trebley singer

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sandwiches

New member
hi, i am recording a singer who has a very thin "trebly" type voice.

i was wondering does anyone know any good methods of making their voice sound deeper?

i am hesitant to use +@ 200Hz because i think lately on it will clash with the bass, but i was thinking maybe any other popular EQs configuation or maybe EQing with a really high Q, so as to spread the reduction or increase over a large range of the spectrum?

thanks for help.
 
When you bring her signal in to the hard drive try roling off a little 7-9k with a shellf not a hi-q.

To increase her "beef" put her in a very close proxcimity to the mic. Then boost in the 600 to 800 hz area if the proxcimity trick wasn't enough.

its worked for me.
Maybe it'll help you too sandwiches. ;)
 
Follow the above advice and make her double her voice. If she can't manage that, copy her vocal track and detune it by 1-2% and mix it in at a lower level. Or run a chorus on her voice at about 10% wet. Pile on a little reverb. Heck--maybe just compress that double like 12:1 and mix it in there.

For women's voices a 200hz boost won't interfere with the bass much. Honestly, I typically cut the bass/kick around 200hz. Plus, if she sounds thin there may not be too much down there to boost--but, 'thinness' to me usually denotes a deficiency in the 200-500hz region.

You could also try moving some midfield speakers into a large room and miking that about 6' away and playing the vocal there and recording that to mix in with the original signal.

Or you could make a copy, EQ it rather radically, hit it with some chorus, LP filter it at around 5khz and mix it in there a bit as well. Keeps the natural sound of the high end intact while buffering up the fundemental and early harmonics.

Hit it with a slight amount of distortion/overdrive... or a tape compression simulator... or a tube simulator...

Heck, there's a lot you can do!

I've worked with some pretty crappy singers... does it show? :)
 
What mics are you using or thinking about using? It might help to stick her right up against something like an SM7 for the proximity effect.
 
You could always instruct her singing technique. The best way to do this is in a way that won't offend the client, such as; "well singing for recording is a little bit different--so I need you to put a little more chest and diaphragm into your performance... less tip of the mouth because that will make the vocal sound too spitty."

Granted this is based on my experience where most thin sounding singers (barely) project from the tip of their mouth/lips and don't get their diapragm, throat and vocal cavity resonance into it.

Thin voices are usually the result of poor technique or poor mic choice. Once you have a take captured there are a million and one ways to thicken it up but they all sound a little bit processed. It's times like that when the TC VoiceOne is a lifesaver. :)
 
Does the voice sound thin when you are standing in the room with her? If it does, try the suggestions above. If it doesn't, have her sing over the mic. Have the mic about chest level pointing up at a 30 degree angle. Put a popper stopper in front of her to sing into so she doesn't try to sing directly into the mic.
 
Farview said:
Does the voice sound thin when you are standing in the room with her? If it does, try the suggestions above. If it doesn't, have her sing over the mic. Have the mic about chest level pointing up at a 30 degree angle. Put a popper stopper in front of her to sing into so she doesn't try to sing directly into the mic.
Click to expand...

Good point--make sure the SOURCE is good before resorting to desperate measures.
 
sandwiches said:
hi, i am recording a singer who has a very thin "trebly" type voice.

i was wondering does anyone know any good methods of making their voice sound deeper?

i am hesitant to use +@ 200Hz because i think lately on it will clash with the bass, but i was thinking maybe any other popular EQs configuation or maybe EQing with a really high Q, so as to spread the reduction or increase over a large range of the spectrum?

thanks for help.
Click to expand...

Somethin funny i just noticed.
Nowhere in this post does he say that its a female singer.
I just assumed it was. Then every body read the next posts and assumed it was a female as well.
Woops. Oh well, it was still sound advice.. :)
 
xfinsterx said:
Somethin funny i just noticed.
Nowhere in this post does he say that its a female singer.
I just assumed it was. Then every body read the next posts and assumed it was a female as well.
Woops. Oh well, it was still sound advice.. :)
Click to expand...

yeah i was kindda embarrassed to reply to this post after somebody started saying it was a female singer :P

see, it's actually me, but i do have a really thin trebley voice. and i'm really self conscious about my singing, cause i'm really not good at it. i hate singing live.

anyway, the techniques i tried were to lower my microphone, so it's sorta just below my bottom lip. i heard that makes it better. and also, double my vocals, lower the "dampener" thing on my reverb so it just reverbate higher frequencies.

i think it helped, although if anybody wants to comment on it i have posted the song up, please go to

http://www.nowhereradio.com/waiholiu/singles and listen to "burnt".
 
My advice is to work with what you've got and don't try and make it something it isn't. So, you've got a thinner sounding voice... that's okay.
 
sandwiches said:
anyway, the techniques i tried were to lower my microphone, so it's sorta just below my bottom lip.
Click to expand...

I don't prefer that, too much plosive noise for me. Instead, get your mouth right up to that mic, but just off to the side. That's the best proximity effect you can get without popping & hissing.
 
And try different mics. Some are "chestier" sounding than others. I'd probably use my AT4033 on your voice since it emphasizes the lower tones a little.

And don't forget what Leon Russell was told early in his career: "mix your voice up front! With the way you sound, otherwise people'll think you're trying to hide something." ;)
 
lpdeluxe said:
And try different mics. Some are "chestier" sounding than others. I'd probably use my AT4033 on your voice since it emphasizes the lower tones a little.

And don't forget what Leon Russell was told early in his career: "mix your voice up front! With the way you sound, otherwise people'll think you're trying to hide something." ;)
Click to expand...

i am trying to hide something.

my hideous voice!
 
Won't work. Get used to it!

I have the same issue [different vocal probs, though] with some of my clients. I tell them, concentrate on expression. That's what the lyrics are FOR. Don't try to be Tom Jones, try to be the most killer "Insert Your Name Here" you can. Regardless of how you like your voice, make the song mean something to the people who hear it!


And don't forget to arrange the songs in the key friendliest to your range. That's why folksingers use capos.
 
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