What am I doing wrong

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mrgs711

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I'm trying to record my rap vocals but it seems like no matter what I do, the vocals never come out smooth, they always seem harsh or, idk, spacey. I'm not really sure how to describe it. I use the perception 220 condenser microphone with the audiobox usb interface. I don't really have an acoustically treated room though, so I try to record in the corner as some people suggest. Here's my latest recording I did.

YouTube - Desgaines - 6'6'6" (6'7" Remix)

If anyone can see what they might think is the problem, it would be greatly appreciated. Is it mic placement, mic choice, distance? I really have no idea, I feel like no matter what I try it always comes out like this.
 
You could tr to be as close to the microphone as possible - right up on it - kiss it. And it's not a very common advice here on HR but see what happens if your recording can be done in a smaller place.
 
Ive read that using a dynamic mic is good if you dont have a room thats treated, but honestly its not like I have trains and shit going on outside, its fairly quiet and I even asked another guy who seemed to know about audio and he said it wuldnt matter and that a dynamic mic wuld just sound muddy, i really cant pinpoint the problem, maybe I'm mixing something wrong?
 
mrgs711 said:
Ive read that using a dynamic mic is good if you dont have a room thats treated, but honestly its not like I have trains and shit going on outside, its fairly quiet and I even asked another guy who seemed to know about audio and he said it wuldnt matter and that a dynamic mic wuld just sound muddy, i really cant pinpoint the problem, maybe I'm mixing something wrong?
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That guy's an idiot.

First of all, a treated room has nothing to do with blocking out external noise...that's what sound-PROOFING does. We're talking about sound-TREATMENT, which is a whole different thing.

The room you record in is a huge part of getting a decent sound. A treated room will allow you to make better recordings. Period. Where you set up and what materials you use in the corners and on the walls are very important.

Problem is, it's such an involved subjest (yes, there's more to it than just throwing blankets on the walls) that your best bet would be to spend some time in the STUDIO BUILD/DISPLAY forum here on this site.
 
if the room your recording in, like it sounds in the video maybe a little bit noisey and getting into your recording, then you should move somewhere quieter in your house. thats the only cure for that unless your gonna soundproof the entire area. try putting up some blankets and such just to help out with reflections and sound proofing.

the way you have your mic is siting off axis. this tends to make watever your recording sound a bit darker and such. try putting it on axis which will brighter things up and give you a clearer sound.

on a second thought you can try using some eq as well. the vocal sounds a little muddy. try pulling out some of the recording around 200hz or so but not to much. you can also boost a bit around 5 hz for some more presence.

compression will also help smooth out your vocals but it wont help if the raw recording sucks. it will just make the sucks suckier.

hope that helps
 
I was having room trouble (the vocals were coming out too muddy, and with a reverb-like sound) until I bought the $50 Aural Xpanders kit.. from AURALEX.. and started using them on my microphone. Made all the difference in the world to me. I use one behind the mike, and one below (touching the other one, to create a kind of "L" shape). It cleared up the vocals, and enabled me to get a dryer, clear sound. At a great price, I might add.

I've also seen the PRIMACOUSTIC VOX GUARD ($99), or the sE Electronics RELEXION filter ($299), which essentially do the same thing. I think sE Electronics has a cheaper once now for about $179 or so... all available at Sweetwater.
 
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