Quality Issue

[Chantry Frank]

Im having Issues with the quality of my vocals within my tracks after bounce. When Played back thru my iphone my vocals sound distorted or boomy. If I bounce only my vocals with no plugins and without turning them up they sound fine. When I bounce only my vocals and turn them up than they sound boomy or distorted. When Recorded, vocals dont clip nor sound distorted after playback. Inside of Pro tools they sound amazing thru my speakers and never clip. Ive learned how to mix and master but no matter hw i eq, compress, de-ess, my vocals still give me trouble even after they fit in the mix. Ive searched and read every forum i can find to help my problem but still no solution. Since everyone listens to music thru ther phones or ipods now a days im lukin for answers to my problem. I appreciate all the help, input, and or opinions i can recieve to achieve my goal into getting better sounding vocals. Thank you all.
I mix everything in Pro Tools 11. I work on a Hp with Windows 10 Home Edition. I record Vocals thru a Mxl 990 Condenser Mic into a Presonus TubePre V1 and passed thru my Mbox Mini Interface. Again Thank you all for your time and help! It is all appreciated. As Soon as Im allowed to share a link to my tracks I will do so. Thank You.

[albee1952]

Several things to consider here;
1-the MXL is a very cheap small condenser capsule in a big body and you may be overdriving the capsule.(you should stay a good 8-10 inches away with a pop filter screen between you and the mic).
2-check your recording levels to make sure you are not clipping the preamp or the track(with all plugins bypassed).
3-make sure no plugins are hitting red(which will add distortion)
4-the preamp might be distorting due to a failing tube. Try the mic plugged into the Mbox mic input and see if that works better(or not)

If you don't have a Master track in your session, add one as its the only way to see if you are clipping the mix bus(which is easy to do if you have a lot of tracks that are all hitting near the top of the meters). Solution for that is to bring down all the track faders to get rid of clipping on the master.

For a little more money, the MXL V89(or CR-89) is a much better vocal mic

[Chantry Frank]

thank you for your reply ive read alot of forums with your input and appreciate your response. My recording levels are fine they dont clip. no plug ins clip either. also ive have already tried rec thru only my mbox but also get the same results with my vocals, and i have a master track added to all my sessions. so if i recieve the same problems after recording thru jus the mbox than it wouldnt b a problem with my tube in the pre amp? if i could add a url to one of my tracks i would so you can get a better understanding of my problem. I apologize but appreciate your input, thank you alot. if i have checked all tht you have stated the only thing i could think of is it might be the mic unfourtunatley. also if the vocal recording still has the same problem jus recording with the mbox than it would be the mic right?

[albee1952]

Given all you describe, I also suspect the mic may be bad(but since its a crappy mic, its not a big loss) There are dozens of mics available at almost any price point, so its time to decide how much you can afford, and then go shopping. In the $200 price range, the MXL V89 is a very good sounding mic(it is very close to several mics I own that cost upwards of $1K) but its discontinued so might be tough to find a fair deal. The CR89 is the new version(same mic) with a different look.http://www.ebay.com/itm/MXL-CR89-Lar...gAAOSwuzRXfmsF
I suggest you buy new if you can afford it, or buy local so you can test it(some people will sell a mic that they dropped and ruined and not tell you). and don't ignore the old Shure SM57. Put a pop filter in front and its a very usable vocal mic One more thought, ship the 990 to Oktavamod.com and have it upgraded(I had a Rode NT1A done there and its now a very good sounding mic).

[chrismeraz]

I get clipping (I know because I can hear it clearly) even when my meters are at -2 or -3 dBFS. It's just a think A/D converters sometimes do. Keep your peaks under -6 dBFS always when recording. Many professionals even recommend -12 dBFS. No, you won't lose any fidelity recording at lower levels in fact, it will probably sound better.

[waltz mastering]

Originally Posted by Chantry Frank

Im having Issues with the quality of my vocals within my tracks after bounce. When Played back thru my iphone my vocals sound distorted or boomy. If I bounce only my vocals with no plugins and without turning them up they sound fine. When I bounce only my vocals and turn them up than they sound boomy or distorted.

Granted your recording chain is not great, but it doesn't make sense that just by turning them up or bouncing your vocals once they're recorded, that they are boomy and distorted.

Does that happen with any other channels/instruments or only your vocals?

Regards, Tom Waltz Mastering

[Bob Olhsson]

It's worth knowing that -12 is the lowest distortion point of converter chips. The analog circuitry around them is all over the map.

[Chantry Frank]

Thnks i was in fear it might b the mic also.. I was pondering if i should purchase the rode nt1a. What to u think about tht mic? Is it good to rec hip hop/rap vocals?

[Chantry Frank]

Thnks 4 ur reply i really appreciate ur input, but no matter if i put the gain n drive all the dwn on my preamp it still records above -12 dbfs i believe.

[Chantry Frank]

Weither i bounce my vocals with an instrumental or by themselves it always the only thing tht sounds distorted or boomy once played back. Everythin else is not affected.