Verse to scream vocal test

JDOD

JDOD

therecordingrebels.com
Alright, finally stopped procrastinating and started working on some vocals.

This is a snip of verse 1 and the intro to the chorus - need to get things to sit better.

I've added a reverb impulse that Greg gave me and some generic "modern vocal" compression.

View attachment Pillars - V Vox Test.mp3

At the moment I've snipped together the transition from the verse to the chorus scream 'cos I totally fucked up the change. But you get the picture.

This is sung into a 57. Do you think a consdenser and pop filter will help?
 
Tough call, as you are in the initial stages. Ask the question - do I want to practice my singing (just use the 57) or practice my singing and mixing condensor technique (buy condensor). My opinion - get the condensor as that is your eventual goal anyway and it will pick up nuances that help you learn your singing technique. Plus you're killing two birds with one mic.

About the recording - too much reverb and can't hear the second part at all.
About the singing - get a condensor - you're already doing good with the vocals as far as I can tell.
 
Cool. Cheers mate. At the moment I'm leaning towards that really cheap kit from focusrite which includes the cheep condenser. It's only cheep so probably worth giving it a go.
 
JDOD said:
At the moment I've snipped together the transition from the verse to the chorus scream 'cos I totally fucked up the change. But you get the picture.
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It's a composition/performance issue, rectifying the intensity level of the subdued verse vocal with the screamy part where the verse meets the chorus. At the very least (if you change nothing else) you're going to want the scream on a separate track, because the last syllable of the verse vocal should still be dying where your scream begins. Your very best shot at rectifying the two parts is probably to change the last line of the verse vocal so that it's one syllable shorter, making it die out a little sooner.

Also the very last line of the verse vocals is more buried than the rest of the verse. Could be you getting further from the mic, or your vocal drops a little because you're bracing for the big scream. If the latter, putting the scream on a separate track will help.

But get a condenser anyways. :)
 
Sounds good. You've got an 80s New Wave/Goth thing going on there. The vocal needs to come up. As Fleet said, use two different takes and tracks for the verse and chorus. It's hard to sing a close connection between whisper and scream, and anyway a little overlap would sound nice.

I'm all in favor of the condenser mic too. Get the best one you can afford. This really is a case where you can hear the difference in $ (or that cockeyed L thing that's not on my keyboard). Look for used if you can. It's a long term investment. The right one will serve you forever.
 
I'm just going to chime in here because I have had much better experience with a SM7b than any condenser mics with vocals in my studio.

Though the only condenser mics I have tried are cheap like the NT1a and and a CAD 179, I personally do not see a need for a condenser mic for vocals. Especially when my dogs or child are awake...
 
Jimmy, the thing about getting a condenser is also to kill another bird with the same stone. I also want to return using a room mic in conjunction with a 57 for miking my amp.

I'll have a look at a slight vocal overlap. There actually isn't any overlap so I should be able to sort this.
 
JDOD said:
Jimmy, the thing about getting a condenser is also to kill another bird with the same stone. I also want to return using a room mic in conjunction with a 57 for miking my amp.

I'll have a look at a slight vocal overlap. There actually isn't any overlap so I should be able to sort this.
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I do think that a condenser is a great thing to have in a home studio, it's pretty much an essential thing for vocals, acoustic instruments, etc. But I'll have to warn you about using a room mic on a guitar amp: it's not an easy thing to pull off. Especially in a bedroom/living room/garage studio. Between getting the phase correct and finding a good sounding spot in an average residence, it'll drive you freaking crazy trying to get a passable room+close mic to cooperate with each other. It's certainly not impossible, but it's tough. Just prepare for a fight to get it right. Personally, I gave up before I even got close :|

The SM7b actually does seem like a great vocal mic, and especially for instances like Jimmy mentioned: they're less sensitive than LDC mics, so they're a little less susceptible to room reflections and ambient noises. It's something to consider. Heck, Jim James and Micheal Jackson have recorded entire albums with one. I'd still go with an LDC first, but that's just me. They're a little more versatile.
 
I do use 2 Shure KSM141's for overhead mics on drums and one of them with the NT1a for acoustic guitar recording. I have just not found for myself that a condenser in my situation works great for vocals.

I suppose the genre and performer has much to do with what is needed, but from metal to country, to Disney pop stuff, male or female, I find that the sm7b works just fine for me in my experience. Not saying that a condenser mic is not a good investment. I suppose I just haven't found a need as of yet for vocals. Maybe I am missing something as well...

I sometimes use a cheap MXL R144 ribbon mic in the guitar room in combination with a SM57 with quite good results. Radial 'Phazer' inline from the Vintech X73i and the mic robot makes it quite easy to adjust the mic positioning and find a good combination for guitar tones. Have not used one of the condensers in there yet. I may have to give that a shot just to see. :)
 
Tadpui said:
I do think that a condenser is a great thing to have in a home studio, it's pretty much an essential thing for vocals, acoustic instruments, etc. But I'll have to warn you about using a room mic on a guitar amp: it's not an easy thing to pull off. Especially in a bedroom/living room/garage studio. Between getting the phase correct and finding a good sounding spot in an average residence, it'll drive you freaking crazy trying to get a passable room+close mic to cooperate with each other. It's certainly not impossible, but it's tough. Just prepare for a fight to get it right. Personally, I gave up before I even got close :|

The SM7b actually does seem like a great vocal mic, and especially for instances like Jimmy mentioned: they're less sensitive than LDC mics, so they're a little less susceptible to room reflections and ambient noises. It's something to consider. Heck, Jim James and Micheal Jackson have recorded entire albums with one. I'd still go with an LDC first, but that's just me. They're a little more versatile.
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I will say from my experience that a dynamic mic is the last thing I would ever use for an acoustic guitar. I have tried using the condenser mics on vocals but kind of gave up when the SM7b achieved what I needed.

To the room mic thing, the Phazer box thing is more of a vanity, but it does make it easy to phase align room mics before tracking. It really is just a delay with EQ options. I likely wouldn't have purchased it on it's merits. It was payment from a buddy that needed work on a bathroom. But it has been a really cool tool. Especially recently with a guy that had an open back combo amp. The ribbon behind the cab and 57 in front sounded friggen sweet when phase aligned.
 
Tadpui said:
But I'll have to warn you about using a room mic on a guitar amp: it's not an easy thing to pull off. Especially in a bedroom/living room/garage studio. Between getting the phase correct and finding a good sounding spot in an average residence, it'll drive you freaking crazy trying to get a passable room+close mic to cooperate with each other. It's certainly not impossible, but it's tough. Just prepare for a fight to get it right. Personally, I gave up before I even got close :|
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Me too. If they're not in phase, you can't blend the two mics freely without comb filtering--cool if you want your Les Paul to sound like a Strat, not so much otherwise. Getting them in phase is more trouble than it's worth to me. If I'm going to do a room mic, I'd rather just go with that. I use a ribbon about six feet out from the amp.
 
When this freakin song is finally done it should have its own inter-forum sticky. I feel like we all wrote it. :)
 
fat_fleet said:
When this freakin song is finally done it should have its own inter-forum sticky. I feel like we all wrote it. :)
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Lol! I suppose I've used my favourite song to teach myself to record properly while working on a pile of other stuff too!
 
JDOD said:
Lol! I suppose I've used my favourite song to teach myself to record properly while working on a pile of other stuff too!
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That's awesome though, I wish I had the patience to workshop one thing until it was perfect. The newer mix in the clinic of this is way improved over the original in the same thread, especially the drums.. so you're definitely getting some good advice somewhere.
 
jimmys69 said:
Wait.... what song? Is HR being freaky an placing your posts in the wrong thread? Or am I just confused?

....
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No, you just don't have the casual familiarity with every single thread in every single forum that I just assume everyone has.
 
fat_fleet said:
That's awesome though, I wish I had the patience to workshop one thing until it was perfect. The newer mix in the clinic of this is way improved over the original in the same thread, especially the drums.. so you're definitely getting some good advice somewhere.
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I wrote one of the initial riffs for the song the day I started using the forum about 15 months ago (I'd registered before though). I first used it as a tone test for my Marshall Jackhammer pedal going into a clean amp simply. There's nothing in the song that I don't like now, I'm totally happy with pretty much every note! But I want to retrack it... so hope I can recreate the performance.

I've learned a load from it too, all my other tracks are coming together much more quickly cos my recording technique is getting better.
 
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