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My Monitor, My Pet II
Do you have total comfort when it comes to hearing your voice on stage? Michael Majeran shares how you can get it.
Hearing yourself properly in your monitors should be just as high a priority as having the right mic.
If you’ve done enough gigs, you know what I am saying is right—it is absolutely essential that you hear yourself clearly in the “mix” of what is coming at your ears on stage.
Last week we looked at some basic principles of monitoring. Today we present a simple check-list that you can use to avoid some common monitoring problems.
(And, yes, I will also reveal > read more
My Monitor, My Pet
Monitors can become just as beloved to vocalists as their mics. Michael Majeran shares how.
Early in my career, I heard myself recorded live and terribly out of tune. I was frightened: is something going wrong with my hearing? *
As a classically trained singer, I had never had this problem before – I had sung successfully in many different acoustic conditions: in theatres, churches, etc. I knew that I could sing clearly!
But now I was singing contemporary genres—what was the problem?
It was time for an experiment: I tried to > read more
VC’s Brief Guide: Mic Pick-Up Patterns
Know the perils and opportunities of the three main pick-up patterns for mics. Sound engineer Wes Maebe makes it user-friendly.
There are 3 main patterns in which a microphone will “look” at a sound source.
By spending just a few minutes with this article, you’ll understand why certain choices for mics are being made and you will be in a better position to control your own sound.
The Omni Directional Mic
An Omni directional mic will > read more
Attack of the Killer Monitors
Whether it’s wedges or in-ears, vocalists must avoid extreme monitor levels. Bill Gibson explains how.
When you add up the volume from all the instruments on stage and compare it to what the singer needs to hear in order to provide an accurate and inspired performance, it too often adds up to overly loud monitors.
Really loud monitors are likely to feedback, which is really really loud.
Developing a Safe Stage Monitor Level
Singers and instrumentalists should do everything possible to avoid extreme monitor levels.
The first step in this process is learning what to look for—and what to ask for—in a monitor mix. > read more
Technology 101 for Vocalists: Part II
Last Week Bill Gibson began his response to this cry for help:
“I’m a gigging singer who is also a technophobe who can’t really see
past his mic. My band-mates discuss technical stuff and I just
pretend to know what they are talking about.”
Today, Bill completes Technology 101 by discussing dynamic processors and effects devices.
The Dynamics Processor (Compression)
The polished, professional, and blended sound that you hear in a high-quality live performance or on a great recording is created, at least in part, by the way the engineer has used compression.
Compressors, limiters, gates, expanders, and duckers are all dynamics processors because they influence the signal’s dynamic range.
A compressor automatically controls the volume of the signal it receives—strong signals are turned down according to the settings on the devise.
So, when you’re singing a song that has some passages which are quiet and tender along with other passages that are really loud and aggressive the compressor will react to those loud and aggressive passages by automatically turning them down in a direct proportion to the strength of the signal.
This is an invaluable tool for the serious vocalist or engineer.
The device is essentially set up so that the quiet passages are just right. The listener should be thinking: “Oh, wasn’t that nice and somehow those lyrics are making me want to cry” not: “I couldn’t hear a single thing that bozo just sang and just that fact that I’m standing here makes me want to cry.”
By adjusting the controls just right (and may I recommend The Hal Leonard Recording Method to help you with that) you can make it so that even when you’re screaming at the top of your lungs the listener is thinking, “Oh my, those vocals sound great and they blend so well with mix and I can really tell this vocalist is passionate about the lyric—that makes me feel inspired and happy inside” instead of, “Oh my God! I think my ears are bleeding because that moron won’t stop screaming at me—I will be so much happier when I get outside!”
Vocal Effects Devices
Effects are all related to delays in some way and are comprised of reverberation, delay/echo, and oscillating effects like chorus, flanger, and phase shifter.
Reverberation and delay effects add a third dimension to a simple left-right panorama, creating a perception that the performance is taking place in an active acoustical environment such as a concert hall, skating rink, classical chamber, or coat closet.
This size dimension is the element that can make the vocal sound large and impressive on a recording or in a live performance.
Simple delays can provide a dimension of size without being quite as intrusive as reverberation but they can both be very effective when used tastefully.
Chorus, flanging, and phase shifting add an interest to the vocal sound that typically simulates a group of singers or even just unique sound effects.
All of these effects require some practice and a little knowledge in order to ensure that you are optimizing their creative potential without simultaneously creating technical problems (and may I recommend The Hal Leonard Recording Method to help you with that too).
No Longer a Technophobe
Your voice, mic, preamp, dynamics processor and vocal effects devices: all of these considerations all work together to shape your vocal sound—they’re all important.
You can purchase different devices for each task but some processors contain all of these ingredients in a single high-quality device (check out TC-Helicon’s VoiceWorks Plus—it matches your personality and creative style).
If you’re recording on a DAW (digital audio workstation) there are also many excellent plug-ins available for both dynamics and effects processing tasks.
So there it is folks. If you’ve learned just a little more about these five fundamental areas, then you’re well on the road to getting an appropriate handle on vocal technology.
You can send your technical question to Bill Gibson’s “Gear Guts” through the VoiceCouncil editor
Bill Gibson is the author of 30+ books about recorded and live sound, including his most recent six-book series, The Hal Leonard Recording Method by Bill Gibson
Essentials -with Chris Kennedy
Ah, the stimulating chaos of constant activity: live vocal performances with my band, writing orchestral music for film and TV, a weekly jazz piano residency, and recording a new album. There’s so much going on, I can’t afford to lose time when I’m at a gig! So, here’s what I really have to have in my gig bag…
1. My own CDs
It’s important to remember that you’re playing gigs to promote yourself and your songs and without having a CD to sell (or even to give away if you wish) people will start to forget your songs in only a day’s time. I know many artists who only sell via digital downloads but in my experience, most people who turn up to gigs tend to forget to go online and order your latest release when they get home; they’re more than happy to buy a CD at the end of the gig. CDs also make you more money than downloads and let’s face it, for most musicians starting out cash is something that’s often in short supply.
2. TC-Helicon’s Harmony-G
I’m often playing at venues where there is little or no setup time; the Harmony-G ensures that I have great sounding vocals every time (providing the sound guy isn’t still at the bar and has forgotten to un-mute my mic channel). It’s ridiculously easy to use and the effects sound great for live use. In fact I’ve played gigs where the sound guy has heard it in the sound check and asked if he could use it for the support bands as it sounded better than his outboard gear.
3. Pedal Power Supply
I still can’t believe how many guitarists I see who still rely on batteries for their effects pedals. There’s really nothing interesting about watching a man change a battery on stage in the middle of a set. Or worse still, I’ve known pedals that, when the battery runs out, won’t even send a signal through them when you turn them off; you’re left half way through a song with no guitar coming through and a guitarist frantically trying to re-wire his entire setup into some tangled mess of leads in a vain attempt to get the sound back. Buying a good quality power supply really is an essential investment.
4. Spare Tubes (“Valves” in UK lingo)
I tried a few years back to embrace modern technology and go for a solid-state amp, but you just can’t beat the sound of an old vacuum tube (valve) amp cranked up to within an inch of its life. I mostly play through an old Laney boutique amp stack with a 1×12 cab. It’s only 20w but when it comes to tube (valve) amps, you need nowhere as many watts as you would with a solid-state amp. The same goes for when I’m recording vocals in my studio; I have a couple of valve microphones that I like to use so that the natural coloration of the valves enriches the natural tone of my voice.
(Oh, and don’t forget a screwdriver to get the back panel off – I tried my guitar pick once after forgetting one and all I ended up with was a broken amp and a broken pick!)
5. BBE Freq Boost
When “10” just isn’t enough volume, this pedal lets you go to “11”, maybe even “12”. This pedal is essential for boosting my guitar during solos and riffs. Unless you have a sound guy who’s not at the bar chatting up some drunken girl every two minutes and knows your song arrangements well enough to turn you up for your solos, this is definitely a must-have item.
Useful Links
Chris Kennedy is a singer-songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist from Canterbury, UK. His music fuses intimate lyrics with a rich sound-palate telling tales of lovers, wanderers and misfits, set against the backdrop of 21st century Britain. Chris mostly performs his songs with his group The New Inventions. His 6th solo album, Until the Stars Start Falling is due for release in December.
Technology 101 for Vocalists
We’re featuring Bill Gibson’s answer to this crucial question for all vocalists:
Dear Bill:
I’m going to admit it. I’m afraid to read your technology articles!
I’m a gigging singer who is also a technophobe who can’t really see
past his mic. My band-mates discuss technical stuff and I just
pretend to know what they are talking about.
So, here’s my question: I know I have a good mic for my voice—
what’s the next thing I should know about in order to be more in
control of my sound? I’ve got to take this one step at a time.
-Jack.
This is a huge area, of course, but over the next two weeks I plan to summarize some very important areas of technological knowledge for vocalists.
As a vocalist, you are, hopefully, a purist who cares about getting the very best possible sound at every point in the signal path.
Thus, you need to consider > read more
My Voice is Trapped on Cassette Tapes!
Dear Bill,
I have hundreds of cassette tapes that I would love to download onto my external hard drive. Lots of them are original music, and most of them very fragile as they are 15 to 20 years old—so the download has to happen on the first try. Is there a piece of equipment that a technophobe like me could use to do this?
-BettyJane
Hey BettyJane,
If you live in an area that is very humid and the cassette tapes haven’t been stored in a climate-controlled area, they might have a problem playing back on a cassette player. The oxide can become sticky and gummy. If the tape plays back it will probably make the heads severely dirty, causing the playback to become dull and lifeless over the course of a few minutes. In this case, you might make it through one side of a cassette but then you’ll need to clean the heads well—a Q-tip and 100% Isopropyl or denatured alcohol will do fine here. Dip the Q-tip in the alcohol and clean the head rubbing up and down the gap until you can start with a new Q-tip dipped in the alcohol and not see color on the cotton.
In the worst case, the cassettes will be in such bad shape that they won’t even play on the cassette player, no matter how good the player or how fancy the gadget. These tapes usually need to be baked—that’s right, just like baking a cake. There are commercial companies who will bake the cassettes for you or you can even bake them yourself in your own oven. The process depends on the kind of tape and how bad it is, but the cassettes are usually in pretty good shape for about a month and they can even be baked again in most cases if need be. Google “baking cassette tape” and start researching if you think your tapes are in bad shape.
A cassette player can be easily patched into any computer with an audio card or interface and digital recording software—that’s probably what you’ll need to do. If you have a good cassette recorder, simply connect the line outputs from the cassette to the line inputs on the computer and set the recording software to listen to the inputs you chose. Recording is pretty easy but it takes time to cut each song into the right length and bounce them as MP3s to a folder on your hard drive. If you don’t have a cassette player that you can trust to playback at the correct speed and within technical tolerance of wow and flutter especially, you need to purchase one.
I’m getting other people writing to me about this – so watch my next entry: I will talk about some specific products you can get…
Bill
You can send your question to Bill Gibson’s “Gear Guts” through the VoiceCouncil editor
Bill Gibson is the author of 30+ books about recorded and live sound, including his most recent six-book series, The Hal Leonard Recording Method by Bill Gibson
Sennheiser G2 In-Ear Monitor
Review of Reviews
We’ve studied the most important product reviews so you don’t have to.
Type: In-ear monitor
Item: Sennheiser ew300IEM G2 Wireless In-Ear Personal Monitor System
Note: The G2 is only available new in North America. The model has been replaced by the G3 which we will review in future.
USD $949.00
Mic Scale
At a Glance:: If you want to hear every little whisper that goes in the mic, no matter how hard your drummer beats his set in your ear, then this in-ear personal monitor system will give every band member their own crystal-clear sound. Not only that, but getting rid of your wedges could also protect you from noise-induced hearing-loss and reduce the need for vocalists to strain their voice, as they try to hear themselves sing above the rest of the band.
High Notes: Besides providing individual players with a personal monitor, the technology eliminates the need to lug around bulky floor wedges and dramatically reduces sound levels and feedback on the stage. Nine frequency banks with 12 presets allow the entire band to operate multiple units without interference and with 1440 selectable frequencies to choose from, the system is probably the most versatile in its class.
Off Pitch: A significant number of reviewers felt that the ear buds were the weakest link within an otherwise superb system – alternative recommendations included Ultimate Ears and Shure E3 in-ear monitors.
A Singer Says: “Superb sound quality, dependable wireless operation, lower onstage sound levels, personalized monitoring, and less equipment to lug around are just some of the advantages of the system” – D.J. Adams
See Other Reviews
That Airy Pop Sound: EQ and Compression
Hi Bill: I want to get that pop-airy sound in my home recording studio. I read your last column and I have a style suited to this. I also have a good, large diaphragm mic. Can you give me any tips about EQ and Cpmpression?
-Daryl
Hi Daryl,
Proper compression is fundamental to an intimate and airy sound because it keeps the track right up in your face in those intimate moments and backs the level off when the singer’s volume exceeds the compression threshold. You’ll need pretty quick attack and release times, too, so that the listener can’t hear the compressor turning down and then back up again. Exactly where you set them depends on the singer and the song. Listen!
Using EQ you can help create an airy sound by simply boosting the “airy” frequencies (typically somewhere between 6- and 10-kHz) but the real way to achieve a high-quality vocal sound has much more to do with everything else in this post than simply EQ boost.
Reverberation provides a cue to the brain that the sound is in an acoustical space. Applying more reverberation makes the sound feel farther away from the listener within that space. If you want the vocal to feel very close to the listener, either don’t use reverb or use a little of a warm hall just to add some subliminal polish. It should typically be just enough so that you can tell when it goes away but not so much that you’re aware of it. Also, don’t use a patch with much high-frequency content because it conflicts with the intimate components of the vocal sound wave.
In a live application all of the above considerations are in play. However, you need a mic with a condenser capsule that’s capable of reproducing the complexities of the vocal sound accurately. The mic also should not induce a lot of rumble, handling noise, low-frequency feedback. There are really great condenser mics available from all the major microphone manufacturers. The mic you choose depends on all of the variables that are unique to your situation.
Mics designed for live application typically have a presence boost somewhere in the high-frequency range and a roll-off in the lows. To accentuate the airy quality in an individual voice, the presence peak that is built-in to the mic needs to accentuate that individual—that’s why it’s important to try different mics.
-Bill
Bill Gibson is the author of 30+ books about recorded and live sound, including his most recent six-book series, The Hal Leonard Recording Method by Bill Gibson
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More articles
- My Monitor, My Pet II
- My Monitor, My Pet
- VC’s Brief Guide: Mic Pick-Up Patterns
- Attack of the Killer Monitors
- Technology 101 for Vocalists: Part II
- Essentials -with Chris Kennedy
- Technology 101 for Vocalists
- My Voice is Trapped on Cassette Tapes!
- Sennheiser G2 In-Ear Monitor
- That Airy Pop Sound: EQ and Compression
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