Need Help Coaching Good Singer with Horrible Recording Technique!!!

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theodd

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So here's the deal. The singer in our band is a REALLY good singer. We couldn't be happier with his voice/style/lyrics everything. But he gets frustrated very easily in the studio. He has kind of a short fuse and is very quick to blame gear and any other number of things for why he's not getting the takes he wants.

He tries too. I have sat him down in the studio many times and showed how to produce his own vocal. I showed him how to set levels in his headphones and how to record himself. We need him to do more recording for himself by himself so he gets more practice recording. But something always goes wrong and he doesn't know that much about gear or anything so he blames pro tools, or the stupid mic or the pre or whatever. He's not a bad guy, but this stuff is complicated and he can't seem to get it.

In addition his microphone technique is not good. He doesn't grasp some of the fundemental principals of a microphone. He only wants to use dynamic mics because that's what he's used to live and he like them. But we have a few condesors that sound great on his voice...he just can't stand still and doesn't understand that if we are recording a hushed verse in to a screaming chorus that the mic will clip if he doesn't set the levels properly. He just wants to set the mic up and rock but sometimes it's a little more complicated than that.

The only thing that I can think that might help, and I'm not sure if this even would, is to throw a good compressor in the chain before we get into the computer. I have always been of the camp where I never compress anything before tape because I hate committing to that sound. But I know people do it and maybe it would help our singer.

Anyway, lots of you guys have studios. How do you coach inexperienced singers? Like I said, he's not a bad guy, he just isn't a techy and gets frustrated dealing with these things. I want him to be at home in the studio and it seems like no matter now much I show him he is never happy.

:confused:

Thanks for your help...

Wade
 
You got a tough one, because the world isn't going to change its physical laws to suit him. A microphone is not a point and shoot camera, it is an instrument that you have to play like you play a guitar. I'm not a great singer, but I do better with mics because I know how to use them as tools.
First, give him a good dynamic. I would choose Shure SM7B, EV RE20 or Sennheiser MD441. Then by all means, compress him a little, say 3:1 with a fairly high threshold. A Joemeek VC1Q or twinQ works great for this, or just put an RNC into the signal chain.
Then the hard part. He simply *has* to be made to understand that a mic is a tool he must learn to use, and that requires practice. All we've heard is what he can't do. He's a great singer, you say, but he can't stand still. If he *was* a great singer, he could. There is another option, which is not ideal, but they often do it with opera singers, who often have awful mic technique, because they usually dont use them. Give him his dynamic, because it will make him feel good, and track him with one or two overheads, used like room mics. Put an X-Y pair of whatever you would use for drum overheads above and in front of him, at like 5 or 6 feet, and track him in stereo. Depending on the room, ORTF, MS, or a spaced pair might also work. You'll get no proximity, which can be good or bad, and if your room sucks, it won't work that well. However, in a good room, it can rock. Then blend the tracks to taste. You'll get proximity from the dynamic, and the overheads won't care that much when he moves. Give it a shot, and let me know what happens.
The important thing is that his frustration, as you describe it, is really a function of laziness. He wants it to be easy, but it's not going to get easy. Part of learning to be a recording artist is being flexible and adaptable. He's going to have to change and develop his technique, and the fact that he doesn't like that won't change it.-Richie
 
Well, it sounds like you've told him what he needs to hear. Perhaps he just needs to hear it from someone else.
 
He just needs more experience. Inexperienced performers like to blame everything else but their own lack of technique. He also sounds like a bit of an ass. This is just going to take time or a personality transplant.
 
That's a great idea about the condensors about him. I'm sure the room we will be in next to record will be crap but if it's not I will definately keep it in mind.

And he's not really an *ss. I mean I here you...but it's hard to explain to people how to do something that is just not easy for them to learn. I will try.

What else guys. Anything you tell singers to do as far as distance to the mic. How can I explain to him that mic technique is important and that there is no magic mic that is going to do what he wants.

The other thing is he is not lazy. He'll sit there for hours in frustration but he doesn't quit. I will give him that. But I totally agree. He will never be a "good" singer until he can master this process. Let's help him get there.

Anyone else?
 
A note on distancing. Most vocal mics are directional, and exhibit proximity effect. As you get closer, bass response rises. I recommended SM7B because the proximity effect is mild, as they go, which makes the mic fairly forgiving. Have him move toward the mic and away from it and listen. Figure out where the proximity effect becomes noticible. Put the pop filter about 1" closer to the mic than that point, so he can use the proximity as a tool, but he can't get too close.
He wants to move? OK. What he has to do is move toward the mic on softer sections, or where he wants to use proximity as an effect, and away from the mic on louder sections, to keep the input level more even. Moving sideways is right out. He has to decide whether he wants to be a singer or a dancer. If he wants to be a singer, movement must be planned to elicit the correct response from the mic, not an emotional thing he does because he's grooving to the tune. That is a major part of working the mic. Next, he must learn to make *no sound* that is not part of the music. No toe tapping, and he has to learn to breath at the right time for each song to support his breath without producing audible results. This is not really a joke. The best thing he could do is take about 10 years of karate, which will teach him breath control, diaphragmatic breathing, to plan every body movement, and the discipline to pull it all off. The last thing is to remember, when tracking vocals, that there is still an audience. However, it is not a bunch of humans, not even your adoring girlfriend, or the studio cat. It is a 1" gold-spluttered piece of mylar. That's the audience, and you have to sing to the mic and make it happy.-Richie
 
Hey I know that guy!

I spent several years in a band with a singer just like that. The bottom line is a good singer has to be good at all the aspects. Producers just dont have the time to give to inexperienced singers to try to make them good. The issues you have here are serious ones that, in the long run, will be very detrimental to your success or failure. It`s just too competitive.
 
I don't get it. Why can't you put him in front of a condensor mic with a pop screen and tell him to sit still while he sings? I dunno... Put a neck brace on him and tie his head to something. :D

Here's an idea. Attach the condensor mic to his head with some sort of hat. You know, out in front of him like a dangling carrot. Then give him a dynamic mic and let him cut loose all he wants... or use one of those headset mics or something
 
I saw jessica simpson on newlyweds ans she was eating the pop filter @!! :eek:
 
I thought the FCC was cracking down on that kind of thing.
 
I assume your singer is not that good a singer as you might think. Mic control is one of the most important things for a (non-opera) singer. A lot of the learning curve can be pampered, if You help him as a 'producer'. Adjust levels for him. Show him what proximity does. If that's too much work for you - look for a new singer...
 
As noted, the real problem is the relationship(s) here. If we accept that talent is there, and technique is not, that leaves two possibilities:
1. Singer has attitude that means s/he doesn't wish to learn mic technique; OR
2. You are unable to effectively communicate the need for mic technique to an inexperienced but talented performer.

Since you have more control over the second option, focus on it. First, admit that you have not previously succeeded, and commit to trying a different means of communication or having someone else do it. Don't fudge it, and decide to 'have a slightly different conversation.' It will become the same conversation quickly.

The different method I would choose would be leading by example. I'd do a simple demonstration of how YOU get a better result from better mic technique, and hope he finds that worth emulating.

Otherwise, you are going to be engaged in an unproductive and often destructive struggle.
 
10 years old. This thread was ten years old. I don't think he requires the help anymore. xD
 
Classic case of talent that blames everything/everyone for his/her mistakes. Bottom line: You probably are wasting your time here. This person will be unworkable with any team environment.
 
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