Okay, so a little background. I have been making, recording, and mixing music since I was 14. Absolutely, no training whatsoever, just loved music. Now I am 20 and am currently studying Engineering, unfortunately it is Electrical Engineering not for music.

My Setup:
Rode NTK
UA 710 Pre
ART VLA 2 Comp.
Mbox 3rd gen
Mackie Monitors
Mogamis all the way around
and the Sterling VMS.

I feel like I should be getting a way better sound with this setup. I also do not know how to adjust any of this to work coherently. I just try different things and hope it works.

First question to those with much more experience then I:
I would like to upgrade the tube in my Rode NTK. I have gotten two suggestions, the Tesla 6922 and 3rd gen Amperex ECC88, both very afforable. Would you guys chose either one of these, or maybe some other kind?

Second, what are a few things you would change maybe in mic position or some suggestions in how to adjust my gear. The UA is at about 75 percent solid state with the gain on 3 and out on 5. The Comp is at a -2 threshold about 3:1 ratio, 20 attack and .6 release.

PS: My studio is only used for vocal recording. Mainly hip-hop, sometimes R&B.

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Just Learning

The best thing to do is to direct us to an example of the sound you are currently capturing, we can then comment on any possible issues. It could be the recording chain, the acoustic, the mixing or even the performance. Last on most list of improvements to your studio would be the valve in your mic!

By the way, it's great that you're studying electrical engineering. It's very useful for your work as an engineer as well as in many other facets of the industry. You will have a greater chance of employment with this respected degree than the majority of audio engineering qualifications.

J

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www.jackruston.com

Agreed, to both the two posts above. Let's hear what you're getting. Unless your microphone is broken, stop fussing over the valve. It really isn't a big deal.

+1 to the above replies.

Changing the valve in the mic is like changing the shape of the wing mirrors on your car - it may make a difference, but you won't notice it. I've swapped out valves in my own mic's from time to time - it makes so little difference I've stopped doing it.

If you're getting disappointing recordings it has everything to do with how you're approaching it and very little to do with your gear - you certainly should be able to get some acceptable from what ytou have available to you.

The first thing I'd suggest is getting the mic away from your wall.

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

I appreciate everyone's help! I got something that was recorded yesterday, how would I attach it to the thread?

The reason I thought the tube would be a solution is because of the harshness on the high my microphone puts out. And for some reason I cannot find the right frequency cut to take out.

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Just Learning

Quote DroOfficial:

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The reason I thought the tube would be a solution is because of the harshness on the high my microphone puts out. And for some reason I cannot find the right frequency cut to take out.

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You're the second person this month to come along and ask the same question about the same mic. While it may look like a classic German mic, it isn't and it shares all the disadvantages that similar cheap Chinese mics have. Rode mics may be made in Australia nowadays but from your question, and the other one a few days ago, it seems like they still have that zingy Chinese sound which could well be caused by a wrongly tensioned capsule. Neumann keep their tensioning method a closely guarded secret and, for that reason, the Chinese Neumann style capsules sound nothing like the real thing.

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net

That is very true. I knew that achieving the, well, perfectness I have heard from Neumanns would be very difficult. But I think achieving close to professional sounding quality is feasible. The Rode NTK was used in vocals for many bands with major label budgets. I also knows that means major label engineers. On one ocassion I heard it on rapper wiz khalifa on a song called silence I believe, that was recorded in an open hotel room and on rapper lil wayne under same conditions. Both sounded very quiet and 3D.

I feel if I can remove just a little of that zing and add a little 3 dimensionality (not a word), I would be satisfied. Another one of my big concerns would be making all my gear word cohesively.

Does any one know how much it would be to bring in an engineer and set up your gear in the US? Maybe a ballpark?

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Just Learning

Before you do that, read up on gain structure and make sure you're not doing anything silly - including letting the digital record level get too close to 0dB. Then borrow some other microphones (you must know someone with a SM58 :-) and do some test recordings. Make sure you're not obsessing on how the mic sounds with the voice track soloed, judge it in the mix. And do try to find a way to show us what you're talking about - maybe get a free DropBox account and give us the link?

Quote DroOfficial:

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I got something that was recorded yesterday, how would I attach it to the thread?

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You need to upload the trck to some publically-accessoble site, like SoundCloud, and then post a link to it here.

Quote:

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The reason I thought the tube would be a solution is because of the harshness on the high my microphone puts out. And for some reason I cannot find the right frequency cut to take out.

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A different valve might make a small tonal change, but I doubt it would cure the problem you're decribing which is more likely to be due to the inherent 'presence peaks' of the capsule and the way they sit in relation to your own voice harmonic components.

Changing the position and angle of the mic with respect to your mouth might well help to tame the brightness you're complaining of, although it is a known character of the NTK.

It's important to match the mic to the voice, especially with budget mics. High-end mics tend to be more able to get a good and usable sound from any voice, but budget mics usually either work incredibly well, or incredibly badly on a specific voice, and vice versa on another! A mic that sounds great on one vocalist will often sound horrible on another.

Hugh

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Technical Editor, Sound On Sound

I'd sell the NTK ang get something less hyped (say a Gefell UM70) or potentially more versatile (say a Bock 195). I might even go for a combination of these two or throw in a wildcard like an SM7B.

Reg

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Google less; read more!

Here goes one track that was recorded. I did not fully mix down the song just did a little work on it. The volume is probably really low. Its hip-hop btw for those that really dislike not to listen.
I appreciate everyones help!

http://soundcloud.com/droofficial/feel-good-ish-snippet

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Just Learning

I really like that, and i'm an old hippy punk rocker Have you tried an SM58? So many people struggling to find a mic end up there. Well used in your genre too so i'm told.

The vocal tone doesn't sound too bad to me, but they do need a bit more work to polish them. I would get busy with EQ (and I'd be adding a fair old bit of hi-end - maybe using a multi-band compressor) and hard-ish compression to put them at the front of the mix. Maybe grouping the two rap lines and compressing them together might help them sit better. Some de-essing may be necessary by this time.

Some of the backing also needs careful EQ to stop it crowding the vocal.

There's a fair bit of uncontrolled low end (sub-40Hz) in your example. This will be sapping energy from the rest of the mix.

HTH

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An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.

I always appreciate feedback like that Elf. By no means am I a professional, I have learned from observing and thousands of hours in the studio.

I am horrible with the EQ. Most of the time after adding frequencies I am unhappy because it sounds like an over processed vocal, basically unnatural sounding. To that track in particular I added a ton of reverb which I thought was okay with the track, but it may be a reason it is drowning in the mix.

I will definitely give it a try Elf. Thank you.

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Just Learning

Link doesn't work

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'You know it's a bad role when Nic Cage passes on it.'

Is that a really small room and do you record the vocals in there?
If so what is behind the singer when you do it?

If the answer is 'the wall' that won't be helping...

Quote DroOfficial:

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I always appreciate feedback like that Elf. By no means am I a professional, I have learned from observing and thousands of hours in the studio.

I am horrible with the EQ. Most of the time after adding frequencies I am unhappy because it sounds like an over processed vocal, basically unnatural sounding. To that track in particular I added a ton of reverb which I thought was okay with the track, but it may be a reason it is drowning in the mix.

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It's generally better in eq to cut what you don't want rather than boost what you do.

Can you post your example again? It seems to have disappeared.

The minute you said "hip-hop" I thought - yes, DO try a SM58 rather than going for "quality". But I still want to hear what you've done!