Where do nasty vocal esses come from?

[jazzius]

I remember a while back the Bombguy said that nasty vocal esses are often due to distortion rather then just an abundance of hi frequencies and i thought this makes perfect sense.....

...but i was wondering where this distortion takes place........is it mechanical distortion of the mic (like the diaphram can't handle the hi freq energy) or is it more likely overloading the pre-amp?
...any thoughts?

[Bob Olhsson]

I've always thought it is mostly an unfortunate combination of microphone resonances and voice timbres. People who have their front teeth worked on or replaced often have a pretty big change happen to the character of their sibilance.

The distortion comes from the fact that analog tape and disk along with FM radio have very poor headroom at high frequencies. Sibilance problems often cause distortion and that distortion in turn creates an even bigger sibilance problem at the next point in the chain.

[faeflora]

I think it's amplification. Have someone go ssssssss at your ear from 1 foot away and you'll hear it much louder than across the room.

[chessparov]

I have a (very) slightly chipped front tooth that causes moderate
sibilance when singing. Not "that" noticable until my ears
became a bit more educated-then it really bugged me.

That's what started an interest in dynamic microphones for vocals.
Then later learned in many cases they're a better choice for
non-acoustically treated rooms anyway.

Do you guys tend to prefer a dedicated de-esser over a compressor/EQ
sidechain or simple (narrow) EQ cut for reducing recorded sibilance?

Chris

P.S. I think the Sony 7506 headphones are good at sibilance "detection".
(have the "consumer" MDR-V6 version which is the same)

[Bob Olhsson]

Dynamic microphones are frequently a better choice in treated rooms too but I totally agree that they become indispensable in untreated rooms.

Those long, chrome-topped U-47s have always been the vocal microphone of choice for photographers but not at all for real recording engineers.

[toledo3]

Originally posted by Bob Olhsson


Those long, chrome-topped U-47s have always been the vocal microphone of choice for photographers but not at all for real recording engineers.

Is that for real? I have never used one. I know of a good deal of stuff I like that they were supposedly used on.

[Renie]

Originally posted by chessparov
I have a (very) slightly chipped front tooth that causes moderate
sibilance when singing. Not "that" noticable until my ears
became a bit more educated-then it really bugged me.

You say 'bugged' so maybe it doesn't bother you now..if it does though, have you considered dental treatment, I'm sure something could be done...