Members Ryan. Posted May 13, 2011 Members Share Posted May 13, 2011 This was posted over in FX... just wanted to hear some of your opinions on it: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2780443-How-to-fix-a-quiet-singer Lots of "tell the sound guy to turn up her mic" crap. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted May 13, 2011 Members Share Posted May 13, 2011 Mic technique first. The proximity of the mic to the source is critical. If she is a quiet singer she will need to get that mic as close to her mouth as possible. Other then that, she might just need to work on her self-confidence. Turning her up will only create feedback problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted May 13, 2011 Members Share Posted May 13, 2011 Lessons[/thread] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mutha Goose Posted May 13, 2011 Members Share Posted May 13, 2011 Oh I don't know... if you have a fiance that's really quite, you may not want to muck with that. You just might regret teaching her to project. Trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted May 13, 2011 Members Share Posted May 13, 2011 Oh I don't know... if you have a fiance that's really quite, you may not want to muck with that. You just might regret teaching her to project. Trust me. Yah, my ex-wife was capable of causing permanent hearing damage from 10 feet away . And yes, I was that cliche of the bass player that married the lead singer and $%^&'d up the band . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 13, 2011 Members Share Posted May 13, 2011 Coaching and education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ryan. Posted May 13, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 13, 2011 Glad I'm confirmed. Wanted to hear this before... well start with a gate, then add a compresser, then a feedback eliminator... and soon she'll sound just as quiet as before but more like a robot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jerry007 Posted May 13, 2011 Members Share Posted May 13, 2011 Someone should make flavored mic grills... Might encourage those reluctant singers to get up where they need to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted May 13, 2011 Members Share Posted May 13, 2011 Glad I'm confirmed. Wanted to hear this before... well start with a gate, then add a compresser, then a feedback eliminator... and soon she'll sound just as quiet as before but more like a robot.Don't forget the autotune . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phil Clark Posted May 13, 2011 Members Share Posted May 13, 2011 Never put a gate on a singer or indeed any vocalist, if you get my drift. Swipe the above to read it if you don't get it. And occasionally you can turn down the singers monitor to get them to sing louder so they can hear themselves. But sometimes they just sing off key then because they can't hear themselves and they just don't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted May 14, 2011 Members Share Posted May 14, 2011 Someone should make flavored mic grills... Might encourage those reluctant singers to get up where they need to be. YUCK!! As long as they're replacable each gig (like a condom :-). We have a few that get beer flavored occasionaly but we try to clean them often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted May 14, 2011 Members Share Posted May 14, 2011 rift. Swipe the above to read it if you don't get it. And occasionally you can turn down the singers monitor to get them to sing louder so they can hear themselves. But sometimes they just sing off key then because they can't hear themselves and they just don't get it. Nice use of white font. I saw a virus like this that was names something like zzzzzz.zzz (all in white font) so you could never see it at the end of the file list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bajazz Posted May 14, 2011 Members Share Posted May 14, 2011 The only thing that is gonna work is vocal lessons. She might use to little support and have trouble with resonance and tone placement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted May 14, 2011 Members Share Posted May 14, 2011 I think it's funny that the bulk of the answers whenever there is a question like this are "get some lessons". Well maybe they've had lessons ... or ... maybe they want the exact tone they currently get. Anyone here ever work with Michael McDonald or Tom Petty? They sing so f%*king quiet it's amazing anyone ever hears them. Maybe they need lessons. I think the OP is asking what can be done with the sound system to make the improvement he wants. Obviously there gets to a point whene you can no longer simply turn up because you run into feedback. Here's what I do when in this situation. Have the singer eat the mic. The difference in the output of the mic between 2" and 1" is 4x the output and between 2" and 1/2" is 8x. There increases do not change the feedback threshold. A device like a Fatso Jr (or others) can increase the apparent loudness by adding a little harmonic distortion. An exciter( like an Aphex or BBE) can help bring the vocal out to the front of the mix without causing feedback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted May 14, 2011 Members Share Posted May 14, 2011 There's a difference when it's done intentionally or for effect, and when it done out of fear, inexperience or ignorance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted May 14, 2011 Members Share Posted May 14, 2011 I think it's funny that the bulk of the answers whenever there is a question like this are "get some lessons". Well maybe they've had lessons ... or ... maybe they want the exact tone they currently get. Anyone here ever work with Michael McDonald or Tom Petty? They sing so f%*king quiet it's amazing anyone ever hears them. Maybe they need lessons.I think the OP is asking what can be done with the sound system to make the improvement he wants. Obviously there gets to a point whene you can no longer simply turn up because you run into feedback.Here's what I do when in this situation.Have the singer eat the mic. The difference in the output of the mic between 2" and 1" is 4x the output and between 2" and 1/2" is 8x. There increases do not change the feedback threshold.A device like a Fatso Jr (or others) can increase the apparent loudness by adding a little harmonic distortion.An exciter( like an Aphex or BBE) can help bring the vocal out to the front of the mix without causing feedback Agreed eating the mic is a must in a situation like this. I'm not sure I agree with your electronic wizardry ideas (I've found them to sometimes cause more problems than they fix) BUT I DO AGREE with the concept that sometimes a soft airy voice is the desired tone and a broadway, belt it out tone isn't always appropriate. I remember that Sting did a Broadway musical and the reviews went something like "Although Sting is a fine singer/performer, He just doesn't have the projection for the broadway stage". Competing with a horn section when you must wear a body mic (this was before openly visable headworn mics were as accepted) just wasn't in the cards for Sting. IF the singer MUST sing that way to achieve the desired result (usualy to reproduce some studio sound) then other drastic measures must be taken such as keeping the stage volume WAY low. I.E. fish tanks for the drummer, horns, strings, etc, baffles and other acoustic treatments, IEMs etc.... That's about the only way I know to do this and have a guaranteed succesful outcome. In any given situation there is a maximum GBF. You can go to great lengths to maximize it but a different room, a different system and you must do it all over again (always with varying degrees of success). That's my .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scarecrowbob Posted May 14, 2011 Members Share Posted May 14, 2011 Stage volume might be the issue, and there are a lot of good possible solutions. Here's another possibility: it might be an arrangement issue where the vocal line is fighting with the guitars. Or a tonality issue where the vocals are getting lost in the half-open highhat ostinato. So it might just be that the music makes it difficult to hear the vocals because of the arrangements. This is one of the reasons that I don't especially much care for strummed acoustic guitar alongside a band, unless it is thinned out and is really just accenting the snare or other percussion: it creates a whole lot of complex sound that masks other sounds in the arrangement. Not universally true, but if your goal is clarity of the vocal line, then.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members W. M. Hellinger Posted May 14, 2011 Members Share Posted May 14, 2011 Someone should make flavored mic grills... Might encourage those reluctant singers to get up where they need to be. Well... in my previous life, I would wash all my foam windscreens after every use with hot soap and water, and then throw them in the dryer for about 10 minutes with a Febreze sheet. I got a lot of compliments on how "new" my PA "seemed"... from singers stepping up to the mics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted May 15, 2011 Members Share Posted May 15, 2011 From my experience just get her tanked before the gig. It certainly works with drunk attendees of shows. They don't even seem to mind that I'm using the mic at the time they've deemed it appropriate to sing. Of course, like any medication, there are side effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members YeahDoIt Posted May 15, 2011 Members Share Posted May 15, 2011 The singers that I know that sing really loud are the ones that have kids. I think it comes from yelling at the kids all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boomerweps Posted May 15, 2011 Members Share Posted May 15, 2011 Turn her down in her monitor so she doesn't seem as loud to herself.Use a compressor in the main signal path (try to avoid it in the monitor) of her vocals to turn up the quiet and lessen the times she actually belts it out. Boomerweps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bnelly428 Posted May 15, 2011 Members Share Posted May 15, 2011 YUCK!! As long as they're replacable each gig (like a condom :-). We have a few that get beer flavored occasionaly but we try to clean them often. who changes condoms every gig? rinse and reuse! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted May 15, 2011 Members Share Posted May 15, 2011 Get a new singer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twostone Posted May 15, 2011 Members Share Posted May 15, 2011 Get a new singer. Thought the singer was some guy's wife? wonder how that would go over firing some guy's wife from the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lsits Posted May 15, 2011 Members Share Posted May 15, 2011 Gotta go with the "lessons" group on this one. You need to start at the source. Learning to use your diaphram and proper breathing techniques will go a long way toward increasing the singer's volume. It would also help to increase her confidence. All the electronic tricks should be used to enhance the natural sound. It should not be used as a crutch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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