Ableton Forum

It's the one titled "Here with My Friends".

http://www.myspace.com/gaubiebeats

If you are like me, and it sounds like it, you are having some troubles with vocals.

Your production is really interesting, but your lyrics have very little soul or flow in my opinion. I'm not dissing, you mixed it fairly well, but the vocals feel out of place.

Keep it up.

Yes. I must agree with your opinion on them vocals. I spent a considerable amount of time mixing them. They don't sound right with the production content indeed, but it has come a long way since the original mix. I'm trying...

I typically don't sing or flow in my own productions. I tend to make more instrumental stuff. But, when I manifested those beats, I def imagined a real lazy "Humpty" style in a silly sense type flow. And because i naturally sound that way, I figured I'd give it a shot. It fits my personality. I wasn't trying to be somebody I'm not.

Plus I am aware of my lack of experience when it comes to mixing vocals, so i figured I need to start trying.

Thank you very much for your honesty and criticism.

I really liked the last couple of minutes of your try again remix. I think you should develop more on that.

eggnchips wrote:I really liked the last couple of minutes of your try again remix. I think you should develop more on that.

I'm impressed that somebody actually listened thru most of that song's duration. I guess I must of done something right if I kept your attention. Thanks for the input!

Hey dude,

you have made a spun out track. I like the chopped beats and sounds. Regards to the vox, maybe you should record them under a blanket to get a fuller tone. Also, what mic are you using, because that will also have a dramatic effect on the recording.

peace.

Broken Chip wrote:...Regards to the vox, maybe you should record them under a blanket to get a fuller tone. Also, what mic are you using, because that will also have a dramatic effect on the recording...peace.

I really appreciate the tips, but to better help me understand, what IS a vox? I've heard that word once or twice before. Which part of the song are you talking about when you refer to the vox? I thought vox was a vintage reverb machine or pedal or organ rotating speaker box or something.

As for mikes, I only own one. It's an AKG Perception 200. I know what you say is true, but unfortunately, music stores don't have floor models of mikes that you can try out like you can with the synths and guitars and stuff. People say "yeah the SM58 or something sounds great", but every persons voice has different tonal characteristics. I guess I'll have to listen to some pop singers who has voices similar to mine, and then somehow find out which mikes their engineer used for that particular session. Wish me luck!

Vox means "the sound made by the vibration of vocal folds modified by the resonance of the vocal tract", and that's straight out of the Audio english dictionary.

In short it means your voice

The mic you have is a decent condenser mic with a good size capsule. So the problem will be the position and room you are recording in. You have to find the sweet spot in regards to distance of your mouth and mic, and also minimise the rooms reflections from your voice. That's why dampening the room with blankets, bass traps and acoustic foam etc are used.

I hope this helps.

Broken Chip wrote:Vox means "the sound made by the vibration of vocal folds modified by the resonance of the vocal tract"...So the problem will be the position and room you are recording in. You have to find the sweet spot in regards to distance of your mouth and mic, and also minimise the rooms reflections from your voice. That's why dampening the room with blankets, bass traps and acoustic foam etc

I totally get it now. Thank you! But first, I am going to make an assumption regarding your analysis of what you perceive to be the Vox. Could it be possible that the way I had tweaked the reverb and delay on the vocals, actually be the cause of what you're referring to?

Please take another listen, this time on the very bottom of my music player I posted a different mix of the song, without the reverb and delay. It's just compression and I applied a shelf filter of about -3 to roll of the bottom end on the vocal track.

I'm not asking if the vocals still sound like ass in a musical sense, I'm just asking if the recording itself still contains the characteristics of a poor recording enviroment.

Thanks again!

It sounds too me that you are not close enough to the mic. You should get a pop shield and get in closer for the recording. Pop shields prevent alot of "plosive' sounds" which come from words starting with P or B.

Your mic is not the problem, its the positioning.