Vocals too low?

Jim

Yeah, my vocals were really terrible, I have had a lot of throat problems lately, I really need to lay off singing for at least 6 months to let my voice heal. I strain it, and then really have to push (which is always wrong). Plus, I did not sound that loud in the monitors, it sounded ok there, we didn't realize the FOHs were cranked so high. Dmitri owns the PA and set it up, I usually get real involved with the PA, but lately it's been kinda nice to just set up my guitar and let someone else worry about that stuff. I won't do that again, next time I'm checking the levels.

And you are right, it turns into a battle over who is the loudest. I try not to do that, and you can hear in the recording that I kept my guitar low (too low).

But the fault is ours, we should have done a sound check and went out and heard the mix. Then it would have been better.

As far as recording, Dmitri brings a couple of condenser mics, I'm not sure what brand, but they are pretty good quality. He puts them on a V stand in front of the band to capture a stereo sound. Then we just ran them right into my Zoom HCD8 recorder, using phantom power. I didn't really do anything except turn up mic gain enough to show we were getting a signal without distorting. Once I got home I just burned the CD as is, didn't play with EQ, effects, or anything like that. It is just a straight-ahead recording. I did cut out all the space between songs, but that's all.

Wes,

I have been thinking about trying out the Zoom H2 or H4 hand held stereo recorders. They are hand held and have two condencer mics on teh front so they can record in stereo. They record in MP3 or Wave and seem to be easy to work with. they also have features such as mic sims and 90 degree recording so you only record what is in front without a lot of background noise. The H4 has two combination 1/4 inch and stander mic inputs (xlr?). They also have mounting capability so you can attach them to a standard mic stand.

They seem to have pretty good reviews, but still seem a bit pricey for a hand recorder. And every time I have a couple hundred bucks laying around, I seem to find guitar gear that I need more than the recorder. I am hoping to find someone with personal experience or for the price to drop before buying one.

Anyway, I didn't think your voice sounded bad. I kind of like the rough quality, but you're right, you need to take a break before you do any serous damage. Perhaps you could use the Zen of Scream? I had seen the instruction video discussed in the "Singing" forum, so I decided to try it out. I am srtill not a great singer, but even with the very limited time I hav spent with it, it seems to have really helped me to understand how to better control my voice. The "screaming" is kind of misleading. Most of the video is just good singing lessons put in terms that are easy to understand and visualize. They show you how to sing properly without doing damage to your voice.

I kind of feel like I should get something for the plugs here.... perhaps a Zoom H4 for Christmas? :wink:

Thanks again for all the heklp on our vocal issues. We really do need to just come together and agree to keep the volumes down. I have recieved the new 2-channel amp that I bought and I also picked up a 50 foot snake (like $120 on Ebay...and it actually seems to be decent quality). If we are going to keep using a sound guy, I would like to get him out front a bit. I think it will help. Combine that with the trick of using the FX as an additional monitor channel, tilting the mon speakers at an angle, keeping the volume lower, doing a proper eq wring and sound check and we should be in pretty good shape.

I let you all know how it works out for us.

Thanks!

Jim