Need help with vocals and new mic!

[morejaylesswar]

I've been recording on an MXL 990 for years. With what little I know about mixing and recording, I was able to make some pretty decent mixes with just that mic, no outboard preamps other than my Mbox 2. Just a basic set up.

After a summer of researching, I've finally purchased my first of a few new mics that I thought would be right for the kind of set up I wanted to build. The problem is, everything I thought I knew doesn't apply anymore. My MXL 990 is a really dark, muddy mic. I knew how to bring the clarity out of it and get the best mix that I could get out of it. This new mic is so much better than my 990 that I don't know what to do with it!

***ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CLIPS CONTAIN PROFANITY!***

Here's a song that was solely recorded by the MXL 990 and mixed by me:
On Top Of The World


Not great, by far, but it got the job done. It sounds pretty decent in all settings that I've heard it in. Live, in cars, other sound systems, etc.


Here's something with the newer mic that was recorded today. It has not been touched whatsoever. All I did was turn down the volumes of his dubs.



Now just the vocals, no beat.



What do you suggest I do in order to get a warmer sound? The vocals sound harsh to me. I can't seem to get them to sound full or smooth. I don't know much about compression or EQing other than what I did with my old microphone. I knew I had to cut the mids out to bring out the vocal. If I cut anything out of this mic, I feel like it's a risk of sounding a lot more brittle than it already does.

I appreciate ANY input. You guys have been more than enough help thus far! Thank you.

 

[joeym]

You know, in my opinion, it's the character of a singer's voice that determines the right mic to use and not the other way round. When I record vocals I try to get them to sound at least 95% good with all the EQ dials at 12 o' clock. Taking the mids out of them is not a good idea, that removes a lot of body from the sound and rap needs that! Try to leave them in and raise the high mids at aroung 3khz, but gently, around 2 db at the most with a Q of about 1.00....do this while listening together with the other tracks with the master at low volume and see how the voice comes thru.

 

[morejaylesswar]

You know, in my opinion, it's the character of a singer's voice that determines the right mic to use and not the other way round. When I record vocals I try to get them to sound at least 95% good with all the EQ dials at 12 o' clock. Taking the mids out of them is not a good idea, that removes a lot of body from the sound and rap needs that! Try to leave them in and raise the high mids at aroung 3khz, but gently, around 2 db at the most with a Q of about 1.00....do this while listening together with the other tracks with the master at low volume and see how the voice comes thru.

Thank you for your reply! I'm going to try that. Would that deal with the brittleness that the vocals have? I want a thick sounding vocal that hold's it's own. Right now, everything seems so tiny.... really thin. It doesn't sound strong whatsoever.

 

[mgjr73]

I think if the MXL worked for you, with the voice quality and your workflow, I'd say stick with it. Why break something that isn't broken. But if you think you've outgrown it, follow joey's advice, find the right mic for your voice, not the other way around. And as you mentioned, maybe learn more about compression, EQ and all that wonderful stuff and try it on the new mic.

 

[TripleM]

Speaking just about the vocals...

What I heard didn't sound too bad. In the "just vocal" clip I heard a little boxiness. Just a little. You might want to experiment with some narrow cuts somewhere in the 1000 - 1800hz range. Don't go overboard though.

I didn't hear a vocal that needed to be "warmer." Sounded pretty decent to me.

 

[morejaylesswar]

I think if the MXL worked for you, with the voice quality and your workflow, I'd say stick with it. Why break something that isn't broken. But if you think you've outgrown it, follow joey's advice, find the right mic for your voice, not the other way around. And as you mentioned, maybe learn more about compression, EQ and all that wonderful stuff and try it on the new mic.

Yea, I feel like I've outgrown it a bit. It was my first condensor microphone. I got it when I was 15 or so. I just knew I saved up (what seemed to be) a hell of a lot of money to get it. I was so excited, too. This thing has been recorded directly into my old Dell computer's soundcard with a phantom power box and everything! LOL! Over the years I started upgrading the things around me: converted to mac, bought pro tools, mbox etc., but I never upgraded the mic.

I want a few newer mics so I can find out what works best for my voice and everyone else's that I record. On the first song posted, I am on the chorus and fourth verse. I have a large voice that is really hard for me to mix... Especially on that MXL. It takes me forever to sound decent enough. Weeks and months even. I bought this newer mic because I did a lot of research and it sounded so gooooood! I like the sound, I guess it just sounds too good compared to what I had and I'm lost as to where to go.

However, I'm buying a Blue mic this weekend and I'll test that one to see how it sounds for me up against the one I have now. I also want to try the MXL Genius, but that's a bit much for me to just "try" right now. LOL!

 

[morejaylesswar]

Speaking just about the vocals...

What I heard didn't sound too bad. In the "just vocal" clip I heard a little boxiness. Just a little. You might want to experiment with some narrow cuts somewhere in the 1000 - 1800hz range. Don't go overboard though.

I didn't hear a vocal that needed to be "warmer." Sounded pretty decent to me.

What is "boxiness" characterized as? Maybe if I knew what I was listening to then I could find a solution to fix it. Thanks for your input!

 

[TripleM]

Literally "sounding like you're singing from inside a box." There's just a small hint of it - nothing major at all. Often a narrow EQ cut around 700hz - 1800hz can fix it. I'd stay away from the lower end of that range since you're concerned with warmth. If i were to guess, a cut around 1100hz would sound nice. Just a guess though.