Vocal Tracking/Micing Technique

[Heartfelt]

I have been doing practice scratch tracks and realized how much my tracks suck. I am doing an acoustic project and I want a basic natural sounding vocal, not a highly compressed rock thing.

Test is with a Cad Trion 8000 in cardiod straight into my audiofire.

Problem 1
My vocals don't sound natural, it sounds naturally compressed. I think being 4-5" with a filter is not working.

Problem 2
In some areas where the natural compression happens, the low mids load up. I assume it is a proximity effect problem.

Problem 3
Just a bit blah


I did some searches and found a couple of tips. When I test again Friday I will try:

1. Moving the mic up and away to about 12"
2. Changing to omni
3. Using my Meek pre... don't know why I didn't. I know it will bring a bit of life to it.

Are there other suggestions to get this going? Recording yourself is tough. I do fine on acoustic and am happy with the sonics there but the vox is killing me.

thanks

[Heartfelt]

bump 1 time before i get started.

[manthe]

Can you give us an example of a song for a reference point? A sound you'd like to emulate. I do a bit of acoustic stuff and I might have a nugget or two to offer....maybe.

[Heartfelt]

Hey, thanks for the reply.

I am aiming close to the type of sound that the foo fighters use for "Stranger things have happened"

YouTube - Foo Fighters - Stranger Things Have Happened


That sounds amazing. It is intimate and powerful. I love the shy use of ambience compared to many others that are washed in verb.

I know I don't stand a chance in making it "just like that" but I want the flavor.

[manthe]

Originally Posted by Heartfelt

Hey, thanks for the reply.

I am aiming close to the type of sound that the foo fighters use for "Stranger things have happened"

YouTube - Foo Fighters - Stranger Things Have Happened


That sounds amazing. It is intimate and powerful. I love the shy use of ambience compared to many others that are washed in verb.

I know I don't stand a chance in making it "just like that" but I want the flavor.

Well, to my ears, it indeed sounds like he is quite close to the mic and the ambience is added/manufactured. Either that, or there are 2 mics and the 'far' mic is mixed underneath the primary.

Anyhow, to me it sounds very much like a dynamic or even a ribbon mic. It lacks the massive resolution and top end that a lot of condensers have. Either that or a very nice, dark tube condenser. If I had to guess, I'd say something like an SM7B. It just has that dark, trimmed and whispery quality that this mic has (I have 2 and use them OFTEN!).

Also, there is certainly compression on this vocal (I'm listening as I type). It is subtle, but there. Sounds like the type of sound you can get from an LA2A, or similarly smooth and slow compressors with a small amount (-3 to -5 (on the louder parts) db GR).

If I were to attempt to get that sound using equipment I own, I'd do the following:

Shure SM7B into LA-610 channel strip. The LA-610 is very smooth and rounded. It really enhances the personal aspects of close micing a vox with a mic like the SM7B. I would put the singer (or me/you) about 3" to 6" off of the pop filter and instructh them to 'work the mic' by about 3 to 4 inches when singing louder/quieter. I would then set the preamp up for 'smooth' gain staging. That is to say, NOT to drive the tubes too hard. If you keep both knobs at 5 or below (or compensate for eachother) you can keep the sound very silky like this. I would then roll 1.5 to 3db OFF at ~7k to 10k, shelved. Then put the compressor in compress mode (no limiter) and run the compression dial up until I was getting in the neighborhood of 2 or 3db GR on the 'regular' parts and more on the louder parts.

Then for 'ambience' you can use a verb room plugin, an outboard room or a room mic, far away and mixed in underneath the lead vox. If it were me, I'd either use my IK CSR suite or my Lexicon MX400. My ISO booth is too small to get a lot of room ambience. I have been known to leave the door to the booth open and put a mic outside. This has actually worked quite well as long as I use and omni or figure-8 mic.

This can be accomplished in plenty of other ways. I was just going off of the top of my head, using my own stuff. But that hopefully gives you an idea of what 'I' think is going on. I could be 100% wrong!

[Heartfelt]

Thanks again.

I mentioned that just as a flavor preference. I don't have the resources to duplicate it. I really just want tips to accomplish my goal of getting a natural sounding vox. My earlier ones sucked big time.

I have been playing today with patterns at a greater distance (12" elevated about 3-4"). I also took the pop screen off and the natural compression is apparently gone. Whether by the screen removal or reducing the SPL on the mic, I dunno. Maybe both.

I also found that the omni mode gives a little more crispness and the cardiod is sounding better than when I was "up on it" as I did earlier. Now, at about 12", it is hard to pick one or the other. I like the edge but I love the body.

It seems that I am getting that part figured out and ITB compression and verb are the next monsters.

I just ran some tests with BF - 1176, Ren comp, Digi Comp 3 and Massey's CT4. I definitely have a new favorite. I used to swear by the Ren comp but that Massey CT4 is sweet and totally surprised me.

It does a great job leveling and also fattens it up a bit and still doesn't squash the edge off. I am impressed (just heard it). Very transparent.

well, back to testing.
thanks again.


By the way, I would love to try what you suggested some day. Thanks for taking the time to tell me.

[vernier]

Just a mic to tape is how all the greats did it. No compressors or nothing.

[Heartfelt]

I was hoping someone could confirm what I thought my problems may be and maybe suggest something I hadn't thought of.

[MarkRB]

Micing a singer is not that hard really.

There is a hole the sound comes out, put the mic near that.

If vocals sound too compressed then get them to back off a bit, if they hit the mic too hard it can sound shit.

In a good room you can get a great vocal sound with the singer a couple of feet away from the mic.