Condensing vocals

[rickdangerous]

I have a few tracks on SoundClick.com and a few do clip on the vocals - this is avoudable i know by turning the volume or unput level down however a couple are a little rocky so need the volume and the power.

I have been told i can 'condense' the vocal but i cannot find out how to do this!! i have read the instructions and gone through the CD tuturial (waste of time that was) i am using Cubase LE and do have a 'Noise gate' tab which has - Threshold,Attack Time, Min Opening times and Release Time setting!!

Is this what im looking for? i am a little confused, maybe my software simply does not have a Condense ability??

Anyone have a clue?

Thanks

Matt

[ATom2]

I have a few tracks on SoundClick.com and a few do clip on the vocals - this is avoudable i know by turning the volume or unput level down however a couple are a little rocky so need the volume and the power.

I have been told i can 'condense' the vocal but i cannot find out how to do this!! i have read the instructions and gone through the CD tuturial (waste of time that was) i am using Cubase LE and do have a 'Noise gate' tab which has - Threshold,Attack Time, Min Opening times and Release Time setting!!

Is this what im looking for? i am a little confused, maybe my software simply does not have a Condense ability??

Anyone have a clue?

Thanks

Matt

Hi Matt,

I believe what you should be looking for is a Compressor / Limiter. Compressors will give you that strong presents and a limiter wil stop you from topping the clip mark. I don't use a limiter, but I always use compression. I think Condense is the wrong word and throwing you off.

Tom

P.S. I personally don't work with PC software but I would think all of them have some kind of compression unit. Best of luck.

[ATom2]

Ooops. This may help also.

http://recording.songstuff.com/articles.php?selected=41

If it doesn't, blame John.

[john]

It's always my fault, can't someone else have a turn? I mean, sure I wrote the article, but lets not get picky!

Tom's right. A compressor is what you need. A condensor is a microphone.

Compression works on the signal dynamics. Basically you set a volume threshold (purists will say it's not volume, but amplitude ), above which the effect cuts in. Attack tells you how quickly it cuts in, the releas how quickly it cuts out. The effect itself basically attenuates (reduces) the volume (amplitude) above the thrshold level by a ratio. A limiter is basically a compressor where the ratio is set in such a way that it does not let the output signal go above the threshold level.

What does all this mean? For a vocal recording dynamics can vary greatly. At volume peaks clipping can occur because the signal goes above the maximum level allowed in the recording system (in digital this is 0db). So you set a threshold at say -12db, soft knee compression (look at the article for that one!). and the ratio at either 2:1 or 4:1. So above -12db, the vocal signal will be reduced by a ratio of 4:1.

Compression is also used during mixdown on tracks overall, and in modern recording, on every single track. Why? Because it allows the overall music volume to come up without busting the levels at peak signal time.

The noise gate is used mainly on individual tracks to reduce noise in the mix. Noice contributes to those peaks, without adding any benefit. So... use a noise gate on a track to cut the track completely when the signal drops below a certain threshold level, and to let the signal into the mix when it goes above that level. You can of course also do this to mixes to remove that annoying pre-music hiss on a recording.

Hope this helps

Cheers

John

[Guest voclizr]

Hey!;

I have a TRIM control on my Zoom 8 track recorder, but that doesen't always do much to solve my clipping problem, so I feel your pain, Rick. I ALWAYS have to deal with the damn clipping issue on my vocals too. It does kinda reassure me, though that the problem is not exclusive to stand alone units like I have and that PC setups share that clipping problem (not that I'm happy you're having that problem). I'm going to try the Comp/Limiter in my next project. Some of my onboard effects have this editable feature. I sometimes run my mixdowns through a compression module and get favorable results. I never thought of trying it on a vocal track. Thanks from me Tom and john! Rick, Good Luck!

John B.

[Prometheus]

http://forums.songstuff.com/index.php?show...c=6067&st=0

Check some of the freeplugin sites mentioned here, and you'll find a compressor plugin for free...

[rickdangerous]

WOW, thanks for the responce guys.

Hey to be honest it was probably me mixing the words condenser and compression so do not worry.

Thers a lot to go over here but ill have a blast through and let you know how i get on.

Many many thanks for all your advice etc it will make a huge difference to my recordings im sure.

Thanks again

matt

MattBeck - Ages till my Wages (NEW)

[tgrover]

easiest way is using a compressor unit before you record. So MIC - PRE AMP - COMPUTER. If you get this right you should not have to do much once its recorded. With compressors you want quick attack times to stop the peaks but long release times so its stays even.

If you can record like this, you should have some compressor in cubase or you should at least be able to find a free one that should allow you to stablalise the take. Its always better to get a clean signal to start with as opposed to cleaning up a bad signal with plugins.

Last resort if you cant do the above. Learn how to pull away from the mic when singing loud

[john]

Hey

On the pre-recording compressor, I'd still recommend the Behringer Composer Pro. It's a great little unit, and at abou £50 you won't break the bank.

However... if no of tracks isn't a big issue, I prefer to record and keep a completely untreated track, which I can then compress and save as a separate file. I guess it depends on the overall dynamic spread and the singers ability to control their volume etc.

What's your recording set up like?

Cheers

John

[Prometheus]

Hey

On the pre-recording compressor, I'd still recommend the Behringer Composer Pro. It's a great little unit, and at abou £50 you won't break the bank.

I second that... I've got a couple of composers here and I couldn't live without them...

[ATom2]

Q. What does a guy use if he is recording an air-guitar?

A. An air compressor.

Sorry....it's Friday at work.

[john]

[Prometheus]

Did you hear about the singer that had to spend the night outside on his front porch?

He couldn't find the key...