Hey,

I'm fairly new to Kompoz, but been a muso for many years.  Firstly let me say how awesome I think this website is!

I've been singing on and off for a long time, and have learnt how to do it properly (i guess) and can generally hit a note pretty well and harmonize with others in any situation.  When I sing live I'm pretty happy with how I sound, but when I get into the studio suddenly my voice is very exposed without all the ruckus of a live band behind me.  Bottom line is that I really hate the way my voice sounds when it is recorded.

I don't know whether it's the adrenaline of singing live that gives me some extra 'oomf', or just the fact that the tone of my voice is whiney and horrible.  Maybe it's just that I'm used to hearing it and I'm my own worse critic...

Basically what I'm asking is if anyone would mind having a listen to my vocals (see any of my projects) and tell me if there is anything I could do in the studio to make my voice sound better.  I've tried singing softly, singing LOUDLY, screaming, whispering, but i just can't make myself sound how I'd like to.  How should I EQ it?  No matter what I do it just sounds crap to me.  Is this just a fruitless endeavour?

Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated.  I'm in a rut right now.. I hate ruts.

Hi, Peter.

This is a common perception.....

Firstly, your voice is what it is. You can't turn your voice into something it's not by using EQ or some other technological "crutch". You can do more by working on your peformance and delivery. Even fairly "quirky" sounding vocalists sound great because of the way they've developed their vocal style. The music world is full of examples.

The point is that listening to your vocal track in isolation is not the way to judge your abilities / style / performance. It's listening to vocals as part of the whole band that matters most and leads to a more confident approach when performing. Nothing really needs to be done to vocals to "enhance" them at the point of recording. That's a backward step which will only lead to more anxiety and frustration. Just recording vocals properly is all that's needed. Forget the compressors and EQ when you're collaborating here. A good mix engineer can integrate all sonic elements to provide the kind of solidity needed to take a song to a new level. Find the musicians you enjoy working with, develop your collective "style" and find a mix engineer you're happy with and your vocal "issues" will diminish.

Hope this helps a bit :o)

.

Thanks guys for the awesome and honest advice.  That helps a lot :)

It's funny how you listen to a lot of singers as you mentioned who have 'quirky' or different sounding voices (Bob Dylan was mentioned in that SOS article), you kind-of accept them with all their quirks as being just the way they sound, and it's all their little imperfections that give them their sound and make them who they are.  whether that means who they are is crap i guess is up to the listener.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so to speak.  Some will like you, some won't.

As you say if I keep practising I can find a way to make the most of my voice. I've tried different styles and techniques, and I'm sure that in time I can start to become more satisfied and comfortable with how I sound. Improving on that is key.

Thanks again for the encouragement :)

dont let astro shit you. he's got one of the best voices on Kompoz

i slip into nasal too.  it's hard not having somebody yelling at you about how to fix it.

i've heard you sing.  i liked it.  

Your tone is yours to call your own, it will define you so that when I hear you sing I'll know it's you.

Hit the notes. That's rule number 1 - 5.

Tonal quality, feh. Practice scales. Practice holding a note and zeroing in on the single note without pitch fluctuations.

It's the same as a guitarist that thinks that if they can get the same tone as Stevie Ray Vaughn they will be as good as Stevie Ray Vaughn. $5,000 worth of equipment later and they still suck.

Old guy wisdom, it's worth what you paid for it. :)

And by the way, most of us believe we are not good singers, me included.

During my bike ride I was running the guitarist's tone analogy around my head and took it to this extreme.

Robert Johnson.

Need I say more?

A pawn-shop guitar, 1 mike live into a an old recorder. And his voice? OMG! But his guitar licks and his vocals define the blues to this day.

so true :)

It is refreshing to to see the pursuit of self improvement. This is what I consider the mark of a professional.

Cap'n

1. I like your vocals.

2. After just one platinum album, quirky becomes a target of emulation (Dylan, Fogerty, Vetter, etc.)

I recommend that you go out and sell ten million records. You'll feel a lot better about your voice!

I remember listening to some "fiddle" judges commenting to their criteria of what makes a good player. It occurred to me that the standard they discussed would apply to any musician.

I use this standard when I rate myself and boy does it work.

Pitch

     Are you hitting the mark?

     Are you in key?

     Sense of melody

Rhythm

     Doesn’t mean you have to play or sing staccato like a metronome. Is there a groove?

Tone

     What do you sound like?

I also feel “naked” when I solo my guitar tracks. I hear all the hand noise and wonder if that’s part of the playing or what. When I bring the mix back it sounds fine – odd.

I think you’re going in the right direction and I do like your vocals.

LP

Practice a lot. Obsess. Figure out how to make peace with any given microphone. And finally, relax.

I've found that the approaches taken in the Speech Level Singing technique are very helpful though do take quite a lot of effort to get down in the first place. The book on it is kinda hyper-cheesy, but has a lot of solid information and exercises that do work. It covers breath control, placement, dealing with breaks, and generally how to not destroy your voice. The placement exercises gave me a lot of trouble when I first encountered them, but they taught me a lot. What I like about this method is that the exercises, when done right, kinda trick your voice into doing what it needs. It's not a matter of consciously thinking "oh! I need to breathe right!" Conscious control of singing is incredibly distracting. If you can get down super solid placement, pretty much any genre is within your reach. It will help with nasal issues and is where twanginess seems to originate.

The cheese-tastic book can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Singing-Stars-book-CDs-Complete/dp/0882845284

I agree with the speech level comment above.  Also, you can run two duplicate tracks of your main vocal track.  Put a 20-30 ms delay on the copied tracks.  Pan each of them L and R 15% respectively.  eq them a bit differently according to this chart;

http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/resources/freqchart/main_display.htm

having a good compressor/limiter as well as a good tube emulator vst helps alot too.  Your pitch is on, you just need a little more thickness and presence which can mostly be accomplished by production. 

I think I am going to go off the beat and path here with the whole "Do It Yourself" thing of improving your vocals.

ALL of the best singers I have worked with obtained either formal vocal lessons in more "classic" genres (jazz and/or classical/opera), or, they worked with a "vocal coach" who concentrated on developing a vocal style for that person.

I did not become a decent lead guitar player until I learned some basic music theory, and learned some basic technique stuff.  I could play, but always had a mediocre approach to playing guitar.  After said lessons, my very first band I was in generated a LOT of interest with a certain VP at a famous, and large record label.  My songwriting improved as I gained knowledge of theories and techniques.  I had a much better tool box to work with at that point.

A mere $60 a month with a great vocal coach could do a lot for you.  They will help you get out of your nose, and as you start to gain better tonality and command, you will try a wider range of singing approaches in your songs.