I've recently started a band with a few friends. Recording the guitars and bass is ok for us atm, we have a digitech rp 90 and a rp 50 that we connect to the pc and get the sound we want to record BUT as far as drums and vocals are concerned, we really have trouble :(. We have 2 microphones... they're dynamic (if im right, meaning microphones that you normally would use on stage) but, there is a very strong noise when we record the voice... although you can't hear it until after we have recorded the vocals track. Is there any way around this? Other then going to a pro studio cause we cannot afford it... That about the vocals... as far as drums are concerned, we have a set of drums, acoustic drums, and it sounds really really crappy when we record them using a microphone, thus we're forced to make the drums on a computer (I'm not worried about the drums as they're shitty)... We are using Acoustica Mixcraft 4 to record our songs... and so far we have resumed at recording one song, and that one has really poor quality and we decided not to record any new song until we figure out a way to get rid of that noise on the vocals at least (because everything else can be tweaked!) ! So, is there a way to get rid of that noise (other then using a studio microphone)? Is there any software that you'd recommend or anything at all that could help us get rid of that noise without having a microphone like the ones you normally see in a studio with filters and stuff?
Just so you can get an idea about what I'm talking about regarding the vocals (I've tried to cut as much as I can from that noise but you can still feel it, it's there...) , we have the song that we've recorded on our facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/FridayFeverBand
(bottom left if you don't know where to look)
Thanks in advance!
Hmmm...
To me the vocal sounds thin... weak.
And has a bit of a sibilant sound to it. Is that the noise you are talking about? an exaggerated SSsss sound on some words?
Some of this may be due to the mics (if they are cheap or have had a hard life), or perhaps the singer's mic technique, or the singer's voice itself.
Equalization can often clean up things like this . Or the singer adjusting their technique. Or getting a better mic.
Since you are mixing it digitally, tinkering with effects is easy. Try adding a bit of compression and/or a touch of echo or reverb to the vocal. and boost the low/low-mid frequencies a bit to add some "punch" or strength.
You mention that you are using dynamic mics, that is not a bad thing. Generations of bands have used them. They are durable, and quality ones can sound very good.
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Yes, that "ssSSss" is what I'm talking about... It is true that one of the microphones we tried to record with is an older one but the one we used is brand new... it's less then 1 month old and was a little over $100, here's a link of it
Anyway, thanks for the tips, we will try that for our next recording and see if it sounds better :D
Yes, that "ssSSss" is what I'm talking about... It is true that one of the microphones we tried to record with is an older one but the one we used is brand new... it's less then 1 month old and was a little over $100, here's a link of it
Anyway, thanks for the tips, we will try that for our next recording and see if it sounds better :D
The "ssssssss" is called sibilance.
The best way to reduce it is to make sure that your vocal mike is slightly off-axis from the singer's mouth. I like to aim the mike at my chin, rather than directly at my mouth to combat this.
You can also use a pop filter to help reduce sibilance. Pop filters are easily made using cheap hosiery for the filtering matierial and various things to create a frame for it. Here's a link to several ways people have made one: http://www.google.com/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=making+a+pop+filter&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
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