mervaka Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 this may sound like a textbook problem, but I'm encountering this same problem time and time again with little resolve, and it absolutely kills any clarity in the vocals. as of late I'm often in a situation where I've either had a vocalist playing the drums, or a guitarist/vocalist standing directly in front of the kit (due to space constraints onstage). when I have a drummer on vox, I hear more snare than vocals, and likewise when I have a guitarist etc in front of the kit, I get a lot of cymbal spill. I'm currently using 58s, and so far I've tried making use of the carioid pattern the 58 has, but to limited degrees of success. can anyone recommend me some good hypercardioid mics for live vocal use, and any other techniques for reducing such spill from drums/amps, given such space constraints? as for the venue: it's quite a shallow stage which arcs around the DJ box. I also realise the fact that I'm running a 2 way system (EV SX500s) isn't helping the matter either. these will also in time be replaced, though probably with another 2 way system.. I'm looking at the turbosound TXD/TXP tops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 the system shouldn't make any difference really. If it's getting in, it'll come out again. I try to use a Beta57 on drum vocals and this seems to work rather well. the Audix Om7 has a nice pattern to it too, though you have to be careful with either, if the vocalist doesn't have great technique they can disappear completely from the mix. Above all, it's vital that the vocalist sings into the mic, not somewhere not far off that'll do. Get it right up to their face, and explain to them that if they back off a couple of inches, they'll disappear and wont be heard. If their mic technique is anything like, you wont need to tell them this so they will move in and out from the mic as necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mervaka Posted December 13, 2007 Author Share Posted December 13, 2007 one guy in particular on drums on monday insisted he wanted it up high pointing down.. I left him to it after he changed it back mid set. vocal technique is often a problem for me, because I see a different set of bands/artists each week, and I'm often back to square one when getting people to sing into mics properly. too often is the case where kids are too quiet, older people have bad technique, and teenagers have no technique at all! anyway, I'll see if I can add an OM7 or two to my arsenal.. :) I suppose I'm being daft about the system.. I was just reading a topic on 2 way vs 3 way systems prior to writing this thread! thamls rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 When this sort of spill is a problem, I tend to reach for the Audix mics in my my kit. Besides sounding nicer in general than SM58s they are also very good at rejecting off-axis sound (which helps your GBF as well by the way). In normal circumstances an OM6 is usually a big improvement, but for extremes I've recently purchased an OM7 which works really well. The only downside is that, because of the very tight pattern, the vocalist has to stay right in front of the mic.That said, OM6 and OM7 mics are about the only ones I've ever used that caused the musos to ask about them after the gig because they liked the sound so much...Bob Edit to add that I bought my OM7 from Ratsound who have a very good deal going right now on "Z" Stock mics (i.e. ex showroom dem units) and I just checked their web site and they seem to have some more HERE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkPAman Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Nothing new to add really! OM7 is the mic I (almost) allways choose for drum vocals. Thanks for that link Bob, I may get another one........or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 I'm rather partial to a Bey M201 with foam shield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Ross Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 I feel your pain brother! One of the bands I work for has a singing drummer so far I have tried a few things and now use a sennheiser E845s as the mic and have an expander inserted on his channel to give a few more dB reduction when he is not singing. But the one biggest thing I did to improve the sound was have him listen to a live multitrack recording I did of them and solo his mic, he now sings about an 1" away and not 1'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesperrett Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 As a drummer who occasionally does backing vocals, my favourite mic position is to have the stand behind me to the left with the boom coming down at a steep angle over my left shoulder. The mic is horizontal with the back facing just above the top of the hihat stand. This means that most of the often used parts of the kit are behind or to the side of the mic while, due to the boom coming down from a high point on the mic stand, there is very little to get in the way of my playing. Cheers James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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