vocal recording

  • Thread starter Thread starter bastupungen
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bastupungen

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Im recording some heavy metal songs and i'm having some problems with the vocals...
Im useing the shure SM58 and connecting it directly to the mic in on the back of my sound card(i'm low on fund so i cant afford a mixer)
the problem is that it sounds absent... i want it to sound more close... "in your face", sharp like...
Im useing cubase VST 5.0
how can i acheve that? any eq? compressor? mic techniques?
all help welcome
 
are you panning the tracks? If not the vocals will get covered up if both guitars and vocals are in the same place.
 
Couple of suggestions....

1. See if you can find something laying around to use for a pre-amp, it really makes a difference. ...an old mixer, an old 4-track, even a guitar effects box (carefully set-up) would probably help.

2. Yup, compression and EQ help quite a bit ...just don't overdo it. For heavy metal, I'd compress it quite a bit. Then adjust the EQ to taste ...roll off the low-lows, maybe cut a bit of lower-mids. Experiment with it, but most important of all ...listen to a similar-sounding CD that you like the vocal sound on and compare yours to it to find out what the differences are.
 
Bastupungen = Sauna Scrotum?

What Sean said, you need something to boost the signal. If you like me are Swedish, you can get a [crappy, but working] mic pre for around 400 SEK at www.jam.se. It's better than not having anything at all.
 
Might seem obvious but: If you have a regular run-of-the-mill computer soundcard make sure you are plugged into the "Line In" jack, not the "Mic" jack. The mic jack is for those cheesy mics you use to talk on the internet.
 
sm58 + line in = NO SOUND

sm58 + mic in = SOUND (maybe not the best, but better than none)
 
vocal

ok thanks for the responses...
But do anyone have an suggestions how i should set up the comressor? any expanding???
but is there anything that i can do to help the it sounds like distant??? away... mic techniques?
 
ahh

i have the same damned problem..
Record in studio rather then mono, get a condenser mic. Hmmmmm that's all i can think of. Shure sm57-58 aren't the best vocal mics : ( i have 57 it sucks for vocals.
 
Re: ahh

musicsdarkangel said:
i have 57 it sucks for vocals.
Click to expand...
Really? I think a 57 is a great all-round mic which does a pretty darn good job for vocals as well. Granted, there are better vocal mics, but to say it *sucks* is a bit harsh, don't you think?
 
yep, sucks is a bad choice of words...im sure a few hit records were made with a sm57 vocal.....
 
Gidge said:
yep, sucks is a bad choice of words...im sure a few hit records were made with a sm57 vocal.....
Click to expand...

MrLip sounded good on his SM57. :)
 
If I'm not mistaken...

The only difference between a SM57 "instrument" mic and a SM58 " vocal" mic is the wind screen construction.

The 57 has a more unidirectional quality while the "ball type" screen on the 58 opens it up a bit to be more "omnidirectional" so you don't have to sing exactly into a small area... This allows the vocalist a bit of leeway of movement when singing.

As far as mic techniques with a dynamic I like to place the mic above me pointing down about 45 degrees from horizontal. This makes you look up while singing and opens the throat a bit more. I set the mic height so when I "look up" the front of the mic is at mouth height and about 2 or so inches away. A foam pop screen can help quite a bit as well...

I have a LD condenser now and the difference is night and day. With some care you can get a 57 or 58 to sound pretty damn good...

Hope this helps...

zip >>
 
Thanks for your tips man...

Ill try that mic techique you said
Im soon going to post where you can download my songs and i would love if i could get some creative response...
have a nice weekend guy... ill be back with m newbie questons dont worry!
 
ahh

yea you're right. Sorry i was just comparing em to condenser's ribbon's tube's etc. I shouldn't blame my recording abilities on the mic.

It can sound good, i dunno if its how im using cubase or what, but it sounds too computerized or somethin. Maybe its the panning, cause i never pan. Well thanks cause this thread has helped me too.

btw, try puttin a small bit of reverb on it just to experiment, its worth a try. Helped me a bit.
 
Leeking,

did you hear MrLips song "Wait"?....that was a while back but one of THE best songs posted in the clinic.......sm57 thru a Art Tube mp for vocals if i remeber correctly......also Teddie(Smart Apple over at mp3.com), is rumored to use a sm57 thru an Art and his vocals are slammin......i could go on......
 
Put your MP3's up on a site and post a link in the MP3 section of the board. I'm sure you'll get lot of good feedback!

If there's one thing musically I can do well is sing...so I constantly work at it. The only thing that sucks is beyond vocals I'm only an average musician at best...I'm always trying to find people who can write / play that I can do projects with.

Makes it tough to mix sometimes. Maybe I can do like a 10 voice harmony or sumpin... :D

MDA...

It may not be the Cubase. What type of soundcard do you use? I would suspect that first. I recorded with my soundblaster...it was OK. Then recorded with my MOTU 828....WOW!! What a dif...!!!

About the panning...are you panning lead vocals dead center? Most folks do. I'll do that then place harmonies in different locations...10 O'clock...3 O'clock...whatever sound good in the mix.

Keep on singin'!!

zip >>
 
ok guys.... I dont have time to fix an website!
BUT i have an ftp you can log in to...
ftp.portland.co.uk
login name: arcane1
password:hoxx26

Just one thing i know that the drums are a little... well, bad...
But all creative response is welcome....
LATER DUDES!
 
well

I'd say an omni studio is a pretty good setup, wouldn't you? =)
heh yea i think its the panning, i don't pan. I should probably, should I record them in stereo also?
 
ok now my homepage works... just go to
arcane.portland.co.uk then go to downloads and download the songs
creative respons!!! is more than welcome
 
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