vocals lost

R

randompurpleness

New member
on every song i hear it sounds like the vocal part is completely seperate from all the other music. how is that done? is it EQ or what? I've tried so many things, but no matter how loud i turn up the vocal or do other stuff it seems like it just blends in with the music and it's hard to hear the words. Could it just be my voice? HELP!
 
Welcome to my world of suffering!

I tried raising the gain, reverb (a bit misguided) and eq boosts and none of them helped. I've found that the best results I've had are when I eq out some space in the other tracks, specifically guitars. Think of it as scooping out a seat in the frequency spectrum for the vocals to sit. I used to worry that my guitar sounds would suffer, but there are ways around that. Anyway, what good is a killer guitar sound if the vocals make the overall sound amatuerish? Dig? Some of the others may be able to offer some more specific info. but I just tweak until it sounds alright. Hope this helps.
 
yeah i've tried all that, but not the eq thing. see i have the VS-880EX so the parametric EQ isn't very adjustable, and it's not as simple as just movin actual buttons, but yo I'll try it out and see what I can do. I really think some of it has to do with my voice, so maybe I'll post somethin up in here for you to check out. Anymore help would be cool, thanks and peace.
 
if you want to make your vocals stand out in the mix, you could use a different preamp. That will usually do the trick, cos it colors the vocals in a different way from the rest of the music.

Better yet, get a preamp with eq that is sweepable, so that you have even more control.

peace
 
ok i don't know how I'll do that cuz right now I use the preamps built into my high quality 12 channel Behringer mixer. YEAH! So....I guess I'll have to look into finding a nice little preamp to mix it up a little eh? Beefy.
 
isn't that strange?

so many have vocals drowning in the mix and they want them more up front.
after recording - without having added effects yet - my vocals always hit me in my face. it took me a loooong time (and a new reverb-plugin, hehehe) to find out how to push them BACK.

and hey, randompurpleness, a low cut does always a great job. start at 100 Hz and keep trying.
 
It is close to impossible for me to advize with out hearing but try this and get back to me.

Use a good sounding plate on your Reverb unit.
Keep it subtle - don't over do it but make sure you can hear the effect as oppsed to the dry sound. Less is more in this case.
Go to the Delay option on your reverb - if it's to long it will muddy the mix
If needed shorten it.
On your reveb unit go to the Predelay add starting from around 70ms. listen to it in the mix and make this larger if needed.

If you are sending the reverb to another channal, then cut some of the low freq's on the return.

You might be having a Eq problem as well but I can't advise unless I can hear it.

As to using a different Preamp, I don't think it will make all the difference in the world. You DO need a good preamp for your music but if you changed your pre and THAT is why your vocals stand out.....I would be cautious from such a preamp coloring your vocals so.




[Edited by Shailat on 12-16-2000 at 10:37]
 
If you have an effects card(s) insert a compressor to the vocal, that should punch it up a little bit.

Ditto on checking the reverb settings...not only cut the bottom, but even tweak a little on the top. This of course could cause some trouble so be careful.

Have you tried mixing the vocals first? Get the sound you want then bring everything else up.

I've aqlso had touble getting the vocals to sit right in the mix, but is was more of a confidence problem with my own vocal ability...always felt it wasn't strong enough so I tried to "hide" it.
 
compress your vocal

since i don't know what your issue is exactly, i'm throwing this in the wind.

1) get other instruments in the same frequency as your voice away from you. ie... panning.

2) eq cut anything below 80hz (this is a personal subjective comment). you could actually cut a higher hz, but "I" start at 80hz and work up.

3) compress your vocals (if necessary) so that it is pretty constant in volume.

4) remember that reverb makes the vocal feel as though it is further back in the mix.
 
I have the same experience as six. My vocals are separate and different from the music, just as it should be.

I have the 150 hz highpass filter set permanently on on the mic, and I also high pass 150 hz on my preamp.

This might also add to it, apart from the fact that the preamp I use is famed for bringing out the vocals or whatever you run through it in a mix.
 
Try using compression with a tight room sound reverb patch.....add the latter judiciously so you are just putting some air around the vocal.Some of the VS880
mic patches are okay,and allow you to adjust the proximity
effect.It really helps to have everything compressed somewhat so there are no peaks.If you have a live room,you may want to use the natural proximity of your mic,how far you stand from it.Too many reverbs on each instrument makes the whole mix sound "bloated",and not very pleasing.Record as dry as possible,using reverb only to take away the direct-inject sterile sound....you can then add the time based effects later.
 
SM58...no money for a fancy vocal mic...yet

puttin it right in front of my face....yeah, with my homemeade filter right inbetween. so i'm less then 6 inches away from it.
 
ah... two more things

1. back away from that mic, more than 6 inches. it really helps (I record with a dynamic one too).

2. this may be obvious, but don't forget to get the highest input level possible. crank that mic-preamp up.
 
point one ain't nothing to do with point two

moving away from the mic the air between you and your mic does some kind of "natural EQ" - a low and a high cut. maybe that's not what you want - but give it a try.

second point, recording levels:
as with any other instrument you should keep the final level (before the signal reaches the mixer) as high as possible.
more loudness -> more "information" -> better sounding result.

I back away about 8 inches from my dynamic mic and turn up the pre-amp as much as possible without ending in distortion.
Mixing down I add some compression and do a 100 to 120 hz cut. No further eq. this mostly sounds quite good. for backing vocals I cut and compress a bit more.

try moving away from that mic, really.
 
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