Snax

Thanks for the suggestion Joshua. I actually had good signal levels from the pre amp all the way through the recording signal path. I'm very familiar with recording digitally and how to set input and output gains etc.

The weak link in my signal path for sure is the inexpensive A.R.T. Tube MP Project Series mic pre. I was within safe levels at the mic pre and also at my Macbook input. I'm a stickler for getting levels optimal actually.

You might be hearing a little harmonic distortion brought on by some of the plugins I was using in Logic Pro 8. I do want a better pre amp when I can afford one though since the A.R.T. mic pre is not doing my mic justice for sure!

Thanks Thanos! It's funny that you mentioned the phrase "of the morning". I really was surprised when I hit those notes like I did. It felt like the voice just floated out of my head a couple of times. I didn't nail it every time though so there's still room for improvement. I actually thought of Robert Lunte's video where he teaches how to bridge by easing back on the air velocity. It helped me a lot because I was able to relax my throat and just use placement to get the right sound instead of squeezing to reach the notes.

I've said it before and I'll say it again that my own progress is a direct result of the information and encouragement I've gotten here at TMV. :cool:

Thought I'd try something really different from what I've been singing lately. This was recorded using my new Blue Microphone's Bluebird condenser mic. Really captures every little nuance of my voice including the bit of scratchiness I had from not drinking enough water that day! Oops!

I sang along with the real song playing in my UE triple.fi 10 pro in ear monitors which are amazing because there is no bleed through from the singers earphones into the sensitive studio microphone.

The song is "LADY" and is one of my favourite Styx songs. I know I can do better with proper hydration but here it is for now...

https://files.me.com/muskysnax/ptr7zu.mp3

I actually noticed that I hit a rough spot during the siren so I need to work on certain places along my passagio area. Glad you guys got a kick out of it though.

Snax that was a great recording especially at the end with the siren up to the scream!

Thanks! I felt inspired from all the Judas Priest I've been doing lately!

I checked out prat of Don't you Cry and you are probably pretty new to singing right? You have a good sense of timing with the music which is a major plus. I think that with practice you will soon be surprising yourself with what you can do. Singing, like many other physical activities involves training muscle memory through repetitious exercises. That is just a fact of life unless you are very gifted vocally, which most of us aren't.

Keep a positive attitude and always strive to get better each time you sing even if it's just a tiny improvement on a single note.

Welcome to our online family!

I'm the same height as Brian Johnson! :D

Snax,

cool post. I've thought about this before because it seems like MOST(not all obviously) rock tenors are vertically challenged . I think a big challenge for taller people is feeling the connection from support(being that the muscles are such a long way from vocal folds(relatively speaking.) Maybe you can start a new post on this? I'd be interested to hear Steven or other experts' take on this.

I'm 6 ft and 175-180 lbs btw.

I always thought that Ronnie James Dio was my height but I heard his wife in an interview saying he was only 5'3"!!! What a HUGE voice from such a diminutive man!

By the way, how would you guys classify my voice? Am I a tenor or whatnot?

I'm 5'9'' (180 cm) tall and weigh 177 pounds (80 kgs). My hobbies include walks on the beach, hanging out with friends and world peace.

LMAO!!! I KNEW someone would say something like that! :lol:

We should add our dimensions to give some perspective. I'm 5'5" tall and weight between 165 and 175lbs. I assume taller people might "generally" have deeper vocal ranges due to the longer vocal tract?

Here's my contribution from this morning.... https://files.me.com/muskysnax/tv72zf.mp3

You are quite correct about the volume being less than you would think is needed to get that sound. It's almost like loud talking but with a lot of force.

I often listen back to my vocal without any music or effects as it's so much easier to hear when I'd taken too big of a breath or pushed a little too hard etc. Glad to be of help!

Here's the bare vocal track from this song. It sounds pretty bizarre without the rest of the band! lol You may have to skip through parts of silence to hear all the vocals especially where the guitar solo would be. During the last chorus you can hear me burp!!! I didn't even know I'd done it but the bare vocal track reveals ALL!!!

https://files.me.com/muskysnax/6bjozf.mp3

I believe that's the purpose of lip bubbles or tongue trills. Not so much trying to sing like we speak but to learn a consistent air pressure.

BINGO!!! It's the same thing with the twanging exercises. We don't want to sound like a witch during actual songs but the exercises build the muscle memory. Man I LOVE singing nowadays! No straining and sore throats. :)

I pretty much mirror what Robert feels. Technique aside, if you added more dynamics and melody to the vocals it would make the song more interesting for the listener. A suggestion would be to "reverse" the harmony parts on some of the phrases so the high harmony would now be the lead voice and the harmony would be the lower notes mixed not as loudly. Hope you understand what I mean. lol

The song is pretty neat though and I enjoy your vocal sound.

You have the voice to take this song to a higher level my friend so don't hold back anything when the little red record light is on! ;)

Thanks guys! The weird thing about this vocal tone is that there is NO chest weight at all in the production. If I removed the grit the sound would be so ridiculous sounding we'd laugh out loud! It's ALL twang with rattle (I think).

My biggest problem is that when I sing the lower notes where I'd normally be in a different vocal coordination I can't if I want to maintain Brian's sound. I guess I need to do some scale work and start with the comfortable high notes and then work my way down and see exactly where my trouble notes begin.

The cool thing about this vocal set up is that it SOUNDS loud as hell without any straining or pulling chest weight. As I'm singing I'm imagining a ballon letting out the air at a very constant pressure. That way I'm never tempted to over do it with the air pressure. High notes, low notes, the air VELOCITY remains the same.

Hopefully this will help those of you that enjoy Brian's particular style and are wanting to mess around with it. If I can just get those lower notes to feel controlled I'll be a very happy man!

As many of you know I've been singing a lot of Judas Priest lately and I decided it was time to try another band for a change. This is the first time I've ever tried this song and there's a lot of flat notes and a few issues with the timing. I can sing like Brian Johnson easier on the high stuff than in the lower head voice range so that's where I'm focusing on improving.

Hope you dig it despite the duff notes!

https://files.me.com/muskysnax/xwhr11.mp3

Ron, you got it buddy!!!

Despite the overloading microphone and overall audio quality I can hear that you are twanging away really well and getting really close to Bon's vocal tone. I love hearing our singers making personal strides and this is definitely one for you Ron. I look forward to more clips in the near future dude!

Keep Rockin'!!! :cool:

p.s. Didn't that last note make you feel like a rock star? That scream was UP THERE Ron!!!

I agree with you there Basil but having used condenser mics on my voice in the past I prefer them for recording hands down. Now that I have much more control of my volume and plosives the condenser will be great! I'll turn on the low filter on my mic pre to help reduce popping and the resulting sound should be far more detailed than with the 57. I can hardly wait to hear myself through the new mic!!!

So, I'm supposed to believe this crusty fisherman from Canada just happens to sound like Rob Halford. Alright, Rob, you can quit the charade. I don't have to call you Mike any more. Although, your avatar pic threw me off for the longest time. I thought that was what you really looked like.

But now I have your real pic.

http://www.robhalford.com/index.php/features

Actually, I was going to link your best pic but they're all good.

Seriously, though, it's uncanny and I am glad you did this song for two reason. First, it's a good song. Second, now you can hear what we are hearing. If I had the speakers turned up and my wife was home, she would have said, Are you listening to Judas Priest on the computer?"

And I could have said, "Sort of. By way of Canada."

And actually, I told her about you. "There's this guy from Canada named Mike and he sounds just like Rob Halford, especially on Judas Priest songs."

Your legend shall now precede you. You are a rock star, who also happens to make flies. Down here, they are on 1/8 oz hooks. What do you use?

Well, my lures are "somewhat" larger than flies Ron! lol Actually I design and sell Musky lures through my website at www.muskysnax.com.

The most popular one I make is the Sucker Swimbait which is 10" long. Here's a link the a video of it in action... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ixzAxgdC-4

Thanks Jens. I think I could hit that note though. Hmmm....Maybe I'll have to give it a go! If I do I'll post just the my vocals so you won't hear anything from Rob at all. There's a damn good reason why he's called the Metal God!

Man snax thats crazy, that highnote in the first vocal harmony screams is craaaze! How high is it?

I think that very high note you are hearing is bleed through from the original vocal Jens. I used software to remove as much of Rob's voice as is possible. You will also hear him just after the guitar solo. Don't want to fool anyone! lol

The rest is all me including the harmony scream I did at the end.

Thanks so much my friend! I can hardly wait until the microphone I just bought on Ebay arrives. It's a bluemicrophones Bluebird and will really take my recordings to a whole new level! Everything I've posted recently was recorded using a Shure SM 57 which is nowhere near as good as a condenser microphone for vocals.

Man, I freaked myself out after finishing this song and playing it back. lol

To me this is my best ever performance in the style of Rob Halford of Judas Priest. Hope you'll enjoy listening to it as much as I did recording it!

Long Live Metal!!! https://files.me.com/muskysnax/e3m30w.mp3

You are perfect for this style. GREAT job dude!!! :cool: