Har-Bal Users Forum BBS

Hi Again-

I'm working on getting my vocal recordings to sound a bit more professional. Since I don't have a dedicated isolation booth (yet) I'm using a closet with some padded areas adjacent to my music room.

From some of the sites I've visited, it seems there are definite frequencies (like too much midrange) that should be avoided or you'll get that "home recorded" sound. I'm interested in hearing from any of you that might have some tips, or even better a reference or filter file, on the best ways to tighten up the vocals and give them the nice punch that I hear so often on professional recordings.

I've been playing around using Har-Bal on the raw audio vocal files before inporting back in to Cubase SX 2 then applying compression, limiting, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

jarzynka wrote:Hi Again-

I'm working on getting my vocal recordings to sound a bit more professional. Since I don't have a dedicated isolation booth (yet) I'm using a closet with some padded areas adjacent to my music room.

From some of the sites I've visited, it seems there are definite frequencies (like too much midrange) that should be avoided or you'll get that "home recorded" sound. I'm interested in hearing from any of you that might have some tips, or even better a reference or filter file, on the best ways to tighten up the vocals and give them the nice punch that I hear so often on professional recordings.

I've been playing around using Har-Bal on the raw audio vocal files before inporting back in to Cubase SX 2 then applying compression, limiting, etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hello Jarzynka

You can go to our reference page and click on vocals for a large amount of vocal reference files.
http://har-bal.com/reference/

When recording vocals it is always important to remember that you only want to define the parameters of the voice using a minimum amount of compression.
Never use limiting in your vocal mixdown. Usually no more than a slight amount of reverb (for positioning) and compression is enough unless you are just looking for a special sound/flange/modulation/echo, etc.

Here are some good settings for your compressor as a starting point for vocals.

Attack = Fast
Release = 0.5s/or Auto
Ratio - Anywhere from 2:1 to 8:1 dependent on the dynamics of the voice
Gain - No more than 3- 8dbs

Here are some good settings for your reverb. Just use what applies with your plugin.

Predelay = 18.2-23 msec
Time = 1.67
Size = 71.4
Diffusion = 0
Decay = Linear
Early reflections = -40.0 dB
Reverb = -0.0 dB
Wet/Dry Mix = 6-13%
Gain = 0
Decorrelation = 0
Damping f=256, r=1.00; f=3329, r=0.20
EQ f=331, g=0 dB; f=1000, g=-11 dB


Cheers

Earle

Earle-

Again thank you very, very much! You guys are so good to us and your quick replies are very much appreciated!

The problem I'm having is that my vocals seem to be too far back in the stereo image. It's not that they're lost in the mix - the compression I'm using is keeping it understandable, but it's not that up-front presence that I'm looking for.

I thought I saw some vocals tips here, but I visit so many music web sites I then thought I saw it somewhere else. I will definitely check out the filters. Thank you again!

Chris Jarzynka