what do I do next (with vocal track)?

[hummingbird]

Okay, I want to pick your brains now on how to deal with vocal tracks. Here is an absolutely raw a capella vocal track recorded using the Apex 435. (Definitely better quality than the Shure SM57.) So what do I need to do to make this an 'excellent home recording' (assuming that's possible)? What effects, if any, would you use on this track.Swing Low Sweet Chariot -2 http://www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.p ... withThanks

[gitarrero]

hey vicky,...in general: it depends on the track. first of, analyze whats there and (most important) how you want it to sound.then you have a goal and can select the necessary tools.example: if you have "s"-peaks in your recording (the "s" is over-stressed in the recording), then a de-esser might be a good choice, and so on.I'd suggest to first set what your goal is, and then find ways to achieve that. I say that because there are so many possibilities of what you can do in the mix.when I started recoring I tried out diffrent fx & techniques (doubling, octabe doubling, all kind of FXs etc etc), but not always did it fit the recording. so it's a game of learning to listen and set a goal (you "hear" in advance how it should sound), learn what tools are around, and learn how to handle these tools.hope that helps.if you don't want to dive in the depth of mixing/being a producer, simply add an eq (again, here you need to be able to analyze where the frequencies lack or need to be added...), a compressor (don't use too short attack times for vocals - as a rule of thumb between 12-17 ms) and a reverb (again, there are diffrent kind of reverbs for diffrent sonic results - start with a medium plate - and it helps to know the basics of "hearing-psychology", e.g. reverb with hights in it will sound more "in front" than a dull reverb). you also might to add a little ammount of delay (especially if theres a backing track).cheers,martin

[johnnydean1]

Quote:Okay, I want to pick your brains now on how to deal with vocal tracks. Here is an absolutely raw a capella vocal track recorded using the Apex 435. (Definitely better quality than the Shure SM57.) So what do I need to do to make this an 'excellent home recording' (assuming that's possible)? What effects, if any, would you use on this track.Swing Low Sweet Chariot -- http://www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.p ... withThanks This is very very nice Vikki,all it need is The Mormon Tabernacle and a 90 piece orchestra. I jest!!!! Do it as a Spiritual,call and response.Does clapping still count as acapella.If it doesn't.Do it!!!! $20 please.

[hummingbird]

Hi Martin - thanks for that advice. I've followed the suggestions you've made and posted another MP3. I think it sounds pretty good.I added DSR, Compression, a touch of Reverb & a pinch of Delay along with a standard setting for vocal EQ that's a preset in Tracktion.Swing Low Sweet Chariothttp://www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.php?arti ... flawithLet me know if I'm on the right track - I left the raw track there for comparison.cheersVikki

[hummingbird]

Quote:Quote:Okay, I want to pick your brains now on how to deal with vocal tracks. Here is an absolutely raw a capella vocal track recorded using the Apex 435. (Definitely better quality than the Shure SM57.) So what do I need to do to make this an 'excellent home recording' (assuming that's possible)? What effects, if any, would you use on this track.Swing Low Sweet Chariot -- http://www.taximusic.com/hosting/home.p ... withThanks This is very very nice Vikki,all it need is The Mormon Tabernacle and a 90 piece orchestra. I jest!!!! Do it as a Spiritual,call and response.Does clapping still count as acapella.If it doesn't.Do it!!!! $20 please.Thanks JD! Just give me your name and address

[gitarrero]

vicky,I'm not equiped to listen to details here in the office (speakers...). from what I can hear in the given situation (desktop speakers) I'd use a larger reverb fx (providing that the vocal track will stand on it's own, acapella), it's a little dry in my ears - but here again comes the personal taste into the game;)cheers,martin

[johnnydean1]

Quote:Quote:This is very very nice Vikki,all it need is The Mormon Tabernacle and a 90 piece orchestra. I jest!!!! Do it as a Spiritual,call and response.Does clapping still count as acapella.If it doesn't.Do it!!!! $20 please.Thanks JD! Just give me your name and address Vikki,you don't need the terrible effects.You are in a very small minority of people who can actually sing.With the effects your voice seems harsh ,cold and distant(that'l be the reverb/delay.Without the effects,your voice is warm and intimate and even though I say it myself,sensuous .Go for arrangement on this one as I said in previous post.$40 please.Donate it to a cats home.I love pussycats.They are like me,beautiful and enigmatic not like that pic that ern posted of me.I'd just got back from an all nighter and hadn't had a chance to pretty up!

[hummingbird]

a compliment from JD! wow thank you But I am confused, and the reason is, that I switched the songs. I originally had sans effects as SLSC, and with effects as SLSC-2. I switched them around just about the time you were listening, so I'm not sure which one you were listening to. However, you did hear the raw track earlier today.So to clarify...sans effects is - Swing Low Sweet Chariot-2with effects is - Swing Low Sweet Chariothttp://www.taxi.com/vikkiflawith With effects is now just DSR & reverb, with a little choral humming in the background. I think it works.....?

[mazz]

Hi Vikki,I listened to the version with the effects. Very nice singing, you've got great chops for this kind of thing.A couple of comments production-wise:(I've been through this with my wife who has a similar mezzo-soprano, bright voice so I can speak from experience).This mic sounds pretty good but it does exhibit a hyped rise in the upper mids, probably around 4 to 6Khz. Most of the budget condenser mics out there have this kind of a rise built in to emulate much more expensive German mics. Your voice is already bright in this frequency range (which is probably why a 57 isn't a good choice either, given it's frequency response). On this cut, the Apex mic's frequency response makes it sound like there's some distortion on your voice on certain pitches. I think you're working the mic well and if you're using any compression, I wasn't able to detect it, which is a good thing. I'd keep shopping for mics before you decide. MXL makes a tube condenser for a little bit more money but I bet the tube would be flattering for your voice. You can probably order one for a 45 day, no questions asked, money back guaranteed trial, from someplace like Musician's Friend to see if you like it. For a singer, a mic is your instrument, so get the one that works best for your voice.As far as effects go, the reverb sound you're using could be darkened with EQ. It's a bit bright which makes it sound un-natural and actually makes it sound like you're singing in a smaller room. That's because almost the full frequency range of your voice is in the reverb return. In a larger room, a larger percentage of the high frequencies would never make it back to the listenr's ears, thus giving the psychoacoustic clues as to the room's size. If you rolled off some of the highs on your reverb, I think you'll like the sound better.I mentioned this in another thread but it's more topical here: There's a new show on TNT called Saving Grace with Holly Hunter. I watched a promo for the show today and it had a version of Swing Low Sweet Chariot with solo voice over some pounding drums a'la modern film trailer music. It's worth checking out if you get that channel.Keep up the good work and exploration!MazzPS: My wife is recording vocals right now for her new album in LA. The producer/engineer/studio owner has a bunch of great mics and fantastic pre-amps. They did a mic shootout with some pretty spendy high end mics and some normal ones too. Guess which one worked out best for this project? An SM 58!! Goes to show it's all about what's best for the music. If she was doing some a' capella stuff, the 58 probably wouldn't have been chosen, but for this album, it's 58 all the way!

[johnnydean1]

Quote: a compliment from JD! wow thank you But I am confused, and the reason is, that I switched the songs. I originally had sans effects as SLSC, and with effects as SLSC-2. I switched them around just about the time you were listening, so I'm not sure which one you were listening to. However, you did hear the raw track earlier today.So to clarify...sans effects is - Swing Low Sweet Chariot-2with effects is - Swing Low Sweet Chariothttp://www.taxi.com/vikkiflawith With effects is now just DSR & reverb, with a little choral humming in the background. I think it works.....?I prefer SLSC-2 from a recording point of view because it sounds real.SLSC sounds false because psycho-acoustically my brain can't figure what environment you are singing in so immediatley I feel uncomfortable. However,I like the arrangement of SLSC but I would want to hear much much more background vox.So, a much fuller vocal arrangement with minimal, if any effects would be my choice.