Hi,

How are you all doing?
Iam not doing so great.

Iam writing pop songs on my PC with very cheap tools because i dont have the resources to buy new ones.

I have the following problem: Every time I record a vocal i have a very low tone through my vocals. Normally you wont hear it. But after i compressed the vocals it becomes very anoying.

Personally I think its the input of my sound card (SB live) but it could also be my Mic.

I've tried different things to solve my problem but to no result.

I am a bit desperate now so i hope any of you has got an idea which will get me going again. Any suggestions are welcome and will be higly appreciated.

Best regards
Nool

SB live!
First cheque how much level you get when recording your vocals.
If you need to put mic rec and master rec on maximum for getting some volume, you will need a pre-amp for your mic.

The sblive has noisy inputs, which noise will be amplified if you compress the recorded track.
Before compressing first denoise the track with a wave editor.

Fred

Forgot to mention;
A cheap mixer with mic inputs will also do the trick.



[This message has been edited by freddynl (edited 01-06-2003).]

Are you using a dynamic mic or a condenser one? There's a world of difference. Dynamic mics require quite alot of input.

-tek

Thanks for your answers...

Iam using a dynamic mic by the way.

My mic has three recording levels on it, 1,2 and 3 with 1 being the loudest.

When I record at 3 the noise is the lowest.
But so is my vocal level....

A noise gate has helped a bit but i can still hear the low tone through my vocals some times.

Don't forget that the mic input on a Soundblaster has a restricted frequency response. It's not really intended for hifi recording. Always use the line in as that has a wide flat response. The best way to go is to use a mic amp or a mixer with mic inputs as freddynl suggests and plug it into the line in. At the very least, use a mic transformer (about 1:10 ratio) and plug that into line in.

Bryan

Thanks for your answer, but what excactly is a mic transformer?

A mic transformer is a passive device with two windings on a mumetal or radiometal core (or some even more exotic metal), generally used to match impedances but it will also step up the voltage from the mic. I don't know if they even use them any more since the introduction of cheap solid state electronics, but they come in handy at a pinch. Radio Shack used to sell them but I don't think they do these days.

Bryan

Try compressing less after going though the audio signal path and cleaning that up.

The idea is to even the vocal dynamics a bit so they sit well in the mix. If you squash it until the noise floor level of that track is too loud then your probally compressing too much. try and find a setting that helps the vocal sit well in the mix and keeps the noise floor from being annoying.

Also try a band pass compressor as well. Considering your card and mic, there are probally a few hot spots and the rest is probally OK or at least workable. Compress only what isn't working for you and leave the rest alone.

Thanks for your help.

The problem however is that I do like the sound of compressed vocals very much