reside, (around 6300 Hz or so,) which chops the offending ugliness out of the track. But having a gaping hole in your track is not much better.

Choosing a mic that is smoother through the upper-mids will yield far better results after heavy compression.

If you cannot afford a good vocal mic, the next best thing may be to have your favorite mic modded to make it perform like an expensive one.

 

[CaptainBad]

I agree wth 3m regarding the volume of the vocal. Like the song. What mic (s) did you use?