EQing Vocals....

Post by **Keith Jordan** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:18 pm

What sort of frequency range should I be bosting to get vocals to cut through a bit better? the 1khtz to 2khtz range??

jonesy · Post by **jonesy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 12:28 am

more top end and a bit of mid range but i think its more trial and error
listening by ear ..and its upto you

or do you mean eq b4 recording or after as i would record everything with a flatline (all eq in the middle) then tweak after

Post by **mosespa** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:06 am

That sounds like a good range to start with, Keith.

I'd keep an eye on the mids, though. They may start getting a little tricky...but then again, I don't know jack about EQ-ing vocals

Also, if you play around with mic placement while recording vocals, you may end up finding certain frequencies already boosted the way you want.

jonesy · Post by **jonesy** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:22 am

also to stop the P's and B's (too much breath passing over the mic ) get a metal hanger and a pair of tights (stockings) and make a loop with the hanger an put the foot part of the tight over the loop and make a P and B stopper cant remember the proper name of them

it also helps keep a nice and equal distance from the mic

this is what i mean a pop filter

http://www.popfilter.com/photos/fullsize/VAC6c.jpg

you can also use the other leg for robbing the bank or post office

Post by **Keith Jordan** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:22 am

I recorded some guide vocals for my Pillow of Winds straight into an SM58 which went into my sound card and was recorded without any signal modification. I applied some light compression to the signal, boosted the low mid range to try and make the vox cut through a little more and sit on top of the music nicely! I then added some light reverb to give a nice vibe!! It is just a shame I cant sing!!

I think I will record the vox again with an SM57 with some tights to stop the Ps and Ss!! I think cubase also has a filter for Ps and Ss but probably best stop them in the first place!!

ironbaden · Post by **ironbaden** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:57 pm

What software are you using to record? also copy your Vocal track into a seperate folder...That way if ya don't like the out come after Mucking about you can simply copy and paste and start over....so you won't need to rerecord.

Post by **Keith Jordan** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:27 pm

ironbaden wrote:What software are you using to record? also copy your Vocal track into a seperate folder...That way if ya don't like the out come after Mucking about you can simply copy and paste and start over....so you won't need to rerecord.

I'm using Steinberg's Cubase (limited LE edition I might add) which records the audio raw and then applies any effects "on the fly" as the audio is being played so that you can tinker with effects and not damage the original audio recording.

I sort of like mixing by ear but I am mixing to make it sound good on the sound equipment I have. I was asking the question about which fequencies to boost hoping that perhaps an audio engineer would be able to advise bearing in mind what on average sounds good on most peoples cd players etc!

I have it sounding pretty decent but know I could record it better!!! I am never happy!!!

ironbaden · Post by **ironbaden** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:12 pm

Keith Jordan wrote: I have it sounding pretty decent but know I could record it better!!! I am never happy!!!

Sounds like ya got a good handle on it........Hi mids will make it cut....but it gets hard sounding.....Its tricky.....the key is a good signal in.....using a mixer...or a tube amp of some sort to run the vocal in and thick it up..(.that's the problem I'm having....)....I've heard of running a vocal thru an overdrive Pedal and turning the over drive off and cranking up the level will Thicken the vocal sound.....I once read a story that there is a studio somewhere ....that has a beat up old car with a cassette deck inthere......after they do a mix they make a cassette of it and listen to it in the old car...if it sounds good in there they save the mix......I've never run Cubase...but I have an old version of Vegas I keep going back 2.

2066 · Post by **2066** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 2:52 pm

Keith Jordan wrote:I recorded some guide vocals for my Pillow of Winds straight into an SM58 which went into my sound card and was recorded without any signal modification. I applied some light compression to the signal, boosted the low mid range to try and make the vox cut through a little more and sit on top of the music nicely! I then added some light reverb to give a nice vibe!! It is just a shame I cant sing!!

I think I will record the vox again with an SM57 with some tights to stop the Ps and Ss!! I think cubase also has a filter for Ps and Ss but probably best stop them in the first place!!

Whenever I use an SM57 for vocals in tHe studio I always use the
eq to dump (subtract) everything in the 700hz to 1K range. These mics have a nasty peak right around there. This will give your vocals a nice "produced" quality to them. Always try to use eq as a subtractive measure because when you add eq you are adding lots of distortion to your recording.