Sibilance from Oktava 319

[TwilightOdyssey]

Hi all,

I am recording an album for Steelheart Records in Italy right now, and I am tracking all of the instruments/vocals myself. The results I'm getting are great, so far, but I'm having a slight problem with sibilance when recording vocals.

My signal path is as follow: Oktava 319 w/pop filter --> ART Tube MP mic pre --> Behringer Composer compressor --> Yamaha AW16G.

Do any of you have any suggestions as to how I can alleviate or elimate this sibilance? Should it be done after tracking when I'm mixing, or should I use the side chain and an EQ and try de-essing as we're tracking the vocals.

If you're intersted, you can check out two tracks from our original demo at www.twilight-odyssey.com. That was a year ago, and I'm much better at engineering and mixing now than I was then.

 

[billisa]

I'd check the position of the vocalist to make sure their not too close to the mic. I'd also do everything possible not to have to eq the vocal before it's goes into the AW16g. If you have to de-ess, do it after. Perhaps drop a few db in the 12k region of the vocal.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Oktava 319

Thanx for the tips!

Our vocalist is a total powerhouse style singer, and she's pretty far from the mic; I would say 3-4'! So, I know that's not the problem. I DO have the mic pretty much in line with her mouth tho. Perhaps the mic should be raised to point elsewhere, like the top of her head?

 

[billisa]

Re: Oktava 319

Thanx for the tips!

Our vocalist is a total powerhouse style singer, and she's pretty far from the mic; I would say 3-4'! So, I know that's not the problem. I DO have the mic pretty much in line with her mouth tho. Perhaps the mic should be raised to point elsewhere, like the top of her head?

Yes, raise the mic a tad and have the grill perpendicular to the ground and on a line with her eyes/nose. Watch out you don't overdo it and lose warmth.

 

[billisa]

Re: Oktava 319

Thanx for the tips!

Our vocalist is a total powerhouse style singer, and she's pretty far from the mic; I would say 3-4'! So, I know that's not the problem. I DO have the mic pretty much in line with her mouth tho. Perhaps the mic should be raised to point elsewhere, like the top of her head?

Yes, raise the mic a tad and have the grill perpendicular to the ground and on a line with her eyes/nose. Watch out you don't overdo it and lose warmth.

By the way, are you sure nothing's been preset on the AW16? No eq from a prior recording? Sibillance at 3 feet is pretty amazing.

 

[TexRoadkill]

Are you tracking in a treated room? If the walls are bare they can often excite the sibilance range and make it worse.

 

[Henri Devill]

Yank that compressor out of the chain and see if you can get it better without it..Sometimes they only make a small problem much bigger IMHO...Good luck




Don

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Thanx for the tips, guys! I will try it w/out the compressor. The room IS treated, and we also have studio baffles up, so there are no room reflections.

I don't use the 16G for anything other than tracking, so the EQ isn't even on line, but I will double-check it to make sure it's flat ... I do everything post in SONAR.

 

[Flatpicker]

I would suggest moving her closer to the mic. Try between 4 to 10 inches away. The 319 has less low-end to begin with, so far off like that, you’re only going to get the higher tones and room echo. Once up close, if the sibilance remains, try angling the mic or move it about forehead high and point it down toward her mouth.

 

[woodshedder]

I use the 319 all the time for my wife, who is also a powerful vocalist. In fact, with our SP C1, we have to use the 10db pad. To rid sibilance, I put the diaphragm at about nose level, or a tad lower, ANGLED down towards her mouth, not perpendicular to the floor. 3-5 inches away, max, with no pop filter.

If you want to hear how this technique sounds (but she is really not extremely loud on this one song), listen here:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/2/stephanieboarmanmusic.htm

Then play Kentucky Flower.

Regards-
Woodshedder

 

[darrin_h2000]

Invest in a dbx263a use it and bounce the vocals to another track...I love watching it light up when it is working...its so easy to use...costed me $10 on ebay.