Vocal setups

[Studioplayer]

Hey guys and gals. I want to try some singing but don't know the best way to setup my mic for recording. I have a SM58 & an AT4040. With my 58 I can plug directly into my POD and hear it wet, record wet and record dry. If I use my 4040 it's phantom power which means I have to use my mixer and direct to my DAW. Problem is then it's totally dry and I need some reverb while singing. Don't know how to do that. I'd like to have my 4040 setup so I can just switch it on and sing away without having to pull cables and make changes etc. How do you 'singers' do it? 

Dave

[napoleonboot]

I record dry I just route my mic through a pre-amp (which provides phantom power) and into the DAW via the soundcard.

I sing loud, so my main technical challenge is getting my monitor level high enough without spill-over into the mic.

[Studioplayer]

You record totally dry? Isn't that difficult?  Wouldn't it help to hear some reverb to help get the feel. Like playing the guitar I need some effect for feel. I can still record dry if I want.

[Tricia41]

I get distracted to hear my voice while recording. I sing it dry with the echo off, then I add reverb to listen back.

[mickbrit55]

Hey Dave ...

First I would definitely use the AT over the SM58, much better mic. All you need to do is throw a cheapo reverb onto the track and sing away. I normally use the free Sonitus reverb because it is low useage on resources and gives a fairly decent result. Once you are finished tracking you can just delete the reverb from the track giving you a dry sep ready for mixing.

Another way, a little more technical, is to set up a bus with the reverb on it and then add a send from the track you are using. You adjust the amount of reverb you want from the send control. This can be useful because you can add a send to ANY track to the bus, allowing you to use just 1 instance of the reverb.

What DAW do you use?

Mick.

[Studioplayer]

PC dual core, Sonar, Acid Pro, Waves plugs and then some, E-MU 1212m sound card.  Toys... PODX3, BOSS GT6, 24 channel mixer (rarely used), Gretsch & Fender guitars. Sm58 & AT4040 mics, Fender & Traynor amps for live or miking. I'm trying to use my 'Sonar' more often and getting away from Acid Pro. Both do the job.

[Studioplayer]

All you need to do is throw a cheapo reverb onto the track and sing away. I normally use the free Sonitus reverb because it is low useage on resources and gives a fairly decent result. Once you are finished tracking you can just delete the reverb from the track giving you a dry sep ready for mixing.

I didn't think you could 'hear' the reverb by throwing it on the track while recording? 

[mickbrit55]

Yup, I use Sonar all the time. Right-click the FX bin, add a reverb, make sure Input Monitoring is on and off you go

Mick.

[Studioplayer]

OK... Will try.

So George & Tricia just sing dry. Is that better?  I'm not sure if I'm confident for that.   

In pro recording studios does the singer hear a dry signal in their cans? 

[mickbrit55]

OK... Will try.

So George & Tricia just sing dry. Is that better?  I'm not sure if I'm confident for that.   

In pro recording studios does the singer hear a dry signal in their cans? 

Up to you, whichever feels more comfortable. Normally a singer will ask for reverb in the headphone mix.

Mick.

[Tricia41]

So George & Tricia just sing dry. Is that better?  I'm not sure if I'm confident for that.   

I just sing while listening to the bed track (music only) in my headphones. After I sing a take, I play it back with reverb to see if I like it. But I sing to music only, hearing no echo of my voice at all. Hearing my live voice with reverb makes me lose focus.

[napoleonboot]

So George & Tricia just sing dry. Is that better?  I'm not sure if I'm confident for that.   

I just sing while listening to the bed track (music only) in my headphones. After I sing a take, I play it back with reverb to see if I like it. But I sing to music only, hearing no echo of my voice at all. Hearing my live voice with reverb makes me lose focus.

I do it just the same way as Tricia. It suits me fine.

[Tricia41]

Once, my hubby turned on the effects send echo and I could hear my live voice with reverb, but there was a slight delay, and it threw me way off.

[NickT]

The 1212m has a dedicated fx dsp on the card. You can listen with live verb or delay through ther software mixer.

Easy. Works good. One of the reasons I bought that card.

Nick

[Studioplayer]

The 1212m has a dedicated fx dsp on the card. You can listen with live verb or delay through their software mixer.

Easy. Works good. One of the reasons I bought that card.

Nick

I forgot about the software mixer. That thing scares me!!   It took me a week just to get the card working properly. Never had so much troubles with software. It's definitely not for the faint of heart. I guess I could play around with it again. I still haven't wrapped my brain around how it all works. Sure made a difference in my sound though.