Vocals - reducing pops/low freq noise

[Fragle]

so i was recording some death metal vocals yesterday, with two singers.
one of them has a higher, more scream oriented voice, and for him a handheld sm58 works perfectly (i've worked with him before, mixing his vox is a breeze).

the other singer has a much lower guttural voice (and also isn't as experienced, i might add)....when i tried the same sm58 handheld on him it sounded like shit, lots of low frequency noise, pops, and basically indistinguishable.
we ended up using an sm57 on a stand and engaging the hipass on the mic pre, which sort of helped things, but it's still far from being as great sounding as the other guy.

there are mainly two problems: pops/plosives, like b, p etc, and an overall muffled sound.

anyone got some hints on what might work better with this guy and his singing style? i guess using a popfilter would be an obvious choice, but how about different mics (something brighter, with less low mid mud), distance between mic and singer....also anything i can tell the guy to improve his "singing"? i know jack about this stuff, but i'm thinking along the lines of "try to back off on the P/B sounds" etc.

thanks in advance

btw, now that it's already recorded, if anyone has any hints on how to mix these vocals, go ahead!
right now i'm thinking about multiband comp for the low mids, high shelve boost, and automating the pops down so the comp doesn't go on a killing spree...any other ideas?

 

[dcb]

i remember a plugin thats called "deplop", maybe look for that.
it basically works like a deesser, or a 2 band multiband.
a multiaband like c4 will do the job as well.

if theres a really crappy vocal performance / or someone sends me shitty recorded vox to mix >> i tend to use the good old "telephone" or disto effect on vocals.
basically trying to "hide" the performance

 

[scorpio01169]

well as far as when recording, a pop filter would have helped you.

 

[greyskull]

theres a really cunning trick i developed from guys who insisted on handhelds,
give em an sm7 and screw the pop shield to the bit where the xlr connects.
Voila

 

[Zombietakeover]

theres a really cunning trick i developed from guys who insisted on handhelds,
give em an sm7 and screw the pop shield to the bit where the xlr connects.
Voila

you shouldnt need a pop shield with the sm7, just make sure you leave the black foam filter on and that should be fine. unless the singer has some crazy syllables

 

[greyskull]

this guy did... the foam shit kills the high end too, also made sure his distance was good and that he couldnt cup it

 

[Fragle]

interesting hint greyskull!

so, long story short, added a popfilter to my current thomann order ^^

regarding different mics....well, seems like people tend to recommend either the sm7, or a "good" large diaphragm condenser....which naturally imposes the question: what, in your opinion, is a good LDC?
please no neumann u87 here, that's just a tad above my budget...^^
i've seen a rode nt-2 (or whatever it's called) can be had rather cheap, would that still be considered a good one, or is it too much on the budget side? frankly i don't want to go half assed and get something that "will do the job"...buy cheap, buy twice, you know.
so, what would you consider the LDC workhorses out there? still within a reasonable budget though, so let's leave out the 1-2k and higher stuff please

 

[scorpio01169]

interesting hint greyskull!

so, long story short, added a popfilter to my current thomann order ^^

regarding different mics....well, seems like people tend to recommend either the sm7, or a "good" large diaphragm condenser....which naturally imposes the question: what, in your opinion, is a good LDC?
please no neumann u87 here, that's just a tad above my budget...^^
i've seen a rode nt-2 (or whatever it's called) can be had rather cheap, would that still be considered a good one, or is it too much on the budget side? frankly i don't want to go half assed and get something that "will do the job"...buy cheap, buy twice, you know.
so, what would you consider the LDC workhorses out there? still within a reasonable budget though, so let's leave out the 1-2k and higher stuff please

I've gotten good results with a Studio Projects B1

 

[smy1]

The way to go about mixing those vocals now is by manually editing the pops and the noise.

 

[greyskull]

I think the ntk sounds great for the money

 

[DanLights]

we ended up using an sm57 on a stand and engaging the hipass on the mic pre, which sort of helped things, but it's still far from being as great sounding as the other guy.

Dude I did this exact same thing with a singer with the same characteristics as you not long ago. we put a shirt on top of the mic to prevent pops, but I don't think it would've made a difference cause he was a really good and clear singer, voice was pretty much a glen Benton clone. Mixing was easy as hell, just a very light reaeq tweak, a very short reverb just to fit it a bit into the mix, some compression cause he's friggin human after all, and voila, best vocals I've recorded (not like I have that much experience anyway). Singer was very good, steppin back in the big screams and making lyrics pretty intelligible despite the dirtyness of the vocal style.

 

[if6was9]

you should have made a pop filter if you don't own one- a pair of tights/pantyhose on a coat hanger does the job. You shouldn't ever go about recording vocals (inc speech) without at least having a pop filter at hand. Nothing makes a recording sound more cheap than bad p and b plosives and while you can automate and mutiband comp, they're still gonna be audible.

 

[16S]

use automation with heavy cut on/off at 130-150Hz on every plosive. Not a substitute for someone who knows how to use a mic however