Best vocal set up for the iOS?

JohnnyGoodyear

I am a writer/vocalist who has been able to distract himself for the longest time with the music apps now available but need to FINALLY bite the bullet and get back to recording some words on all these pieces of tunes I have in the hopper.

I have a mic I'm comfortable with and have used to plug into BM2/Auria/Audioshare etc, but I can't help wondering what forum members find the 'best practice' is for recording direct vocals?

What do you start out into for preference? Do you go through AB or direct? Favorite/preferred reverb/filter/effects?

Much as I like screwing with vocals on the other end I'm really trying to get the benefit of your wisdom/experience as regards simply recording the best sound at the sharp end.

All and any thoughts, great or small, very welcome.

JG

Will

Direct/dry unless there's a particular effect I'm certain I want up front. I used to track through a hardware compressor but I don't bother anymore (mostly because of logistics). AB is going to add latency and a higher chance of crashing (even slightly). Unless it's required, why risk a great take?

boone51

Totally agree with @syrupcore. I always record dry into Auria (through all the wincing and teeth vibrations) and clean it up in post. Run it through ProC or ProMB to clean it up. If I'm really off key I can even through some vocallive pitch correction on it and taper it off when I find the key again. Good times.

supadom

You didn't mention any pre-amps. I think an audio interface with decent, quiet preamps will bring your mic to a good level. Then, as others suggested I'd record dry. I was lucky enough to have used novation x station with on board effects which allowed to hear the effected vocals while recording but recorded signal would stay dry. I don't remember if that's possible within bm2 or cubasis/Auria. Also a decent software compressor will even out your vocals but be careful not to overuse it or it can excessively flatten the sound and introduce noise. That's my 5c

supanorton

I like tracking vocals from my mics through a Focusrite 2i2 direct to Auria. Lately, I've been tracking with the FXpansion chan comp plugin running but without recording the effects. I prefer hearing my vox with the compression I'm going to use in the mix because I'll sing differently depending on what I'm hearing in headphones. I can tweak it after I record. I really like the sound of the chan comp. It's based on the old black UA 1176 limiting amplifier.

JohnnyGoodyear

Thanks all. Makes sense. I hadn't thought of a pre-amp. I hear you all on the dry/raw input. I must say I do like hearing the sound of effects on the vocal while recording but have been burned by that before. Should know better I guess. I hadn't thought of the Pro-C angle, so that's something I def. look forward to trying out. Did get an excellent replacement pop-screen in the mail, so will take that, and your kind advice, as a nudge to have a holler and a shout. Will report back etc. JG

supanorton

Auria lets you hear effected signal without recording it. The convolution reverb is the only plugin you can't turn on while recording.

supadom

Now you have your pop screen so not as relevant but I started singing into the mic at 45 degrees and it works as well as pop, if not better.

richardyot

Same advice as everyone else, record into Auria with reverb and compression feeding back into the monitor loop. Focusrite 4i4 has a knob that lets you blend between the zero latency dry signal and the wet signal from the DAW, I find this extremely useful because any latency when I'm trying to sing is really disconcerting, but with this I can hear both the zero latency signal and the reverb/compression.

I find reverb really useful for keeping in tune, not sure why but I guess it's because it draws the sound out and gives a sense of space. For monitoring I like to go overboard with it, and dial it waaayyy back in the mix.

Will

@supadom said:

Now you have your pop screen so not as relevant but I started singing into the mic at 45 degrees and it works as well as pop, if not better.

Solid tip right there. It can be a pretty different sound at 45 degrees though, depending on the microphone's polar pattern and how you sing. You can also try singing just over or just under the capsule of the mic (capsule at nose or throat height).

mrufino1

Tape a pencil vertically to the mic, wave your hand in front of your mouth on some p's , s's and b's, and back up off of the mic, no pop filter needed. People get right on the mic for proximity effect, then right away put a high pass filter on the vocal track- why not just high pass it by backing up a little? Not always true, but when appropriate, it works very well.

JohnnyGoodyear

I hear you. I have a tendency to whisper and moan, miserably, guturally, enough to scare the children and make the horses cry, but then things can also get awful loud awful quick. Has had a tendency to upset sound engineers. For all of that I do now have the closest approximation to my own sound proof booth so I am intending to experiment with these different suggestions and I thank you for them.

telecharge

Came across this while looking for something else and thought of you JG. The author uses Logic, but I'm sure you can find comparable effects in your vast app collection.

http://music.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-process-vocals-for-an-amazing-professional-sound-2--audio-7933

EDIT: The article is part of a series. This one looks like the best roundup.

http://music.tutsplus.com/articles/your-manual-for-achieving-amazing-vocals--audio-8205

JohnnyGoodyear

@telecharge exceptionally thoughtful of you. This looks good and will certainly be added to the bookmark collection. I have a tendency to fiddle about wildly (an approach I like) but having a simpler checklist of some palliative steps to remember is always useful.