I am monitoring my vocals in headphones as i record them, but when played back after being mastered and when listening to them through monitors after being recorded, they are muffled, muddy and have no treble .BUT , when i listen to them as they are being recorded or after in the headphones, they sound ok as they were when being recorded...what am i doing wrong ? I tried mastering them WITH effects and without and they sound the same.....i run my mic through a VOICELIVE 2 for the effects and run the voicelive to the dp24sd....any hel;p on what i can do to put some treble and sound into my vocals after they are recorded onto the 24sd so that they are not so muddy and flat sounding...THANK YOU
Recorded vocals muddy and dull but good in headphones...why
- Thread starter nick vlassis
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Matt B
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Is the vocal track a stereo track? A phase issue, like having one side of the stereo track set for out-of-phase could cause problems like you are describing. The track could sound DRAMATICALLY different in headphones and monitors.
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Rule number 1...Don't mix with headphones. Use decent monitors for that.
2. A track by itself isn't competing with frequencies from other tracks.
In general, it sounds like you to understand EQ & Mixing basics. I suggest doing a YouTube search and start from there.
2. A track by itself isn't competing with frequencies from other tracks.
In general, it sounds like you to understand EQ & Mixing basics. I suggest doing a YouTube search and start from there.
Mark Richards
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Nick, There could be numerous audio/equipment/environment causes for what you're describing.
We need to start with the monitoring system components and environment to rule that in or out.
Please report:
(1)The brand and model of your headphones
(2)The headphone impedance
(3)The headphone frequency response +/- 3dB if available
(4)The headphone sound pressure level (SPL)
(All this should be available on the box the headphones came in or at the manufacturer's web site)
(5)The brand and model of your monitor amplifier & speakers (if you have a passive system) or the brand and model of your powered speakers if you have an active system
(6)The distance from your mixing position to your speakers
(7)The distance between your speakers
(8)The distance between your speakers and the floor
(9)The distance of your speakers from all the nearest walls.
(10The size of your room
(11)The general items in your room (rugs, curtains, book cases, furniture, chairs, etc)
(12)Your method for connecting the VoiceLive2 to the DP-24
(13)Whether you are connecting your headphones to the VoiceLive2 or the DP-24 during tracking.
Once we can establish a base line for your monitoring chain and environment we can look to possible recording, monitoring, or mix down issues.
What cmaffia said above is spot on. To that I would add mix at moderate levels (75dB average-85dB peak at your mixing position) - you should be able to carry on a normal conversation during your mix sessions.
We need to start with the monitoring system components and environment to rule that in or out.
Please report:
(1)The brand and model of your headphones
(2)The headphone impedance
(3)The headphone frequency response +/- 3dB if available
(4)The headphone sound pressure level (SPL)
(All this should be available on the box the headphones came in or at the manufacturer's web site)
(5)The brand and model of your monitor amplifier & speakers (if you have a passive system) or the brand and model of your powered speakers if you have an active system
(6)The distance from your mixing position to your speakers
(7)The distance between your speakers
(8)The distance between your speakers and the floor
(9)The distance of your speakers from all the nearest walls.
(10The size of your room
(11)The general items in your room (rugs, curtains, book cases, furniture, chairs, etc)
(12)Your method for connecting the VoiceLive2 to the DP-24
(13)Whether you are connecting your headphones to the VoiceLive2 or the DP-24 during tracking.
Once we can establish a base line for your monitoring chain and environment we can look to possible recording, monitoring, or mix down issues.
What cmaffia said above is spot on. To that I would add mix at moderate levels (75dB average-85dB peak at your mixing position) - you should be able to carry on a normal conversation during your mix sessions.
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I think we/I might be overthinking this whole thing..it HAS to be a setting or something that i am missing because when i have the headphones plugged into the dp24, and the xlr coming from the back of the voicelive 2 into the dp24, I CAN hear the effects and harmonies that the voicelive 2 is producing and they are clear. When i listen to the track in the headphones or monitors, it sounds good, its when i MASTER it and convert it into my DAW and finalize it to a final wav or mp3 that it gets muddied and dull . Its like i am not getting the true track that i heard when it was recorded when i master it, and I have tried compression and normalizing it to no avail.....i will post with more detail shortly..THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP
Mark Richards
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Ahhh... that's a much clearer description of the issue. The fidelity is maintained throughout the DP-24 recording process and the issue manifests after importing the DP-24 Mixdown file into a DAW for final processing.
So, two directions to explore:
(a) After you mix down on the DP-24, the DP-24 creates the stereo WAV file master. If you've lost the fidelity at this point (mixing the multitrack recording to the stereo WAV file), then we might be able to help you find the cause.
Or....
(b) If the fidelity is still there after the Mixdown is completed on the DP-24, then this is the stereo WAV file you should be importing to your DAW. There's no need to go through the final "Mastering" process on the DP-24 unless you want to tweak the EQ or add compression to your completed mixed down WAV file before bringing it over to the DAW for final procssing.
Assuming the import to your DAW is correctly achieved and the loss of fidelity only arises after you've brought the DP-24 stereo WAV file into your DAW for final processing, then someone else will need to take up the cause. I rarely use DAWs - no need for them most of the time - so not much useful experience I can share.
So, two directions to explore:
(a) After you mix down on the DP-24, the DP-24 creates the stereo WAV file master. If you've lost the fidelity at this point (mixing the multitrack recording to the stereo WAV file), then we might be able to help you find the cause.
Or....
(b) If the fidelity is still there after the Mixdown is completed on the DP-24, then this is the stereo WAV file you should be importing to your DAW. There's no need to go through the final "Mastering" process on the DP-24 unless you want to tweak the EQ or add compression to your completed mixed down WAV file before bringing it over to the DAW for final procssing.
Assuming the import to your DAW is correctly achieved and the loss of fidelity only arises after you've brought the DP-24 stereo WAV file into your DAW for final processing, then someone else will need to take up the cause. I rarely use DAWs - no need for them most of the time - so not much useful experience I can share.
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Thank you all for your input..I will try and see what the WAV file sounds like after being MIXED and skip the MASTERING process....i tend to lose a lot of volume in the final mastered song because i have applied EQ and COMPRESSION to the MASTERED file and then NORMALIZED it ..i will NOT do the MASTERING part and see if that helps...thank you
