Have a vocalist that sounds like he has too much saliva in his mouth...
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Posted on Apr 21, 2010 11:37 am
Indellable
Music Afficionado
Member Since: Aug 12, 2008
Can EQ help with this? He speaks fine in person but almost sounds like he has a lisp once he gets going on something fast. Too much saliva just builds up and you can hear it. He is so talented but it is distracting, even to an average listener - is there a specific range I should be looking to take out to help with this?
If I were ever sucessful posting things on this site (MP3s, pics, etc) I would post it up so you could hear it but figured I would at least ask the question in the meantime. I think I may be blocked from posting from my work.
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HippieRockstar Vatican AssassinMember
Since: Mar 20, 2009
Apr 21, 2010 12:35 pm Sounds like you need a de-esser plugin to me. Although I would imagine you could take out some of the higher frequencies (like anything > 2kHz) via EQ to at least lessen the amount of salivating sounds in your mix. You may even want to experiment with a noise gate... hone in on the frequency and drop it!!
Other than that, try using a different mic (perhaps) and/or investing in a spit shield.... or even have your singer stand back a bit from the mic.
ondrayMember
Since: Sep 14, 2009
Apr 22, 2010 01:03 am Do you have a compressor in the chain while recording the vocal. A compressor could be set in a way that the low sound (the saliva) is being compressed upwards and increasing the volume. I've seen this happen. Or maybe he just needs a shot of whiskey :)
And then you probably need to eq, de-ess and such.
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
Apr 22, 2010 04:13 am I get the feeling the way saliva and lisps affect speech would cover too much of the spectrum to be eq'd out. Though i know u cant train the lisp out of someone Im sure with enough practice and attention it can be kept in check. There are tons of great vocalists with lisps and other speech oddities and ultimately if ur vocalist wants to excel he will have to overcome this problem.
He cant exactly carry around a de-saliva rig to everyone of his performances.
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
Apr 22, 2010 05:37 am just record the vox in small salivaless increments.
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
Apr 22, 2010 09:52 am Crazy.
I'm with crux on this one... I'm pretty sure 'salvitory-sounds' would cover a rather wide spectrum. I also don't think the 'spit-shield' would do anything to stop him from sounding like he has a mouthfull of spit, either... might be a good idea, just the same, though. If there is actually enough saliva building up in his mouth that it can be noticed over the PA... it's most likely the equivelant of a dam that's about to burst. 8 p,;,;, The good news is that it can be corrected by either performance, or recording techniques... swallow/spit, and comp'(compile) the vox tracks.(as Deon suggested.)
I have a friend that will, on occasion, start coughing out of the blue... in the middle of the sentence. When asked if they were alright, and the usual "what happened", they reply... "I started choking on my spit.". (Which cracks everybody up) Perhaps this may be a more common issue than is expected.
Apr 25, 2010 08:27 am Can you hear the saliva sound when he sings without a microphone? Basically when he sings on his own without any FX (eg. compressor etc). Let me know!
IndellableMusic AfficionadoMember
Since: Aug 12, 2008
Apr 25, 2010 09:42 pm Thanks for the replies. I posted up a song on my Profile. He is the 2nd verse.
I mainly use a BLUE Bluebird with its own buit-in pop shield and another standard one. It is running through a Focusrite Voicemaster Platinum which is compressing and has a De-esser before it hits the board - I know, I know, but I do like adding a little bit of compression early in the stage. Maybe I need to adjust the de-esser for him specifically but the point about the compressor amplifying it may be an issue too.
He sounds fine when he talks, no real speech impedement, its just when he gets going on a mic trying to fit a lot of words into a given bar. Plus, I record dozens of other people on the same set up and he is the only one that is so audible in this sense. Worst part is, he is rediculously talented. I guess some people just need to work on "saliva control" like breath control.
Apr 25, 2010 10:01 pm Ya, i see what you're saying lol. A little bit would just add character, but thats distracting. Best thing to do would probably be cleaning it up at the source. Hopefully he's an understanding guy who's open to constructive criticism.
Quincysanhttp://www.unitedmusicians.infoContributor
Since: Nov 11, 2007
Apr 29, 2010 07:56 pm I've listened to this three time now. You're all crazy. I hear what you're talking about, but what is so bad about it?
In my opinion this is a non-issue. If he's happy with it let it slide; it doesn't sound bad. I have a feeling that's the sound he's going for. Hip hop vocals are about rhythm; maybe he thinks of the sibilance as a vocal hi hat? I'm more concerned by the dominating level of the swelling synth that's panned to the left through the verses. That acoustic guitar sample is so very fake, it wouldn't take took much effort to track a guitar and loop it. I'm really surprised everyone had a problem with that verse...You're all wrong!!! haha
The reverb you have on the "Sleep, laugh" parts and the "Shooooow me a sign" thing by the same vocalist could be optimized to get rid of that cutting sibilance. Not sure what verb you're using but the one I use, CSR, has a hi cut that can be calibrated in intensity and frequency. It's like a high shelf EQ built into the plugin. You could accomplish the same thing with a shelf EQ but my verb sounds more natural when I use the plugin's hicut so you might scope out whether your verb does too.
I'd also tune the "hey, hey" at the beginning. Something's flat in there.
Sweet little intro, love that! I can't tell you how much more I would like this with at least one real guitar.
Apr 30, 2010 12:46 am have him drink apple juice before tracking
keep plenty of room temperature water handy
no smoking before tracking ;)
Apr 30, 2010 08:37 pm I swear that said salvia, lol.
skeg0www.dorian-music.co.ukMember
Since: Apr 04, 2008
May 10, 2010 10:29 am hmm.. sounds like the reverb or double tracking to me?? the slight delay between the vocal tracks, or the delay apparent in the reverb seems to give out a high-freq-saliva-sounding click just after it should be, which makes it noticable.. I would probably assume its the reverb/delay causing it, and its not actually the vocalist. maybe reduce the high end on the reverb or reduce the amount on the track and see if it goes away?
