Mic selection for metal vocalist and kick drum dampening and triggering

[jaredistheman]

So i figured i'd throw 2 questions in one here. Firstly, the vocalist from the band i'm working with insists on having a handheld mic, so i'm thinking i'll just got with an sm58 as it seems like the go to for that sort of thing, but i wanted to hear what you guys thought too. Also, he insists that cupping the mic sounds amazing. From what i've heard of that it sounds terrible. How do i explain this to him?

Secondly, being a metal band, the band i'm working with has some intricate double bass parts, so i'm thinking if i can just run the kick tigger into my dm5 then run that to midi in logic, i can just click quantize and the kick drum will be done. I'll just be slip editing the rest in reaper, but i figured this would be a much easier way than having to slip edit all those kicks. I'm just wondering what the best way to keep the kick drum out of the over heads is? (i've seen a blanket over the kick drum, or completely stuffing it full of blankets to totally deaden the sound) And also how to set up all the drums (including the kick) best for triggering.

Thanks a ton for any advice!

 

[VWAS2009]

Give him a shure SM7B and do not let him hold it or the vocal track will sound awful just straight tell him if he wants it sound good he needs to not hold the mic... It may sound good live but NEVER sounds good in the studio... You need to slip edit every kick b/c it will be in every track of the drums bleeding through so you need to edit the entire drum kit together and cut every piece at the same places...

 

[Fragle]

disagree with both.
it's perfectly possible to get a decent vocal recording with a handheld mic. sm58 is a well known choice, but sm7b might be the even better solution if you have the funds. honestly, it's more about getting the vocalist to perform great, even if it's at the expense of fidelity. some people just can't work without a handheld, depends on the vocal style too. personally i shoot for LDC most of the time, but if the vocalist can't perform well on that (for example if he's doing a lot of inhale bree bree stuff) i have no problems with the old sm58 route.

as for kick quantizing, in my experience it's usually best to edit the whole kit at once on most parts, and edit the doublebass stuff seperately from the rest of the kit. yes you will get some flams from the OHs and room but if you set up the drums well and pay attention to proper filtering in the mixing stage it's inaudible in a full mix. much more convenient and better sounding than editing the whole kit during doublebass parts and chopping the OHs with all the cymbal information at every 16th note...

 

[JamesNorman]

Try doing this, coz cupping the mic kind of distorts the sound and if that what he is going for this will sound the same as proved by Mitch in this video and on the Suicide silence album.
I would aviod letting him hold it as he will more than likely not hold it straight or the same distant away from his mouth the entire time.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6APFvlc3ZgA&feature=related[/ame]

As for the drums if he is not a solid player try your hardest to isolate the kick drum from the OH but edit the while kit as a group.

 

[Fragle]

btw, taken from the collective questions for mr sneap thread:

"Re beat detective, I group the kit on normal beats, on fast double kick stuff I usually group kicks and the top of the kit separately so you are not chopping cymbals up into 16th etc and you can get snare and kicks tight."

 

[ahjteam]

Also, he insists that cupping the mic sounds amazing. From what i've heard of that it sounds terrible. How do i explain this to him?

You don't really need to explain it to him. If he is not a total douche, he will want the best end result. Record rest of the band first and the same short passage vocal passage (like 2 lines or something) with these variations:

- condenser microphone, on a stand with popfilter
- condenser microphone, on a stand without popfilter
- handheld microphone, on a stand with popfilter
- handheld microphone, on a stand without popfilter
- handheld microphone, in hand without cupping
- handheld microphone, in hand with cupping

then mix it in context, turn off the screens and blind test him which one he likes best and use that one

 

[Trevoire520]

If he insists on holding a mic then that's cool. a SM7B would be better though.

No matter what don't let him cup the mic though. Do a test with and without cupping the mic and he'll soon see how awful it sounds.