Amplification "tricks" to disguise poor vocals?

[YamaYairi]

I found this picture on the internet.
The diaphragm is underneath your lungs. When you breath in, the diaphragm relaxes and drops down, creating a vacuum and drawing air into the lungs. In order for this to happen efficiently, your abdominal muscles must move out when you breath in.
When you exhale, the diaphragm tightens and lifts, pushing air out of your lungs, and the abs need to help support the diaphragm by moving in. If properly done, the support even involves the lower muscles in your groin somewhat. When you breath properly, your chest should be expanded and stay that way, and your abs should move in and out.
When you stand, raise your arms above your head. Your chest will expand. Now lower your arms but keep the chest in the same position. That's the position you need to sing in. Don't let your chest sag when you breath out.
The most important part of proper singing is breathing and support. You have to support the breath with your diaphragm.The abs have to work with the diaphragm. There is a trick you can use to see how proper breathing should work. Lay down on the floor (on your back) and put your hand on your abdomen, breathing normally. You will feel your abdomen rise when you inhale and fall when you exhale. Notice your chest does not rise and fall. When you stand, you want to expand your chest, so your lungs can fill, and have your abdomen move in the same way as when lying down.
Stand next to a wall. Prop a hard cover book between your abdomen and the wall and lean into it a bit so it won't fal. Breath normally and you should feel yourself push back away from the wall when you inhale and move closer to the wall as you exhale. Now try to sing like this.

[myersbw]

I won't knock the need for vocal health. Visit voicecouncil (find it on TC Helicon's site) and you'll find a ton of great advice for vocal improvement.

That said, I agree with the key transposition for your range. Also, how's your area for allergies? I'm in SW Ohio and the pollen stinks here. I have very mild allergies and, in the past few years, discovered I have a slight allergy CONTINUALLY!

I typically will have to take a guaffeneisen sometimes...and I get a half octave more of range when I do. I'd never promote drugs, but for me this removed the Ohio Valley cruds when necessary. (not often)

I do have a TCHelicon Harmony G-XT and LOVE it! I set it on voice-double with no harmonies as the default. Then, the second setting is a 5th above and no double. Works extremely well for me.

All the best!

[Marty C]

I have a Loudbox mini and don't like my vocals through it. My guitar sounds great, but the vocals don't come through well. No amount of EQ or reverb seems to help.

I tried several things: 1. TC Helicon Play Acoustic. Helps a lot with compression and much better effects for vocals. 2. Consider a different option for your vocal. If you stay small, a small powered speaker. If you can swing a TC Helicon unit to help with some small effects (EQ, compression, reverb, delay) all used minimally.

Nice thing about some of the TC units is they have a headphone out. This really helps to practice with things like mic control - where you position yourself and you mic stand. With the headphone, you can really hear the variations, see what effects you like and be able to have better control by hearing yourself well. This helps me to stay on key and have more confidence when singing. The more confident you are, the more relaxed you become and the better your diaphragm can move freely.

[YamaYairi]

Originally Posted by Marty C

I have a Loudbox mini and don't like my vocals through it. My guitar sounds great, but the vocals don't come through well. No amount of EQ or reverb seems to help.

I tried several things: 1. TC Helicon Play Acoustic. Helps a lot with compression and much better effects for vocals. 2. Consider a different option for your vocal. If you stay small, a small powered speaker. If you can swing a TC Helicon unit to help with some small effects (EQ, compression, reverb, delay) all used minimally.

Nice thing about some of the TC units is they have a headphone out. This really helps to practice with things like mic control - where you position yourself and you mic stand. With the headphone, you can really hear the variations, see what effects you like and be able to have better control by hearing yourself well. This helps me to stay on key and have more confidence when singing. The more confident you are, the more relaxed you become and the better your diaphragm can move freely.

I have a Loudbox Mini and my vocals come through beautifully. Try a better mic. I use an Audix OM5.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by YamaYairi

I have a Loudbox Mini and my vocals come through beautifully. Try a better mic. I use an Audix OM5.

I wouldn't recommend the Audix OM5 for males with low voices, as the bass response starts to roll off at 120Hz (between the low 'B' and the low 'Bb' on the fretboard). It doesn't have a great deal of proximity effect, so its a poor choice for guys with low voices. The Audix OM7 is much better for low voices. (The OM7 has a good bass response, with minimal proximity effect to muddy things up.) Even the inexpensive Audix OM2 is better for low voices as it has a gentler bass drop-off (according to the frequency response chart) and it also seems to have a bit more proximity effect than the OM5 (to compensate for the bass roll-off).

[RockerDuck]

I use my Heil PR35 and it does a great job with my Fishman mini. Good mic's bring out the best of your voice.

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by RockerDuck

I use my Heil PR35 and it does a great job with my Fishman mini. Good mic's bring out the best of your voice.

I've only worked with one Heil PR35 (as a soundman), but it sounded terrific. The specs are very impressive too, with a good bass response to down below 50Hz. For those who don't need to sing below a low 'Eb' at 78Hz, there's a bass rolloff switch which can be used to lower the bass response below 80Hz.

[RockerDuck]

Originally Posted by guitaniac

I've only worked with one Heil PR35 (as a soundman), but it sounded terrific. The specs are very impressive too, with a good bass response to down below 50Hz. For those who don't need to sing below a low 'Eb' at 78Hz, there's a bass rolloff switch which can be used to lower the bass response below 80Hz.

I have the PR35 with the on/off switch and it does not have the bass rolloff. It does fine, I use the bass cut on my mixer.

[ricdoug]

A great sound engineer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2Rhh_4GZmU

Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPJQjtFdE8g

[guitaniac]

Originally Posted by RockerDuck

I have the PR35 with the on/off switch and it does not have the bass rolloff. It does fine, I use the bass cut on my mixer.

Here's what the PR 35 spec sheet says:

"The PR 35 has an internal low frequency filter push button switch which can be accessed by using a small screwdriver or paperclip. With the switch pushed DOWN, the audio rolls off at 80Hz at -6 dB per octave. In the UP position the filter is removed and the entire wide response of 40 Hz. to 18 kHz is present."

This text is accompanied by a pic of a small screwdriver inserted into a small hole which appears to be an inch or two from the tail end of the mic. If that hole isn't there, then you must indeed have an earlier version of the PR 35 which has no switchable low frequency filter.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Kyle76

…Any advice on things I should try is appreciated.

Hi Jim…
I've been re-reading this thread for two days, and honestly, there is nothing technology will do to disguise poor vocals.

If they are out of tune, no amount of effects will correct it on the fly adequately, nor cover it.

So my advice is no matter how poorly you think your voice is, sing in tune.

You and your band mate could also consider bringing in a singer. You would not be the first band to do so. Some of my favorite artists don't sing, so they have singers who don't play in their bands.

In the early sixties, record producers used double tracking and a lot of 'verb. (See "Gary Lewis and the Playboys") Now they've added Auto Tune to the mix. Also, if you have to hold a note and have no vibrato, come off the mic as you hold the note, just pull away gradually. (See the ending of Dan Hill's "Sometimes When We Touch") Good luck.

[throbert]

I found the the book by Seth Riggs, "Singing for the Stars" to be helpful with some useful information. Gary Catona is the new guru that many stars are going to. There are plenty of Youtube videos of both and I believe he has an app you can download. In my experience, good singing starts with good health which means avoiding alcohol, caffeine, smoke and other illegal substances especially when performing and generally just trying to avoid bad habits in general which is not so easy to do. Also find it's very helpful to record yourself and listen closely to your playbacks. That can really be humbling but you can learn from your mistakes and get better. Finding a a really good vocal teacher is not so easy. From my experience, a lot of classically trained teachers steer you in the wrong direction and actually make things worse. The methods that Riggs and Catona advocate are different from some of the things I learned starting out yet they make perfect sense to me.

[FolkRock Rules]

Check here, too: VoiceCouncil Magazine. There's info about vocal health, and maybe some other stuff you'll find helpful.

I just learned something new by watching Craig Fraser's video explanation of the difference between gain and volume. I like it when I learn something new. (Especially when I don't break anything during the learning process.)

[foxyloxy]

With practice, and maybe a few lessons, you will improve your voice a lot. Much of it is confidence, when you notice how much better you sound after practising and gaining more breath control, you look forward to singing & enjoy it more. If you use a dynamic (coil) microphone, sing up close to it and it will boost the bass. Take good deep breaths. If it helps, maybe have a few drinks to calm your nerves.
It's funny how men often don't like to dance or sing. Don't let your friend affect your attitude, singing is FUN, it's not a boring chore to be avoided !