Recording VOX help

[stevez82]

I've lately been getting some great results with my mobile rig. I needed some pointers on recording VOX. That's my weakest area I think. I use a Chameleon Labs 7602 Pre and compress the VOX through an ART VLA to level it out a bit. I hit the comp hard sometimes and I'm not satisfied with the sound. I only comp Bass tracks before it hits tape on overdubs and I have always found it really balances out my Bass Mic and DI inputs when recording. Just wanted to see what others have done in VOX recordings.

Rig:
-Digi 001
-Presonus DigiMax LT
-2x Chameleon Labs 7602 Neve Mic Pre
-Sytek MPX-4Aii
-ART Pro VLA
-2x DBX 163x

 

[Robert D]

"Not satisfied with the sound" isn't very descriptive. For one thing, it's generally better to record the vocals straight out of the preamp, and save compression for later. So, what is it about the vocs that isn't working?

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

I hit the comp hard sometimes and I'm not satisfied with the sound.

Why are you hitting the comp hard? You shouldn't *need* to hit it all that that hard just to keep your levels under control. If you do, than either look into improving your vocal/mic technique to level things out better before it hits the microphone, or check to make sure you're not running the levels too hot out of the pre.

If you're hitting it hard for actual sonic effect and not just for signal control, then RobD has it right; record dry and comp for effect in mixing. This will let you expiriment with different hardware, software and setngs to get what you want without having to re-record every time.

G.

 

[stevez82]

I was always at least using a comp to limit the sound a touch when tracking, but I think that's where I'm losing the quality. I guess trying diferent things is the way to go.

 

[Ford Van]

I was always at least using a comp to limit the sound a touch when tracking, but I think that's where I'm losing the quality. I guess trying diferent things is the way to go.

Try the 163 instead of the ART while tracking.

I can see how every once in a while, on SOME vocals tracks, you may hit with more than 6dB of gain reduction, and possibly with that much gain reduction while tracking, the 163 might offer a more desirable sound than the ART does.

The ART is a decent unit, but far from a a compressor I would be comfortable tracking vocals with.

If you are finding that you are doing more than 6dB of gain reduction while tracking, you might consider other approaches to taming those louder parts. The singer may need to sing away from the mic a little or a lot, possibly tracking another track with a lower gain setting on the preamp, and maybe even switching the polar pattern on the mic to omni to reduce proximity effects.

A pretty decent, affordable tracking compressor for vocals is the dbx 160. While not transparent at high gain reduction, it is mostly transparent at 6dB of gain reduction of less, and at higher gain reductions it has a flavorable character to the compression that you may really like.