Vocal recording techinques?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris Jahn
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Chris Jahn

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I use an MXL 9000 tube large condensor mic for vocals, pluged into a presonus firepod recorded into logic 7.

My problem is that i get OK vocals, not horible, and with some compression and decent verb sometimes even pretty good, but not GREAT.

Any suggestions out there for tracking the vocals. I record mostly loud, semi shouted bruce springsteen type vocals or Timm Armstrong from Rancid type vocals. Im hoping for some mic placement and distance suggestions on the tracking side, and some copression and Eq settings on the mixing side to get warmer more "realistic" sounds!!!! Any Ideas?
 
Samples please!

Could be a number of different things, the room you are recording in, your voice itself, and yes, the settings in your software... I can't comment on the quality of the mic myself as I've never used it, but the firepod is considered a good interface from what I've read...

Just some more info, and we'll do the best we can to help ya out :)
 
The room is very open with low ceilings, no echo or predominent reverb though. The mike is usually placed directly in front of the mouth on axis about 6 to 8 inches away with a pop filter.

And i dont think its the voice, cuz ive recorded several voices male and female with the same problem, but the singing i described is what i work with for the most part.

Ive tried eq-ing, various compression (incluing paralell) and lots of differnt reverbs but non of it give me the sound i want which is much warmer and fuller. The paralell comp with no EQ has given me the best resualts so far.
 
Have you tried treating the room? My vocal sounds improved tenfold after I started putting up makeshift baffles off to the sides and back of the mic. The way I see it is that if you are in a room that just sounds like...A small room...Then your best bet is to put up some treatment and even out the rt, get yourself a nice, 'dead' yet balanced source and use some elite verb skills later on.
 
Although the firepod may be a good interface, you may want to consider buying a seperate preamp. Ever since I started using my penta preamp with my B2 Pro, ive been getting brilliant sounding quality.

As for software tweaks, I suppose it sounds on your voice and the way you want to take it. 'Warm' to one person may be different to someone else.

One tip ive learned, is make sure your recording levels into your computer are low, and then normalize them when you are done. (Should be done if the room doesnt have too much noise in). This leaves all important headroom for getting those frequencies as you want them.

Remember, Reverb Kills. Use as little as possible to make the vocal sit realisticly. You dont want your vocalist souning muddy, or 20 miles away.

When recording, it really helps if you get your vocalist to get as close to the mic as they can without interfering with any pop filters. You would be amazed at how my recordings started to change when my vocalists actually sang into the mic instead of slightly away from it, they manage to direct the sound in places you wouldnt believe!

I hope ive given some good tips, let me know if I can help any more =]
 
I honestly can't comment on the mic, but the room suggestions are excellent. Just putting two mattresses behind you as baffles to test it out will make a world of difference. I just got done with my iso booth and you would be amazed at how much of a difference a completely dead room can make. The vocals now seem to be right in front of you. I usually have the vocalist as close to the mic as possible (usually 3-4 inches). If need be ill roll off the low end below around 100hz to counteract the proximity effect during the mixing stages. I use heavy compression on the vocals in my recordings probably because I used to record a lot of rap. I use a 4:1 ratio, a -30db threshold, and a fast attack and release time on most tracks. It seems to bring the vocals even closer to you. This may not be best for you but it is worth a try. What kind of results are u getting? Does it sound thin? Too muddy? Not warm enough? How would u describe it?



-Lee
 
Chris Jahn said:
I record mostly loud, semi shouted bruce springsteen type vocals or Timm Armstrong from Rancid type vocals.
Click to expand...

Get a Shure 58.
 
Try a Shure SM-7b and a really good mic pre, and a really musical compressor and [if necessary] a high quality equalizer and you'll get something that gets closer to "professional" results.

Best of luck with it.
 
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