-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Tuesday 06 December 2005 14:35, Dave Phillips wrote: > Bill Allen wrote: > > I've been struggling with a technique problem. How do you get your > > vocals to sound good? I know that you can't make a silk purse from a > > sow's ear, but you can make the best of what you've got. > > Hi Bill: > > You also have to remember that you don't hear yourself the way others > hear you. I'm not especially fond of my voice, but I know how to hit the > right notes and other people seem to like it. > > The *sound* of a voice can be effective enough as a carrier of > personality. Bob Dylan is often used as an example of a not-so-beautiful > voice that's perfectly suited to his material. And it's worth mentioning > that Dylan does know how to sing (check out Girl From The North Country). I'd let somebody else sing first, experiment and learn with his or her voice. After a bit of training the feeling of embarrassment wrt my own voice wouldn't be so much of a distraction. BTW, a few weeks ago a friend of mine told me that he really liked a particular song of mine. The voice, he told me, didn't sound like mine at all. Isn't that strange, I was really happy about that. Oh, the miracles of human perception. - - Burkhard > > > What combination of plugins and settings do you use to get the best > > sound from vocals particularly in Ardour? > > As you say, there are many to choose from. I like Tim Goetze's Versatile > Plate Reverb, it's easy to control and has some sweet spots that > complement my voice nicely. I also often use the SC4 compressor > (pre-fade) and the TAP Scaling Limiter (post-fade) on the master track. > > As general advice: Pick an effect, preferably one with only a few > controls, and learn what each control does to the sound. In the case of > reverbs, think about the ambience you want to create and make your > initial settings accordingly. Yes, you'll have to experiment, but IMO > that's the best way to learn about these things. > > > I know that this is one of those subjective questions for which the > > best answer is try it out yourself and find what sounds best, but > > there are so many plugins (an embarassment of riches), each of which > > has many settings, that a brute force search of all the combinations > > would take forever - not to mention that after a while, my poor ears > > become exhausted with the effort and refuse to hear differences > > anymore. So what I'm really looking for is good starting points to > > work from. > > It's easy to be overwhelmed: LADSPA, DSSI, VST/VSTi, all provide that > embarassment of riches. But I figure that the pros don't have the time > to learn everything about everything, so I don't expect it from myself. > I think you should plan carefully: think about what sort of sound you > want to project, think about its characteristics, then start working > towards it with a minimum number of effects. A little 'verb and some > judicious compression go a long way towards making a good basic sound, I > find that for my purposes I use little else. Maybe someday I'll find a > use for chorus and delays, but they'll probably get used on instruments, > not on my voice. > > A few random tips: Stand when you sing. Use a pop filter (I should > follow my own advice). Breathe deeply, you can always erase the noise. > Don't raise your chin when you try to reach notes on the high end of > your range, it tightens the vocal mechanism and works against your > attempt. Relax, you won't sing (or play) well with excess tension. > Consider your input chain, i.e., decent microphones, preamp if > necessary, good hot signal, etc. Don't record with effects in, you'll > fool yourself and it will be harder to fix (I like that Ardour forces > that behaviour). Key your music to complement your available range. > > WRT planning: Do you want to recreate the sound of a small group playing > in a bar ? Or a big band performing in a concert hall ? A rock band > playing an auditorium ? A jazz quartet in your living room ? Each of > these scenarios has some salient characteristics that you should try to > describe and understand in relation to your selected effects. Try > analyzing the vocal sound on some of your favorite recordings in the > same manner. > > Yes, you have to study up on some terminology, but you don't have to > become a DSP engineer. That's what we have Steve Harris here for anyway. > ;-) And don't worry about understanding everything right away. It's > enough to know what a compressor does, the rest you'll learn by fiddling > with settings and *listening* to the results. For instance, I use the > SC4 compressor but I'm still sort of blank about exactly what the knee > radius does. Always more to learn. :) > > > One combination that I like is GVerb to get depth and L/C/R Delay to > > get width. Even with those two getting the settings right takes time. > > For comunication, I've included a jack rack with some settings I've > > found that work OK. I would love your critiques and suggestions for > > other setups. > > GVerb is more complex than I'd advise for a start, but it is a fine > effect and definitely worth learning. Have you tried Freeverb or any of > the other 'verbs from the LADSPA collection ? The TAP reverb is also > superfine (with presets!), but again I'd suggest something even simpler. > > If you really have problems with intonation and pitch acuity you can > always try fixing it in the mix with a pitch shifter plugin and Ardour's > automation control, but that's getting elaborate. You can also try that > infamous vocal "fixer" from Antares, but I don't know if it will run > under any of the current support systems for VST under Linux. It costs > $$ though, and frankly at that point I'd suggest singing lessons. > > You can also use Ardour's excellent editing tools to correct small (and > not so small?) errors in timing. A bit tedious, but worth the effort. > > I listen a lot to the music made by other members of this list. I love > the sound of Pete Bessman's F4, I'd like to know how he got it. I'm also > fond of The Girls, their material is great and their singing is perfect > for it. I like the overall sound they achieve, though it's quite > different from my aims. And I'd commit heinous and unconscionable acts > just to be able to play and sound like Steve Doonan. Lots to be learned > from the folks using the same software (more or less). So many different > genres are represented at http://lam.fugal.net, it's a terrific > resource: if you like a particular piece, you can just write to the > composer and ask how s/he did it. > > Well, there's my contribution to the thread. HTH. :) > > Best, > > dp - -- Libre Audio, Libre Video, Libre Software: www.AGNULA.org Get DeMuDi, the GNU/Linux distribution for multimedia creation Download and information: http://demudi.agnula.org/ Public key available here: <http://blackhole.pca.dfn.de:11371/pks/lookup?op=get&search=0xFD82303B> key FP 0A65 5E83 F44F 47A5 3DFC 19C5 7779 E411 FD82 303B -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.1 (GNU/Linux) iQEVAwUBQ5g5VGA1EUeMSxn+AQLOBggAiRaP7+pA+taWP0XXA7hywg+Y0h3HX2Ci sfZNnXo+Hv/HdDG0Ms3Z9IDHiUHwPsWxB2IJQz77Jtfsjk1MuJlmANdFGaGDXHfy J7m3clM15VFTGiZhR6CwPh82AaviodIg5+hZdBzs9Rb5Wuyjo3KnAnUYCrfhlu6s xK9fBTyjXMX5jls2gEK5OVD4ImAebiVdyxocSll3VpHmLs7zmAzja44jJYX6eon2 5IRUi1fRGCXiLUCDBFSRW2jPw4XzOkbz0n4eLZ7ha4xl6dhf1C7+zc7U6Rkv91j4 YmiAae7Q8HhSExJJxA7a9ygDTt6EMCw8znCnSl1gTK2kHc4Zars+nQ== =DfoE -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
