VOCAL recordings

[fearmythoughts]

hey guys!

i´m going to record vox the first time seriously and lent some stuff for that!
an UAD solo 610 preamp and a neumann u87.pretty good stuff i guess.

we did some test tracks,but since i never recorded with a good quality tube preamp,i´m wondering how far i can go with the tube-saturation/overdrive.

the guy is singing mostly clean with some screams,and when he screamed i had distortion/overdrive in the monitors,but there was no clipping,so i guess this is what you want from a tubepreamp,right?!?;-)

i´m just not sure how much Distortion/Overdrive/Tubesaturation (whatever you wanna call it;-)) i should use for that...

thanks,bye,pat

 

[LSD-Studio]

no rules...

if you think it sounds good....use it.


I know, that's not the answer you wanna hear but it's actually the best advice I can give


I think a bit o girth on screams can be quite nice...
but I would perhaps consider recording the clean vox and the screams separately to have more control.

 

[fearmythoughts]

haha,i expected an awnser like this;-)

it´s actually really good that there are no rules

what i forgot to say:i was a bit dissapointed about the result of the recordings.

it was kind of "thin" although this guy has a fantastic full voice.i probably expected more from the gear.

first i had a low cut in the u87 and the UAD,then i switched both to flat,but no audible change in there.maybe room issues?we recorded in the control room,not audio optimized, 6 x 2,5 meters...hmmm....i don´t know

anyway,it looks like my goal will be to capture this guys´voice for the optimum
bye,pat

 

[LSD-Studio]

what i forgot to say:i was a bit dissapointed about the result of the recordings.

it was kind of "thin" although this guy has a fantastic full voice.i probably expected more from the gear.

have you tried it in the mix or just listened to it soloed?
I don't think the room's influences will be THAT big (might be though) but you can just try different positions in the room...if the problem doesn't change / the problematic freqs don't shift it's probably not the room.

there are singers and mics that just don't "match"...try different mics as well...the most expensive one doesn't necessairily have to be the best choice for the particular situation

can you be sure that the recorded tone is thin or is it perhaps just the played back one? listening in that room will probably not be very representativ I think

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Kudos, you must be the first guy to get a thin recording with a Neumann U87

 

[C_F_H_13]

Renting gear in for singers is always tough. Vocals for me, are the one thing you record where you can't count on the quality of the mic to equal better sound. I once used a telefuken 251 on a vocalist thinking that a mic worth big $$$$ would sound amazing....it seriously sounded like total garbage....ended up using an SM7 and it worked great. It always takes a few tests with different mics to see what'll work for each person.

 

[Ihsahn1981]

The U87 and the 610 will really show you just how crappy your room is
I borrowed a highend mic once to record in my homestudio and it was a nightmare.

Not dissing highend mics here Im just saying that an increase in mic and pre quality requires
an increase in room quality.


Also, In case you didnt know, turn on your tube gear at least 1/2 hour before using it.
The shit takes time to warm up and work properly.

 

[ElektricEyez]

The U87 and the 610 will really show you just how crappy your room is
I borrowed a highend mic once to record in my homestudio and it was a nightmare.

Not dissing highend mics here Im just saying that an increase in mic and pre quality requires
an increase in room quality.

Dude, you hit the nail right on the freaking head! A high end mic will show you all your flaws in your room acoustics. I found this out the hard way. And the funny thing is that some singers will also bring out the bad acoustics ALOT more than others.

Example:
I have an ADK Tube condensor TC mic, great mic, and also a Rode NT1-A mic, another really good mic. When I try to sing on the ADK Mic, in my vocal booth which I have treated tremendously, I can hear a nasty comb filtering effect, it sounds bassy and hollow. I stick the Rode in the vocal booth, and sing again, guess what, it sounds great!

Now one could argue that maybe I just sound better on the Rode than the ADK. So, I stuck the ADK mic out in the live room sang in there, and it sounded fantastic!

But then I had a female screamer/growler about 2 weeks ago in the vocal booth, decided to try the ADK on her, and she sounded awesome, and the comb filtering was not even noticeable. So, go figure!

 

[Skyweaver]

great mic, but could be not so good if it doesnt match the vocalist....experiment

 

[egan.]

it was kind of "thin" although this guy has a fantastic full voice.i probably expected more from the gear.

first i had a low cut in the u87 and the UAD,then i switched both to flat,but no audible change in there.maybe room issues?

You may well have acoustic issues but if thinness is the issue you should try to work the proximity effect more before you assume the room and/or equipment won't work. Move the guy closer to the mic. If you aren't getting stupid amounts of low end from a couple of inches then something is broken (or the mic is in omni). Placement is as important for vocals as it is for anything else.

 

[JBroll]

I hate paying the bucks and not getting the BOOM...

Jeff

 

[Ben Johnson]

I hate paying the bucks and not getting the BOOM...

Jeff

Nuendo is what you need.