Very transparents comps on recording vocals

I always record vocals with my Avalon M5 preamp, which is very transparent and reliable.
I usually tend to go directly from preamp to DAW (without compression), to maintain the maximum transparency of the signal path.
But in some cases I need some comp to prevent the singer from overloading. I have a DBX 1066 comp, which works well, but it seems to me it colours a bit much the voice.
I would appreciate some suggestions on very transparents comps to use with my M5.
Thanks

For the money I've always liked the FMR stuff... ie: "Really Nice Compressor".
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http://www.fmraudio.com/
High end audio dealer with review.
http://www.mercenary.com/realniccom.html
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Recording vocals for so-so singers

I'm trying to write R&B music myself, but will have to rely on singing on my own tracks until I find myself a "real" singer. My voice isn't terrible and I am certainly not tone deaf, but the workpace I have requires that I don't spend all day trying to get vocals perfect. I'd much rather work on the song. That said, what do you guys think the best way is to record vocals fo a so-so singer, so that it sounds decent on playback? What effects to use while recording and post-recording? Throw on some compression and reverb while recording and then compress, EQ and more reverb after? Ultiamtely I will have to record harmonies, so I just want things to sound thick anyway. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Hey,
First off, everyone and their next door neighbour wants to be a singer - try your local (music) colleges, the internet (there will be someone in your area, trust me), local talent nights (I know these happen, for example, in London), local press, music shops, your friends, your friends sister, your friends sister's friends... you'll be surprised what you can get.
I had a singer come down Spring 04, and I knew nothing about compression. Did a few mixes, vocals sounded a bit thin, a bit uncontrolled - when compared to anyone elses vocals sounded RUBBISH : 0 ( . I spend some time playing with stuff, thinking about stuff and reading some stuff. I take a look at the session a year later, and with
- Hi pass filter (as a standard on every track except bass and kick drum) to filter any hums or stray frequencies
- Space Designer (Vocal Reverbs>Extra Body)
- Silver compressor to get body and to rein in the loudest parts
- Touch of Multiband compression to catch certain frequency bands and compress them ("in your face" presence)
- touch of delay to add to 3D presence if needed (choruses/ad libs etc)
- Pinch of eq (they say the human voice benefits from boosts around 4k - try playing subtly with eq around this area
- Space designer (Vocal Reverbs>Golden) - adjust wetness to taste
I get pretty close to a nice sounding vocal... and I used a pretty (less than £50) cheap microphone - to be honest the difference is in the "last 5%" of the sound - if you play a track to your mum or your sister or 10,000 ravers in a field they won't stop dancing and go "man that mic sounds cheap" (guess my point is not to worry so much about it - if you do get something signed, you can always re-record it - whilst wanting your stuff to sound as good as it can, very few record labels (IMHO) listen to records with a "frequency" ear on). Obviously if your song has an "acccapella" section then people may notice the difference. Experiment with a cheap mic and maybe rent/borrow a good one for the final mix would be my advice....
I'd record them all dry (no need to affect signal chain when recording, if you apply effects post recording the effect will be the same) and then cut 'em up, pick the best bits and try variations of the above, try chorus effects, odd eqs, hi pass filters, even things like reverse reverb...
Harmonies - most important thing is being in tune and in exact time. Make a few different ones and play around with them, cut them up, compress them more than any others to get that tight "backing vocal" that's so warm and sits perfectly with your lead vocal.
My best advice would be to search the net for tips on making "professional sounding vocal", read and re-read the articles and experiment from there. I know a few producers who think they have a grasp on compression but don't really understand it... read and re-read until you get it!
Good luck with 'em!
Best,
Mickey.

Recording vocals, volume level

This is a little off topic, but I would like to get input about recording levels. It has been my goal to record vocals at the highest gain possible without clipping. When I apply effects the sound level almost always goes over. When I back the volume down the sound level seems too quiet. I have to lower all the other tracks as well in order to get a good balance of sound levels.
If I lower all the tracks like that it seems the overall loudness is low, but is that really a concern? I suppose that is where mastering comes in and re-vitalizes the volume among other things. But is something lost by having a weaker volume level in the mix to begin?

Brian,
Sometimes what I do when I have a track such as a vocal that goes into the red either before or after effects are applied and then sounds too low for the rest of the mix when lowered is to duplicate that track just below the original track.
I duplicate tracks that need more volume for the mix all the time wether its a vocal or anything else. This works out very nice for me and gives me the extra volume I need.
Sometimes I might adjust all the volume levels on a track at individual points to optimize it and then compress and limit the track somewhat before I double it up.
I like to keep all my track meters just out of the red and then I adjust my master track level just below unity.
Recently I have found that using the C3 Multi Band Compressor on the Master track at its 6db preset level can bring those mixes that slowly become lifeless back to life. Scott L-R uses this component a lot and I bet he has a lot of knowledge he can partake to you ( i'd like to hear it also).
Sometimes I will use the C3 Multi Band Compressor on a vocal track after optimizing its levels and export it out of GB and then back in again. Then I decide if it needs to be doubled up. I was doing that just last night. I have found the C3 Multi Band Compressor to have some nice limiting features also.
Hope that helps!

Cannot record vocal from interface help!

Im using logic pro 8 on an imac 2.66 ghz dual core with a m audio pro fire 610.. for some reason im not getting signal from the pro fire into the logic record enabled channel. it shows up strong in the mixer section of the pro fire but nothing on the logic screen. I did upgrade to snow leopard before i have done and vocal work but the main thing is that it looks strong at the outputs of the pro fire.
I'm using a Nady vacuum mic with it's own transformer and a M audio pre amp before it gets into the pro fire and again everything looks good coming out of the pro fire.
I'm creating the track as an audio track. The pro fire is configured in the audio preferences of logic as required.
I'm stumped!!

my m audio tampa pre amp has a very nice compressor set up so i go from there into the line in's of the pro fire and as i said the signal shows up just fine on the pro fire mixer software, but i agree with you, i must not have the right input selected on logic.
Here's what I do:
I hit the + sign which creates a new track
I choose it to be an audio trac in mono
i've record enabled it as well as monitor enabled it
I click the red R on the track and click the round record button in the transport
all i get is a flat line in the region when recording.
I've done all this on my existing project as well as creating a new project just with vocals
but still nothing.
I really believe it has to do with logic... I'm stumped, I've recorded vocals so many times this way but now nothing
I appreciate all suggestions. thanks,

Experiencing Resonance Recording Vocals Advice Welcome :D

Hi guys
my signal chain is Rode k2 tube mic to Apogee Duet preamp/converter to Logic.
When recording vocals I experienced some kind of harsh resonance at certain point on certain notes and by doing a sweep in the Channel EQ found it to be around 2350 Hz. Although I could surgically remove this with a very narrow cut this isn't ideal at all and wonder what advice people may have. Use of Space Designer reverb was found to emphasise the problem.
I guess it is down to poor mic technique (I do have a pop-shield) I dont suppose it is down to any of my gear...?
Any advice appreciated

One other idea is "room" related. The surfaces around your Mic can have a noticeable impact on your sound. Try hanging a blanket or large towel behind and around you to help deaden any frequency spikes due to room sound reflection.
Yes, the dreaded "cone of silence".....

Recording Vocals in Logic 8

I am using my Digi003 to record vocals. I have my MIC (SM57) in input 2 of the digi. WHen I create a new audio track and set it to input 2 nothing happens. I have tried to change mics and cables and nothing works. Is there a trick. I should be able to hit record and should hear sound right?
So frustrating!

Did you select the device in the audio preferences of Logic?
Did you arm the track to record before hitting record?
Not sure if you've done either of these things as you didn't mention them in your post.
Good Luck!

Recording vocals seperate from main music Mac

I do most of my music on a Mac Pro, running Logic Studio 9, but the location of the computer really isn't a suitable space for recording vocals in.
I can't keep lugging the Mac Pro about, so ideally I'd like to record the vocals in a suitable (different) space on to a laptop, then import the resulting audio files to the main project on my Mac Pro.
The idea is that I'd do a stereo reference mix of the music in Logic Pro, bounce it and copy that audio file to a project on the laptop (using Garageband or Logic Express to save cost).
With that project set up at the same tempo and sampling rate, I'd then record the vocals using the laptop. From there I'd copy the vocal audio file(s) and drop them into the music project on the Mac Pro, where I'd add any effects, processing and do the final mix.
First question - would this work? As long as I recorded the vocals in a project set to the same tempo and sampling rate as the music, would I have any timing or sync problems when adding the vocal audio files to the original music project?
Second question - if so, can anyone recommend any portable, Firewire 800 audio interfaces which would be suitable for recording the vocals on to the laptop? It would ony need to be 2 input channels maximum, but with at least one XLR input and phantom power.
Any advice gratefully received!

but the location of the computer really isn't a suitable space for recording vocals in.
Is there any other room that would work better at your location? If so, consider buying a snake.
The idea is that I'd do a stereo reference mix of the music in Logic Pro, bounce it and copy that audio file to a project on the laptop (using Garageband or Logic Express to save cost).
Or reinstall Logic Pro on your laptop, but without all the content. Your license permits this, as you're not using two copies at the same time.
First question - would this work?
Yes. I do this often. Just be sure that both files begin at 1 1 1 1. Additionally, as I usually have many takes tracking o'dubs, I always record to WAV (BWF) files so I can use the 'move to original record position' command to align less than complete audio files.
Second question - if so, can anyone recommend any portable, Firewire 800 audio interfaces
Most FW interfaces are FW400. Just get an [adapter.|http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fw_adapter.html] and buy an interface which can be separately powered. There are dozens of suitable FW interfaces: one inexpensive box which I like is the [AudioFire4|http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/FireWire/AudioFire4/index.php] which is 6in/6out - they make an Audiofire2 but that doesn't have XLRs. Apogee, Focusrite, Presonus etc. all have small interfaces which you might like - just [search around|http://www.sweetwater.com/c683--FireWireAudioInterfaces/low2high]. Personally, I would avoid M-Audio.
Good luck.

Monitor my voice my while recording vocals?

I have icore5,8gb ram and my Rode nta1 mic which is pluged into profire610 that goes to my pc with 6pin buswire and headphones comes out from my pc realtak jack.Now the problem is that I can't monitor my voice while recording vocals.I have done Edit>Pre>Audio Hardware and set the device class to ASIO and device it shows M-Audio ProFire ASIO.and select Release ASIO driver in background.It records everything and play.But while im recording I can't hear my voice in headphones.Still if I choose MME from Audio Hardware and go to Multitrack window click R and "I" then I can hear everything in headphones but then again I can't record using MME.Please help me out im going crazy here

Is there any reason not to just use one of the two headphone jacks on the front of the Profire 610? That's what they're there for.
Trying to use the in built Realtek piece of rubbish at the same time as the Profire is frought with difficulties since the Profire works best with ASIO drivers whereas the Realtek is an MME device. Even if you could get it working, I suspect that latency might make the monitoring less than ideal.
Edited to add: you MIGHT be able to get it working the way you want if you download ASIO4ALL from http://www.asio4all.com/
I have no way of trying this and still think using the Profire headphone outs would be a far better solution...but if you have to use the Realtek for some reason, give ASIO4ALL a try.

Question regarding recording vocals?

Hi, I'm considering in purchasing an IMAC real soon. Will Garage Band allow me to record vocals while playing an mp3, wave, cd, etc, from an internal player within the mac? For instance, I currently have a WINDOWS PC which I use winamp to play the audio and use CoolEditPro to record that same audio as well as vocals simultaneously. Will I be able to do this using Garageband and an internal audio player which comes with mac?
Thanks
Wil
Windows XP

they are recorded as wave files on your player so you should be able to transfer them to your computer using mediasource

Recording vocals

I have an:
-8800 shure stage mic.
-M-Audio Ozone.
-DX4 Audiophile studio monitors.
-G4 mini mac (256 RAM).
Does anyone have tips on how I should set up to record vocals over Garageband music tracks I've made?

you might run into some problems with the RAM, 256 might not really be enough to run garage band quickly and without bugs with alot of real music tracks. However, with regards recording technique, set up the M-audio with he mic plugged in, and then get a pair of headphones. I dont know if your M-audio has a built in monitor or not, so plug the head phones in either through the M-audio or right into the back of the mini. Press record and lay down the vocals to the playback from the already created music tracks.

How can i avoid to record vocal memos on itunes?

how can i avoid to record vocal memos on itunes?

Voice memos as in (Voice Recordings?) I'm afraid these automatally are backup to your iTunes music library, when synced to your computer. One way i can suggest keeping them altogether is having a separate folder with them all placed in, and untick the box so they don't play when listening to music and so on.

Edit Pre-recorded vocals

I have been trying to work out how to edit pre-recorded vocals using the Voicelive 2 and Logic Pro. I have managed to figure out the settings on the voice live 2 but I cannot work out what to do on the logic side of things. This is what I have been told (see below), but I dont understand what this means.
In LOGIC you have to set up a SEND (to VoiceLive 2 via MAUDIO SPDIF out LEFT!!! CHANNEL ONLY) for sending the dry Vocal track and RETURN the processed signal on a new stereo track (from VoiceLive Rack / input source = MAUDIO SPDIF input L & R channels). Don't forget to record enable the track. To control harmony / detecting automatically the key, you may SEND any audio signal (i.e. your instrumental, piano/ rhodes chord track etc.) via MAUDIO SPDIF RIGHT!!! CHANNEL to VL 2.
Would anyone be kind enough to explain what this means and what I need to do? ( i am trying to post edit pre-recorded vocals using voice live 2, logic 9 and m-audio fast track ultra).
Thank you

Open GB, drag the AIFF file from the Finder onto the GB window
Hey presto!
Vince

How do you setup adobe audition 3.0 to record vocal?

hi,
I just bought some equipment for recording vocal but have no idea how to setup adobe audition 3.0 to actually pickup sound from my mic.
So i have my microphone connecting to the interface which connects to my computer.
Microphone: Audio Technica AT2020 XLR cord
Interface: M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB connection
The M-Audio fast track pro CD was useless, it said it wouldnt install on my Vista 32bit so I just downloaded the vista 32bit driver which worked perfect. I also downloaded the ASIO4ALL v2 driver since my computer only has an intergrated soundcard. (Realtek High Definition Audio, Screaming Bee Audio) I dont know why there is 2. But i have no idea how to get audition working and pick up sound. I went into audio hardware setup and clicked the ASIO4ALL v2 driver in Edit view tab, multitrack view and surround encoder but still no sound picked up. Ill post up some pictures of how it looks. Any help would be appreciated thanks.
Sound card setting:
http://i51.tinypic.com/fn92fa.jpg
Adobe Audition driver setup (Edit view, Multitrack View, Surround Encoder):
http://i56.tinypic.com/167w60i.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/28ml011.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/2rdw6sh.jpg
I also tried choosing the M-Audio USB ASIO option but it wont let me
sorry for being so stupid, I'm a beginner to all this and is still learning so please don't be too harsh on me.

I use a different model of M-Audio interface so I don't know if this applies to the Fast Track Pro, but...
I've noticed that mine can be fussy about the order of power up and if I boot the computer then connect the interface, Windows doesn't always detect it's presence. I now have a switch on procedure that I follow without thinking: I turn on the audio interface, make sure it's connected to the PC and only then boot the PC. This seems to make sure the M-Audio device is always detected.
Although I have Asio4All installed, I just use the M-Audio drivers. Make sure the drivers you want are selected in the Audio Hardware setup window, then go through and then select your inputs in Edit and Multitrack windows.
Bob

I cant hear the backing track when I plug in the midi mic to record vocals?

I can't hear my backing tracks when I plug in my USB mic to record vocals with the track?

tablemountains wrote:
I can't hear my backing tracks when I plug in my USB mic to record vocals with the track?
http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/GBFAQ.html#usecomputersspeakers
(Let the page FULLY load. The link to your answer is at the top of your screen)

Is it possible to record vocals in Logic Pro 9?

I just bought Logic Pro 9 to create music, but I was wondering if it's possible to record vocals over the music. If it is possible, how do I do that?

You've made a good point Miles. A feature they have added in both US and UK versions of cars is a thing called 'pedals'. In the UK it's a little confusing as there are 3 pedals but most people only have 2 feet, but hey!
In UK the middle 'pedal' functions as a slow-downer and the far right pedal functions as a speed-uperer. There are no short cuts to these features. In the US most cars have 2 'pedals' and most people have 2 feet, way more logical. In this case you'd want to press the left with your foot to slow you down.
I have heard that your car can go up hills but you have to configure the 'engine' properly. Once configured and the 'engine' is on, a whole new range of motoring possibilities will open up to you. The speed-uperer pedal has no effect unless the 'engine' is configured and working properly. Stumped me for ages.
Hope this helps you stick with 'car' a bit longer. Although 'boat' has it's attraction, jumping to a different platform is not always the answer.

Very transparents comps on recording vocals

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