Raw Vocal Issue?????

[jerberson12]

Hi,

I checked some Youtube video demo about my mic AKG Perception 820 Tube. They said that they didnt use any effect (Comp, EQ, etc). Just straight MIC-> Preamp -> Audio Interface (They didnt mention what kind). I can hear that it sounds so flat and natural, flat high ends, flat low ends, balanced. And also, the vocal came out so that it occupies only a tiny bit of space and still have room for other tracks to be added.

My setup is the same. AKG 820 - > Digidesign PRE - > Digidesign 96 INterface. No effects. BUt the result came out that theres a lot of sibilance coming out from the vocal. The settings from my preamp are all default, no EQ, no Low Cut. The high ends are too high and also when you hear it, it takes a lot of space from the mix, it sounded that it took the whole spectrum. I know I can probably fix it by adding effects but it should be the same as the one above. Im having this issue for a long time and its hard to mix this way.

 

[Richie2708]

Didn't they mention Microphone placement and room treatment?

 

[ido1957]

Sibilance - hmmm maybe you need a pop filter or the pencil trick. Or, a de-esser in the path. Hard to say if you don't use the exact same pre/settings as Youtube.

 

[Richie2708]

I only heard about the pencil trick recently...How does a pencil attached the front of the mic with an elastic band work...I know it does, I just don't understand how????

 

[RAMI]

I only heard about the pencil trick recently...How does a pencil attached the front of the mic with an elastic band work...I know it does, I just don't understand how????

Well, there's 2 parts to that answer. The first part is that it doesn't get rid of sibulence. Sibulence and "pops" are 2 different things, and you can have one without having the other. If we're talking about too much "Sssss", the pencil thing probably won't help.

But to explain how the pencil thing works, besically it deflects the air away from going directly into the mic. Pops are usually caused by a release of air on plosives like "P" and "T".

(I have to add that I've never tried the pencil trick, so I might be talking out of my ass. It just seems to me that an "Ssss" problem is usually a signal problem like a bad EQ setting or bad gain staging, etc....)

 

[PDP]

Hi,

They said that they didnt use any effect (Comp, EQ, etc). Just straight MIC-> Preamp -> Audio Interface (They didnt mention what kind). I can hear that it sounds so flat and natural, flat high ends, flat low ends, balanced. And also, the vocal came out so that it occupies only a tiny bit of space and still have room for other tracks to be added.

.

Thats only going in, that doesnt mean it wasnt treated/EQ'd in the mix, going out. I think theres a lot of mis-information that way, for instance they may not mention the track your hearing was mastered at a pro mastering studio.


We get this alot on the forum, "why doesnt my stuff sound like that?" there are hundreds of reasons why two recordings sound different.

i.e. If you play a Gibson Les Paul does that mean you will sound like other recordings of a Les Paul.

 

[Massive Master]

Sibilance is 90% the vocalist's fault. Sounding "not good" is usually 90% the vocalist's fault also.

Don't mean to sound brash about it, but I've heard some recordings of people will terrible voices and even worse mic technique wondering why they don't sound like Pavarotti... And the biggest reason is usually that they can't sing.

 

[bouldersoundguy]

Are you recording the same singer? No? There's your problem.

 

[ido1957]

The pencil trick is easy...
- get a sharp #2 pencil
- every time the singer is sibilent, poke her in the butt with the sharp end (flicking her on the head with it also works)

 

[Capt Hair]

Sibilance is 90% the vocalist's fault. Sounding "not good" is usually 90% the vocalist's fault also.

Don't mean to sound brash about it, but I've heard some recordings of people will terrible voices and even worse mic technique wondering why they don't sound like Pavarotti... And the biggest reason is usually that they can't sing.

Such truth! Most "singers" and I use that term loosely can't sing. If you told them to hit a A flat, they'd look at you as if you just insulted their mother.

Singers in many cases are the most lazy musicians out there...only for the fact that they can't properly play their instrument aka their voice.

 

[Massive Master]

Are you recording the same singer? No? There's your problem.

Ain't no doubt there. I've worked with many "wonderful" vocalists -- Mic selection, even when wholly different types of mics, were different flavors of "wonderful." There was rarely a "whoa - that doesn't sound so good through that mic..." while there was plenty of "This" mic is a little breathier and "this" mic has a little more 'chest' or 'mask' or what not.

Not to say there aren't some (well, plenty of) crappy mics out there - And most definitely, there are "wrong mic choices" that happen all the time. But a great sounding source wants to sound great through just about anything you throw in front of it.

 

[Fletcher]

Sibilance has more to do with how well the microphone couples with the singer's voice than the singer itself... there are many very "bright" microphones on the market these days... because "bright" sounds louder and the loudest thing you hear wins when you're doing "stand alone" demos in a guitar store. The fact of the matter is that you may need a different mic, or at very least a different microphone position for this particular singer.

One of the things you can do to cut down on sibilance is to angle the microphone... or change the physical level of the microphone in relation to the singer's mouth. I would probably recommend you start by dropping the location of the mic by an inch or two, and angling the top of the mic back about 5-10 degrees. This should help you obtain a less sibilant recording... it may very well still not be the "right" mic for the singer... but you may get something closer to useable in the presentation.

The way the "pencil trick" works is pretty simple... you're putting a piece of mass [in this case wood] in front of the microphone's capsule so a direct blast isn't possible. If you think about it, what we're recording are variations in air pressure, the air is all around, but the singer is pushing that air in a specific direction. For a more visual relation of the concept... think of the pilings that hold up a pier. Now think about what happens to the water that is trying to move under that pier. The water wraps around the pilings in the same way the air will wrap around the pencil. However, much like the way water wraps around the piling of a pier, you will get all kinds of additional ripples [air behaves exactly like water... only at the level of being a gas you can't see]. Those additional ripples aren't really all that good for keeping a true character of the sound... but if you're having problems with plosives [try saying that 3 times fast and I bet you will have problems with plosives] the pencil trick, while less than optimal, can help you get the job done [which at the end of the day is the important thing].

I hope this is of some assistance.

Peace