The battle against sibilance

[losthighway]

I'm working on a song with a softer vocal delivery- one of mine. The register, dynamic and lyrics are causing unusually harsh s sounds. I'm retracking the part because my usual tools of volume automation and deesser aren't cutting it, it still sounds weird.

How would you coach a vocalist with sibilance problems, in terms of both annunciation and head positioning relative to the mic?

[KuruPrionz]

Since it could take time to improve how one controls their own sibilance and you are probably wanting to make this record now I don't have much to say about changing the singer's technique.

You don't mention what microphones you have tried for this?

I've got my share of sibilant tendencies myself. One method I've used that seems to reduce sibilance is to use a microphone that is intended for live work - Shure Beta 87A, EV ND767a and Shure KSM 8 are the ones I've used and felt good about the results. Put a foam windscreen on it. Have the vocalist get right up on it from a 45 degree angle, not straight in. I think it can be a combination of factors, the smaller size of the diaphragm compared to an LDC makes a difference, hitting the diaphragm from an angle makes a difference and the foam windscreen does filter out a good deal of sibilance. It wasn't that clear, open sound we love from an LDC but the lyrics were clear and the performance was cleaned up considerably.

Try it and see, worst case you are right where you are now.

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I am that singer as well. And seeing as how I am usually the only one mixing my vocal performances I'm the one who goes crazy listening to it. I feel like part of it is just my mixer head. Like, once I hear it I can't un-hear it and it becomes more and more annoying until I've gone so far fixing it that I have a lisp. There are lots of sibilant performances by other singers that I love and that don't bother me but if it's my voice it's all I hear.
I have a few tools to deal with it. None are a de-esser. The first is picking the right mic. For me that's an RE20 or RE15. They give me the body I want without the problematic hyped high end. Mic position is #2. Go find studio photos from he 50's and 60's The mic capsule is almost never right in front of the singers mouth. Often it's up high pointed between their eyes or down low. Both are useful starting places. They eliminate the need for a pop filter or anything between the voice and the mic and mitigate plosives and sibilance. The last method I use is volume automation and eq automation. I deal with really sibilant sections the same way I deal with popped Ps. Automate an eq that drops the overall volume and cuts the offending frequency. It's a de-esser basically but I'm selecting where it happens, how it happens and for how long.
I also spot erase all S's in backing vocals. You only need one person singing the S.

[losthighway]

Since it could take time to improve how one controls their own sibilance and you are probably wanting to make this record now I don't have much to say about changing the singer's technique.

You don't mention what microphones you have tried for this?

I've got my share of sibilant tendencies myself. One method I've used that seems to reduce sibilance is to use a microphone that is intended for live work - Shure Beta 87A, EV ND767a and Shure KSM 8 are the ones I've used and felt good about the results. Put a foam windscreen on it. Have the vocalist get right up on it from a 45 degree angle, not straight in. I think it can be a combination of factors, the smaller size of the diaphragm compared to an LDC makes a difference, hitting the diaphragm from an angle makes a difference and the foam windscreen does filter out a good deal of sibilance. It wasn't that clear, open sound we love from an LDC but the lyrics were clear and the performance was cleaned up considerably.

Try it and see, worst case you are right where you are now.

^Yeah, a dynamic mic might be worth a shot. It's a Pearlman 47. I've used it a bunch without this problem before. Of course I had to write the lyric "There's chaos in your lapses", an obstacle course!

I've been singing the line playing with mouth shape and tongue position, yikes! It's usually enough for me to focus on pitch and vibe.

[Nick Sevilla]

Other than using a "darker" microphone, also do not use an EQ or compression on the recording, do it afterwards.

I always prefer putting in the de esser as the FIRST insert in the mix chain of a vocal.

Do you know at which frequencies your sibilance is the worst?

Usually the 5k range is where it can be the worst, but it does vary by singer.

Another tip: Keep some water handy for wetting your vocal chords and throat etc.

[vvv]

Sing above the mic.

FWIW, some times (like on Tom Petty's first album) it sounds like the singer deliberately avoids "sss" sounds.

I don't like de-sser's, so when mixing down ITB I use an FFT display and go in and spot-EQ or gain-reduce the offending parts.

[jimjazzdad]

^Yeah, a dynamic mic might be worth a shot. It's a Pearlman 47. I've used it a bunch without this problem before. Of course I had to write the lyric "There's chaos in your lapses", an obstacle course!

I've been singing the line playing with mouth shape and tongue position, yikes! It's usually enough for me to focus on pitch and vibe.

Has anyone tried the 'pencil trick' (where you place a pencil across the grill of an LDC held in place by elastics)? It sounds weird, but I guess its supposed to work as some sort of diffuser, maybe tuned to the sibilant frequencies by its size. Anyway, when I tried it, it seemed to work, sort of... I think mic position, as mentioned, and a good, multi-layer pop shield are the best approach to taming sibilance, which after all is just a characteristic of the vocalist's instrument!

[digitaldrummer]

I usually swap out the mic first. I seem to have less sibilance issues when singers are using mics like a dynamic (SM7B) or a ribbon mic. I would also experiment with mic position. As others said put it up higher or lower, or at least off-axis (at an angle). Also try standing back about 2-3 feet from a ribbon or the Pearlman. Maybe even try the Pearlman in Omni or Fig8 (or is it cardioid only?). You'll have to crank up the gain a bit more but generally the sibilance is a lot less. Of course depending on the space, you may need more room treatment around you if you don't want the room sound...

[losthighway]

^ Yeah I've been head on straight at the diaphragm because the proximity effect has been very flattering to my soft delivery, but it's probably also the worst idea for sibilance.

I'm going to try a different position first because I was hoping to just replace the offending verse. If I need to put up the SM7 that might require a complete redo for sonic continuity.

[KuruPrionz]

^Yeah, a dynamic mic might be worth a shot. It's a Pearlman 47. I've used it a bunch without this problem before. Of course I had to write the lyric "There's chaos in your lapses", an obstacle course!

I've been singing the line playing with mouth shape and tongue position, yikes! It's usually enough for me to focus on pitch and vibe.

Has anyone tried the 'pencil trick' (where you place a pencil across the grill of an LDC held in place by elastics)? It sounds weird, but I guess its supposed to work as some sort of diffuser, maybe tuned to the sibilant frequencies by its size. Anyway, when I tried it, it seemed to work, sort of... I think mic position, as mentioned, and a good, multi-layer pop shield are the best approach to taming sibilance, which after all is just a characteristic of the vocalist's instrument!

I've tried the pencil trick and it does work to improve sibilance and plosives. For a ribbon mic you'd put the pencil running the same direction as the ribbon and right in front of it.
Take another look at the Sennheiser MD421, that little bar across the front of the capsule with "Sennheiser" on it is a built in pencil trick and it helps too.

For an LDC it works better if you move it an inch or two away from the capsule, better deflection of the air blast from your pie hole.

[roscoenyc]

I asked a couple mastering guys once.... how in the hell do you reach into a complete mix and fix that sibilance?

Both of them said https://dmgaudio.com/products_essence.php

[MoreSpaceEcho]

In mastering, a de-esser is as important as the eq or the limiter.

I've fixed so many sibilants, at this point I think I could do it in a coma.

Essence is an amazing piece of work, but tbh I mostly use that for controlling subs/boomy bass.

My de-esser of choice is still the venerable Spitfish, still works on PC almost 20 years later. Vintage digital!

The TBProaudio Dyn-EQ also sees a lot of use here, works great as a de-esser but where it really shines is grabbing peaky high mids between 2-4k. That plugin really solves a lot of problems in a very simple, quick manner.

Brainworx Dyn-eq also gets a mention, don't use that as often as the other 3, but it's quite handy sometimes, can really focus in on a narrow frequency range very well.

[Recycled_Brains]

I've discovered recently (after hearing about it enough times) that the LoFi plugin in PT is pretty cool for making overly bright vocals less-so. You have to use it very minimally. It starts to sound stupid really fast. In my case, sample rate back one notch to 36000, .1 dist, .1 sat, anti-alias a little to bring back some treble... this was on a screaming vocal so the dist/sat was cool. Even that low an amount is is pretty audible though, so maybe skip those controls if you're looking to keep things clean.

I just finished a mix where I used it and while it didn't completely solve the problem, it took some of the load off of the de-esser that came after it. To me that is great because I have yet to find a de-esser that I think sounds good doing all of heavy lifting.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

^^^^^ Sometimes you gotta use two! I've had 3 going more than once.....

[losthighway]

Hey gang, it's been a minute.

I finally found an hour to try some things. Stepped up the gain on the pre and tried the mic with the diaphragm at neck level and backed up a couple feet. It helped about 30% and I trapeze walked my delivery to try and massage my esses. A couple takes I sounded like a rural tobacco chewer missing teeth, but all explorations in the name of the craft!

These plus some volume automation and a gentle tap from the deesser made for an acceptable mix.

The BIG takeaway for me was the quality of the tone in that position. I'd been right up on the mic to get more chesty mids, goo from the preamp and later compression. I'd say those mids were bigger and better when I backed off and was not quite on axis. I recorded in my dead iso room so distance didn't add room character, the sound is quite intimate.