The Professional Vocal Sound

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jimmy Z~
  • Start date Start date
well tonight i finally had to accept that im working with a pretty low key vocalist... his voice comes from his throat not his lungs... so i honestly think u can only make someone sound so good ... u need (like most instruments) a good note to start with ...
cheers
spider
 
This is the very first time I've wanted to have my say in one of these forums...
I'm a voice over talent with a home studio.
It seems to me that one subject that hasn't really come up in relation to jimmy z's problem is the acoustic properties of both his recording and monitoring areas.

I've done voice gigs in a hundred different studios, and independently of a certain minimum level of equipment quality, a lot of good and bad experiences with results have to do with lousy rooms.

I mean what's the sense in having Genelecs or Tannoys if your sound is going to be bouncing off walls indiscriminately? Your ears will play trick on you, and whatever you mix will sound crappy elsewhere.

Obviously having the best gear available, and knowing how to use it is a plus, but whatever else you do after recording in a bad sounding room is just fixing it up.
 
Wow, Overwhelming thread!

Most importantly, lipstick on a pig? Works for my wife.

Now, I have $10,000 into my studio and also (sometimes) use a focusrite voicemaster for vox. With a Blueberry blue $999 mic, or else blue into dbx 386 ($499) into computer ($2000)
I did a lot of research before buying and got the same answers for the most part. they are..in order of importance.

1. Source (Get onstage with albert lee and we'll see what techniques you have "masterd")
2. Mic and equally as important, placement. U87? excuse me for not knowing, but is that a REAL Neumann or a wanna be pro mic (Like my nice little blue)
3. Pre-amp. Voice master rocks for demos,semi,wannabe, but you need the focusrite red series for pro sound. I think the Avalons could work. Something REAL, not imagined.
4. Recording medium. d88 what? I'll tell you this... Cubase rocks for me and you and a dog named wannabe but as killer as it is... I get a better sound off the cheap -10 Tascam 38 8track. STill wanna be. Everyone thinks digital recording is easy since the adat looks like thier VCR. good luck but I have seen a lot of old dog (Big time pro lifers) get crap outa em since they are too old to learn again. Digi=differnt

Man, we all buy stuff we realize sux. For the money, the mackie rocks out with its di box out! And of course cables, blah blah, blah.
I recorded the best j200 acousic track I have yet with my blue through the voicemaster into lexcore2 24 bit, but guess what? The guy picking it was a literal peer of (My hero) Albert lee and dont think (unless you are too) that your pick hits the strings like thiers does. It does not.
Hey bro, dump what you think, buy what you think, and keep on working harder. Your interest and intention is great!
I gotta keep the passion, like you have. Good luck, and please dont be a 'guitar player' and feel bad. I'm sure you sing wayyyy better than I do. But you may be suprised to watch Steve perry in the studio.
 
Jimmy Z --

You didn't mention how your recorded vocal sounds different from professionally recorded vocals. Is the tonal balance different (bass, mids, treble)? Is it more or less compressed? Does yours have the same effects and the same amount of effects as the pro vocals?

An important part of recording uncolored vocals is eliminating sound reflections from surfaces near the mic. These reflections can cause phase cancellations -- comb filtering -- which can give any vocal a filtered, colored tone, regardless of the mic used.

For example, reflections off the music stand into the mic will color the vocal sound. Push the stand down low and angle it almost vertically so that reflections don't bounce back into the mic. To reduce ceiling reflections, attach a 3-foot square piece of Sonex or other acoustic foam on the ceiling over the singer and mic.

Good luck,

Bruce Bartlett
 
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