Oftentimes "the" comes out crackled and generally it sounds like the
mic is out of phase or something. Any idea how to get a better quality
voice track? I can post an mp3 if anybody wants to hear what I mean.
The gear: Neumann U87 ai, Focusrite Voicemaster Pro, MOTU 828MKII, Mac
G5, Logic Pro 7.1.

wrote in news:1126576101.539648.85620
@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Oftentimes "the" comes out crackled and generally it sounds like the
mic is out of phase or something. Any idea how to get a better quality
voice track? I can post an mp3 if anybody wants to hear what I mean.
The gear: Neumann U87 ai, Focusrite Voicemaster Pro, MOTU 828MKII, Mac
G5, Logic Pro 7.1.

Use a pop filter?

there is a pop filter. some words still crackle and the mic sounds out
of phase.

wrote in message
oups.com

wrote in message
ups.com

Oftentimes "the" comes out crackled and generally it
sounds like the
mic is out of phase or something.

there is a pop filter. some words still crackle and the
mic sounds out of phase.

Just because the spec sheet says that the mic has a pop
filter doesn't mean that it is effective enough for every
user.

I work with a lot of poorly-trained and poorly-practiced
vocalists. I routinely put foam pop filters on mics like
Audix OM5, OM6, and CAD 95. They already have pretty good
internal pop filters. On occasion double-filtering isn't
enough.

A properly-trained vocal artist can work with sensitive
mics and *no* pop filter.

There's a story going around about a well-known spoken word
artist who it is said will physically destroy any pop filter
placed in front of him for him to use at a gig. He thinks
(and recordings of his voice seem to confirm) that he
doesn't need one. Forcing one on him is an insult.

OTOH, I've done a tiny bit of spoken word work. When I
listened to the recording I made of the event, I popped a
double-filtered mic good and hard about 6 times in about a
half hour of talking. A true artist is a joy to watch and
hear working. When it comes to voice, that ain't me! ;-) No
training, no talent, and not enough rehearsing.

wrote:
there is a pop filter. some words still crackle and the mic sounds out
of phase.

Out of phase with what? Or do you mean that it sounds like it has no
bass and that it's going through a fairly narrow filter?

To answer your basic question, the way to record decent vocals is to
start with a decent voice. Your voice may not be as good as you had
hoped. Have you recorded good sounding vocals with another setup?

There are some noises that come out of your mouth unexpectedly that
contain unnatural amounts of energy in limited frequency bands. A
singing coach will help you to get rid of these, if this is the
problem. But what might be happening is that you're getting some of
that energy that's well above the average level of your voice, and
occasionally you're overloading the mic preamp, the A/D converter, or
in extreme cases, the mic itself.

Try singing a foot or even two away from the mic and don't worry if the
level looks too low. You're experimenting here, not recording the
keeper. See what you can do to alleviate the problem at the source,
then work on the performance.

Have you tried a different cable?


ha scritto nel messaggio
ups.com...
Oftentimes "the" comes out crackled and generally it sounds like the
mic is out of phase or something. Any idea how to get a better quality
voice track? I can post an mp3 if anybody wants to hear what I mean.
The gear: Neumann U87 ai, Focusrite Voicemaster Pro, MOTU 828MKII, Mac
G5, Logic Pro 7.1.

wrote:
there is a pop filter. some words still crackle and the mic sounds out
of phase.

Are you clipping the preamp?

Is the vocalist too close to the mike?

What does "out of phase" sound like? Do you mean it sounds like comb
filtering? That's mostly apt to be a room problem.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

wrote in message
ups.com...
Oftentimes "the" comes out crackled and generally it sounds like the
mic is out of phase or something. Any idea how to get a better quality
voice track? I can post an mp3 if anybody wants to hear what I mean.
The gear: Neumann U87 ai, Focusrite Voicemaster Pro, MOTU 828MKII, Mac
G5, Logic Pro 7.1.


The best vocal recordings that I have gotten (as judged by others) was when
I placed the microphone about 15 inches away from the singer/announcer,
above nose height (about forehead level), aimed directly at the mouth, with
the high-pass filter on the mic engaged. The singer/announcer was instructed
to sing straight ahead (or at least not tilting up towrds the mic), thereby
projecting blasts under the microphone. No pop filter was required.

For some signers, you can't use this method because they will not work this
way (I certainly unstand this), so you'll have to try something else in
those cases.

Mike

Michael Putrino wrote:
The best vocal recordings that I have gotten (as judged by others) was when
I placed the microphone about 15 inches away from the singer/announcer,
above nose height (about forehead level), aimed directly at the mouth, with
the high-pass filter on the mic engaged. The singer/announcer was instructed
to sing straight ahead (or at least not tilting up towrds the mic), thereby
projecting blasts under the microphone. No pop filter was required.

For some signers, you can't use this method because they will not work this
way (I certainly unstand this), so you'll have to try something else in
those cases.

This may involve giving them a dummy microphone to sing into, and a real
microphone going to tape.
---scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Try a different thing:
mic 1 foot away and 1 foot above mouth level.
Figure of 8 pointed at the mouth.

Please let me know what do you think about it.
F.

"Federico" wrote in message
...
Try a different thing:
mic 1 foot away and 1 foot above mouth level.
Figure of 8 pointed at the mouth.

Please let me know what do you think about it.
F.



I suspect that might be good in a very good room. However, many vocal
recordings are made in a vocal booth. In such cases, I can't imagine a
figure-eight would be a good choice. But then...I haven't tried it.

Mike P.