Overdriven Vocals

funkalicious101 · #1 06-02-2008, 06:46 PM

I dont know if this should be in a different forum as it isnt bass related, but is effects related.

I've been listening to Muse's Showbiz album a lot lately and just cannot get enough of Matt Bellamy's raw overdriven vocals. I love his voice all of the time, but the sound he gets on Showbiz and Muscle Museum is phenominal.

Does anyone know any good units for this? Or even how someone goes about effecting vocals?

Thanks,
Sam.

tomvelsor · #2 06-02-2008, 07:48 PM

i had to learn "hysterica" to teach a student a while back..all the versions on youtube have heavy overdriven vocals wich NORMALLY is something i really like..but specifically talking about muse, i think they just use too much gain on it. i like the way iggy pop used to do it..

but anyway, it can be done basically the same way as youd do it with an instrument. mic--> overdrive -->PA

although, youll never see a singer with a pedalboard onstage..(but i've always wanted to do that!) so its really the soundguys job..(can they run an effect loop for a mic? im sure it can be done like that, right?)

OptimusPrime · #3 06-02-2008, 07:51 PM

I've ran my iPod through OD and a flanger, it was cool. I want to get some 1/4" to 1/8" reducer things and hook a headset into my octave pedal then into my phone.

Thangfish · #4 06-02-2008, 07:58 PM

The Legendary Shack Shakers have some crappy sounding, overdriven vocals, (which I'm pretty much diggin').

I always thought it sounded as if the the singer was singing through his harp mic, which is normally plugged in to a small tube combo, pretty much cranked and miced to the pa.

bongomania · #5 06-02-2008, 08:11 PM

I've done distorted vocals a lot. It's really easy- there are three main ways to go: (a) get a cheap handheld mic with an unbalanced 1/4" plug output, and plug it into a pedal just as you would with a bass; (b) run a normal XLR-plug mic into a mixer or tape deck or something that clips when you crank the input gain; or (c) get a cheap mic that has low SPL tolerance, i.e. the mic itself clips when you yell into it. That last one is what I usually see aggro artists doing onstage, it's a lot easier and more "punk rock" to add one more trashy mic than it is to add an extra mic plus a pedalboard or lug around an extra tape deck.

Coolest instance IMO is Quintron, he sticks a little mic inside his mouth for a massive gnarly distorted vocal tone.

baalroo · #6 06-02-2008, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomvelsor

...although, youll never see a singer with a pedalboard onstage...

You might wanna check out Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Peeping Tom, Fantomas, Tomahawk, etc). When I saw Tomahawk he had an entire pedalboard on a table that he was running his vocals through. Pretty awesome live show, however the album kinda sucks.

p.s. Mike Patton is a badass.

Saetia · #7 06-02-2008, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baalroo

You might wanna check out Mike Patton (Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, Peeping Tom, Fantomas, Tomahawk, etc). When I saw Tomahawk he had an entire pedalboard on a table that he was running his vocals through. Pretty awesome live show, however the album kinda sucks.

p.s. Mike Patton is a badass.

So the entire time I was erading this thread I was thinking "Mike Patton and all of his strange incarnations with bands... especially Fantomas and Tomahawk.

So yeah,

that is all.

Peace

-Benny

dannybuoy · #8 06-03-2008, 01:33 AM

Matt Bellamy uses a megaphone on stage to get a distorted effect on 'Feeling Good'. I've seen plenty of bands do it that way - plus it looks cool!

BetterBottomEnd · #9 06-03-2008, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannybuoy

Matt Bellamy uses a megaphone on stage to get a distorted effect on 'Feeling Good'. I've seen plenty of bands do it that way - plus it looks cool!

Soundguy must love that.

roflol · #10 06-03-2008, 05:33 AM

tool do that to ;<

Jazz Ad · #11 06-03-2008, 06:16 AM

I use an Ibanez LF-7, it works wonders.

kevteop · #12 06-03-2008, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannybuoy

Matt Bellamy uses a megaphone on stage to get a distorted effect on 'Feeling Good'.

I liked the way he wrote "GIMMICK" on the side of the megaphone in huge letters when they were promoting that single.

Edit: Apparently Beastie Boys used cheap, nasty karaoke machines to do most of the distorted vocals on Ill Communications. There's also the old hip-hop trick of plugging cans in as a mic.

cathal · #13 06-03-2008, 06:33 AM

Matt's voice goes through three stages when singing live.

* Normal, standard clean vocal with no effects
* Through an Avalon VT737 with high gain that produces a "nice valve distorted" sound
* Through a SansAmp GT2 in conjunction with a custom control switch operated by Bellamy to get extreme distortion.

Matt's voice also goes through System 6000 reverbs, a TC delay and an H35000.

baalroo · #14 06-03-2008, 06:47 AM

who the heck is Matt Bellamy? (I know I'm gonna feel like an idiot as soon as someone tells me)

EDIT: BTW, no one sounds cooler through a megaphone than Tom Waits.

dannybuoy · #15 06-03-2008, 06:48 AM

Read the first post!

nickbear · #16 06-03-2008, 06:51 AM

lightning bolt have distorted vocals... he made his microphone from an old telephone i believe so it sounds pretty crappy but awesome if you get what i mean!

also patton has awesome overdriven vocals.. ( just got tickets for atp festival in december curated by mike patton and the melvins!)

i have recorded with some overdrive in the past... the best result was through an all valve orange guitar head into an old vox cab but on the cheap i got good results like a marshall jackhammer pedal and then straight into the preamp.

McSpunckle · #17 06-03-2008, 07:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickbear

lightning bolt have distorted vocals... he made his microphone from an old telephone i believe so it sounds pretty crappy but awesome if you get what i mean!

also patton has awesome overdriven vocals.. ( just got tickets for atp festival in december curated by mike patton and the melvins!)

i have recorded with some overdrive in the past... the best result was through an all valve orange guitar head into an old vox cab but on the cheap i got good results like a marshall jackhammer pedal and then straight into the preamp.

Nothing that lightning bolt does is normal. There is something seriously wrong with those guys...

...and I love them for it.

I hate to get off topic, but I don't think it warrants another thread:

What about other effects on vocals? I can't sing. My Drummer can't sing. We want to be a 2 piece band. Maybe we can do something cool with weird effects. Maybe a wah, overdrive, flanger, reverb, delay kinda thing?

baalroo · #18 06-03-2008, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannybuoy

Read the first post!

lol, I'm an idiot.

baalroo · #19 06-03-2008, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by McSpunckle

Nothing that lightning bolt does is normal. There is something seriously wrong with those guys...

...and I love them for it.

I hate to get off topic, but I don't think it warrants another thread:

What about other effects on vocals? I can't sing. My Drummer can't sing. We want to be a 2 piece band. Maybe we can do something cool with weird effects. Maybe a wah, overdrive, flanger, reverb, delay kinda thing?

Antares Autotuner set to the extreme does interesting stuff (this is the effect on that s***** cher song)

OR

just scream.

Chris V. · #20 06-03-2008, 10:09 AM

http://www.fxdoctor.com/

Lo-Fi Vocal Microphonel

We've all heard a song where the vocals suddenly get grainy and low fidelity- a throwback to the days of grainy radio recordings completely lacking the high quality of today's electronics. It's often replicated by using a megaphone which is a disaster to use live and gives inconsistant results. The modified Lo-Fi microphone simply plugs into the PA and easily recreates the raspy,low quality sound that so many singers desire.

Now many of you may be wondering where the Lo-fi Pedal went. We've spent a great deal of time weighing the options and a separate microphone is going to give the best results than using a pedal.

* Easier setup
* No batteries or potentially noisy power supplies
* Less prone to feedback
* Can be used with backup singers
* Can be fine tuned through the PA

These should be shipping in a few weeks. Sound clips to be recorded soon. $70