Guy's out there with the highend mic's.do you eq the vocal

[HIGHENDONLY]

Hey i use a sony c800g and for awile i wasnt using any eq on vocals with it just flat, but since i started playin with eq i notice the vocals sound great with just a touch a eq. I never used any before cause i figured with highend mics u don't really need any i guess i was wrong?? So you guy's out there using premium quality mics are you using using eq?

[Joel Hamilton]

Originally Posted by HIGHENDONLY

Hey i use a sony c800g and for awile i wasnt using any eq on vocals with it just flat, but since i started playin with eq i notice the vocals sound great with just a touch a eq. I never used any before cause i figured with highend mics u don't really need any i guess i was wrong?? So you guy's out there using premium quality mics are you using using eq?

As with anything I have ever recorded or mixed:

it depends.

There are times where the vocl was recorded with a 58 in the control room that i didnt EQ it because it was approriate in every way (the song, the singer, the sound, etc,etc,etc).

Too many variables to say, "YES, why yes I DO EQ the vocals even when I track them with 7 different U47's and an M49 just for the chorus's all through a different compressor for every single word."

Of course not.

Every situation is unique.

I have had to EQ the jesus out of vocals tracked with microphones that cost anywhere from 10 dollars to whatever the hell an ELAM251 is going for this week.

I have also NOT had to EQ the jesus, if at all, vocals tracked with these exact same microphones.

I feel like this is like asking if once you get to go to a really , really good restaraunt, do you still want salt and pepper?

[Led]

Joel has a point in that it really depends on the vocalist and the sound of their voice and what else is going on in the mix. I use a tube 47 most of the time for final vocals (not mine, I wish) and the thing is when it needs eq it will take a lot without getting harsh or nasty as long as you use a good eq.

[steins]

Most often I find myself EQing the vocals a bit to fit the mix.

I usually don´t think "this is a high-end mic so it needs no EQ". My only concern is getting the mix right. I have ended up with SM57 with no EQ and Korby U67´s with lots of EQ...it all depends.

Stein Tore

[Protools Guy]

My short answer is yes.

[BOWIE]

I avoid it as much as possible. I just can't stand the sound of phase distortion. I much prefer to focus on mic selection, positioning, preamp choice, comp choice. There's so much natural tonal adjustment that you can do w/o an EQ.

[woomanmoomin]

The RCA 44 ribbon mic is a classic and sounded pretty good on Bing Crosby, but I doubt it would sound quite as good on Britney. A lot of what makes a 'good' mic 'good' is purely context-specific, and would actually make the same mic 'bad' in lots of other contexts.

If a particular mic is completely inappropriate to the task at hand (often because it's too dark or too bright), you are probably dead in the water. On the other hand, you can definitely fine tune the response of an appropriate mic by means of EQ and potentially make a good sound better. Don't expect your gear to do all your work for you just because it's expensive and/or people say it's great! It's always about interaction.

[Ravian]

dont forget where you place your mic, what kind of room . etc.etc.

if your room has a lot of low-mid buildup you wanna EQ it out 2 compensate for the room(if the mix asks for it)

[cstanley]

when i do eq a vocal take i normally reach for the
manley mid-freq eq, there is something about it that
just really works well with vocal tracking...

-carl

[NathanEldred]

Usually yes. But only a gentle cut here or there, or a little high bass frequencies to thicken it up depending on the mix.

[LeeStoker]

I use a Blue Bluberry for upfront and bright a CAD VX2 for big and full or an AT4050 for neutral. I only EQ if there is a weird peak somewhere subtractive fixes that sometimes a high shelf at 12-15K for air alot of times a D'esser for that 6-9K razor blah yuck ouch stuff. For some reason I find I cut or use a multiband comp at 600-700hz no matter the mic, that frequencey bothers me in voice.

[Jess Jackson]

I have the c800g also and i dont usually use any EQ but i do roll off the low end and the top end sometimes when stacking lots of vocals.

[Dan]

I almost always have a hi pass on vocals. Of course, if it sounds better with more eq, I'll do it. One of the advantages of nice microphones is that they take eq well, in addition to sounding pretty good to begin with.

[peeder]

I completely agree with the above post, but...

Originally Posted by Joel Hamilton

I feel like this is like asking if once you get to go to a really , really good restaraunt, do you still want salt and pepper?

Absolutely not! It would be a scandal if I felt a need to correct the seasoning on a plate served by a top restaurant. tutt

Seasoning in cooking is much like EQ, you're right, but at those places the chefs are like our best mastering engineers. It would be similarly scandalous if you felt you had to re-EQ something coming out of Gateway or Sterling.

Now having to re-season crap at some family restaurant? Of course!

[AllAboutTone]

vocals , just a tad if needed.

[obostic]

When I am using my Sony C800G, I normally have to eq the low register because of my room.

[Ironklad Audio]

is this topic serious?

are there really people out there who own C800's, but don't know dick about using an EQ?

[woomanmoomin]

Originally Posted by peeder

at those places the chefs are like our best mastering engineers.

But I bet they can't spread butter with a toothpick, and IMO that's pretty much what anyone who attempts to use a really really dark mic like an AKG D12E to track Britney's vocals is doing.

Have those of you here who don't EQ your mic signals never used the EQ on your stereos or in Media Player to fine-tune the frequency balance of the songs you listen to...? What, would that be heresy or something? Has it honestly not occurred to every one of you to try EQ'ing mic signals? Cos I'm betting most of you have EQ'd whole mixes featuring those microphones!!

[Lynn Fuston]

Originally Posted by HIGHENDONLY

So you guy's out there using premium quality mics are you using using eq?

Only if it needs it.

[djui5]

Originally Posted by HIGHENDONLY

I never used any before cause i figured with highend mics u don't really need any i guess i was wrong??

Very wrong! Rules are for pu$$ies..

If it sounds better with EQ, then EQ it. Simple enough right? Just because something is expensive/high end doesn't mean it is barred from modification. This goes for everything, including verbs/delays/etc.

[Brad McGowan]

Originally Posted by Ironklad Audio

is this topic serious?

are there really people out there who own C800's, but don't know dick about using an EQ?

Good question! Maybe they are the same people that buy Brand X wiz-bang processor because their favorite "producer" uses it and they think it's a going to be a sonic silver bullet.

Brad

[HIGHENDONLY]

Or maybe some people are just jealous they don't own a expensive mic, so they talk shit and put people down on a forum I got into the production side a lil over a year ago so yea im still learning and i posted a simple? So if you don't own or use a high-end mic than shut it and get back to using your audio technica mic. While i go setup my c800g and look at it, you can do the same do a c800g image serch on yahoo!!!!But it's nothing like owning the real thing

[bcgood]

The only thing I have to say to the above poster is Audio Technica is not low end. Try a 4050 sometime and find out for yourself...

bcgood

[HIGHENDONLY]

I don't want too im afraid i will like it more than my c800g

[djui5]

Well now isn't that interesting...

[woomanmoomin]

HIGHENDONLY, hopefully nobody here resents the fact that you have such a nice mic. If anybody resents anything, it's probably the fact that anyone (not you), here or anywhere else, with a mic like that would be happy to stand a chance of limiting its potential and their own by point-blank refusing to EQ the signal from it.

Believe it or not, folks, there are probably not two of those microphones that respond in exactly the same way at every single frequency etc. Anyway the people who designed them did not have your particular vocalists and current recording environments in mind!! They may be great for your applications, but does that mean a bit of judicious EQ definitely wouldn't make them sound even better?

[Fletcher]

I will usually try to work with changing mics and positions... but the bottom line is that if it sounds good, it is good.

[tcause]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

I will usually try to work with changing mics and positions... but the bottom line is that if it sounds good, it is good.

man... that was what I was gunna say....

[Sigma]

i have had to cut vocals with extreme eq..but generally only with certain singers..

[C.Lambrechts]

It entirely depends on so many factors but in general terms it comes down to something like this :

You look for the signal path that suits the singer / song / style of music best. Which basically means pre amp + mic.

Once that choice is made my next step is to add compression ... usually light to very light compression ... sometimes a bit more. THEN .... when all that is set ... I will sometimes add an EQ. And if .... it is to take out something I'm hearing and don't like. Rarely it is to add something. But then again I the other day I put in a Tubetech EQ1A into the tracking chain because and added some midrange to the vocal. Jazzy tune ... voice lacking some mid and the tubetech 'warmed' it up a bit.

Nearly allways however it comes in last. Eq that is .... during tracking definitely allways after compression. For vocals that is ....

And if I can do without I will ......