San Diego, California, USA
| StoreTags: mic, rode, reality check
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People who enjoyed reading this: astroid, bb01, Fredo, Moriarty, Analog, Unknownforce, chimplogic, populus, room, deltasleep, energygiant, DrexonField, mixedtape
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So a couple weeks ago I picked up a nice new mic - a Rode NT2-A (that's it sitting in front of my krk) - for $400. Ouch! But when I got it home and started tracking with it I instantly understood what I had paid for... clarity. This thing is clear, crisp and accurate! Almost too much so. I'm not the greatest vocalist in the world - far from it - but every once in a while I can carry a tune. But with this mic that proved harder than I thought. Everything's so transparent that even the most minute voice inflections and subtle pitch changes are revealed - making it a completely different experience than other mics that I've used. Needless to say, my first vocal sessions with the new mic were more than frustrating. And while I don't think I've begun to sing much better yet, over the long run I'll have to.
If you're interested, you can hear my latest vocal mixes here: link
Just check out the flash player about halfway down. The vocals are far from perfect, but the difference in quality between this mic and previous recordings is quite large. | |
Comments
11/29/07
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energygiant
i think what youre talking about, xLefr, will come with time and confidence.
and i agree, people tend to do things way better when they do them with a degree of intent and tenacity....so keep it up paperpilot!!!
+1 trillion for microphones
11/29/07
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xLefr
energygiant: You get it
My hypothesis is simply that singing louder is a shortcut to 'that place'.
11/29/07
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mixedtape
xLefr said: "energygiant: You get it
My hypothesis is simply that singing louder is a shortcut to 'that place'."
Yes, though not necessarily louder but with more control through the diaphragm and not the throat.
An exercise to find your diaphragm is to put your hands on your belly, breath in but only let the hair fill your belly so that your hands move. Don't fill your chest, push that air down so your hands are moving. That is your diaphragm. The next step would be learning how to use it.
The results will absolutely be louder but with a lot more control and you'll find you can actually use your breath longer this way with practice.
11/29/07
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mixedtape
^ edit: "but only let the air fill your belly"
hair would be gross 
11/29/07
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astroid
ppp, i think it's kinda silly that everyone is picking you to pieces, me included. but, i think that probably means your stuff is pretty cool
just wanted to mention that
11/29/07
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mixedtape
lol yeah. well as I said in my previous comment, I think you're songs are great. I do think autotune could easily be a general topic for another blog and cause 20 pages of comments though.
11/29/07
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paperpilot
good points, xlefr. i get what you're trying to say: sing louder and the vocals will contain more expression and dynamics and maybe i wouldn't have to rely on effects to get where i want to be. for some reason i find that as i start to sing louder i introduce a tinniness into my voice that i'm not particularly fond of (which is probably a result of what mixedtape is talking about with the diaphragm). that and i'm actually going for a somewhat subdued vocal. it gives a level of intimacy that i'm shooting for. but i'm always open to ideas so i'll try it out in the future.
astroid and mixedtape, gotcha. the feedback everyone gets here is some of the best out there. all the suggestions are solid and it helps to hear them, especially as they reinforce our own misgivings about our music.
so thanks, everyone, for the comments. it's nice to get feedback other than, "it sounds good" or "not my cup of tea." you can't do much with those.
11/29/07
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xLefr
Criticism sucks. It's also great. I dunno. Hard to do. Should one do it?
paperpilot: thanks for the response, this is exactly what I was wondering about - what happens. INTERESTING! Singing is in such a weird place between showing people your privates and operating exquisite machinery.
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