For discussion about setting up your studio and advice on the gear and equipment within it.
By bruknam Sun Aug 24, 2003 4:04 pm
WHOA, i just got finished listenin' to your joints bananas and i was readin a forum you posted on about recording vocals, you record that in a project studio or do u go to a commercial joint i need serious help with recording vocals for real i'm right here in bad news i need some real direction with this vocal thing like i said i read your post and the basics i understand, it's the complicated parts of the vocal process i have problems with really i think it's the wording. most forums that explain this process lose me when the start getting into complicated wording but like i said whatever it is you're doing is whats really good do you think you can help?hope it's not asking to much but this would really be a great help

btw, i do try and take this serious so plz don't think i'm tryin to steal or copy what your doin but i fell each one teach one everyone in this forum is both student and teacher you take a little you give a little plus we both trynna make it happen here in v.a. we might need each other one day
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By mesh Sun Aug 24, 2003 5:56 pm
what exactly is it that you need help with? id be glad to answer any specific questions you have. hit me back.

By bruknam Sun Aug 24, 2003 7:07 pm
good lookin on the re: mesh

my problem with my vocals is the feel there not mashed in or squashed they stand out from the other sounds no pops and everything like that but my problem is and this is where my wording makes things complicated but i think it's like what you called giving it color when i record a song it sounds like a super demo and thats only because of the vocals. the stand out but sound dull no life like demo recorded vocals but everything else is perfect. to record vocals i use a c.a.d. e-200 ran into, a tube pre-amp and than to the mixer i have compression set up thru my mixer and i lay the vocals done to a daw(samplitude) there i don't do much but possibly add a little more compression/limiter and thats about it as far as th recording process .most records i layer vocals on diffrent tracks and pan r-l to add presence as far as helping the vocals stand out a little delay on the ad-lib track and thats all i know how to do i'm hoping your insight could put me on to how i can make the vocal sit in the track and still stand out and have more warmth to it, than that dull cold lifeless vocal sound no what i mean. i got antares mic modeler thinking this might help but i can't really figure it out.
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By mesh Mon Aug 25, 2003 4:13 pm
ok, well do you have a link i can check out to hear your vocals? i have found that the eq'ing scheme i laid out here has really helped my vocals stand out. which pre amp are you using? are there any little characteristics about it that you can use. the preamp that i have that is broken has this knob called the 'vari-air' which kinda adds a little sizzle. but if i could here what you are doing that would help me better analyze a solution. oh yeah, all those vocals you heard were recorded in my bathroom.

By bruknam Mon Aug 25, 2003 5:09 pm
i dont have anything new up on any websites, i do have penty of music recorded though do have any kind of instant messenger or something where i can send you some songs directly my email address is listed here so u dont have to post it here. i use a art tube mp if i could holla at u more directly like with a i.m. or something i know u could help me work this out once again goodlookin. i got a some joints listed at mp3.com but those are old as dirt sound is nothin like how it sounds know floz entertainment is the searchword or keyword there once again thnx for your help scrapper
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By mesh Mon Aug 25, 2003 5:39 pm
well like i said, the eq'ing is probably the most important first step before you compress or limit. before i hear anything, im kinda thinking you are having a muddiness problem, meaning there may be too much mid range. trying sweeping through 350Hz to 650Hz with a real tight, cut bell curve, as high Q as possible. that might help cut out some mud. and then boost with a shelf eq around 10-12kHz. see what that does. i dont do a.i.m. try to set up a soundclick page so i can listen there. word.

By bruknam Tue Aug 26, 2003 12:55 pm
i put a song up on soundclick hopefully you could figure out whats-what. i didnt get achance to try your advice with the eq bcuz i dont really get the wording like bell cut and q are these words on plug in eqs let me check.......ok i just opened a timeworks 8 band parametric eq and ok i see it says bell and to the left lo cut and to the right high cut is this what i'm lookin for. for real kid i need your help heres the link but compared to that sh?# u got up there i need that

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/1/offishulz.htm
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By mesh Tue Aug 26, 2003 3:30 pm
thats tight dude, they sound pretty good, ok, for starters, i think you can use a little more volume for the vox. you are on the right track though. they need to sit on top of the mix, rightnow they sound a little bit too much hidden in the track. overall though, it is sounding nice. another suggestion i have is to add a touch of reverb. set up an auxilary track and put a reverb plug in on it. (you using a computer right?) so start of with some type of vocal preset and tweak til it sounds right. but back on the original vox tracks, you'll send a little bit over to the verb track. just a little to help brighten it up. if you dont how to send stuff to another track, let me know.
now the terms i was using, cut means what it sounds like, you are cutting out certain frequencies, and you can also boost them. a parametric eq allows you to adjust what frequencies you cut and boost and how much of a range you cut or boost. that is where Q comes in. a hi Q is a very tight frequency range while a low Q is real broad. this is available with bell shaped curves. there are also hi-pass, lo-pass, and shelving eq settings. plug ins are nice cuz they allow you to visualize the shape of the eq. you can see the type of eq and what it is doing. another thing i noticed is that you might think about automating the vocals so they are a constant level. you'll set up the volume to be automated and boost where needed and cut where needed providing an overall even delivery. make sense? hit meback. by the way, where in VA are you? if you are in richmond you should come out to Richmatic, it is a hiphop night i help promote and dj at. word.

By bruknam Tue Aug 26, 2003 10:24 pm
ok, so should i eq the master or the individual vocal tracks bcuz u said u eq before compressor/limiter and i only use compression on the master. is this the right way how should i be setting this up what should be first and what should be last. also i know of auto mating but i'm not really sure how to use it after i pick the autmation button am i supposed to do something. with ur explanation its startin to make sense. i'm in newport news i heard about that hip-hop nite it was in this local newspaper/magazine exclusive i think, but yeah let me know the details i be out there at v.u.u. slangin our cds
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By mesh Wed Aug 27, 2003 1:30 am
yeah,the chain i explained in the other post is inorder. eq, limit slightly, compress. i am sure there are many other ways to do it, that is what works best for me. as far as automation goes, you have to arm it, then do a pass through tthe song making changes. then put it in read mode and it will automatically make those moves again. its gets more advanced than that but that is the start. you can automate just about anything.

the night i do is in the fan at a club called nanci raygun. kinda gay name but it is a good vvenue. we call our night 'richmatic' if you see flyers. it is a block from the boss, grace and harrison street. right next to vcu. anyways, every thursday we're doing our thing on a kinda underground tip. every third thursday we feature producers who bring in instrumental cds and we let mcs spit on em. you should check it out. we havve a bulletin board too:

http://richmatic.proboards20.com

word up.