Tips for improving vocal sound track

[gewaar]

Hi,

I write songs, and record them here at home. I use Cakewalk Music Creator 3. Have a little 6-channel Pevey mixer, with vocal & guitar hooked up. Mic=MXL990. Usually wear borrowed Bose speakers while recording. I don't have a monitor yet for mixing, and can't afford it right now - the pc, software, loops, guitar, mics, all add up! I just do my minimal mixing wearing the Bose headphones too.

So that's the setup right now. I want to know what I can do i.t.o. effects/mixing/recording on my vocal track to improve the sound of it. So far, I've used combos of the following:

- AudioEffects/Cakewalk/Reverb - Preset= Vocal Club Web (sounded least conspicuous) - No echo, LP Filter&HP Filter not active (no idea what these filters are, it just sounded a bit better). I've read on some posts for example to apply "slight reverb" but not sure exactly what that equates to.

- AudioEffects/Cakewalk/FX Compressor Gate - Final Mix Compression sometimes sounds nice, Medium Vocal Compression sometimes nice

- AudioEffects/Cakewalk/Parametric EQ - AC Hum Removal --> often use this

- FX2 Tape Sim - Heavy Saturation 15ips

I have a small, thin voice, so my goal is to get the vocal sound richer and fuller. I'm not strong on the lower ranges, would be nice to get them smoother, and then the higher ranges, I have to watch so it doesn't get squeaky. You can hear some samples of the recording efforts so far at myspace, profile gewaar22 (sorry, they won't let me post the url. but it's the ubiquitous myspace dot com, forward slash, gewaar22 .

If you could suggest a few specific effects, what would you suggest? No, a new voice is not an option right now

Also, if I wanted to spend no more than $200 on tools that would help me improve the recorded vocal quality, what would the best choice be?

Thanks so much
Rozanne

 

[rayc]

I use a lot of cakewalk FX in Pro Audio 9.3.
Whilst I can go through Edit, audio... etc I just right click on the fx panel in consol view and select/place it there.
All these effects can be bypassed - set them press play & listen then click bypass to hear without - that'll give you a better idea of their impact 1:1.
Almost everything you've noted seems OK BUT should be used AFTER recording a dry track.
Only apply the compression on the way in IF you have dynamics problems (get too loud or powerful in some spots) other wise use the gain pre or post.
Reverb is a hard one - but if your apply it so you can JUST hear it & then wind it back a little bit then it'll sound more natural.
LP HP Filters - if you activate a LP filter you, essentially, cut off all the sound BELOW the active point & HP above. Experiment with a signal and activate them to hear the effect.
Final mix compression on the final mix isn't too bad & not too heavy it should be applied to the final track as it comes out of the stereo faders - remember compression lessens the difference between loud & soft as well as, often, applying extra loudness (gain) across the whole track - so increasing compression lessens the dynamic, creates an overall louder effect and can tire the ear as well.
AC hum removal - do you get AC hum or just like cutting those frequqncies?
I haven't used the tape sim as I still have some tape gera & can run through that.
If you want to thicken you voice you could try:
a)recording a 2nd vocal track as exactly as possible to the 1st (double tracking) this, due to the slight fluctuations in vol, tone & timing will, when played along with the 1st add thickening.
b) do a search for & experiment with the mowtown exciter process
c) use some vocal chorus effect - cakewalk has a few presets ut be careful - it's addictive in the same way as reverb.
d) do you need a de esser?
Does your prog allow VST's? If it does download the Fish Fillets suite - its free - it has a de esser (spitfish), compressor (blockfish) & something else. You may need the cakewalk VST adaptor if the program doesn't run VSTs automatically - that'd cost you $60 but would open up the world of free good & not so good VSTs.

 

[mixsit]

I put deep cuts (dips, about 1 octave) at around 200hz on the first three songs to get the boomy' out of the vocals. Mostly, the recording gear isn't that far from 'natural sounding', so while it could be from being too close to the mic, it could just as easily be a room resonance. (Oh, how deep.. -5 on the first one, -10 on the other two. In the general scheme of things, that's a lot of fix'.
That, and watch your vocal/mic/distance and dynamics- some parts are overloaded somewhere along the line.

 

[rayc]

I finally tracked you down on mspace.
1st off keep the mspace but get yourelf set up on lightning mp3 or soundclick - the compression & streamers are much better for any critical listening - not as good as needed but FAR better than mspace.
Do you use a pop screen? If not get one & set it 12" away from the mic - you seem too close to the mic & get the boominess/distortions that mixsit mentioned.
Do you record guitar in a different take? If N you ought to consider it as that'd cut some boominess too.
Where do you record? If you can set up in a room with LOTS of soft furnishings, bookcases, curtains etc and a minimum of hard refective surfaces like uncurtained windows, timber/hard floors etc that'd help with room sounds.

 

[jmorris]

vocals on the Miskien Maybe seem very close to mic.I would not go as far as 12' myself. If your voice is thin that will make it worse and distant. To me however it does not sound particulary thin. I would bet a mic placement issue is the problem. Try having the mic about 6-8" away and about level with the bridge of your noise and pointing down a bit and see how that works. Some compression may help. Why so many plugins? I mean like a gate? ac hum removal? I have never liked the FX2 tape saturation deal myself. I'd go for a more clean sound. Presently it comes off to me a bit too processed. That may add to the vocals being a bit lost.

 

[gewaar]

Hi rayc, mixsit and jmorris

Thanks so much for the feedback! I'm very excited now. Tomorrow being a public holiday, I'll try again and will report back soon on results with the new techniques and tips. I have lots of homework!

Some answers:
* Yes, I do have a tendency to be really close to the mic. I have a pop filter, will move away a little, and get my head level. For Miskien I think I was right against the mike, sometimes I'm a little below it.
* Yes, I record dry and then add the effects in Cakewalk later. The only thing I do on the mixer is push the "Hi db" knob to 2, everything else stays on 0. Not sure why I do this, I think I experimented once with them and thought that one sounded nicest.
* AC Hum - yes, I think there is a little since we warm the house. I think you can "calibrate" it by recording just silence but right now I use the default. I can't tell a huge difference when I use the effect, perhaps a little cleaner.
* I sometimes just copy the vocal track onto a new track so I have 2 that are identical and think it sounds nice. I think that would be similar to the "double tracking".
* Will research "de esser" and "mowtown exiter process" and "VSTs" tomorrow
* I can look to add some furnishings to the room. I record in a smallish "cove" in the room, where I added one HUGE painting in front, have a door with a blanket over it to my left, and a window with wooden blinds behind keyboard, to the right. Some curtains there might make a difference.
* Jmorris, I hear you. There are just lots of buttons to push and I push them to experiment. Hopefully I'll soon get to where I know enough of less so that less is more!

Rozanne

 

[jmorris]

It is great to experiment so push buttons to your hearts content, thats how we learn. Polk, Polk, Polk!

 

[rayc]

Rozanne,
Cloning a vocal will give you volume & if you add a TINSIWINSI bit of delay will thicked things BUT you'll get a massively better result by recording a 2nd NEAR identical vocal.
When I can't get my collabs to come over & record a 2nd I'll clone & fiddle but the results aren't as good - honestly.
HNY!

 

[jmorris]

Sometimes I'll clone the lead vocal then off set the time very slightly under clip properties in Sonar 5. It really add like a "stereo" image or like a perfect double track FX. I'll do this also for guitars and horns at times.

 

[gewaar]

Feedback for all the suggestions

Hi,

I tried again, using a song for which I already had a backtrack, so I only needed to fiddle with vocals, and I only redid the main vocal lines.

I've added lots of padding to the recording room - sacrificed some house rugs so they can hang on the walls and my boyfriend is curious as to why duvets and pillows now line the recording desk but hey ... they should all be absorbing some sound.

Moved the mic a little further away but not too far. Maybe around 12 inches. It should be a little less boomy now.

I tried recording the same track twice but that doesn't work with my voice at all. I'm just not consistent enough and my voice has a quiver to it, which you notice on a double track because some quivers clash :-( Instead, I copied the track, and put a slight reverb on the track. I do have some harmonies but these are not an attempt at the suggested technique, in case you think I misunderstood!

Wanted to go light on the effects this time round. But I caved in and added the "light vocal gate" because it sounds so much nicer. It just seems to bring the vocal to the fore somehow, and makes it clearer.

I researched Fish Fillet, downloaded the_fish_fillets_v1_1.zip but haven't put it to use yet. I need to see if Cakewalk has a "VST" folder somewhere and then see if it installs.

A couple of people in forum have been mentioning "Melodyne" for pitch correction? Do you think I'd benefit from it?

Googled mowtown exiter process extensively but ... the only references I can find to it are ones by rayc

I tried the slight offset on another song (not ready to put up yet, working on guitar lines), but yes, it does sound nice.

Mixsit, I'm not 100% sure how to put the "deep cuts" down.

And rayc, the new track is posted at soundclick.com/gewaar!

Thanks so much for the help everyone, I'll continue putting to practice your suggestions, please be tough and tell me whatever needs to be improved!


Rozanne

 

[rayc]

Rozanne,
I'll have a listen tonight - too busy scratching itchy bites at the present. Seems you've done your homework anyway. Hewre's a copy of the Motown Exciter rinciple.
I saved this when I last searched for it.
The Motown 1960's Exciting Compressor
With the Motown mix approach there were problems. If you wanted the lyrics to be heard you had to use a lot of compression on the vocal so that the the softer words could still be heard over the higher-level music. In addition you boosted the "presence range" (around 5 kHz) with an equalizer. The only problem with this is that it took the life & natural dynamics out of the vocal.
Lawrence Horn came up with a brilliant idea. He took the vocal and split the signal so that it when to 2 console channels.(in our situation we'd just clone/copy the vocal track) Before the vocal signal went to the second channel, it went through a compressor. Now he had two channels of the vocal - one compressed and one uncompressed. On the uncompressed vocal he added very little with the equalizer and he added the reverb. On the compressed channel, he compressed the h**l out of it and added a ton of high-frequency equalization. What he would do is bring up the "natural" channel to full level to get the basic natural sound on the vocal. On the other compressed and equalized channel, he brought this up just enough to add excitement and presence to the vocal sound.
The result was nothing less than amazing. In the mix the vocal sounded very natural and bright. None of the music ever "stepped on" the vocal and you could hear each and every syllable in the lyrics. The vocal never got lost.
Using The Exciting Compressor.
I don't know if anyone at Aphex knew anything about this technique - BUT - the purpose of their product and the older Motown technique seen basically the same. As you try this technique out you will find it works for other instruments as well. Often the frequency of EQ needs to be changed for the instrument. The vocal works well with tons of 5kHz to 8 kHz added to the "exciting compressor;" guitars work better with 3 kHz - 5 kHz and bass guitars work better with 800 hZ to 1.5 kHz.
For analog recording or working with an analog console, splitting the vocal into two console channels is easily done with a Y-chord or similar function at the patch bay. For digital consoles, it's a little harder; usually the best results are obtained by actually having two vocal tracks recorded on the tape.
Bob Dennis

 

[jmorris]

I have not yet listened to the track but 12 inches is way too far unless its a song where you REALLY belt it out. I think angle in relation to your mouth is more the path you need to be looking at...as far as mic placement. Also if your recording in a very dull room being far away just not going to work. If you are a a great recording room there could be an argument for having the mic a bit further away to pick up some room sound but I dont believe this is your case.

 

[gewaar]

Try 2 - With De-Esser

Hi,

I've loaded Try 2 of "Byster" on Soundclick. This one has the Fish Fillets' De-Esser on it, and I fiddled around with Melodyne. It was heartbreaking to see proof of how uneven my tone is, and which notes are clearly missed, but a worthwhile exercise.

I left the first one there for comparison ... I lost volume and suddenly regained it and only notice that now, will need to see what happened there. Something's fishy (urgh, sorry, it's late, couldn't resist!!)

That's probably it for the next week! Other challenges beckon ...

Rozanne

 

[mixsit]

Hi,

Mixsit, I'm not 100% sure how to put the "deep cuts" down.

That was just putting an eq 'dip' roughly centered where the tone on your voice is somewhat out of balance (as was heard on some cheap p/c speakers though..). Don't know what eq options you have but here is an example of a peak-dip eq with a healthy cut about an octave wide. Generally you'd like to aim at getting your tone dialed in if possible with mic choice and position and save eq for finer tuning.
Happy hunting