Protools..volume Take 2...?

[ernstinen]

Quote:Well first off it does sound louder now..Hello I turned the mic around so the gold dot is in the front.Oh my goodness! LOL!I don't recall what brand of mic this is, but some have an EQ switch (bass rolloff). "Flat" usually has "_" symbol.I disagree with Mani on how close to a mic you should be. I'd say experiment between 3 to 6 inches. Beyond that, the vocal will definitely thin out (especially for a female), and you'll introduce more room noise.Ern

[matto]

Oh boy...I think we may have almost enough material for a sitcom here ...kinda reminds me of that guy who called Dell tech support complaining that the cup holder had come off his computer (he was talking about the CD-ROM drive...) As far as distance from the mic, my rule of thumb is to start at a distance of one hand stretch from the mouth, at eye level and pointing at the nose...and, as you have already discovered, singing into the right side of the mic tends to help a great deal .matto

[ernstinen]

Distance from mic Part 2!It also depends upon the intensity of the vocal. I used to rent a vintage Neumann U-87 for intimate vocals, and got so close to it that it would turn itself off for a few minutes due to moisture (sorry for that image!). I figured out that maybe I was a little TOO close, so I ended up crooning that tune about 2 to 3 inches from it.Most large diaphragm condenser mics these days can handle very high SPLs (sound pressure levels). But even so, some rock singers use dynamic mics in the studio when they're screaming their lungs out. I've heard of guys using SM-57s, and I believe Phil Collins still uses Beyer dynamics in the studio.Moral of the story: Experiment! That's what makes recording fun!Ern

[slimcharm]

Recording FUN...??? HA HA HA...!!! Thats a good one Ern - oh sorry thought you were being funny.We have the RODE NT1-A microphone. It says "We suggest you start with the channel EQ set to Off or Flat (no boost or cut)." There is no on off or any other switch on the microphone so what the heck do they mean..Were do I make sure my EQ is flat?Matto..now thats a good one..Imagine thinking that the CD-Rom drive is the cup holder. ..you were surely not comparing that fellow to me were you?I admit I read fast and did not notice the small gold dot on the mic and just put it in the shockmount (another fun thingy) and that was that..it just happened to go in backwards.And when I read the brochure I did not pick up on the "addressing the microphone directly towards the gold dot" sentence that was mushed in with everything else. The mic looks the same all around so yes I missed it..Well we shall see what type of difference that makes. Anyway if someone could fill me in on the EQ so I can make sure mine is flat..it would be great!

[mani]

Quote:"You bet your ass!"...yea it does sound better with the mic turned around..Laugh all you want. .....I can take it. Heck I didnt know there was a front and back to the mic.Sorry Slim. Don't mean to make fun or anything. Just havin' a laugh. Quote:It does suggest that the EQ be set to OFF or FLAT....Great idea! What is the EQ? There is no EQ switch on your particular mic Slim.Quote:I'd say experiment between 3 to 6 inches. Beyond that, the vocal will definitely thin out (especially for a female), and you'll introduce more room noise.The reason I say 8-12 inches is from my experiences with Rode microphones in general (the proximity effect is not pleasing like on a u87) although you're most likely right that 12 is too far away. But 3 inches was always way too close when I used 'em. Then again, I've a very loud voice with a fair amount of bass content so I guess it's horses for courses.Btw, I've used a lot of mics on my vocals and the two I sound best on are the U87 and...drumroll please, the SM58. Guess which one I own? I had an engineer who insisted on using a C1000 on my voice once. I nearly gave up singing altogether when I heard the playback. Ouch! Horrible, horrible mic. Just horrible. [walks away muttering to self in disgust]

[slimcharm]

"There is no EQ switch on your particular mic Slim."Now just run this by me again..The book that COMES WITH THE MICROPHONE that all of yas advises me to read says very clearly..."WE SUGGEST THAT YOU START WITH THE CHANNEL EQ SET TO OFF OR FLAT"And you are telling me that my microphone does not have an EQ!!!! So I am now to ignore the book which tells me to set to flat what I never had to begin with?Now how confusing is that?

[ernstinen]

Quote:Recording FUN...??? HA HA HA...!!! Thats a good one Ern - oh sorry thought you were being funny.Anyway if someone could fill me in on the EQ so I can make sure mine is flat..it would be great!I'm just a funny guy, Slim!Anyway, with ProTools LE, you should be recording "flat" unless you insert an EQ that comes with the software. You're using an M-Box, correct? I just looked at it online, and I don't think there's any hardware EQ on the damn thing. But as Mani points out, the proximity effect of the mic really has a lot to do with the "EQ" of the vocal track. Closer to the mic, more bass; farther from the mic, less bass.Ern

[mani]

Quote:"There is no EQ switch on your particular mic Slim."Now just run this by me again..The book that COMES WITH THE MICROPHONE that all of yas advises me to read says very clearly..."WE SUGGEST THAT YOU START WITH THE CHANNEL EQ SET TO OFF OR FLAT"And you are telling me that my microphone does not have an EQ!!!! So I am now to ignore the book which tells me to set to flat what I never had to begin with?Now how confusing is that?A channel EQ is the eq on the channel of a mixer or on an outboard channel strip (a type of preamp with extra bells and whistles). The manual is just presuming you are using one of these with your mic. You don't have to worry about it coz you're not!

[nomiyah]

You hear something new every day. Singing into the back of a mic. I don't know if you'll be able to live this one down. MBox has a preamp built in so you don't need to get a seperate module.The preamp in my system was tinny and never got a hot enough signal. To hear the vocals clearly, comparable to commercial radio, I had to turn all the instruments way down. I solved the problem when I bought a really good studio preamp. New it would have cost about $300 but I got it used for $80. It has a lot of features like EQ and compression.But I don't think you need a preamp right now. Just learn to work with the equipment you have. Put in the studio time and you'll get it working.Thanks for the laugh. Nomi

[slimcharm]

Let me clarify something regarding singing into the back of the mic before you all hoot, hollar and yuck it up to loudly.The mic has a gold dot on the front. That is the only indicator that it is the front of the mic. The mic looks the same front and back. The mic is placed in a shockmount. The shockmount covers the gold dot (at least the way I put it on it did) and this is then screwed onto the microphone boom I believe it is called. Thus as a newbie it was quite easy to screw on the shockmount...and not notice that THE GOLD DOT was not in the front as it was covered by the bottom of the shockmount.Thus when young Jessica sang her voice was being delivered to the back of the mic and her melodic tones took on a rather quieter sound..NOW HOW WOULD I HAVE KNOWN SHE WAS SINGING INTO THE BACK OF THE MICROPHONE!!!You see this is all easily explainable.