Ableton 10 live, best vocal settings/effects

[fishmonkey]

I recorded a short clip in a loop, to let you know how it sounds.

Sounds weird, right?

https://instaud.io/3pVz

so what exactly is your "pretty good mic"? and where/how are you recording? the mic, mic placement, mic technique and the room are all very important.

it's a bit hard to tell as you've drowned it in reverb, however it sounds very boxy like you've recorded in a small boxy, reflective room...

[Martin1977]

I recorded a short clip in a loop, to let you know how it sounds.

Sounds weird, right?

https://instaud.io/3pVz

so what exactly is your "pretty good mic"? and where/how are you recording? the mic, mic placement, mic technique and the room are all very important.

it's a bit hard to tell as you've drowned it in reverb, however it sounds very boxy like you've recorded in a small boxy, reflective room...

This is my mic.

https://www.thomann.de/se/rode_nt2a_stu ... on_set.htm

I'm recording in my livingroom with the mic on a ----> https://www.thomann.de/se/km_21070_black.htm

Is the reverb really that "much"?

This is pretty much the sound I'm aiming for.

https://youtu.be/S1UN5YQVhcA

[fishmonkey]

lots of reverb, especially a wide stereo reverb, makes the vocal sound small and pushes it away into the distance. this is the opposite of the warm, intimate, close vocal sound you are referencing.

if you want opinions on the quality of the recording, post a sample of the raw microphone track, without any effects.

[TLW]

Suggestions....

Lower the amount of reverb a lot, and narrow its stereo spread. If you’re using a reverb which lets you pick “rooms” try and find one that sounds warm. You can then increase the reverb if you want to emphasise sections of the vocal, but that warm, “in the room” kind of sound uses less reverb than it might seem to.

Second. Your pitch and tone is fine. However, for that close, intimate kind of sound I suggest you sing at a much lower volume - don’t push too hard. Keep an almost spoken tone until you hit the point you want to bloom the voice out big and wide. And use compression to keep the volume in the right area, that way quiet and loud vocals can get the tone that tells our ears “this is intimate” and “this is big and loud” without the volume going all over the place. An LA2A style compressor is usually pretty good at this kind of thing, or any good emulation of Neve or SSL consoles is worth trying.

While your mic’s not top rate(neither are mine), good recordings don’t always need high-end mics, many Michael Jackson recordings were made using a Shure SM7(b) and sold by the million. But you maybe need to learn how to use it a bit more. Used with a cardoid pattern the lower frquencies in your voice will be emphasised the closer you are to the mic. You can use this “bass proximity effect” of cardoid mics to your advantage, moving close to or further away from the mic to make changes to how your voice is recorded without needing to go anywhere near eq. All cardoids do this, which is why many singers like them.

Omni patterns have a much flatter frequency response, and omni has its uses when that’s required. It can get some very natural recordings in a room with good acoustics.

It’s also true that some mics favour some voices more than others do, so bear that in mind. If you keep getting frustrated with the Rode try an SM58. They’re inexpensive, an “industry standard” for a reason and if you record instruments they’re almost identical to the SM57, another industry standard.

[DSGN]

Honestly, both from what you’re saying and that sample you provided, both how you sung it and the fact that you’ve drowned it in effects...

I think you’re going through that thing we all do when you first experience recording your vocal and hearing it back.

We think “WHAT THE F*CK (can I un-censored curse here? Anyone know?) IS THAT? THATS NOT HOW I SOUND”
Then we think it must be something other than our voice. It must need effects. It must need more gear. It must need...

So, tips from my experience:
1. Silence your inner critic. Even when just recording into my daw for myself, a file I could easily delete, when I started it felt like “the pressure is on” as if that take was going to vinyl and if it was shit everyone would hear it. So no headphones, talk into it, sing into it, from different distances, get goofy, sing well, etc.
Then listen back and hear if at any point you captured something that felt like your True Tone.
2. Realize that, despite the voice you think you have, your voice may not sound as much like the person you’re trying to emulate as you think. Then realize this is a good thing, unless you want to be in a tribute act to that other artist. No one cares about an artist for how much they sound like another artist.

I have a buddy who thought his voice sounded exactly like Thom Yorke’s. Sounded that way to him live, and when he’d sing in a room. When he heard it recorded back, even recordings of those live sessions where at the moment he thought he sounded just like Thom Yorke, he realized he just sounds like someone trying oh so hard to sound like Thom Yorke - still good, and in the same register, but...

Then he decides to embrace all of the parts of his voice he was slightly straining toward the Yorke tone. He got comfortable with microphones. He now sounds like himself, and is known for HIS voice.

Ironically, him covering Radiohead now sounds incredible.

3. Get comfortable with the mic you have. Put on some headphones and sing again, relaxed, not trying to do anything epic. Hum tones, sing little phrases, whatever. Try different pattern settings on the mic, sing close sing far. Sing at a comfortable volume. Do this until you find a combination of voice, distance, pattern, and mic position you like! It’s all experimentation, all learning. NO EFFECTS, and just have fun.

4. ONLY AFTER you’ve found a tone you’d be happy using for a while, and do so with the mic you have (this is crucial for you to build the mental mindset that the goods are coming from you, not studio magic) should you then think about the fact that all mics are different and capture a source differently.

There’s a reason Taylor Swift is still using a $600 studio mic she’s used for album after album, when she could probably afford to have one of every expensive mic ever mass-produced in front of her face.

It’s because she’s found her mic.

I had this revelation recently with the Aston Spirit. You will have it with yours when the time comes. But first you need to know what your voice is, and love it for the instrument it is. Get to it.

For what it’s worth, under all that trying and water-bath of effects, I hear a good voice.

[Martin1977]

Thank you for all your replies, I will look in to it all and get back with a new raw sample.

And to those criticising my singing/voice; I'm not looking at a career, I just sing for fun and erhaps to do some fun stuff with my pupils, I know I'm not great.

[DSGN]

And to those criticising my singing/voice; I'm not looking at a career, I just sing for fun and erhaps to do some fun stuff with my pupils, I know I'm not great.

?
Anyone who’s mentioned your voice says it’s good.

[TLW]

And to those criticising my singing/voice; I'm not looking at a career, I just sing for fun and erhaps to do some fun stuff with my pupils, I know I'm not great.

Hey, your pitch is good, you're in time, good tone, the words are clear, you sound confident and comfortable with what you're doing (even if you're not).

Which makes you a lot further down the path to "great" than most. Including me...

What you need to be working on is engineering, which is a different skill than being a singer or musician. There's a lot to learn, but look on the bright side - at least you don't have to remember to clean and de-magnetise the 2" tape machine, set its bias correctly and after recording remember to unspool and re-spool all your tapes once in a while. Or use a razor-blade and sticky tape to do your edits.

[Martin1977]

And to those criticising my singing/voice; I'm not looking at a career, I just sing for fun and erhaps to do some fun stuff with my pupils, I know I'm not great.

Hey, your pitch is good, you're in time, good tone, the words are clear, you sound confident and comfortable with what you're doing (even if you're not).

Which makes you a lot further down the path to "great" than most. Including me...

What you need to be working on is engineering, which is a different skill than being a singer or musician. There's a lot to learn, but look on the bright side - at least you don't have to remember to clean and de-magnetise the 2" tape machine, set its bias correctly and after recording remember to unspool and re-spool all your tapes once in a while. Or use a razor-blade and sticky tape to do your edits.

Honestly, both from what you’re saying and that sample you provided, both how you sung it and the fact that you’ve drowned it in effects...

I think you’re going through that thing we all do when you first experience recording your vocal and hearing it back.

We think “WHAT THE F*CK (can I un-censored curse here? Anyone know?) IS THAT? THATS NOT HOW I SOUND”
Then we think it must be something other than our voice. It must need effects. It must need more gear. It must need...

So, tips from my experience:
1. Silence your inner critic. Even when just recording into my daw for myself, a file I could easily delete, when I started it felt like “the pressure is on” as if that take was going to vinyl and if it was shit everyone would hear it. So no headphones, talk into it, sing into it, from different distances, get goofy, sing well, etc.
Then listen back and hear if at any point you captured something that felt like your True Tone.
2. Realize that, despite the voice you think you have, your voice may not sound as much like the person you’re trying to emulate as you think. Then realize this is a good thing, unless you want to be in a tribute act to that other artist. No one cares about an artist for how much they sound like another artist.

I have a buddy who thought his voice sounded exactly like Thom Yorke’s. Sounded that way to him live, and when he’d sing in a room. When he heard it recorded back, even recordings of those live sessions where at the moment he thought he sounded just like Thom Yorke, he realized he just sounds like someone trying oh so hard to sound like Thom Yorke - still good, and in the same register, but...

Then he decides to embrace all of the parts of his voice he was slightly straining toward the Yorke tone. He got comfortable with microphones. He now sounds like himself, and is known for HIS voice.

Ironically, him covering Radiohead now sounds incredible.

3. Get comfortable with the mic you have. Put on some headphones and sing again, relaxed, not trying to do anything epic. Hum tones, sing little phrases, whatever. Try different pattern settings on the mic, sing close sing far. Sing at a comfortable volume. Do this until you find a combination of voice, distance, pattern, and mic position you like! It’s all experimentation, all learning. NO EFFECTS, and just have fun.

4. ONLY AFTER you’ve found a tone you’d be happy using for a while, and do so with the mic you have (this is crucial for you to build the mental mindset that the goods are coming from you, not studio magic) should you then think about the fact that all mics are different and capture a source differently.

There’s a reason Taylor Swift is still using a $600 studio mic she’s used for album after album, when she could probably afford to have one of every expensive mic ever mass-produced in front of her face.

It’s because she’s found her mic.

I had this revelation recently with the Aston Spirit. You will have it with yours when the time comes. But first you need to know what your voice is, and love it for the instrument it is. Get to it.

For what it’s worth, under all that trying and water-bath of effects, I hear a good voice.

Suggestions....

Lower the amount of reverb a lot, and narrow its stereo spread. If you’re using a reverb which lets you pick “rooms” try and find one that sounds warm. You can then increase the reverb if you want to emphasise sections of the vocal, but that warm, “in the room” kind of sound uses less reverb than it might seem to.

Second. Your pitch and tone is fine. However, for that close, intimate kind of sound I suggest you sing at a much lower volume - don’t push too hard. Keep an almost spoken tone until you hit the point you want to bloom the voice out big and wide. And use compression to keep the volume in the right area, that way quiet and loud vocals can get the tone that tells our ears “this is intimate” and “this is big and loud” without the volume going all over the place. An LA2A style compressor is usually pretty good at this kind of thing, or any good emulation of Neve or SSL consoles is worth trying.

While your mic’s not top rate(neither are mine), good recordings don’t always need high-end mics, many Michael Jackson recordings were made using a Shure SM7(b) and sold by the million. But you maybe need to learn how to use it a bit more. Used with a cardoid pattern the lower frquencies in your voice will be emphasised the closer you are to the mic. You can use this “bass proximity effect” of cardoid mics to your advantage, moving close to or further away from the mic to make changes to how your voice is recorded without needing to go anywhere near eq. All cardoids do this, which is why many singers like them.

Omni patterns have a much flatter frequency response, and omni has its uses when that’s required. It can get some very natural recordings in a room with good acoustics.

It’s also true that some mics favour some voices more than others do, so bear that in mind. If you keep getting frustrated with the Rode try an SM58. They’re inexpensive, an “industry standard” for a reason and if you record instruments they’re almost identical to the SM57, another industry standard.

lots of reverb, especially a wide stereo reverb, makes the vocal sound small and pushes it away into the distance. this is the opposite of the warm, intimate, close vocal sound you are referencing.

if you want opinions on the quality of the recording, post a sample of the raw microphone track, without any effects.

Alright, so I have tried and tried, to get the settings to sound less over-done and reverby, without making it sound flat and boring.

This is what I have come up with so far, but it sounds like I'm singing inside a moonboot + I sound extremely nasal, which I am not when making a simple recording on my phone.

https://instaud.io/3sAu

Any ideas?

Now I'm using generic compressor, standard room reberb (with settings way down from default) and less low, more mid EQ.



edit: God I wish there were a set "build" you could just choose, to make it sound like recording vocals in a studio etc., instead of having to go through one billion settings and getting lucky..

[fishmonkey]

the most important thing with making a good acoustic recording is a good raw capture. i suggest again that you post a raw recording can so we can hear it without any processing of any kind.

and how are you and the mic positioned in the room? where is the mic, where are you, and where are you and the mic facing?