Best Possible Vocal Recording

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Nick Sevilla
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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by Nick Sevilla » Wed Oct 10, 2018 4:48 pm

Does this sound ok to you?

If it does, then you are good to go.

If not, post on here what the problem is.

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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by vvv » Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:38 pm

I'll add, FWIW, I use a old Delta 44 interface, and various pres depending on mood (level of ISA1, UA110 or 710, Eureka, PM1000, etc.).

One of my fave mics (and I have few various) over the last few months is a damn Beta 58.

When sompin' works, it works. 8)
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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by losthighway » Wed Oct 10, 2018 7:09 pm

vvv wrote:
Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:38 pm
I'll add, FWIW, I use a old Delta 44 interface,
That's my first converter I ever had. I haven't even thought about Delta stuff for so long, you're making me nostalgic.

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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:36 am

i had a delta 1010 for years. was solid. i always thought those converters sounded better than the digi 001. it wouldn't surprise me to learn that both of those were actually the same converter chips inside. but those 001 converters always sounded so gray to me.

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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by TapeOpLarry » Thu Oct 11, 2018 9:55 am

Make sure that if the vocal mic is picking up room tones/reflections that it works okay with the vocal and the music. I get a lot of vocals to mix with where I can hear nasty reflections off computer monitors, walls, etc. Learn to hear these sounds and where to place mics so they sound good. Learning and training yourself to hear better is free and beats swapping converters.
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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by vvv » Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:18 am

Slightly OT but amusing, I recorded a lead vocal track a few weeks back with a really nice Sterling ST6050 Ocean Way condensor - I love that mic.

Track sounded ... odd, just a poopie-load of reflections.

OK, go to record the the BV's and and realize that I had been singinging into the back of the mic, the front of what was facing ... 3' from the computer monitor ...

I did keep the track, choosing to use it as a sort of effect.

(Ya wanna hear it, it's here.)
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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by losthighway » Thu Oct 11, 2018 11:25 am

vvv wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:18 am
Slightly OT but amusing, I recorded a lead vocal track a few weeks back with a really nice Sterling ST6050 Ocean Way condensor - I love that mic.

Track sounded ... odd, just a poopie-load of reflections.

OK, go to record the the BV's and and realize that I had been singinging into the back of the mic, the front of what was facing ... 3' from the computer monitor ...
This type of mistake made for one of my worst rhythm guitar sounds ever in my rookie years. I was too scared to admit that I'd had the mic backwards for 3-4 hours and just eq'd the crap out of it. Still was never very good.

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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by TapeOpLarry » Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:48 pm

I let the artist set up a Shure KSM32 for a backing vocalist he had coming in. we did hours of vocals before I thought, "Seems kinda washy" and went out to see the mic facing the wrong way. It all worked well in the mix though!
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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by kslight » Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:13 pm

TapeOpLarry wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 2:48 pm
I let the artist set up a Shure KSM32 for a backing vocalist he had coming in. we did hours of vocals before I thought, "Seems kinda washy" and went out to see the mic facing the wrong way. It all worked well in the mix though!

I thought the KSM44 was so ambiguous as to which side is the front I labeled mine.

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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by vvv » Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:28 pm

I really like that KSM32, also. I have a few mic's in that range, including the Senn MK 4 and the Genesis FET and the Luna besides the Ocean Way, and even some others from AT and ADK and CAD ...

I sometimes have thought I should sell 'em all and get a fancy Neumann or something, but mics in that US$3-500 price range sound so good, with just enough variation.

Any one of 'em, on a certain day, can give me a "Best Possible Vocal Recording", without breaking out more expensive stuff.
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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by drumsound » Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:25 am

vvv wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 10:18 am
Slightly OT but amusing, I recorded a lead vocal track a few weeks back with a really nice Sterling ST6050 Ocean Way condensor - I love that mic.

Track sounded ... odd, just a poopie-load of reflections.

OK, go to record the the BV's and and realize that I had been singinging into the back of the mic, the front of what was facing ... 3' from the computer monitor ...

I did keep the track, choosing to use it as a sort of effect.

(Ya wanna hear it, it's here.)
Fun. The horn parts remind me of Zappa lines.


vvv wrote:
Thu Oct 11, 2018 5:28 pm
I really like that KSM32, also. I have a few mic's in that range, including the Senn MK 4 and the Genesis FET and the Luna besides the Ocean Way, and even some others from AT and ADK and CAD ...

I sometimes have thought I should sell 'em all and get a fancy Neumann or something, but mics in that US$3-500 price range sound so good, with just enough variation.

Any one of 'em, on a certain day, can give me a "Best Possible Vocal Recording", without breaking out more expensive stuff.
Its kind of a golden age of affordable gear. I was playing a $400 Ibanez semihollow yesterday and was amazed at the sound and playability.

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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by vvv » Fri Oct 12, 2018 10:04 am

Thanx!

I agree on the golden age concept. I even broke down and bought a Indonesian guitar and a cuppla Chinese guitars, and they are at least useable.

Most FX pedals seem to be made/cloned in China, and some of the clones are even better. I posted in the "new gear" thread about a flanger I just bought ...

Of course, I s'pose we can now expect import prices to rise. :(

That said, because of miniaturization and other tech advances (CNC, SMD) and with rock-n-roll not being the emphasis in entertainment, it seems like most any related gear (guitars, FX, recording gear) you want is available used
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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by nicholasdover » Tue Oct 16, 2018 11:40 am

I have a bottle of red nail varnish in the studio for making big dots on the front of ambiguous mics - it's been there ever since I did a whole day tracking with a Beyer Opus 65 backwards on kick and had to "drum replace" on the quiet to avoid embarrassment...
That's the danger of a one-room setup! You're hearing and feeling a big kick sound, and if the band want to plough on through take after take, you can end up not noticing...
I'm off topic.

My vocal booth treatment isn't quite there yet so while my RE20 and SM7 are totally fine in there, I can hear on my LDC's that the glass of the sliding door is a problem so I need to hang a curtain I think. Backs up other's findings already mentioned.

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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by vvv » Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:44 pm

I just have this image of Anthony Perkins with a '57 in hand, striking downward ...

:twisted:
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Re: Best Possible Vocal Recording

Post by drumsound » Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:58 pm

vvv wrote:
Tue Oct 16, 2018 5:44 pm
I just have this image of Anthony Perkins with a '57 in hand, striking downward ...

:twisted:
A much better use then using them on a recording project.
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

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