I wouldn't use an exciter ... period .. All they do is generate distortion. Look to what happened before mixed as to why you don't have that sparkle you are looking for ... the room, mics, pres, front end gear is most likely the problem.

Also consider that commercial CD you are listening to has been professionally mastered .. that can make a world of difference.

Thinking backwards...

Thanks for the reply Kurt. Thinking backwards, I'll have to atrribute it to either the room which was a fairly dead room (6 x 9) with a 60" x 30" glass. Every thing else was covered with foam. The other thing possibly was low grade wiring. I was leaseing a space which in all regards was a good spot for recording, floating floors, fairly decent levels of seperation CR/studios. It had just been sitting dormant for many years. But can't do anyhting about that now.

Frontend was SP C1 into ISA428>Motu2408MKIII>Logic Platinum, which already has a nice highend bump and as I stated the air on the vox is not the problem. Maybe I'll play around the reverb(eq, comp, etc.)

I plan on getting mastering as this is a critical project for the label. I just wanted to get as close to the finished sound I'm looking for without stepping on the ME's feet. But your right I don't want to introduce any distortion in the process.

Thanks
Peace!

I would almost bet that the differences you are hearing are the mic ... I like the C1 but most R&B stuff is recorded with the C12 or the C12VR ... the Manley Reference is another one that gets used a lot. The C1 is a single diaphragm mic and the C12 and C12VRs and Manley are dual diaphragms like the U87 ... that makes some difference ...

After my first post, I was re reading yours and it occurs to me that perhaps some of the plugs you are using might be the problem as well ... you have a lot of stuff there .. at the least, try placing the EQ before the compressor and just for ruks try getting rid of the Ruby Tube ...

Thanks again Kurt. I'll try those suggestions with moving the plugs and deactivating the RubyTube.

Yeah I'm looking forward to getting this album moving to be able to reinvest back into this thing. I'm looking at the Blues Kiwi as my next mic. We just got a Guitar Center here and I'm going to get them to get one in so I can check it out. This thing is ever progressive.

Our website is under developement, soon as it's done I'll be able to post clips.

Thanks again, this forum has been so crucial in the increase of my konwledge and understanding of how things go down.

Peace