Help with recording vocals

[passionmax]

Hi,
I am using a Rode NT1. I really like the mic. To get a full vocal sound from my singerI like her to be 5" away from the mic. I don't have the filter on so I have full range. I love the sound. The only problem is I am getting boomy sounds sometime. I think you call ity the proximity effect. If I use the cutoff switch on my mic pre then the vocal sounds thinner. If she sings farther away from the mic to compensate the vocal sounds distant and nice close and personal.
How are you guys recording vocals. Do you have the cutoff swithc in. or is there another way to record without the boom
thanks

[Killahurts]

Are you using a pop screen?

[rwhitney]

I don't know about the rode's HP, but I've often used the HP in the U87 (which I think is set around 100 Hz), and around 80Hz on outboard and other mics, with singers; esp. females. Almost always turns out better for me in the end. But you could try processing afterward with eq to see what will work. A gentler slope (like -6dB/octave) should work, and can be placed higher than a harder cut (and vise versa). I've found that the busier the arrangement of a song, and the more low frequencies coming from other sources besides the vocal, the more critical the HP is to getting the vocal to sit well in the mix. You may need less low freqs. than you at first might think.

[thethrillfactor]

Originally posted by passionmax

How are you guys recording vocals. Do you have the cutoff swithc in. or is there another way to record without the boom
thanks

The boomiess comes from:

a) Recording in cardiod- try it in omni which will smooth out the bass peaks. The room will come into question though(look at "B").

b) The room- Is the room reflective? Is it small? Are you getting reflections of the glass? All these things contribute to the boomines.

c) Finally ...compression - Are you recording with compression?
Compresssion can be a big culprit. Try recording without it. The only thing is she better have a decent mic technique and you will have to ride the send.

[vaesion]

I think ur gona have to take the good with the bad. I can't imagine not using a pop filter on a vocalist or in ur case a boom filter.
I use the lo cut on my distressors....but the u87 lo cut sounds pretty good.
Even with out a low cut I don't hear boominess unless thers no pop filter

[rwhitney]

FWIW, I almost always record singers from maybe six inches above their nose, angled down toward their mouth from a foot or more away, without a pop filter. The cardiod proximity boost helps in this case, and the distance gives a more natural sound than right up on the mic. Since they're not singing directly at the diaphragm, there usually aren't any problems with plosives. Some years ago I A/B'd the sound with and without the nylon-type pop filter, and found that filters dulled the sound a bit, so I try not to use them unles the style calls for a very close mic. The metal Stedman filter dulls the sound less, I think, but sometimes plosives get through it.

[vaesion]

Originally posted by rwhitney
FWIW, I almost always record singers from maybe six inches above their nose, angled down toward their mouth from a foot or more away, without a pop filter. The cardiod proximity boost helps in this case, and the distance gives a more natural sound than right up on the mic. Since they're not singing directly at the diaphragm, there usually aren't any problems with plosives. Some years ago I A/B'd the sound with and without the nylon-type pop filter, and found that filters dulled the sound a bit, so I try not to use them unles the style calls for a very close mic. The metal Stedman filter dulls the sound less, I think, but sometimes plosives get through it.

i like my mic a little higher too. mine hangs up side down