How to EQ Your Vocal Mic | Frequency Response Optimization
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- čas přidán 29. 07. 2024
- By request! Get the best sound from the vocal mic you already own and save time in the mixing process. We'll cover simple techniques to optimize frequency response while recording vocals.
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I’ve been doing this for a couple years and felt like I was doing something wrong and here you are with the confirmation I needed ! Thank you 🙏🏽
Talking..... this is your talent?
You have helped me improve my sound so much. You are very much appreciated my guy. Your detailed descriptions are easy to follow and your experience enlightens each bit of information you provide.
Appreciate that Bryan, means a lot 🙌🙏
Been watching your videos since 2018.
I'm a believer and an artist too. And I'm happy to say your videos have have helped me record, mix and master my own music.
Thank you for all the value you provide on this channel.
Really appreciate the feedback Monte, happy hear it's been helpful! 🙏
I WAS LITERALLY HEADING TO REPLACE MY 103, THIS WAS THE FIX I NEEDED, SOUNDS LIKE A WHOLE DIFFERENT MIC, THANKS SEAN
Amazing video Sean (As Always) Full of helpful and useful information! Thank you x
your content has helped me so much over the years with mixing. THANK YOU
Glad to hear that Bravado 🙌
Yoo I've been looking for so many videos like this for this specific mic... Thank you my guy!!
Thanks for the great video, Sean! I also really enjoy your vocal rhythm and phrasing. Lots of variation.
Appreciate that John!
This is great. I just purchased a 103 and I’ve been having issues with the highs. I will try this next time I record. Thanks. 👍
I dislike that videos like this don’t get rewards because it deserves a reward
Appreciate that! It's a reward to know it was helpful 🙏
Mix one of my tracks 😢Fire take a time give a Ear AOG I got some new stuff too. Godbless
Holy shit man i just started recording my raps which i have been writing for a couple years but never had confidence to record now i have the confidence and i started recording and learning all this stuff a week ago had 10 songs recorded and mixed but i knew there was stuff i needed to learn still before they are ready to be shown to the world and oh my god this video i didnt have any of the plugins you used but understanding your explanation could make do with what i do have and holy shit its like light and day the recording and for some reason i can now flow much better on a beat im so confused but wtf you just fixed my recordings and my flow in 10 minutes i love you man
I know this is splitting hairs, but that hardware eq was in fact, just a bit smoother than the VEQ4. The hardware really tamed the high end and the mic was buttery smooth. The VEQ4 was able to tame down the high end, but it wasn't as smooth to my ears, on my monitors. Great video per usual.
Bro thank you!
I have been frustrated trying to EQ my mic for all these years, but all I needed to know was the dynamic processing chapter. Something so simple lol
Sean is giving us great engineering tips,but we gotta admit he dropped some 🔥 bars in this video also!
I appreciate that 😊🙏
My dude got bars for sureee I enjoyed the engineering portion of it, but when he switched over into artist mode I was like well damnnn because I don’t know alot of engineering guys that drop their own material it’s usually someone else’s work but he earned a new sub and my respect for that for sure 💯 let’s gooo
@@UnderratedGrindENT facts man !
Always dropping gems, and you've been a blessing on my journey to leveling up my production & mixing. I see you bro #ChristUp
Much love D, glad to hear it's helping you level up! 🙏
The TLM 103 was my first "pro mic". Great mic overall; VERY low self-noise (to this day, maybe the mic that has the lowest self-noise of any mic I've used... probably the fact it's transformerless). But like you mentioned, not flattering on every source especially sources that have a more present midrange. I've also started to realize a lot of the hyped mics were developed to pair with analog recording mediums like tape machines and other devices that add those odd harmonics by default. So I think cutting top end on vocals especially in a DAW environment makes a lot of sense. I've noticed myself finding frequencies that sound "brittle" or "sharp" up there and pulling them back more and more.
I had that problem with harsh top end with my tlm 102 and you saved me. Thank you so much!!!
Glad it helped Jakob 🙌
This is great, thanks Sean. I have a Lewitt mic for voiceover. has amazing detail but also some bumps at the top end which can be harsh. Will try out your proq3 ideas with the freq response graph. Look forward to watching more. Subbed !
Thanks Sean. Your Videos are 💯!!!
This is so Educational thanks for sharing ❤
Killin it I appreciate you !
Always on point 🙏🏽💃🏽
sean very great tip
Bro you got the Portico Channel sick! I love the EQ on that thing, I had one through the studio one day. I miss it TBH! Also a huge fan of the Portico Compressor, so transparent and natural!
Right on! Yep, the compressor is really special on that one :)
Seems to me like you're truly are Divine haha, you always seems to drop the perfect tutorial right when I need it! I have a TLM103 as well and I've been using your vocal chains the last couple of years and the two worked amazing together, only thing I noticed is the siblance would would be ear piercing and I'd have to De-ess a lot and it would muddy up the vocals, this is gonna be a lot of difference! Thanks a lot for all you do brother and God bless 🙏🏽
Glad the vocal chains have helped :) The 103 may be the pickiest mic ever when it comes to EQ in the top end, in my experience... hope this smooths it out for you 🙌🙏
I'm struggling with 103's 6k and above region as well. I found that FabFilter's De-Esser works really well on smoothing it out though, better than some other de-essers in my experience
@@sadoromi Nice one! A good deesser can do a lot of work for you 👍
this is revolutionary info. thank you so much.
Yessir, glad to help!
DANG!!!! Thats hot Sean.. Excellent tutorial.. I am going to try this with the RodeNT!..
Very, very interesting! Thank you! 👍🏻👏🏻🙏🏻
thanks dude!!!!
Ok SEANNNN… I haven’t even you rap like this yet. I’m also an artist and producer who has recently switched to logic from recording on FL. So naturally the algorithm led me to you 😂. I love that you rep the faith and I believe you self produce. Love that bro. Haven’t even finished the video yet but took a moment to tell u that bro🏆‼️
Appreciate the kind words Charlee, hoping you find some helpful Logic content on the channel! 🙏
Great video, this will help my production a lot thanks
Glad it was helpful D
BRAVO!
I have a tlm 103, I gotta go make some adjustments on the eq on all my songs now, THANKS SEAN😒🤣💪🏾💎
THANK YOU!!!!
Very very good audio engineering lesson. In my opinion, the ability to use eq and secondly compression is the most important skill an engineer has.
Years ago we would pay specific people to come in and set up the pres, eqs, and compression before tracking drums at larger studios. Not because the engineers working at them or the different producers we worked with could not do it well, but because the people we sought did it so well it paid for itself multiple times over. You essentially could not mess up the recording after they spend an hour or 2 getting everything dialed in.
Some people have a gift when it come to this but you can definitely learn and get better at it just like anything else.
Well said!
Très bien expliqué merci beaucoup pour vos vidéos très intéressantes
Merci!
Thank you, you don’t even know how helpful this was
Glad to help!
To be honest bro you help me a lot,
Thank you so much.
Glad to help 🙌🙏
@@SeanDivine we need to talk.
I will DM U ON IG.
NICE!!!
That recording hacks website is slick!
nice tutorial
Watching from Zimbabwe 🇿🇼
That portico is everything.
It's pretty nice! :)
Bonne video merci.
Came over here to check if you had any comments on the Waves debacle but it’s dead quiet round here (I guess a case of don’t bite the hand that feeds you) 🤫 🤐 😂 ..how ever found this video, and it’s amazing! 👍
I have an AT2020 mic. How will I know what EQ settings to use to make it sound like this mic? I'm have no knowledge
Went to that microphone hacks website and I cannot figure out how you were able to compare freq responses on there… help please!
super cool , I 'm very in this option to use hardware to have less corrections to do after recording, and also I use hw for its colour. It seems you have no latency with the vst...i use rme fireface ucx and i have a little, which is a bit problematic for recording / monitoring thru plugins
It depends on the plugins - VEQ4 and Pro Q3 are zero latency. If you can drop your I/O buffer settings in the DAW below 256, that helps too!
Love
is it worth replacing if i already own SM7B ?
Awesome video!!!! Crazy thats the mic thats on my list of things to get! this video came at the right time! I do love the boost it gives though! So what youre saying is just match the frequency of that mic. and dont have to necessarily have to buy that Mic. correct?
The idea is to find the frequency response of your mic and then you can adjust it to save time in the mix and better match your vocal :)
How do you record that plugin eq wet in Logic Pro?
I'm a sibilant vocalist, but I personally have always gotten amazing results with the TLM 103. But then again, I like a bright sound. And was the OC-818's curve really that different? They both had a substantial bump in the sibilance range. The only difference I noticed was that Austrian Audio has a dip at 8k after the 5k bump. 8k is actually an area I like to boost, so I'm not sure how useful that would be to me. Your OC-818 does sound really good on your voice though.
It might not look that different on paper but as you can hear, the mics sound very different. OC18 is still bright and detailed but much less harsh than the 103 for my voice and artists I tracked. That being said, if it sounds great on your vocal, it’s the right mic 👍
The lyrics 🔥🔥🔥🔥
🙏
A big fans from Sierra leone 🇸🇱🇸🇱🇸🇱🇸🇱💥💥💥💥💥
I get alot of mouth noise too with the 103 it sounds like someone stirring mac and cheese in the background of my vocal 😂
It's a sensitive mic, for sure 🤣
you are best
I ll try this tomorrow...10 years with TLM 103 and i still havent found the vocal chain 4 my voice😢...
Also i noticed the same when i compared my blue kiwi mic with Telefunken tf29 ; the TF appeared to be really warmer ; but if i eq the KIWI it was very very close.
Nice one! Heard good things about the tf29.
Would love to see a video on the shure sm7b with enhancing that response
I’ll see what I can do!
Thanks for the great tutorial as always, quick question, if a mic it’s super muddy what frequency you will cut more? I purchase a kaotic eyeball and I found that since then, the vocals seems to be a lot more muddy. And another thing I struggle a lot is after I finished a song, in my headphones and monitor it sounds not too bad, but when I listen to it in my car I feel like there’s a blanket on my whole mix and it doesn’t sound as good as I hear it inside my headphones. Any tips on fixing that ? Thanks as always !
Generally, I cut 200-500hz to clear out muddy vocals. Also, cutting a bit higher on the HPF can help - try cutting closer to 150hz!
I have an eyeball too, i usually add about a 3db boost at 10k and it seems to solve the problem. Also cut abit in the lower mids.
I think it’s that your microphone is literally covered!!! Test listening to a recording with no eyeball on then try with it and just see how much dynamics, volume, and clarity the eyeball is taking out
I wish I could do this but my AKG Ara doesn't have any frequency response graph in the whole internet..
Fire as always!!!!!! what's the rupert neve EQ hardware you using?
Thanks! It's the Portico II channel...not the MBP :)
Do you think it’s possible to do all of this with only the fab filter ? I got a akg c214 and horrible bright top end . Having. Trouble getting rid of those harsh frequencies
Yep! Fabfilter Pro DS - czcams.com/video/-pUvf09bWNo/video.htmlfeature=shared
Hello Sean!
I noticed the frequency response of your recording in pro q3 is very linear. I record at home and my frequency curve looks more like a smiley face - with a very raised top and bottom and a failed middle. Do you think this is a problem with my room or the voice and recording process? I'm recording on the shure sm 7b and rode nt1000, about 6 inches from the mic, small wooden room (9x10').
It could be a combination of different things. First thing would be to try the tips in this video (HPF, tame the top end). Otherwise, a bit of compression during tracking will help even things out also.
@@SeanDivine Thanx Sean, I will definitely try it!
I have a problem. I have a tlm 102 going into the Apollo solo and the Aston Halo. As soon as I record my vocals are super bassy and it clashes with the beat and sounds distorted. If I back off I get too much room noise (untreated bedroom as Homestudio) what do I do to get clean crispy vocals? Because this problem is really killing my creative vibe :/
EQ accordingly (watch this video). Use a HPF and cut around 100hz - 250hz.
I dont know if you ever noticed but for some reason music sounds different on CZcams vs raw audio forms just wondering if your trained ears caught on for some time I thought my masters was off untill they was uploaded on CZcams
It's a combination of the encoding and the normalization (-13 LUFS currently). It doesn't fundamentally change the sound of music - just makes it quieter in most cases.
How do you eq the mic then record vocals in a daw? Do you record through that track then drag where you want to put the other vocals? Or do you bus it?
For tracking, I’d put the EQ directly as an insert to avoid any latency. Then come mix time, use busses / aux tracks.
@@SeanDivine thank you for the reply!
Trying to find the specs to make my rode nt1 sound like a tlm 103 but the website doesn't show me the option! Please help
They won't sound exactly the same but you could compare the frequency response curves for each mic, then adjust appropriately.
@@SeanDivine yeah I get that but I can't find the carts for either and it didn't pullup on that app
Amen My Brudda #StandOnBlessings #ReshapingMyHeart #UhhOhhh
Let’s goooo
Nicee
Is there any way I could send you a track to hear your feedback on it?
I'm trying to figure out how to do this for my AKG P220 any help would be appreciated
Looks like that mic has substantial boosts at 50hz and 10K, so I would attenuate at least a few dB at those points for starters.
@@SeanDivine I appreciate your help always! 🙏🏾
I have tlm 102. What frequencies would I cut to smooth it out
The 102 has a significant boost in the top end as well. I would set a wider Q on the EQ at 10K and reduce a few dB.
@@SeanDivine thanks Sean!! Love your videos man. You have helped me a lot. God bless
What do you use if you just have logic stock plug-ins
Same thing. Just use the eq. And then use the multiband compressor in logic. The stock one 😊
Or use the console eq that is actually modelled on a Neve
Really Good Video! Thank's for the great Tips and Tricks
do you use the dynamics eq in conjuction with eqing mic??
I do, depending on how much taming is needed. Nothing wrong with doing both but I’d back off the dynamic eq intensity in this case.
@@SeanDivine ok, guess I'm a bit confused.
So I'd Eq the mic to match as closely as possible. Then I'd use a preamp to further get that sound together? Also is it better to do this during tracking or just after efx?
@@royalinvasionproductionstv6370 Yes, technically the preamp will color the sound a bit also but that's before it hits the EQ that we're applying here. When you EQ it is up to you. If you're not as comfortable using an EQ while tracking, a non-destructive plugin will be the better option so you're not stuck with it if you don't like it afterwards.
Would it matter if i used this before i record or after
No rules, up to you! If you're not comfortable with tracking with EQ yet, you may want to wait so you don't mess up the recording.
What's your vox hardware chain.. Neve portico? Babyface?
For this video, Aphex Pre - Portico II - UFX
I think is a really good tool though after all we still editing our vocals no matter what mic or preamp we got.
The track will tell us what we they need no matter what mic we use, BUT I know a good mic according to the singer is a plus.
Can you show the settings on a Avalon plug-in or hardware?
It would be the same approach - on the Avalon, set the high mid band between 550hz and 1k, then activate frequency x10. That should put you right around 7k. The SC mids can also be used as a dynamic processor, so I think the 737 is great for taming stuff like this.
@@SeanDivine I’m not understanding because there’s so many buttons on the EQ side can you send me a picture of the way you would have a sit you can use the demo version if you don’t have it the plug-in but I’m actually using the hardware
I sent you a message about it on Instagram
Do you still have and use the Rode K2?
Yes and yes!
I was very interested until you mentioned Waves. I don't even know what's that. I am a beginner and I'm only starting to unferstand reaper and Audacity. I have a Rode Nt Usb with a similar Frequency response and I don't know what to do...☹️
The plugins all generally work the same. Start with what you have. Waves is a level up when you're ready.
How do you get rid of that muddy sound n make that clear vocals whats your email i want you to hear what im talking about
HPF (try cutting towards 150hz) and cut between 200 - 700hz
💯
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
The preamp makes a real difference.
Sure does!
Microphones with hyped highs can also get even more hyped as you add effects.
I prefer the TLM 102 over the TLM 103. Through a neve a TLM 102 , c414 or any mic sounds like butter.
So this is basically what all those “mic emulators” do huh
I have am alternative to this method and it's called Antares's Mic Mod Plugin. I always put it on my main vocal chain and set it to modulate whatever mic i want then i just EQ the sound from there.
this is confusing. im using studio one 5 and my mic sounds terrible. I just want to sound normal haha but maybe in the future I will understand this a lot more.
It takes time and experience. You’ll get there though! I have lots of mixing and recording tutorials on my channel that should hopefully get you going!
@@SeanDivine thanks bro!
the charts don't show up. it just shows a blank box with a blue question mark in the middle.
Noyman!!!
Justs the same to me no difference at all
Why this man is so look like Mr beast 😹
Audiotestkitchen graphs are far more accurate
I'll check it out, thanks!
You the Fucking 🐐
Tom Brady of engineering
Won’t let me buy from your store with my cash app card