Condenser mic singing

Warren

I need some help please.

I've got a pop/rock type song I've done, but I'm struggling to lay down a vocal track that I can live with.

Done a lot of reading on this stuff, but I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions they can share. Some info:

1) I need a little more practice on this song. Last night I managed to do a take that I was *almost* happy with, but listening again this morning my voice was tired and I was running a little flat or pitchy in places. So I realise that, within reason, the more I sing this number the more I should be able to put into it without it sounding forced. Just getting a bit sick of it ?

2) I'm using a condenser mic for the first time, and the best position I've found so far is about an arm's length away, with the mic gain quite high. I don't have a powerful voice, but I need this song (which is sung over jangly acoustic guitars and drums n bass) to at least sound confident and pop/rocky. I have my best control at a sort of moderate volume, but I need to try and push just a little to get the odd bit of "grind".

3) How should I monitor myself? I'm singing with cans on, and initially I had way too much reverb and crap on the track I was laying down which was making me do funny things to compensate. I'm monitoring myself with a pretty dry signal now, with only some simple EQ and a filter to remove the hum frequencies. I haven't tried the one-ear-open trick, does that work? Which ear?

4) I have a rather nasal, "middy" kind of voice and I'd like to tone that down just a bit after the track is down, with a bit less "mosquito" and just a little more "air". Which sort of frequencies should I look at toying with to start? I have adjusted my singing voice for the song slightly to fix this, which has worked pretty well (I think).

Any tips? I really want to get this thing finished now but if the vocals aren't at least passably recorded I'm in a bit of a fix, and I have to work with what I have. ?

Garth-S

Hey Warren

Take a look at post #364 & #365 on the following thread -->
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=29283&page=10 . It helped me a ton ?

Warren

Garth Strydom wrote Hey Warren

Take a look at post #364 & #365 on the following thread -->
http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=29283&page=10 . It helped me a ton ?

Thanks Garth!

I've read that entire thread since you first posted it. ? Already got some great and immediately useful advice from it.

Garth-S

I also found something cool in Reaper, if you add the ReaPitch to front of the FX chain on your vocal, make the Wet & Dry signal the same, and select the 'elastique 2.1 SOLOIST' algorithm, it adds an awesome vocal doubling effect, it made my vocal sound very big.

Warren

Garth Strydom wrote I also found something cool in Reaper, if you add the ReaPitch to front of the FX chain on your vocal, make the Wet & Dry signal the same, and select the 'elastique 2.1 SOLOIST' algorithm, it adds an awesome vocal doubling effect, it made my vocal sound very big.

Thanks, I might give that a shot. I'll need all the help I can get ?