Your tips are greatly appreciated

Honey is great lube – I just drink room temp water when I perform and suck the honey right out of the lil' bear container…don't really need to mix 'em unless ya' like to. Honey is also one of the very few foods on Earth that bacteria can't grow in.

You could also try royal jelly, although it can be expensive. You live in an arid part of the world + the A/C and possibly mold in these old bars could be getting at ya,' especially if they're smoke filled. You might want to stay out of the club, on breaks, don a dust mask and hang out until your next set.

Keep some alcohol wipes handy for your mic and maybe go see a doctor…it could be that you have some allergies you're unaware of…or, if you are aware and take meds for that…most anti-allergy meds totally dry up the throat and nasal passages…terrible for singers.

Namaste,

Brian

Try a more intimate microphone…the 58 is an old (by-standard) workhorse, Omni-directional, and somewhat boomy…everyone boasts about it coz' you can throw it at a wall, cave in the grill, and still get something out of it in a live setting. However, it's not the most saccharine creature for recording.

Experiment with condensers if you want that breathy, whispering in your ear, approach. Also inject a tube preamp for some rich, warm, and robust tones without over coloring the initial print of the voice. Bill may say otherwise…not sure…I tend to record any singer (as they are) through a tube and a condenser that's pre-shelved close to their vocal register. I like to capture the butter first then mess with EQs later if it needs to nestle into the mix better among the other instruments.

Namaste,

Brian

Namaste,

Brian

Many thanks
Regards Brett

Is it the front of house that's feeding back or your monitors? This is a very basic process for any “good” soundman to overcome, as one would think they do it on a regular basis. I know that often stage monitor mixers get a set and forget approach to the way they sound and probably has a different EQ setting that front of house does.

How vocal are you with your engineers? Do ya' let them know what ya' need? If the soundmen in these bars can't get a handle on vocal feedback then something's up with their skill set, which I kind of doubt is the case in every club that you perform at.

If this happens every time you jack your gear into the equation then you'll need to reset your equipment per the venue. Understand that every room is different. A setting in a smaller controlled studio environment is much different than a booming concert hall. I'd start with gain staging. You’re probably overdriving that tube preamp, which is overdriving everything else in the chain. I imagine you're also clipping the soundman's rig, causing him to shave off half of your sound to get your voice heard.

I think you need to describe your equipment chain so that we can decipher how you have things set up, in order to better assess what’s really going on here.

1) Is it the Mains or the Monitors that are feeding back?
2) Describe how your gear is connected…where does the signal chain begin and where does it end?
3) Set up your EQ so that it only enhances vocal frequencies = anything above or below that is moot and just ads garbage to the signal chain.
4) Are you singing with a soft voice…often softer singers need more gain, which also introduces higher end feedback. Thus, the engineer will dry up the mix and reign back the higher eq settings to keep you loud n proud without the feedback.
5) There also has to be something you’re doing wrong…take the common denominator, which is Steve. You say it happens in a lot of bars and it's always difficult. Sorry, but it's gotta have something to do with what you're giving them to work with if it happens frequently at different venues.
6) I could be wrong but I'm guessing much of your issue here has to do with gain staging. Try this:
a) Plug Mic into Tube Preamp
b) Leave preamp volume down
c) Sing loud until the clipping light stays orange. Red is bad.
d) Make sure the mixer is muted and pots are all the way off for your mic channel. With volume still down, run a cable from the preamp to a channel in the board. If the EQ is part of the preamp leave it all flat lined.
e) Now, Bring the volume knob of your preamp up to center detent and the mains on the mixer to center detent. Once this is done, gradually bring up the volume knob for your channel, while vocalizing. You should have a crisp, controlled sound if your gain staging is right. For your EQ, pull down everything under 80 and give a lil' boost around 2400. See if that gives ya' enough?
f) If you're having troubles live hearing yourself over the guitars and tend to overcompensate by boosting your highs on the eq…there's a different problem…your guitarist may need to turn down. I know it feels cool to turn them all the way up and all but it always makes for a shoddy mix out front cause the band's competing with the soundman’s PA instead of both complementing each other. Guitars and Voices ride similar frequencies…My axe man and I actually sit together and shelve our frequencies so that both are audible and stay out of the other's way. Hope this helps my friend – happy rawking!

Namaste,

Brian

Namaste,

Brian

Namaste,

Brian

Please don't think I'm poking fun, but that's a lot of money to spend before ever knowing much about programming. I’m guessing this is your first processor. Hey ya’ did good…ya’ bought the corvette vs. the Yugo, but there’s a bit under the hood that you’ll hafta’ wrap your head around to ultimately get what you want and also to cultivate an original sound.

So, is it old metal or new metal? There are over 200 presets in that baby, and a good bit to chew on to get comfy with the box. In a way your question is kind of like asking someone what YOUR own favorite color is. What is it you hope to accomplish, who are your favorite singers, is there some style you wish to mimic, and what do you generally like about vocals? I suggest that you start off simple. Keep the inputs and outputs balanced if ya can. One really great feature of the VL2 is the Headphone Out and Aux In. For starters, to keep things relatively easy, Plug in some headphones and a microphone. Will you be using a dynamic or phantom powered mic…important coz’ you’ll need to set this up in the setup parameters.

Once this is done, you'll want to set your gain staging. Press and hold in the Reverb button until the “blue window” tells you to sing your loudest. Do just that – sing with a loud, full voice, one long note, and it will automatically set your gain staging up for you. To accept the setting press the verb button again. Ok, now activate the Tone and Eq buttons by pushing them in so they are lit up with a lil' red light.

Now, you've set it up to basically respond well to an input signal with several important auto features engaged. With the headphones on, start at preset 01 and work your way up through ALL of them. The first thing I did was audition every single sound, when I got mine, and then wrote down my favorite preset numbers on my white board as I found them. You can also use the wizard feature to find similar sounds of a certain tone, shape or color. Bottom line is…you're not going to get away from this without putting in some time and doing your homework. The VL2 is a beast but not for the weak at heart. I HIGHLY recommend, after auditioning all the kewl sounds, that you install the voice live application onto your computer, download and install the available updates before going any further. Also, learn how to back up the presets while you’re there, it'll save ya' hassles in the future, especially when you’ve taken the time to create one of your own…you’ll be sad if ya’ lose it 

Once you've done all this. I would suggest taking one of your songs and importing it into your mp3 player. Inserter the 1/8″ cable from the mp3 player to the Aux in on the Voice Live 2, press play and sing along. Now a few things you'll need to do…go into the Setup button look at your global parameters and turn most of them off, especially those having anything to do with pitch or key for harmonies. You'll want to pick a few sounds you like and then alter the harmony structures to match your song. There are also plenty of killer distortions and transducer effects for that over the top metal vibe. If ya' need extra help, check out the forums on the TC-Helicon Site http://www.tc-helicon.com or you can email me directly and I'll do what I can to help you along :) Tell me what kind of bands your into and maybe I can forward a few preset numbers designed for those styles. In a nutshell, your best bet is to be proactive…start at page one of the manual and follow along all the way to the end. If you go through the whole manual, page by page, you'll have a firm understanding + the added pride of having it done it for yourself -= happy tweaking!!!

Namaste,

Brian

any suggestions
Regards Brett lee

Thanks!!

Can you offer some advise as to what is going on and how to rectify it,
Because of this I have cut my gigs back to 1 per week (not enough to pay the bills)
I would appreciate any assistance you can offer
Regards Brett

I have permanent tinnitus in my right ear and it is not a confortable thing to have. Do not let it be. Preventing is a MUST, but if you already have it don´t think it will dissapear by itself with no treatment. Please take care and make sure you have that tinnitus examined.

What is the most reliable way to set up good clean vocals with effective reverb? Should I bring my own equipment and deal with the overload/hum issues or leave it up to the soundman and take my changes?

Peace,

b

The previous moments are terrific. Specialy if you are in a small venue with no place to hide. I feel ridiculous standing in a corner waiting for the time to go on stage. In bigger places you always have a room for you and you will probably find some whiskey in your catering HAHAHAHAHA

In any case, after the first two or three seconds I start feeling well and really feel happy. This doesn´t mean that I don´t worry. But for me it is a matter of loving being there.

Regarding your performance, I took some time trying to find tips about how to be a good frontman. The only answer that I liked is that you have to be yourself. Always natural and confortable with what you are doing instead of forcing things. Music, no matter the style you perform, triggers feelings, and these will provoke your unique reaction.

Set yourself free and find pleasure in it. That nervous feeling is part of this pleasure. But, and this is important, never let that nervousness make you push harder than you should. Make sure to control your breath always, and don´t start running like mad around your mates, which I used to do and let me torn down in the first song.

I really like the voice “in your ears” of Zappa/Beefheart's “Bongo Fury”, Madonna's “Beautiful Stranger” and some of the solo recordings of Daniel Lanois.

Besides using super close miking (I use a SM58) do you have any tips to focus the sound of the voice in that style? How to EQ the recording to exploit the proximity effect? And since the voice sounds already saturated how to balance volume, with a compressor, a limiter or with volume fades?

Cheers!

You definitely hit the nail on the head concerning practice. How long have you been performing? There's an old saying that once you're no longer nervous it's time to quit. So, I imagine all of us get a bit nervous going into a performance…even Paco – hahaha and he's a rigorous frontman, I'm sure.

Does your nervousness persist throughout the performance or do you eventually take on the show once it's started? This is a lil' yucky, but I've been performing for 20+ years and I still feel like I'm gonna' poo my pants a few minutes before taking the stage…hahaha. Fortunately I never have :)

Something you may want to add to your practice regime is to rehearse your parts in front of a mirror. Get dressed up in your show garb, don the make up, set up your vocal rig and watch yourself perform.

You could also video yourself practicing. If you can engage 50,000 fans in your mind, while practicing, this may help in live performance, when you're actually in front of people. Throw down your best show when practicing, watch the results on video, and analyze your frontman/womanship.

Sometimes knowing (not from an ego standpoint) that you've got IT, helps when the time comes to deliver the IT factor on stage. Also, rest before a show, warm up but don't over tax your voice before performing. Memorize your lyrics and use your rehearsal time to excite your live performance.

IOW if there's something you've been wanting to add to the show, practice it before pulling it off live. The fans won't know you practiced…they'll just know it sounds good and you're a great showman/woman.

Namaste,

Brian