Your problem is called sibilance. It can be a sound that's just there, and can also result from actually blowing toward the mic. Start with a pop filter, which probably won't help much, but may decrease actual wind/breath turbulence hitting the mic.
Now to the real issue. You have to make less sibilance, pick up less sibilance, or try to electronically reduce sibilance.
#1.- Hey it's *hard* to have something else to think about while you're performing, but if you really want to be a recording artist, learn! I will often turn my head a little off axis (at an angle) when I hit that "sss", and as someone else suggested, "soften" or back off from that "SSS", don't hit it hard. Learn to control your position relative to the mic, and your vocal technique to get a better, cleaner, raw track.
#2.- Get a new mic, then get a pre or a new mixer. I can think of no combo better designed to produce harsh sibilance than an NT-1 into a Behringer board! Try a dynamic mic. For cheap, SM-57. For not so cheap (~$280), try
a Shure SM-7- very nice. When money becomes available, get a pre with some EQ, such as a Joemeek, and roll off your highs *a little*.
#3.- Use a de-esser. This is available as a computer plug-in, as a specialized rack mount unit, or more commonly, as part of a multi-FX unit. Any vocal processor or good reverb unit is likely to have a de-esser setting. This is not the big cure it sounds like, and your hiss may still be there, so deal with it. On the rare occasions I use a de-esser (I'd rather just not hiss), I use the De-esser setting in my reverb unit,
a TC electronics M300.
Start with #1, then consider #'s 2 and 3.
And can you use money to make tracks sound "CD quality"? No.
Only *you* can sound CD quality. But money can make your tracks better. The hard part is to take away bad sounds without taking away good sounds that make your music sound alive. The better your sound is to begin with, the easier, quicker, and cheaper remixing is. It requires good ears, and a hell of a lot of gear. Yes, people with wicked EQ units and great ears can improve your sound a good deal. However, the bottom line is if the original source material sucks, it will probably always suck, no matter how much money you throw at it. I'd rather use half of that money to get better sound, and make the mastering engineer's job as easy as possible. That way, I get to keep more gear. Hope this helps.-Richie
