Greetings all

[Whammo]

I'm Kevin,
I've been recording off and on since the early 90's, I'm 43 now. Started with an MIDI keyboards, an early Tascam 4-track cassette and moved on to various PC tools.
Still working on arranging songs I'd written as a teenager but having great tools gets me to writing new stuff too.
I don't do alot of vocals because it's hard to keep my levels straight without someone to 'engineer' for me.
Of course, I'm never satisfied with anything I do sometimes I tweek things past what was 'pretty good' to 'no that doesn't work any more'.
I guess that's why collaboration is good.

I'll make another post in the review area with the myspace link.

[brandondrury]

having great tools gets me to writing new stuff too.

I hear you! The modern tools are GREAT for writing!

Welcome to the forum! Don't be shy about posting!

I don't do alot of vocals because it's hard to keep my levels straight without someone to 'engineer' for me.

Are you using a compression plugin on your vocals? I always monitor through the recording software so I can really compress the vocals. This helps the headphone mix dramatically.


Brandon

[Whammo]

Yeah, I do use a compressor with all the attendant issues with dynamics.
Mixing it down just isn't the same as a quiet recording.

Compromise is never satisfying!

[brandondrury]

Yeah, I do use a compressor with all the attendant issues with dynamics.

What would those be?

Mixing it down just isn't the same as a quiet recording.

I'm not sure what you mean.

[Whammo]

My main issue is that I'll sing louder in some parts so you'll (I'll) hear the the timbre change of my voice as it gets louder but not the volume increase so it sounds off.
Now, I know to adjust the envelope and the compression ratio to achieve the sound you want, but that's where the 'engineer' comes in. I'll be wanting a different envelope/ratio for quiet parts and for loud parts and I can't concentrate on my singing and tweeking at the same time.

Maybe the concept of dynamic headroom is a holdover from my analogue days. Still, I have the idea to set the level and threshold to the loudest I'm gonna be rather than pump everything up and compress the heck out of it.
It's just a matter of finding that balance and that wherein lies the art.

[brandondrury]

I'll be wanting a different envelope/ratio for quiet parts and for loud parts and I can't concentrate on my singing and tweeking at the same time.

You are THAT picky about your headphone mix? In the headphones I just crush them without much regard for the loud stuff because the singer's natural voice will take care of it. In fact, if the peaks aren't crushed pretty hard the vocal could be overpowering.

In a real mix, it varies with me and depend on the music. I always try to get the vocal right with a single compression setting. There are times when extreme dynamics are necessary. Then I usually boost the gain of the quiet parts (to hit the compressor enough) and then pull them back down with automation. That usualy does it to. In robo extreme settings, I'll move the quiet stuff to a separate track and using specific settings for that part.

Still, I have the idea to set the level and threshold to the loudest I'm gonna be rather than pump everything up and compress the heck out of it.

This pumping business is a function of your attack and release settings. With vocals you can crush the living crap out of the vocal without any pumping if you use a super faster attack and release time.