Articles by Wes Maebe

The Engineer Meets The Vocal Coach

Wes Maebe makes the case for and against a vocal coach in the studio.

What’s bugging you?

Ask any recording engineer what frustrates them in the studio and you’ll > read more

Wasting Money in the Studio

Too much precious money gets flushed down the studio drain –says Wes Maebe

When you’ve made the decision to pay for a professional studio you don’t want to waste your money.

And I’ve seen some money being wasted.

There was a time when record labels threw > read more

Pop Shields and Women’s Tights

Discover time honored ways to de-pop your vocals –says Wes Maebe

Hey all you vocalizers – Happy New Year.

We’re steadily rolling into February already and I hope you’ve had a fabulous time over the festivities, managed to rest your vocal chords, experiment with that new microphone you managed to get as a Christmas present or were out there on the stage earning well deserved bucks.

Pop Goes The Weasel

You’ve just laid down what could be THE vocal performance of your life.

Your heart and soul was in it, you transported yourself back to that time when you wrote the lyrics – you nailed it.

But you listen back to this gold dust and the take is riddled with pops and thuds!

How can we stop your mix engineer shouting at you for delivering an amazing vocal that’s pretty much useless?

Pop shields, spit guards and women’s tights could provide a solution.

Not As Simple as EQ-ing Out

Of course we can EQ out the problem frequencies. Most of these popping frequencies will not be part of the vocal as such.

Unfortunately it’s never as simple as that.

There will be harmonics of the pops; the blast of air may have triggered some resonant frequency in the microphone and these tend to overlap with the vocals.

In this fast evolving technological world there are plug-ins that will de-pop and de-thud the signal.

But these are really automated EQ’s/Compressors suppressing these noises and they end up effecting the final sound and quality of your vocal.

The Shield

Pop shields come in a vast array of varieties.

If you want to DYI-it, then you can grab a coat hanger and a pair of your girlfriend’s tights.

Don’t laugh! These things are surprisingly effective and cheap.

However, I have found that the newer metal mesh versions allow you to get in a lot closer to the mic for those intimate vocals.

Most of the major microphone manufacturers make their own brand. Some of your local electronics stores sell them as well.

However, I suggest you go through a trusted audio dealer.

And always make sure the bendy arm of the pop shield is long enough to reach from the mic stand to the front of the mic.

The Foamy Wind-Stopper

If your microphone was supplied with one of those foamy wind stoppers, do not use this as a pop shield.

These wind stoppers are made to do exactly what they say. The thick foam will seriously reduce high frequencies, which may be desirable in a live situation, but not in the studio.

You may find that some pop shields don’t quite work for you. Some of them may still cut out too much high end or let through too many pops—it really depends on the design.

So, once again, it comes down to test driving the products.

A Pencil and two Rubber bands

If extreme clarity and openness is required I try not to use a pop shield at all.

Some singers have such a mic technique they don’t pop the diaphragm at all by singing at various different angles. e.g. You could sing slightly across the mic or back away a little when you know there’s a big P or B coming. Have a chat with your vocal coach to see if there are any tricks and tips to ease these plosives out.

A little trick I learned along the way is to put two rubber bands around the microphone to hold a pencil against the grill and across the diaphragm.

The pencil (we engineers prefer a china graph pencil) breaks up the wind pops created by plosives.

This allows you to get extremely close to the microphone, deliver very intimate performances and maintain the open top end of the microphone.

One last little pointer; If you can remind yourself about an earlier Voice Council article on microphone polar patterns, you’ll find that putting your mic into omni mode reduces the bass created by the proximity effect. So, less popping. As your omni mic is now picking up sound from all directions you do need to be in a pretty decent acoustic to start with.

Right, let’s get back into the studio and make some great music.

-Wes

There’s No ME In My Monitors!

To put it bluntly, if your monitor mix sucks, very likely, your performance is going to suck.

I’m sure you’ve all read Bill Gibson’s 19th November post on crucial headphone mixes.
It’s not a big leap to cross this over into the live monitoring field.

Obviously, there are no hard and fast rules on what you need in a monitor mix.

What you want to hear is extremely subjective, dependent on the type of music, where you are on stage and therefor no one can tell you what you want to hear. > read more

Monitor Feedback

Let’s talk about one of the most important ingredients of your live performance: monitors -says Wes Maebe

Hey all. Great to have you back for my next rant.

Some of you may have spent the entire budget on a killer studio mic (I would, but then again, I’m a GearSlut).  

Some of you may have gotten fed up with smelly, half destroyed vocal mics at the venue and rehearsal rooms and have purchased a personal road worthy performance microphone.

Now I invite you to join me and crawl out from our studio hidey-hole, catch some daylight and go out on the road.

Let’s talk about one of the most important ingredients of your live performance … monitors. > read more

Mics and Money

“How much do you need to spend on your mic?” -asks Wes Maebe

I hope you all enjoyed the last installment on selecting a microphone.

So, let’s delve a bit deeper into the microphone business: do you really need to spend thousands of dollars/pounds or can you get away with less than 100.00?

Still a little jet lagged, I’ve just returned from the 131st Audio Engineering Society Convention in New York.

On the exhibition floor were 30 microphone manufacturers. Amongst the golden oldies we all know and may have used, every single manufacturer had at least one brand new design on display.

For me, the main question this brings up is, “Are any of these better?” and the simple answer is :” Not necessarily.”

We work in an extremely subjective industry.

Music you think is amazing, may not tickle your best buddy’s fancy at all. And the same goes for all this new equipment the market’s trying to force upon us.

Fastfood vs. Gourmet Cooking?

We started out with this question and it’ll make at least one more appearance.

There simply isn’t one answer.

Browse through a recording equipment catalogue and you’ll find microphones starting from as low as £30.00 up to £4,000.00 and more.

A cheapo mic will most likely give you a cheapo sound.

Occasionally you’ll find one that does something magical–and likewise for the top of the range mics.

I’ve come across ridiculously expensive mics that sounded like you were singing through a sock.

It brings us right back to my last post on selecting a microphone for your voice.

Every voice works in a different way with each different microphone.

Budget may not be the only factor dictating your final choice; if the recordings you’re going to make with your new mic will end up on final masters, you should be prepared to invest a little more.

However, if the entire exercise is just to get used to a microphone, put down a few ideas and sound quality is not paramount, you can keep the price down.

It is also worth keeping in mind that the studios, producers and engineers you’ll be working with, will have a great selection of microphones to suit your voice.

How Much?!

Do you need to spend a thousand dollars or more on a microphone?

My personal answer to that would be:” No.”

This is where the manufacturers will probably shoot me.

Obviously you’ll be carrying your own live performance mic. Studio-wise I would rely on the selection, care and expertise of your producers and engineers. After all, different mics will provide different characters, different colours and sounds.

If you’re a geek and gearslut like me, of course, you should strive to own every single mic ever made!

I’d suggest you get a decent enough microphone to lay down ideas, guide vocals and practice.

Spend the rest on a great vocal coach who will make you comfortable with your voice, teach you how not to destroy it and more than anything how to sing in tune.

Focus on the performance, create those goose bump moments for your fans and crew, that’s what it’s all about.

We rely on you, the singer, to give the performance of your life, time after time, full of passion and without tuning software.

If you depend on the software to fix it, it’s not real and it doesn’t matter how good or bad the microphone is…it’ll never sound real to the audience.

Sing your hearts out and hopefully I’ll see you on the other side of the glass.

-Wes

Sonic Cuisine Opens

Studio and live engineer Wes Maebe invites vocalists to dine more often in the rich world of the audio-phile.

His blog features insights especially tailored for vocalists who are trying to learn more about the equipment they rely upon.

Wes says, “Your gear is your tools and the biggest allies you have in the studio and on stage. Be it a microphone, compressor, EQ or just a simple plug, they’ll all require care and attention. An important part of being a great performer is the ability to care for and respect your gear; it’ll probably last you a lifetime.”

Wes Maebe directs his own mastering room in West London and has worked as FOH, studio/location recording, mix or mastering engineer for numerous clients including: Sting, Chaka Khan, Glen Matlock, Yusuf Islam, Alexandra Burke, Melanie C, Deborah Bonham, The Kooks, New Model Army, Elliott Randall, Hayley Westenra, Ann Peebles, Fairport Convention, Stiff Little Fingers, Specimen, Mo Foster, Exit 10 and The Zimmers!

Buying A Recording Mic

There’s lots of ways to be sure about your choice before you commit –says Wes Maebe

Where on earth do you start when you’re about to spend close to or over a £1,000 on a microphone for recording your voice?

I’d say “Be damn sure of your choice before you commit”.

If you have plenty of studio recording experience you’ll have come across a wide range of mics and an even wider range of opinions from fellow vocalists, engineers, producers and know-it-alls.

The truth is that there isn’t one golden microphone. If it did all the other manufacturers would be out of business and all the records in the world would sound the same.

Get Your Hands on Them

So simply try out as many mics as you can. Bundle all those comments and that advice together and make a short list based on the feedback and on budget of course.

And, please, do not forget that more expensive does not necessarily mean better.
The point of all this is to find a microphone that best suits your voice.

OK, we want to try out some mics. Where are we going to get our hands on some to test drive?

First port of call would be a fellow artist.

Your buddies may have some killer gear already and are willing to let you get a feel for it to see if you and the mic vibe well together (if they won’t allow you to do that, they’re not really buddies really!).

I also suggest you get in touch with a few distributors and ask them if you could have a couple of mics on a trial basis. Most of them will happily accommodate you if we’re talking about the upper range of microphone.

You’ve done your research, have acquired a selection of demo units and you’re busting to get singing.

Testing

Set up all the microphones and make sure there’s as little equipment in the chain as possible.

If you have equalisers and compressors, effects units etc. take them all out of the chain so you get the cleanest signal path from the microphone to your console or audio interface.

Record a few lines and have a good close listen and make your decision. Keep an eye and ear out for dullness, over pronounced S-sounds, too middly, too honky…

You really want a microphone that’s going to give you a nice open and fairly even sound with some extra characteristics that compliment your voice.

The Acquisition

Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of your own studio microphone.

Time to get singing and recording.

Spend some time with your mic before going for the real take. Figure out how the various patterns pick up sound and vary the tonal characteristics.

More Stuff

One of my mentors once said that the audio industry was invented by bank managers.

Oh my, is that true. You have bought a microphone, now you need the cables, the stand, the pop shield, the microphone pre-amp, the list goes on.

Needless to say the selection process for our microphone works for all these other components as well.

And if it’s all a bit too overwhelming, leave a comment below, watch this column, check out the forum on this site – you’re a part of the VoiceCouncil community now.

We’re all in it for the same reasons; the music, the passion, the sound and the fun.

-Wes

Introducing Recording Mics

Featured Video

Introducing Recording Mics

Wes Maebe, Studio and Live Sound Engineer, Wesonator shares some basics about studio mics for vocalists using Neumann’s U 87.

Like this post on Facebook

About Wes Maebe

Follow VoiceCouncil Magazine