Best effect to improve thin/nasal sounding vocals

[pbarnet2]

So I've come to grips with the fact that my voice is not the best out there, but I think I can improve the sound of it in a final mixdown.

My microphone is not the best so I get a low gain recording which I have to turn up via a compressor or limiter at the moment.

But the biggest problem is that my voice is nasal to begin with but sounds even more "tinny" when recorded through my less than stellar mic.

To date I use the following effects in this order:
1. Gate - to drop out low level breath noises or background noise
2. EQ8 - I've watched some youtube videos on how to try and eliminate/amplify good or bad sounds so I'm doing the best I can.
3. Compressor - Here is where I tend to turn up the gain to get it loud enough to sit forward in the mix
4. Limiter - I've used this to ensure there is no clipping after I compress, but I think I'm making a rookie mistake.

Any help or tips you've found useful I would greatly appreciate!

[Dragonbreath]

Instead of compressor and limiter to compensate for gain try using the the gain level on the clip itself. That way you dont need to compensate as much with effects. You can also use this technique to bring the gain down or up on certain areas of your performance. you need to chop up in smaller clips and then you can modify the gain by section

[102455]

Thin & nasal worked for Bob Dylan!

[H20nly]

in addition to what Dragonbreath mentioned you can also try duplicating your vocal track and then panning one slightly left and the other slightly right. just don't over do it.
this has the added benefit of making the track(s) seem louder so you'll probably have to use less gain... if any.

another method is to take complimentary takes of the vocals and layer them. if you can get 3 or more separately recorded tracks that are in sync, when you play them all together it really adds depth to your vocals... this can be easier said than done though, because your performance has to be almost identical every time... but you can always splice if you go out of sync here and there.


oh, and of course... try adding some light reverb.

[Moosebear]

If you are willing to spend $249 you could get Melodyne essential. This would allow you to darken your tone a bit if you liked with the formant tool. You may also find that pitch correction will help your voice sound better, unless your pitch is already solid.

Some people scorn pitch correction: personally I think it's a fantastic tool. My own demos, I used to sing slightly flat all the time, now that I can pitch correct, I listen to my own songs in key, they don't get drilled into my voice flat, so I learn how they should sound, and then when I sing them live, I'm in tune. This is important because some people are FAR more sensitive to pitch than I, and they really hear when I'm off. So Melodyne can be your pal, helping you to be solidly in tune.

[Da hand]

Some good advice for post processing above.

However, the mic itself may be by far your weakest point in the chain. There is only so much you can do with a thin/brittle mic recording before you start pushing things and making it sound even worse. You will spend hours trying to make something decent out of that recording only to realize that you can only attain so much and that it will never sound even close compared to using a proper mic in the first place.

What mic are you using for you recording?

[Fat_Stanley]

in addition to what Dragonbreath mentioned you can also try duplicating your vocal track and then panning one slightly left and the other slightly right. just don't over do it.
this has the added benefit of making the track(s) seem louder so you'll probably have to use less gain... if any.

Bear in mind that if you do this you'll just be creating louder mono signal if both copies of the vocal are identical. It won't add any thickening or subtle stereo image. If you're going to duplicate one take, try processing each copy differently through use of EQ/compression/reverb/very small simple delay set to ms/few cents of pitch variation between the two.

[H20nly]

^ agreed.

[3dot...]

eq+soft-clipping+eq
don't know if the part calls for a reverb..
but if it does then add that too ...it could help "inflate" things

[jlgrimes]

So I've come to grips with the fact that my voice is not the best out there, but I think I can improve the sound of it in a final mixdown.

My microphone is not the best so I get a low gain recording which I have to turn up via a compressor or limiter at the moment.

But the biggest problem is that my voice is nasal to begin with but sounds even more "tinny" when recorded through my less than stellar mic.

To date I use the following effects in this order:
1. Gate - to drop out low level breath noises or background noise
2. EQ8 - I've watched some youtube videos on how to try and eliminate/amplify good or bad sounds so I'm doing the best I can.
3. Compressor - Here is where I tend to turn up the gain to get it loud enough to sit forward in the mix
4. Limiter - I've used this to ensure there is no clipping after I compress, but I think I'm making a rookie mistake.

Any help or tips you've found useful I would greatly appreciate!

Few things I can think of:

1. Proximity mic technique can increase the bass buildup. Try mic ing a bit closer next time. Also try aiming a little over the mic to reduce the air hitting the mic in addition to using the pop filter.

2. Deessing. This will reduce the s sounds and make your vocal sound a bit warmer.

3. Careful EQ. A slight increase in the low mids can make your voice stronger.

[pbarnet2]

Thanks guys, these are all incredible tips. I've used several of them and gotten the following results:

1. Doubled the vocal track panning each track a few ticks right and left of center, gave a fuller sound.
2. Turned down slightly the guitar part to make the vocal sit a little higher in the mix
3. Added subtle chorus to smooth out the parts that felt too rough
4. Pulled down the low end of the EQ on several tracks as the bass was overwhelming the mix during loud chorus parts

I'm still playing with it. Might upload the final track to soundcloud to get mixing/mastering pointers if possible...

[pbarnet2]

Some good advice for post processing above.

However, the mic itself may be by far your weakest point in the chain. There is only so much you can do with a thin/brittle mic recording before you start pushing things and making it sound even worse. You will spend hours trying to make something decent out of that recording only to realize that you can only attain so much and that it will never sound even close compared to using a proper mic in the first place.

What mic are you using for you recording?

I'm using an EV N/D767a. Like I said not the best...and I'm beginning to think this has more to do with it than I thought before.

[AaronYeo]

Some good advice for post processing above.

However, the mic itself may be by far your weakest point in the chain. There is only so much you can do with a thin/brittle mic recording before you start pushing things and making it sound even worse. You will spend hours trying to make something decent out of that recording only to realize that you can only attain so much and that it will never sound even close compared to using a proper mic in the first place.

What mic are you using for you recording?

I'm using an EV N/D767a. Like I said not the best...and I'm beginning to think this has more to do with it than I thought before.

Good recording technique and mic placement > the mic itself > postprocessing.

I work professionally in broadcast video, and clipping a tiny 5 dollar lavalier mic to a guy's shirt in the most sonically horrific environments and it will sound great with little post.

(don't use a lav mic for singing, but do a bit of googling and understand why a lav mic by default sounds really, really good and then use that accordingly to your recording situations)

Learn where to put the mic, how to set your levels, how to speak and sing for the mic, and it will make the biggest difference.

I'm not saying this like a "practice makes perfect so just practice and practice for hours and hours," but rather, there's a tiny bit of information to understand and learn, and once you do it helps so much.

[iliveinmyguitar]

id throw an eq and boost the highes and cut the mids a bit and then go from there

[Da hand]

Some good advice for post processing above.

However, the mic itself may be by far your weakest point in the chain. There is only so much you can do with a thin/brittle mic recording before you start pushing things and making it sound even worse. You will spend hours trying to make something decent out of that recording only to realize that you can only attain so much and that it will never sound even close compared to using a proper mic in the first place.

What mic are you using for you recording?

I'm using an EV N/D767a. Like I said not the best...and I'm beginning to think this has more to do with it than I thought before.

For vocals, I consider a dynamic mic to be only useful for the stage. In the studio I only use condensers as I find they provide a vastly superior sound. At the very least, their more sensitive architecture lets them capture more nuances in the performance and usually in a very musical and lively fashion. I find dynamic mics to sound lifeless in comparison.