My first time recording an MC

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losthighway
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My first time recording an MC

Post by losthighway » Mon Jun 20, 2016 3:48 pm

Crazy as it is (or as culturally damning), having recorded harp, highland pipes (like bag pipes), accordion, and bouzouki I've NEVER recorded an MC- you know, somebody rapping.

While I don't think this is a technical labyrinth I would like some advice. I'm figuring LDC with a little compression, probably end up compressing it fairly hard in the mix for intelligibility.

I do have the old SM7 handy too, might try that.

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Nick Sevilla
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Post by Nick Sevilla » Tue Jun 21, 2016 8:49 am

As with everything here: IT DEPENDS.

It depends on the singer, the tone of their voice, and how they sing.

So, until the singer walks in the door and you listen to them singing / rapping in front of you, al bets are off.

If I were you I'd have 3-4 microphone setups ready to go before he or she shows up, it will save you loads of time while they are there, and show how professional you really are.

Suggestions: Use the same mic preamp, if you have several just hook up all the mics at once, and have your favorite vocal compressor available to patch into each signal chain quickly.

As to mics, your SM7, an LDC, a Shure SM58, and maybe some oddball sounding mic as well.

Cheers
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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Post by drumsound » Wed Jun 22, 2016 1:29 pm

Nick's advice is quite good. I'f you have an old tube mic that compresses and rolls of the top a little, that would be a good thing to have at the ready.

Two stages of compression is often good with rappers. Something really fast and grabby, that gets out of the way, but takes the bursts down to a reasonable level as well as something generally leveling out the track.

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losthighway
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Post by losthighway » Wed Jun 22, 2016 7:17 pm

Thanks guys. I have a couple weeks but I'll tell you how it goes. There's all kinds of crazy african drumming going on before that. Maybe I'll put up my Groove Tubes md1a and the old sm7 for our first run.

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