Singer overdriving the mic??

LightGroove · #1 12-13-2010, 06:06 PM

Oh wise and wonderful TB...I come to you again...

Ive noticed a reoccurring issue with our lead singer and wondered if its simple or common. Ive got our board pretty much nailed down with respective gains set appropriately...all are in the green with the occasional jump into yellow during certain songs... Things sound pretty good outside of drums which I cant control at this point. Anyways Ive noticed that the board and singers respective channel was starting to distort a bit and thus he was clipping. After he hits clipping I back things off and he's below everyone else until the more upbeat passages. His level is set almost identical to our other singers..nice good balance its just when he gets into a song things get out of hand..he not a screamer by any stretch...

So... is this as simple as a compressor catching the crazy fundamentals or adding a windsock to the mic to get some distance or is there another logical fix besides telling him to quiet down.

Only factor I can see at this point is things escalate with the drums...he's louder when they get louder etc

AfroCubanFunkMa · #2 12-13-2010, 07:28 PM

Sounds like he's not loud enough in his monitor and is straining/belting to keep up.. Course there's probably a volume issue with your drummer as well. I would suggest better monitoring and or more volume consciousness all around..

Also, if he's the lead, shouldn't his mic be louder than harmony vox?

LightGroove · #3 12-14-2010, 06:44 AM

Hey Afro...indeed he should be louder ... but its like he's never loud enough to properly cut through...When he's cranked its too much...its been tough battle with a sword wielding electric and full on drum kit. I think you nailed it as more of a volume issue. We play a variety of places but typically small church type halls. Lots of boom and echo etc...I guess I was most interested if it was me or if this is typical in these types of situations

T-Bird · #4 12-14-2010, 07:21 AM

Hi.

An untrained (like me

) vocalist will always benefit from having a compressor to smooth things out, and that usually takes care of most of the problems, but not all of them. Highly/badly compressed vocals sound like crap, obviously.

What's the mic(s) BTW? That plays a huge role.

Regads
Sam

ric stave · #5 12-14-2010, 07:22 AM

I have singers like this (I run the sound too) and it's damn frustrating... they talk or sing most things quietly, but then let loose and kill the mic on other parts. It's a matter of knowing how to use a mic - you'd think after 10+ years, people would 'get it', but they don't - or don't care, cuz they aren't the ones running sound.

I sing a lot of harmony, I keep my mic set at a decent level, and blend by backing off, or if I need to be louder in the mix, I can get more on it. My one singer will peak out his channel by yelling or burying the mic in his mouth on loud parts, so I need to keep his gain down a bit - then he'll come over to my mic to 'try it' for a sec, and get's all pissed off that my level is higher than his - of course, does not want to hear my reasoning (that if he WOULDN'T peak out his channel like he does, I could keep his gain up higher).

A compressor could help, but I'm not buying more equipment for the sake of people who refuse to learn certain things (good mic technique), and if they don't want to chip in, then tough.

agreatheight · #6 12-14-2010, 07:33 AM

A compressor will help, yes, and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

It sounds like you guys need to also spend a practice dialing things in, and working on levels / dynamics. If you take some time as a group working on nothing but the mix, you should be able to get everyone on track, including the drummer. Start with the heaviest, most aggressive song, and work backward to your most mellow. Then do it again, heaviest to lightest. By them time you are done, you should be good.

LightGroove · #7 12-14-2010, 08:46 PM

The mic is an AKG D5 - Supercard

Thanks guys you make me feel a lot more normal. I wont begin to express my frustration at times with this unit. I cant even get them to do a decent sound check.. I usually get a quick..check one check one two...ok lets play this 2 chord song over and over again...lets go now...we're perfect....They are all good guys but I cant get them top understand the need for a level balance and sound check...anyways...onward we go.

GregShadoan · #8 12-14-2010, 10:29 PM

AKG's are historically fussy. Swap it out with a 58 for a week or two. See if that makes a difference.

AfroCubanFunkMa · #9 12-16-2010, 05:07 AM

Compression will help but I suspect that better monitoring for the singer will be the quicker fix. In ears or a personal powered monitor.. That and a drummer with a sense of dynamics and a singer with some mic technique.. Ha ha, good luck Light..

skwee · #10 12-16-2010, 05:46 PM

Sounds like a mic technique issue to me. You could spend a little time with just the sibger so they know where the energy sweetspot is, then tell them to work it like Peabo Bryson: further away when loud and uo closer when intimate

TimmyP · #11 12-17-2010, 10:35 PM

I've yet to work with a singer on whom a compressor was not highly desirable. Quite often it's not the preamp section that clips, but a section after. A comp can take care of this.

jimbilly · #12 12-20-2010, 04:51 PM

What mixer are you using?, sorry if I missed that, I did look for it.
If it's a cheaper mixer, the preamp may be distorting. I'm told a lower end mixer like a Behringer will get preamp distortion in circumstances where an upper end mixer like an Allen and Heath will not distort.

Mr Grady · #13 12-23-2010, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skwee

Sounds like a mic technique issue to me. You could spend a little time with just the sibger so they know where the energy sweetspot is, then tell them to work it like Peabo Bryson: further away when loud and uo closer when intimate

lol..i had a huge bustup with the idiot who sung for us.
we would do greendays "holiday" and he would work himself up at the end for a big finish, but he didnt know any mic technique and would be belting out at full volume with the mic as close as normal, so it sounded shite.

think he could take a gentle suggestion? oh no...ego alert big time!

Never_grew_up · #14 12-26-2010, 12:37 PM

1 - Proper mic technique has already been mentioned but it can't be over-emphasized. Regardless of whether or not you like her music, watch Christina Aguilera sing. the distance from her mic to her mouth ranges from as close as an inch to more than a foot away depending on whether she's singing soft or loud.

2 - In-ear monitors for the singer, or at least headphones during rehearsal. He'll hear himself better and if he continues to belt it out close to the mic the distortion will be like ice picks in his ears.