First off. Thanks to everyone on this forum so far for all of your help.
Just wanted to give an update on getting our 1s B1 and T1. We have only practiced so far in a small space but were very encouraged at the outcome. Of course I have done alot of tinkering on the side with the T1 trying to get my vocal to sound warmer but I am thinking some of this may be due to the acoustics of the small practice space we were in. (My sister on the other hand, the other half of the duo, could sing into a soup can on a string and it wouldn’t matter it would still sound amazing.)
We are rehearsing today in the church my sister goes to which is a large space that would probably seat around 300 to 350 people so I am excited to see the difference at performance volumes.
The only problem so far, if you want to call it that, is I can’t seem to get my mic dialed in to where I feel it is warm and not hollow sounding. I have been able to get it a lot better but I am still not satisfied completely with the sound 100%.
For those who have not read my previous posts, I sing in a Southern Gospel duo with my sister. We sing to backing tracks, played from a laptop using Emcee Pro connected via USB, sometimes with my acoustic guitar, and sometimes with a piano or keyboard. Right now we are using 2 Shure PG58 mics, which I already had before the Bose, and have been decent sounding mics with other applications. I do plan to upgrade to a couple of SM58’s eventually but not right now. I am wondering if the problems I am having is the mic or the settings. I am using the SM58 preset, and to be honest have gone through other presets and not really noticed a huge difference. I know that no system can make up for an inferior mic but I can’t help but think that this mic should give a very pleasing sound nonetheless.
I will right down my eq values later today and post back with what I hear when we practice. Hopefully I can make some headway in getting this hollow sound out of my vocals. In the meantime any advice would be appreciated.
Sorry for the long post and thanks again!
Hi jeffpettis,
It sounds like you are getting to know your Model 1S, T1 and B1 (link to previous posts).
quote:Originally posted by jeffpettis:
We are rehearsing today in the church my sister goes to which is a large space that would probably seat around 300 to 350 people so I am excited to see the difference at performance volumes.
It’s good that you’ll be able to hear your system in a larger space. You can get some strange effects in a small room with all the sound bouncing around.
quote:
The only problem so far, if you want to call it that, is I can’t seem to get my mic dialed in to where I feel it is warm and not hollow sounding. I have been able to get it a lot better but I am still not satisfied completely with the sound 100%.
Please make sure that you are singing directly into the microphone and ideally you want to use close-microphone technique (lips barely brushing the windscreen). As you move away from the windscreen you will probably notice a big difference in the tone, and that difference is rarely desirable.
When you get into the larger space, bypass the reverb (see instructions below) and then turn up to full performance volume and sing. You should hear plenty of natural reverb coming back to you from the room. Adding electronic reverb where there’s already plenty in the room can muddy up the sound, or make it sound hollow and ringy, and lower the intelligibility.
To bypass the reverb,
- Select the channel you are using for your microphone and press Ch Edit
- Turn the Rotary selector to Reverb
- Press the leftmost button under the display to set it to Mix: Bypass.
Please tell us how it all sounds at the rehearsal.
ST
Please make sure that you are singing directly into the microphone and ideally you want to use close-microphone technique (lips barely brushing the windscreen). As you move away from the windscreen you will probably notice a big difference in the tone, and that difference is rarely desirable.
Please tell us how it all sounds at the rehearsal.
ST
Thanks ST.
I actually do “eat” the mic when I sing. Most of the time I can feel the hairs on my goatee brushing the windscreen. I realized long ago if you do this, with any system, you are far less likely to have to strain your voice to sound how you actually do without a mic. Thankfully that is not a technique that I have to remember to do because I have always done it this way.
I’m thinking some of my problem is that I don’t have the Para eq dialed in. Like I said I tweaked it some already and got a lot better sound but I think there is only going to be so much that I can do in such a small space. I haven’t really added any reverb or delay because I want to get the dry sound dialed in first.
I will post back this evening or tomorrow and let you know how it turned out.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
The Shure PG58, is an economy microphone. the bottom of the Shure line.
I would look into something really nice, an Audix OM5 (what I use)on the low cost end, or a Neumann KMS105 (what ST uses) on the high end.
As the T1 IS a digital instrument, it can sound very bright, I usually knock off between -1.6 and -3 db off the highs, to warm things up.
ST mentions muting the reverb, and I agree, it can add a hollow sound, for sure.
When I feel that I HAVE to have some effects, I find the delay is the most subtle.
I like the Analog, at the default delay time, with the Feedback reduced to 10%, and the Mix reduced to 13%.
It’s barely noticeable, but seems to add a “produced” sound to the vocal.
As far as effects in general, I find that I can hear myself much better, with fuller tone, with no effects added.
See what you think.
quote:Originally posted by Drumr:
Hi Jeff,
The Shure PG58, is an economy microphone. the bottom of the Shure line.
I would look into something really nice, an Audix OM5 (what I use)on the low cost end, or a Neumann KMS105 (what ST uses) on the high end.
As the T1 IS a digital instrument, it can sound very bright, I usually knock off between -1.6 and -3 db off the highs, to warm things up.
ST mentions muting the reverb, and I agree, it can add a hollow sound, for sure.
When I feel that I HAVE to have some effects, I find the delay is the most subtle.
I like the Analog, at the default delay time, with the Feedback reduced to 10%, and the Mix reduced to 13%.
It's barely noticeable, but seems to add a "produced" sound to the vocal.
As far as effects in general, I find that I can hear myself much better, with fuller tone, with no effects added.
See what you think.
1 on what Drumr recommended...
Also, are you gauging the sound from your positions or out in the audience? I ask because there are sometimes that I have felt/heard that hollowness, but musician friends of mine in the audience - and my Zoom recorder - tell me that the sound is great... just thought I mention it...
Hope this helps...
Hey guys. Haven’t had a chance to update since Saturday. We got to practice in a large church and were very pleased with the sound. I didn’t use any reverb or other effects because the church had plenty of natural reverb. The sound was a lot better in the larger space but still not exactly how I want it to sound. We are going to set it up outside this weekend and see how the sound differs from the church.
I’ll keep you guys posted…