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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 444
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 444 |
Hello all I've been quite busy lately recording and mixing songs I'm preparing for future playing. I've done a fare few recordings to get a good idea of what I can achieve. As a beginner i'm quite happy with what i've been able to achieve so far, I think it's brilliant and in such a short amount of time as well, but that said and being a perfectionist i'm not completely happy with my vocals. I'm not the best of singers and not everyone's going to like my voice, but that said I have something I can work with. However my vocals, with the tedious of mixes just comes out a bit raw sounding and not smooth like you'd expect from CDs. I know my budget recording is never going to sound as good as a multimillion recording studio but can anyone offer an tips or point me in the right direction to improve vocals and make them sound great. I'm using a dynamic mic, not a condenser mic so this could be part of the problem? I've tried mixing different ways, compression, no compression, EQ, no EQ, different reverbs but my voice still sounds ok ish and a bit raw (in your face and not smooth) I'm using my computer HiFi, VRM Box and HD280 headphones to mix with. My mixes seem ok but not quite there yet. They sound great in my headphones but when listening through HiFi speakers my vocals sound wanting -I've just listened to my recordings from sound cloud on my iPhone connected to my Apple HiFi speaker and the sound was lacking depth and the vocals seem too loud for example. Check out my songs if you will below. SoundCloud.com I appreciate I'm on a journey here but if anyone has some golden nuggets of advise then I'm all ears! Thanks Paul
Last edited by PaulH; 02/17/13 03:39 PM.
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,109
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Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,109 |
keep in mind that of all aspects of a performance, the public historically seems to grant most flexibility to the artists vocal delivery. Consider artists like Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Sonny Bono, Kenny Rogers and many others whose voices are anything but pristine... yet, they are distinctive... and for an artist it can be advantageous to cultivate a distinctive sound even at the expense of other things.
Having said that, the TC Helicon voiceworks PLUS (not the regular voiceworks) has a built-in formant modification feature... which lets vocalists "sculpt" the aspects of vocal quality that would normally be solely based on the physical shape and size of your vocal chords, nasal cavity etc.
But it's pricey. Cool though. I know of no other hardware unit that offers the ability to sculpt formant on the fly.
(For the studio, Melodyne has a formant modification mode.)
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Joined: Dec 2012
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 444 |
I've been using Melodyne (trial) version at the moment on all my songs, its been a great help. I've not tried with harmonies yet. I've seen the TC Helicon but not the PLUS version, on YouTube and it looked interesting.
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 649
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 649 |
I don't see anything wrong with your voice. Sounds pretty good to me. Everyone has their own sound and there isn't much you can do about that. That's what makes it stand out from everyone else. The only thing that I noticed about your recordings is that they all sound pretty much alike. You have a good voice good tone and good pitch control. occ
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Joined: Jan 2013
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Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 40 |
A decent mic and a good preamp, anything with focusrite on it is acceptable IMHO.
Record at 24bit 44.1 as hot as you can into your sound card the rest is down to perforance and vibe created and final Mix. Reference monitors help but not necessary as long as you know the sound of your system its fine. Ref A/B all the time and keep pluggin FX to a minimum
Regards
Darren
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Paul,
I agree with OCC. You have a good voice. Your mixes sound fine as well. You just haven't been doing it very long, and lack the confidence that comes with experience.
For a 'beginner', I think you are doing fine. There are a lot of "singers" out there who have been doing it for ages and don't sound as good as you.
p.s. John Lennon never liked the sound of his voice, and was always looking for effects to alter it.
Regards,
Bob
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 148
Apprentice
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Apprentice
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 148 |
Hello Paul
I am by no means expert in this area so take my comments for what they are worth. However, I have the same "problem" as you, that is I´m not happy with my own voice, and I try constantly to improve with different processing.
However, you have a really good singing voice, so I do not think that you really have a problem ;-)
However, I believe that you can achieve a little more on your vocal by experimenting a bit more with reverb and delay. The problem with reverb is - as you know - that you can come to 'overdose' and it is absolutely a no go.
You mentioned yourself that your voice is slightly dominant in relation to the song, and it was also my own experience when I listened to your songs, it's like your voice could be more integrated into the song (for lack of a better word). Reverb can make a difference here by dragging your voice a little.
I have recently used a technique which can alleviate the reverberation by means of a so-called compressor ducking. This technique allows you to have more reverb, and delay for that matter, without your singing voice is buried in the song.
Just my 2 kroner
Jan
JROM
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Paul, listen to OCC.
Your vocals and mixes are spot on IMHO.
Very few people like their own voice!
Personally I wish that I had a voice like yours and I ain’t kidding!
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Joined: Jan 2011
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Hi Paul, I agree with Dazzman,record at 24bit 44.1 as hot as you can. Then use a plug-in from Izotope, called Nectar. You can try it for free in 10 days. I have it and I love my vocal sound.  http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/nectar/download.asp-roger
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Joined: May 2000
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Just keep doing it, Paul.
Like every other aspect of music, repetition, with an eye and ear towards improving the previous performance in some aspect for the NOW performance will add up to improvement if you keep at it.
So keep at it.
We've heard far worse first offerings around here, your songs sound pretty nice, actually.
If this was EASY, it wouldn't be worth pursuing.
--Mac
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Joined: Dec 2012
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Posts: 444 |
Hey guys, I really appreciate your kind comments. Yes I guess not many like the sound of their own voice like not many like their own photos. When I listen to these songs on my HD280 headphones or my Computer HiFi I'm happy with the sound but then I play the same songs on some other speakers and they can accentuate my voice and then I sound it abit in your face. I'm still tweeking my voice, even on the songs I've uploaded to iron out pitch problems. I'm definitely learning from you guys cause my mixes have changed since posting questions - for the better I think! Regarding my songs sounding the same, thats quite difficult for me to do much about because I bought BIAB to do for me what I could not do for myself and that is play other instruments. I play rhythm guitar and a bit of percussion and sing, the rest I depend on BIAB. Fortunately I have a 6 and a 12 string so it adds something to my mixes as both are in there. These songs (which are not my own) were originally intended as backing tracks to sing/play live too rather than trying to release another album to the world. But it's every musicians dream I think to have their playing or songs polished up and able to play them in your car. Thanks for your encouragement. PS I looked up the tC Helicon PLUS and its about £315 here in the UK but it doesnt have a mic out, only a mic in! Not sure if I could use that?
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