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Recording Vocals

4K views 30 replies 12 participants last post by  JESTER700 
#1 ·
I'm having trouble recording te vocals on a song i'm recording. i'm using my Shure sm57 dynamic mike, and every take ends up distorted (it's a metal song, so the 'singing' is more like growling. could that be it?) i was wondering if anyone knows what i'm doing wrong. should i try a different mike? use Condensor overheads? stand a little farther from the mike? Any Hlp = Much appreciation.
 
#3 ·
If you find the vocals still low in the mix after recording the track, dupliciate the track and it will be twice as loud. I know its not the ideal solution to have two tracks of the same vocal , but whacking up the gain will distort the single track more
 
#6 ·
Ash said:
would using more mics help? i'm thinking of using an overhead or something...
No You just don't understand how to record properly. That is normal. Chances are that

1-You are Input gain to whatever you are tracking to is too high. Since screaming is present you may want to consider investing in a compressor.
OR
2-You are going from a balanced piece of equipment to unbalanced (or vice versa). Very noisy

Tell me what you are using equipment wise and we'll go over it.

jonrayl said:
I would also highly recomend investing in a better vocal mic than a 57.
You can pick up an Octava mk319 (large diaphram condenser) at guitar center for $99
I wouldn't. Your 57 is fine. Keep your cash for a compressor.

Two hands31 said:
Yea, stand back a bit from the mic, maybe record low and turn it up in the mix after, just whatever you do, ignore how quiet it sounds in the mix you're hearing as you record. If all this fails, try something else. :lol:
That makes no sense really. Tracking too low will allow for a higher noise floor ratio. Push it later and your noise floor will be higher...bad. Never ignore how quiet your tracking instrument (or voice) sounds as you track. Make sure you get optimal levels to increase your signal to noise ratio. Lower the levels of the tracked instument for listeng purposes.
 
#7 ·
Pat7 said:
Two hands31 said:
Yea, stand back a bit from the mic, maybe record low and turn it up in the mix after, just whatever you do, ignore how quiet it sounds in the mix you're hearing as you record. If all this fails, try something else. :lol:
That makes no sense really. Tracking too low will allow for a higher noise floor ratio. Push it later and your noise floor will be higher...bad. Never ignore how quiet your tracking instrument (or voice) sounds as you track. Make sure you get optimal levels to increase your signal to noise ratio. Lower the levels of the tracked instument for listeng purposes.
Good call, I forgot that. :lol: Stupid me. :lol: Yea, standing back a tiny bit might help tho. But yea, the compresser's a good idea.
 
#10 ·
hmm, well the room is really crappy (too much ambience) but i havn't got the money to fix it up. like i said, the mic is a shure sm57, and it goes through an old (very old... made in 1982) mixer, and from there right into a Roland VS-840GX digital 8 track recorder. mayber skip the mixer, cuz it makes a low humming noise...? and the compresor - should i add it after recording, or set it up in the chain? Thanks for the replys!
 
#11 ·
Oh boy that's the one where you track to ZIP correct?

Well I know that there are users here who have made some OK recordings with this device.

The mixer could be pretty useful but here could be a problem; you are going from mic to mixer (Mic level to line level) and from there probably going from line level to Mic level. Depending on how you are set up, that is potentially problematic.

Start by removing the mixer and go straight into the mic pre's on the Roland. Here is where you will need a compressor inserted in your signal chain. Maybe there are some software ones, maybe you'll have to get some $$$ and buy one.

Cheers
Pat
 
#13 ·
Well, as the SM57 is the industry standard for instrument mics....the SM58 is the standard Vocal mic....dynamic cardiod, mind you.

If you want to get every little detail of your voice and the room ambience....a condenser mic (Audio Technica possibly) would be your choice...(make sure you have phantom power on your board!)

and yes, maybe stand about 12 inches from the mic....run the mic into a compressor.....just watch your levels for clipping...stay around -3dB
 
#16 ·
Alright, i didn't know it was such a big deal to record vocals! I'll use the mic going straight into the roland recorder, pick a descent pre on it, stand some 12 inches from the mic and record. sounds easy enough. i'm not so sure about buying a condensor though. all i want to accomplish here is a demo quality recording. if i'm going to spend all this money on equipment (money i don't have, mind you) i might as well take my band into the studio, don't you think? and pat7, yes, it's the one with the zip. it's annoying, but seeing how i didn't spend much (actually, i didn't spend a thing :wink: ) on it, i could live with its poor capacity. :D Thanks a lot guys! i'll post the song for you to hear as soon as we finish it up.
 
#18 ·
Sounds like you are creating digital clipping, i.e. hitting the Roland with too much signal. You can hit tape really hard and will compress nicely, if you hit digital too hard it sounds harsh. So, ideas would be to:
A) lower the level from the mixer to the Roland.
B) if you are going straight into the Roland, back off on the trim, you can always boost it later in the mix without adding any "new" noise since it's digital.
C) use a limiter or compressor to make sure the signal doesn't get too hot.

Fix this problem before worrying about mics, the SM57 is fine as a studio vocal mic for your application. Don't go spending money until you're sure what's going on.

Roger
 
#19 ·
I have a cheap Focusrite Vocal Processor of some kind. One with compression, Limiters, EQ, phantom power, etc. There is no output level adjustment on it and it is too hot for my console, even with the trim all the way down.

Maybe that is what you are experiencing. I added a 10 db pad in-line, but the sound quality suffered (cheap resistors), so I patched in another compressor/limiter after the Focusrite. That worked.

It seems like the newer consoles have a lot less headroom than the old ones.
 
#22 ·
Pat7 said:
Polaris20 said:
An SM57 is definitely not the ideal mic for recording vocals.
Wow where do you get that from? Countless albums have been tracked using this microphone. It's fine, especially for music where the vocals are continuously belted. Ash should save his money and buy a compressor.
Countless albums have been tracked for vocals using the 57? Maybe, but it is my opinion that it is not a good vocal mic for recording. I am not trying to downplay the importance of a compressor, but the Studio Projects B1 is only $80, and it would be better for vocal recording than the 57.
 
#23 ·
Yeah, there are better mics for recording vocals and nobody is really arguing that, but he is getting distortion on his vocals, a new mic isn't going to fix that. A new mic will be more of a color thing, if he is getting distortion with an SM57, a $2K tube condenser mic isn't going to solve the problem. It still sounds like he has some digital clipping going on but since I haven't heard the track, I don't know for sure.
 
#24 ·
Polaris20 said:
Countless albums have been tracked for vocals using the 57?
Hell Yeah!

POD'd Satellite was tracked with 2 mic's. A Newmann for the clean and a 57 for the raps

Red Hot Chilli Peppers Blood Sex Sugar Magik ALL (vox & Instrument) tracked with 57's!!

The point is though that it's a decent mic and that another newer one wouldn't be the solution!

Cheers
Pat
 
#25 ·
I guess I was coming from the standpoint of being quite familiar with the V Studio stuff, having had a Boss BR8 for a couple years. I never had a problem getting good levels for vocals, and using the built-in compressor already on the unit, which the 840 has as well.

But that's just my opinion.
 
#26 ·
If you are familiar with the stuff you should be able to help him, like I said, mics only change the color of what's being recorded, if he is getting distortion it sounds like something else. How can he check the levels and watch for clipping while he is recording?
 
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