Whaddaya think of this 14 yr. old singer from Quebec???

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zim

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Hey all,

Well, no new music from myself in awhile, but I recorded my 14 yr. old niece last weekend and I think she has serious potential... The song is in French, but I think you can still get an idea.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/9/zimmusic.htm

The song is "'J 'men veux".

Please do not bother critiquing the music--it's just midi'd from a local music guy around here--but please give me opinions on the singing and how I can record a good vocalist w/a strong voice (loud) without too many bells and whistles--I'm recording on a Zoom MRS-4 with an old Shure 585--I've got efx in the recording unit, but am hoping for some suggestions as to how to record the voice better.

Any comments will be greatly appreciated... but I'd really like to focus on the voice, ok?

thanks,
ZIM
 
Hey...She sounds great to me...I thought the music was all right also (I was expecting a cheezy autoaccompaniment). I don't know enough to give you much technical help on recording vocals...It does seem that the whole recording has a noticeable hiss that (by troubleshooting your signal-chain) you might be able to eliminate in future recordings.
 
Don't overload it with reverb like whoever recorded this did. The early reflections are almost taking my head off! The overall effect sounds fairly thin. Production could definately be better!

Singing is okay, still needs room to grow but this is okay for being 14. More advanced lessons and experience are what is needed. Sibiliants were a little harsh, but that may just be the reverb.

Just don't drown her in reverb, use some flattering compression and eq, and test mics out to see which one sounds best and you should do fine.

And a more exciting song would help.
 
you know what...

i know a better song could help out, but she picked this one as her first and you work with what you got.

as far as the way the recording is, thanks for the tips--i know i need to use compression with the vocs, but i don't have it at the moment. (i did use comp. and eq on audacity w/it, tho) my wife also told me beforehand that i had too much 'verb in the mix, but i never f*'in listen. i still have the voc. track w/o the 'verb, so perhaps i could fix it up a bit?

overall, thanks for the opinions so far--i just hope to be able to get the chance to record her again--it's amazing when you have a great voice to record instead of yourself (ahem...).

hope to hear more feedback...
ZIM
 
Honestly my idea of 'drowning in reverb' is somewhere around 13% wet... I personally never go much above 7% reverb. I like some space, but I'm getting mad if I HEAR the reverb rather than the voice... I just want it to sound right. And for me that is very light 'verb.

Definately compress those vocals! A little subtractive eq to take out some problem areas is good, as is a light upper harmonic boost around 12khz or so.
 
She definitely has talent, man. No doubt in my mind. You can obviously hear through the crap to hear gem underneath, and that's great; not everybody can. It's hard to get people to take teens seriously, and that's a mistake, I think.

If I could make a recommendation, it would be to really try something with a single guitar and vocal, as clean as possible, to make that voice stand out. My daughter is 14, and we recorded one like that last night, and I don't want to hijack this thread, but if you like anything about "Great Expectations," (http://www.betteroffdad.com/mp3.htm) then PM me and I'll be happy to give you any advice I have. Less really is more when you're looking to highlight a singer's voice, and the recording I mentioned took all of :30 minutes. If you hate it, then ignore me, lol.
 
Oh, and as far as compression on vocals...use it if it needs it. Don't just use it because everybody does. Depending on how you set the paremeters, it often makes sibilance worse. Enveloping (riding the fader) takes longer, but the results are usually better.
 
Look out Celine Dion

I like some thick reverb when its high-end reverd and sounds rich - kinda like Celine has used in the past. I did notice a some buzz or something around 12-14k from the vocal mic. I little comp could help out. You should have her order some professional sountracks to sing with and that would help a lot.


I wish I understood French :) I think :)
 
I have to agree, back off on the reverb. Your song sounds like a karaoke rather than a recording. Listen to what Chris Harris is telling you. You have a talent there that you can cultivate if you are careful. Some pro singing lessons, and watch out!
 
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