Recording Beatboxing? Any Vocal Chains?

[Mr_Jr]

Hello Everyone,

this is my first post on gear sluts although I've been reading the forum for some time now.

I don't have much of a setup, I have a MBox and a SM58
So in terms of Mic i don't have many options.
But i plan on getting some mics in the future so if you have any recommendations let me know.

Also do you know of any useful vocal processes I can try on my beat boxing to get the best out of it.

What sort of compression settings beat boxing would be best for fast and or slow tempos.

Any information regarding this subject matter would be very useful.

Thank you in advance.

[Mr_Jr]

Also I run into bad woofiness and p and b's being over done or clipping.

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by Mr_Jr

Also I run into bad woofiness and p and b's being over done or clipping.

No shit!!!

[Synthy08]

Timbo got a song with Jay-z called, "Ain't I" and on a breakdown he beat boxes and it sounds amazing, his"puhh" sounds better than alot of kick drums.

[Mr_Jr]

So it doesn't look like I'm going to be getting much help on this forum huh!

[computa]

Originally Posted by Synthy08

Timbo got a song with Jay-z called, "Ain't I" and on a breakdown he beat boxes and it sounds amazing, his"puhh" sounds better than alot of kick drums.

u sure he was really beatboxing? a few emu modules and roland synths had "beatboxing" patches. tim used alot of that in some aaliyah stuff.

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by computa

u sure he was really beatboxing? a few emu modules and roland synths had "beatboxing" patches. tim used alot of that in some aaliyah stuff.

Xpand has a decent beatbox under the drums dropdown

[Keyflo]

anybody nowhere i can find some beatboxing, wav drums liek from big fish or some where

[goldenlotus]

Try plugging your mic into a guitar amp and micing that up. Sometimes kick sounds come through better this way.

Other than that, there aren't really any tricks... it's still just a vocal : )

[phillysoulman]

Originally Posted by goldenlotus

Try plugging your mic into a guitar amp and micing that up. Sometimes kick sounds come through better this way.

Other than that, there aren't really any tricks... it's still just a vocal : )

Thats a good idea..

[Darm]

My friend is really good at beatboxing
you can see him here

They are using a neumann handheld mic with a DBX 120 sub bass synth on it

[percussion boy]

Originally Posted by Mr_Jr

But i plan on getting some mics in the future so if you have any recommendations let me know.

Also do you know of any useful vocal processes I can try on my beat boxing to get the best out of it.

What sort of compression settings beat boxing would be best for fast and or slow tempos.

Any information regarding this subject matter would be very useful.

Hey --

I kind of feel like no one's answering what you asked, so here's some generic info that might be helpful. I'm not a beatboxer, just know the basics of it.

1. The closer the beat-boxer gets to the mic, the more low end you get (proximity effect). You can use this to shape your tone. I imagine the guys in the early club days were probably right up on the mic.

2. P's and b's give punch to the sound, because they cause a blast of air to hit the mic.It seems like this could be good for beatboxing, up to a point -- more attack, like a kick drum.

Since you don't like what you're getting with p's/b's, you could experiment some: (a) Record at a lower level (if the nastiness is caused by clipping in the pre or the recorder); (b) Try compressor or limiter with very fast attack and very high ratio; (c) Put a wind screen (one of those round mesh ones that clamp to the mic stand on a metal arm) between the beatboxer and the mic (if the nastiness is caused by the mic getting hit too hard by the air blast); (d) ask the beatboxer to make the p's/b's more lightly, with less lip action -- I find when I'm singing that I don't need to hit consonants hard, but yet the words can be understood. Let the mic do the work.

3. A 58 seems like what the guys who invented beatboxing were probably using: typical '80s club dynamic vocal mic. There are also a billion cheap condenser mics out but I'm not sure which one would fit what you're doing. If you could borrow a Sennheiser 421 dynamic, that might be an interesting experiment: Not very bright, but nice punch in the lows.

4. I'm not sure about specific compressor settings for beatboxing . . . remember that regardless of tempo, if you set the attack too fast, it will take the edge off a little; probably not good for the groove, unless you need to tame the p's and b's as mentioned above.

I hope something here is useful . . . Good luck.

[Mr_Jr]

Originally Posted by percussion boy

Hey --

I kind of feel like no one's answering what you asked, so here's some generic info that might be helpful. I'm not a beatboxer, just know the basics of it.

1. The closer the beat-boxer gets to the mic, the more low end you get (proximity effect). You can use this to shape your tone. I imagine the guys in the early club days were probably right up on the mic.

2. P's and b's give punch to the sound, because they cause a blast of air to hit the mic.It seems like this could be good for beatboxing, up to a point -- more attack, like a kick drum.

Since you don't like what you're getting with p's/b's, you could experiment some: (a) Record at a lower level (if the nastiness is caused by clipping in the pre or the recorder); (b) Try compressor or limiter with very fast attack and very high ratio; (c) Put a wind screen (one of those round mesh ones that clamp to the mic stand on a metal arm) between the beatboxer and the mic (if the nastiness is caused by the mic getting hit too hard by the air blast); (d) ask the beatboxer to make the p's/b's more lightly, with less lip action -- I find when I'm singing that I don't need to hit consonants hard, but yet the words can be understood. Let the mic do the work.

3. A 58 seems like what the guys who invented beatboxing were probably using: typical '80s club dynamic vocal mic. There are also a billion cheap condenser mics out but I'm not sure which one would fit what you're doing. If you could borrow a Sennheiser 421 dynamic, that might be an interesting experiment: Not very bright, but nice punch in the lows.

4. I'm not sure about specific compressor settings for beatboxing . . . remember that regardless of tempo, if you set the attack too fast, it will take the edge off a little; probably not good for the groove, unless you need to tame the p's and b's as mentioned above.

I hope something here is useful . . . Good luck.

Thank you for your time

[percussion boy]

No problem. Post back later if you want and let us know how you come out with it . . .

[termtables]

Originally Posted by Darm

My friend is really good at beatboxing
you can see him here

They are using a neumann handheld mic with a DBX 120 sub bass synth on it

too many close ups on that guys mouth in the intro, jesus

[entropy]

In my limited beatbox experience (engineered a few of Killa Kela's early releases), I used to treat everything as it was supposed to be. So for kick, snr, hat duties would use a drum processing chain, typically something like Pultec EQ> Tubetech LCA2B and then maybe a transient designer or punch gate to add some attack. Occasionally a DBX120A sub synth in parallel to add some weight.

Same applied for scratches, bass lines and synth parts, just treated them (to begin with) as you would a real instrument, and once I had all the parts processed I would then detail the mix from there.

YMMV

[illynoise]

My best beat box chain was in 1987, Atus Handheld into a Realistic Mixer, into a Clarion 4 track recorder.

Seriously, it got me signed.