Any advice on controlling a dynamic vocalist?
My signal chain is:
Soundelux ifet7 in "V" mode
Langevin Dual Vocal Combo
Digi 002R - Pro Tools LE 6.9
Female vocalist that has some very quiet parts and then some VERY loud parts (i.e. belts). I try to get the hottest signal possible, but in order to avoid digital overs, I have to keep the signal quiet.
I've tried engaging the limiter, but many times she pushes it too far that you can hear kick in (-10 to -20db reduction).
It's frustruting because we can have a great session and it gets ruined because of some clipping.
I've suggested "working" the mic, but she is a young artist and is still working on the concept of a studio mic.
I have the option of putting a FATSO into the chain, but I'd rather not have that much processing going on while tracking.
Any other suggestions?
Comments
The first thing to try, surely, is to set the gain so that the l
The first thing to try, surely, is to set the gain so that the loudest bits don't clip and then listen to the quietest bits to see if the signal/noise ratio is still acceptable. If it is then you're done though you'll almost certainly want to add compression when mixing.
If the quiet sections have too much noise (e.g. hiss) then you could do one of these:
1. Teach her to work the mic.
2. Add compression at record time, before the A/D.
3. If she is consistent from take to take, and if the music lends itself to it, you could do a second take with hotter levels, let it clip on the loud bits then comp the loud bits from the first take with the quiet bits from the second take.
heartsoffire wrote: Any advice on controlling a dynamic vocalist
heartsoffire wrote: Any advice on controlling a dynamic vocalist?
I bought this collar for my dog who barked too much. You put it around her neck and when she gets "dynamic" it takes care of business. You do have to then filter out the screams and then the occassional sound of urine hitting the floor, but in general, it's VERY effective at fixing these kinds of problems.
J.
Cucco wrote: [quote=heartsoffire]Any advice on controlling a dyn
Cucco wrote: [quote=heartsoffire]Any advice on controlling a dynamic vocalist?
I bought this collar for my dog who barked too much. You put it around her neck and when she gets "dynamic" it takes care of business. You do have to then filter out the screams and then the occassional sound of urine hitting the floor, but in general, it's VERY effective at fixing these kinds of problems.
J.
hey Jeremy-
If you are gonna apply that collar to your vocalist make sure it is electrified. That way when your singer gets dangerously close to clipping he/she can get a shock beforehand and thus avoid the problem altogether.
:D
X
If you've got a halfway-decent signal chain (sounds like you do)
If you've got a halfway-decent signal chain (sounds like you do) and a good, quiet vocal room, you shouldn't *need* a "hottest-possible" signal to get a great sounding vocal track. When i've come across vocalists like this, i just take a "scream-your-head-off" level and hit record. A touch of compression (post-tracking) evens out the performance and you're good-to-go.
Beyond that... a few minutes/hours helping her "work-the-mic" might be a worthwhile investment. Even a simple "lean back when you sing loud" will make your job much easier...