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Distortion when recording loud vocals

Matthew	Date: March 11, 2007 @ 6:29 AM Hi there, I've recently had some probs with recording vocals on my new track "The Idea of March". Towards the end I'm singing a lot louder than I was at the beginning, but some line are still performed more quietly. Anyway, it doesn't seem to matter how low I set the gain on the mic channel it still distorts when I sing loudly, even if I'm doing it at the other end of the room! Has anyone got any recording tips for vocals that might help me along the way? My equipment is an MXL990 condenser mic,a 10 year old Numark DMX1100i dj mixer and a pc with adobe audition.
Orion	Date: March 11, 2007 @ 6:41 AM I can't help you
hate9wicket	Date: March 11, 2007 @ 10:50 AM Use a pop filter, one of those things shaped like a disc, that you clamp in front of the mic, so you don't get to close to it and it cuts out some of the sibilance....you can make your own stretching a pair on nylons over a clothes hanger, it achieves the same thing...I just put a stocking cap right on the mic, cuz, you know..microphones get cold too! You might also experiment with compression, to even out the peaks and valleys in your singing volume, however, remaining at a consistant distance from the mic helps more than anything. One other thing: it might be the mic itself, does this occur often?
leedsquietman	Date: March 11, 2007 @ 12:20 PM Like what he said...esp. compression. If the volume varies widely and you're not singing very expressively with a wide range of notes and octaves then use a compression ratio of 4 or 5 to 1. If you are singing more expressively you don't want to lose so many dynamics so 2:1 compression . Also use a limiter to limit peaks and prevent digital overs. Set it to -2 or -3 db just to be sure ! How close to the mic are you? If you have a naturally loud voice either move the mic back, sing a little more controlled (quieter) or replace your mic with a dynamic mic like a Shure SM58 etc. and see if that gets you a better result. Usually condensers are better for recording vocals but if you're loud, then a dynamic mic may fit the bill.
Matthew	Date: March 11, 2007 @ 3:40 PM Well, if I want to sing lower parts I usually sing more quietly and closer to the mic. For the louder parts on this particular song I was literally jumping back a few feet to try and stop the distortion! I've now tried the compression (never understood what it was before) and it works well, I'm gonna play around with is in future and also make my own pop filter like H9W said (I've been meaning to for a while). Thanks for all the help guys
Thaspian	Date: March 11, 2007 @ 5:04 PM You're probably overloading the mic preamp. You're going mic --] mic pre(inside the mixer) --] interface.. if you turn the mic pre gain down, you lower a distorted signal. you can buy pads for mics that lower the signal coming out of the mic. I think condenser mics usually have a pad on them to prevent the signal going to the small transistor inside the mic from distorting, guess it depends. As far as compression, IMO, it's best to compress after recording, because you can't change it if you record compressed. Also, just my opinion, but after 3:1, you have serious compression going on. 4 or 5 to 1 is only something I'd use if I were looking for that kind of sound, not just for everyday stuff.
leedsquietman	Date: March 11, 2007 @ 5:15 PM Agreed. Good, experienced singers only need 1.5 - 2.5 to 1 ratios to even out the peaks and troughs. If I'm singing whack it up to 8:1 and get out the autotune Agree also that compression is better used as a post recording effect. Another thing to do is clone the vocal track and put the non compressed track in the background underneath the compressed vocal and then it gives extra power to reverb and delays. A great plugin for vocals (imo) is Voxformer from Voxengo. It is a channel strip, featuring 2 compressors, gates and 1 compressor can do deessing. It also includes saturation for adding a little extra bite. Costs 60 US dollars only.
hate9wicket	Date: March 11, 2007 @ 7:57 PM Right, pads help, but you might also look and see what db signal you are sending to the interface as well, if you've lowered the pre's all the way down and you're still getting a distortion from the mic, the level you are sending still might be on the hot side. If this be the case, lower the signal to at least -4db. Then you will have more head room to work with.
ray104	Date: January 3, 2008 @ 5:39 PM Maybe a better mic will help.
pog	Date: January 4, 2008 @ 8:16 AM Yes, a dynamic mic is more suited to vocal work, particularly live, and with loud vocal work. A condenser mic can theoretically produce better results, but generally you need to sell your car to afford one thats suitable for this kind of work. For this reason the dynamic mic is a good, robust solution.