my sound quality (help)

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kunalkho

New member
Ima rapper, I have a Sterling St55 mic, a whisperoom that i bought, a mbox, some 50 dollar mic cables that start with a M, i dont wanna sound dumb and guess but maybe Mon-a something....and like even before the mix my vocals just dont sound clear as some of the time my freinds will record on my mic, or from my older cheaper mic i usd to have akg perception 120. What else could it be......should i rap very loud and have a VERY soft input, vice versa or depends...distance from mic matter?? too close makes sound quality worse?? I know if the input is too loud it has clipping, but i mean even if it dont clip is it better to rap louder and do a very soft input....vocals seem i guess not crisp clear kinda scratchy....

helplease
 
It may be your actual technique - you need to not crowd the mic - use a pop filter to keep your mouth a certain distance from it. Work on keeping your volume consistent, make sure your interface (or whatever you are recording into) is not clipping, adjust the gain correctly.
If your friends sound better than you on the same mic - with the same settings - listen and compare their style and technique with yours.
 
I've found adjusting your vocal volume to suit your equipment usually makes the delivery sound unauthentic. When recording, your delivery should be as close to how you'd sing it without all the equipment in front of you. I've intentionally pulled back on my vocals while recording before, and I always have to re-record because I can tell I'm not delivering the sound I know should be there. Of course, going louder than normal usually comes off worse than going too quiet. Distance from the mic is critical, and all mics are going to behave differently, but the closer you are to a mic, the more bassy/muddy the sound will be. This could be your problem. As far as differences between your friends' vox and yours on the same equipment, this may imply your vox need a little processing to bring out some clarity with your setup. But before trying to improve the sound with processing, the best thing is to get the best possible sound while recording. It sounds like you haven't done this yet. "Scratchy" is a weird description if your primary concern is the tone you are getting. Upload a sample recording in mp3 clinic and people will probably be able to give better advice.
 
im confused u mean adjust the input volume...for each song nd for the sound i want my delivery to have...see i kinda do tht but quality still is just not upto what some of my freinds get when i have btr equipment and i got a booth they just use a room...nd i dont get why....becuz im not even tlkin about the quality when comparing after mixed...i mean just the raw vocals..could it be my voice is not right for this mic..i find it hard to believe that tho, that wud make sucha difference..

another question
i have a sterling st 55 and it has 3 switches on the mic...i found they r called high pass filter and attenuation pad switches. plus a switch tht has 0db and otherside says -10db...not sure which switch is the high pass nd which one is the attenuation or what they do...but does any1 know what side each switch shud be pointin too....like what the symbol or whatever that the switch is facing shud look like
 
The 0dB/-10dB is the pad. Engage the pad if you are overloading the mic itself-- like if you are micing a guitar cab or jets taking off and you are standing on the wing. Doubtful you are overloading the mic doing vocals, but possible I suppose. The mic is rated to 144dB--- pretty much jet engine level.

The highpass filter cuts frequencies below 75Hz to eliminate rumble. With the switch facing the "-" the highpass filter is off. You might want to try a few takes with the highpass filter engaged to help eliminate proximity effect.

Set your input level to peak at about -12 to -9dB in your DAW. There is no reason to record a hotter signal than that.

The frequency response chart on the Sterling site shows the ST55 to be a pretty flat mic with a slight boost at 7500Hz. So what you put into it--depending on what preamp you are using-- should be what you get out of it. The MBox should be giving you a pretty un-colored signal as long as you don't overdo the gain on it.

And yeah, it's possible the Sterling just isn't very flattering to your voice.

As was said earlier, try backing off the mic a bit, and use the highpass filter to eliminate low-end rumble. Also, doing your vocal in a Whisperoom will give you a very dry take that doesn't flatter your voice because there is no "room" in the take.
 
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What c7sus says ^^^

You say that you have better equipment than your friends . . . so that is good.
You say that your friends record in a room . . . so do the same.

Have you watched how they record their vocals? Copy what they do.
 
What c7sus says ^^^

You say that you have better equipment than your friends . . . so that is good.
You say that your friends record in a room . . . so do the same.

Have you watched how they record their vocals? Copy what they do.
 
kunalkho said:
i i got a booth they just use a room...nd i dont get why..
Click to expand...

That could be your problem. A "booth" is a horrible place to record. The bigger the room, the better. When you read about "pro" studios having booths, those booths are the size of most people's bedrooms at the least. Get out of the booth, it's a horrible idea.

Second of all, nobody's voice sound the same recorded as it does in their head. Your voice might not be as bad as you think. You just might not be used to hearing it sound different than how it sounds in your head.

But, my guess is that your "booth" is at least a part of your problem.
 
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