what do I do next (with vocal track)?

[ernstinen]

Quote:PS: 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!That's irony for you! Some female voices sound good on a 57/58, but very few. I can't count the times I've heard a lady singer in a live situation using a 58 and almost peeling the enamel off of my teeth! But that brings back a memory (Ern strokes chin) ---When I first moved to L.A. in the 80's, I took any gig or session I could find, just scraping by. One day, a songwriter hired me and my little garage studio to do a demo, and in walks one of the "A-list" session singers at the time, Joey Scarbury. (For those of you who are old enough, he had a big hit with the T.V. theme song from "Greatest American Hero" [Believe It Or Not]).So all I have for a vocal mic is a 58. No Limiter/Compressor (I didn't even know what one was back then). Joey was cool with my "low-tech approach" , and promptly nailed the track, working the mic like a pro. It was amazing how good he was.Another female vocalist during that era would bring in a Shure SM-59, which was another hand-held mic without the presence peak of a 57/58. It sounded great on her voice!That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it! Ern

[ggalen]

Vicki --You do have a really fine voice. You are very lucky to have that to start with. All the processing in the world cannot make a bad voice into a good one.So, you're more than halfway there even with a dry track.I personally like some reverb. Yet it sounds like you are singing in a bathroom because of the brightness/sharpness in the reverb, as Mazz said. If you are not up to EQing just the reverb on a separate track, try some different reverbs, maybe a light amount of hall reverb...until you get something that sounds more natural.You know, this is all so subjective. Each reviewer tends to think that their opinion of what would sound good is the universal truth! But as we all know, even industry veterans cannot predict which songs will be hits very well.My subjective opinion is that the vocal "Hmms" could have a more diffuse reverb on them so they go further back in the mix...and maybe EQ'd to be a bit less bright.But that's only what *I* would enjoy. Play it as you like it, by all means!