Vocals

[FretBored]

Why is it that your own voice sounds weird when listeng to a recording?

My wife listens and she says it sounds just fine. But to me it dosen't even sound like my own voice.

Well I got brave and did a vocal on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/acediamonds99

Does anyone have any tips on doing good vocals? Mics, pop filters, placement etc?

[bassist_25]

The reason your voice sounds different when you hear it recorded is because normally the timbre is altered do to the way the bones in your head vibrate. It's a strange feeling at first to here yourself talk/sing, but I've become use to how my voice truly sounds do to sound checking through the monitors every week.

Mic technique is a lot about dynamics. When you dig in with a guitar, you get a more aggresive sound and you drive the gain stages of you amp harder. The same is true with a vocal mic. If you are singing with more grunt into a mic, back away. I've seen people's voices become garbled mush do to singing too loudly into them. I've even seen them clip lower powered PAs. Don't eat the mic and don't cup it. When recording, it may be best to use a circular wind guard that mounts to your mic stand. I think they're like $15 from Musician's Friend.

There's some pro-level vocalists and sound/recording engineers on here that could probably give you a lot better advice than I can.

[PanzerFaust]

Has to do with the fact that you don't hear yourself through your ears but rather through your inner ear vibrating I always thought...

Interesting question though.. I've always wondered that as well....

[PanzerFaust]

Found this article that's pretty informative...

Kinda confirms what I thought...

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrecordvoice.html

[Heartless_Mockery_Records]

just my 2cents about what has worked for me in the past....

im assuming your just doing singing, not death metal screaming, yelling, wailing stuff, like the guys i usually record.

Start using a large diaphragm condenser (insert brand name here) into your Preamp (again whatever)... and put your pop filter about 2" from the mic, now keep your mouth about 4" from that. So your about 6" away total. I have found in my own experience keeping the mic slightly above your mouth so that you are speaking up into it yields the best results.

I guess technically it all comes down to which Mic+pre sounds best on your particular voice, but the only way to find out is to try stuff out. Then of course you have compressors, etc etc etc etc. But just sticking to basics here if you have any specific question i would be happy to offer any advice, worthless as it may be.


EDIT: I guess i should have listened first... to me it seems like you should engage the HP filter on your mic or cut it using EQ just HP at like 110hz @ 12dB/OCT. For me it seemed too "boomy". Also, if it helps send to some reverb, to me it seemed a bit too "dry". But other than that, great work.

[FretBored]

just my 2cents about what has worked for me in the past....

im assuming your just doing singing, not death metal screaming, yelling, wailing stuff, like the guys i usually record.

Start using a large diaphragm condenser (insert brand name here) into your Preamp (again whatever)... and put your pop filter about 2" from the mic, now keep your mouth about 4" from that. So your about 6" away total. I have found in my own experience keeping the mic slightly above your mouth so that you are speaking up into it yields the best results.

I guess technically it all comes down to which Mic+pre sounds best on your particular voice, but the only way to find out is to try stuff out. Then of course you have compressors, etc etc etc etc. But just sticking to basics here if you have any specific question i would be happy to offer any advice, worthless as it may be.


EDIT: I guess i should have listened first... to me it seems like you should engage the HP filter on your mic or cut it using EQ just HP at like 110hz @ 12dB/OCT. For me it seemed too "boomy". Also, if it helps send to some reverb, to me it seemed a bit too "dry". But other than that, great work.

Too dry... I'm takin' care of that right now... Gulp Gulp Burp... Opening another..

Thanx for all the tips.... keep em rollin' in.

[BDR]

A lot of people think singing is as simple as putting a mic in your face. This is not even close to being the case. Pretty much everything Future Bobby (bassist_25) said is dead on; however, those rules don't always apply. Cupping the mic, for instance, generally causes feedback and a bad result, but it can also be done to create a desired effect. When you've been using a mic for a long time, you'll figure out what you can and shouldn't do.

As far as alignment with your face, I always sing into the top of the mic and adjust the distance of the mic from my face according to what I'm doing (low, middle and high-range notes, screams, whispers, etc.).

Also, a good monitor mix is probably the most essential tool, besides the quality of the mic rig (I use an AKG 400 series wireless rig), when positioning your mic for distance. It's simple, but true. If you can't hear what's going on, you can't adjust to make corrections.

I don't use pop filters or wind screens ... with experience you learn to use the instrument properly and get the desired effect minus the crappy sounds. A lot of it's a trial and error thing.

As for why you sound different to yourself, dunno, didn't read those links yet, and I can't answer the question. I worked in radio straight out of high school and have been gigging for a while now, so I'm quite accustomed to hearing the sound which comes forth from my face. Sounds normal to me.

r:>)