I'd like to achieve a lo-fi sound for my music. I know this isn't going to be trivial, but I have to start somewhere, so I'm starting with getting that sound out of the vocals. I'd like to simply get a less clean sound.
Prime example:
I've made some steps towards this goal. I've bought an older dynamic microphone. You can see it used in this performance:
So I've got the mic, but I'm not sure how they get that sound. So one idea was to put the gain way up on my interface, so I guess the sound kinda clips, but I'm not sure if that is the right way or if it's even safe for my gear.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Considering how many bands use these lo-fi techniques I'm a bit surprised about how hard it is to find info on how to do it.
Don't clip your converters by turning up the gain on your interface! If you have a separate preamp you could try driving that, but it's almost never a good idea to clip your converters on the way in.
Use a distortion plugin on the vocals. If I'm doing that, I usually use parallel processing - either duplicate the vocal track or use a send to an aux channel. Then you blend the two to get the balance of distortion and intelligibility you want.
Use a distortion plugin on the vocals. If I'm doing that, I usually use parallel processing - either duplicate the vocal track or use a send to an aux channel. Then you blend the two to get the balance of distortion and intelligibility you want.
Nice! Thanks, that soudns good. I was actually playing around after I posted this question and tried to use a guitar distortion plugin. It sounded way too harsh and I didn't know how to make it less so. Didn't think of using two signals. Thanks for that. Can you recommend a distortion plugin for vocals? Or is a guitar pedal good enough?
Also, a technical question. If I have a track with a vocal on, an dmake a send to a track with the distortion effect, I'll get a double signal, right? Is there a way to automatically make it dynamic, so that the signal is reduced on the original track, depending on how much is sent to the fx track? (I never did understand this, if I'm using a reverb this works as intended but with some other plugins the signal is doubled, why the difference?)
imo everything that is an somewhat emulation of an Ibanez Tube Screamer works great for vocals. probably any guitar pedal emulation with 3 knobs will do.
Nice! Thanks, that soudns good. I was actually playing around after I posted this question and tried to use a guitar distortion plugin. It sounded way too harsh and I didn't know how to make it less so. Didn't think of using two signals. Thanks for that. Can you recommend a distortion plugin for vocals? Or is a guitar pedal good enough?
It totally depends on what you're going for. For something like the example you posted above, I'd use something more like a desk or preamp distortion. You could try Klanghelm's IVGI free distortion plugin: http://www.klanghelm.com/index.php
Here's a set of free impulse responses that I've used on distorted vocals to good effect. Go to the bottom of the page and download the "Speakers and Telephones" .wav pack. These can give that nasal bullhorn type effect.
Also, a technical question. If I have a track with a vocal on, an dmake a send to a track with the distortion effect, I'll get a double signal, right? Is there a way to automatically make it dynamic, so that the signal is reduced on the original track, depending on how much is sent to the fx track? (I never did understand this, if I'm using a reverb this works as intended but with some other plugins the signal is doubled, why the difference?)
With reverb, the level of it is usually lower than the channel you're sending. I create a bus to control the overall level of parallel tracks, but there are other ways. Here's a video and some other tips:
imo everything that is an somewhat emulation of an Ibanez Tube Screamer works great for vocals. probably any guitar pedal emulation with 3 knobs will do.
Yeah, I like Tube Screamer type distortion on vocals too.
Also, a technical question. If I have a track with a vocal on, an dmake a send to a track with the distortion effect, I'll get a double signal, right? Is there a way to automatically make it dynamic, so that the signal is reduced on the original track, depending on how much is sent to the fx track? (I never did understand this, if I'm using a reverb this works as intended but with some other plugins the signal is doubled, why the difference?)
Coming back to this, yes there is (although I just use the bus to control overall level); you can group the tracks and have their gain group inverse - meaning when you raise one it lowers the other. I wouldn't recommend that though, as you'll find it harder to get the right blend at the right level for the mix.
If I want a clean vocal with a bit of distortion, I'll turn the distorted channel to -inf dB, then bring it up to get the right blend.
If I want a distorted vocal with a bit of clean for intelligibility, I'll turn the clean channel to -inf dB, then bring it up to get the right blend.
As for reverb and distortion on "lo-fi" vocals, I've had some luck with a low-cut(high pass) filter in the send after the reverb or distortion. While I doubt it will work in every instance, it is another possible road to the sound you are looking for.
I've tried out IVGI Klanghelm distortion and it's GREAT, it's the alternative to the guitar pedal that I was looking for. It creates a more natural sounding distortion, much like in the first example I posted. Thanks so much for that tip!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Judders
Here's a set of free impulse responses that I've used on distorted vocals to good effect. Go to the bottom of the page and download the "Speakers and Telephones" .wav pack. These can give that nasal bullhorn type effect.
I'm guessing you forgot to put a link there. But I've not heard of impulse responses yet, so looking forward to learning that, thanks!
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I'll definitely buy a harmonica mic sometime in the future, this is not the first time I've heard of their greatness.
I can't wait for the weekend, so many things to try out and learn! Thanks so much guys!
I guess this will be a useful thread for other people to stumble upon, so if anyone has more suggestions, ideas, tutorials, plugins or anything, I think we should keep posting.
I've tried out IVGI Klanghelm distortion and it's GREAT, it's the alternative to the guitar pedal that I was looking for. It creates a more natural sounding distortion, much like in the first example I posted. Thanks so much for that tip!
I'm guessing you forgot to put a link there. But I've not heard of impulse responses yet, so looking forward to learning that, thanks!
<--->
I'll definitely buy a harmonica mic sometime in the future, this is not the first time I've heard of their greatness.
I can't wait for the weekend, so many things to try out and learn! Thanks so much guys!
I guess this will be a useful thread for other people to stumble upon, so if anyone has more suggestions, ideas, tutorials, plugins or anything, I think we should keep posting.
Geting a lo-fi vocal sound (examples inside)
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