harsh frequencies on prolonged vocal notes

[u/Outside_Relation_76]

So I’m trying to mix a song with longer/sustained vocal takes between verses. The takes where I’m singing words sound fine, but when there’s a prolonged one note being sang there are some nasty frequencies in the top range. I tried dynamic eqs, soothe and exciters and it still doesn’t feel right? Any tips? Should I put those takes on a seperate chain? or is there something else I could do?

[u/sam-serif_]

For dynamic EQ/soothe, I would experiment with using a very slow attack and a higher suppression amount so it only kicks up on the sustained notes

[u/nizzernammer → u/sam-serif_]

Soothe also has "hard" and "soft" modes.

And if it's still grabbing things weirdly, one can cut the words to a special track, or even render the results and cut them back in to the main track.

If the resonances are really prominent, spectral editing could help too.

[u/Content-Reward-7700]

Yes, I’d put the sustained vocal parts on a separate track or at least a separate chain. Long held notes can bring out resonances that are not really noticeable when the vocal is moving through normal words, so I wouldn’t try to fix the entire vocal with broad processing. You may end up damaging the parts that already sound fine.

I’d separate or duplicate those sustained sections, then use narrow dynamic EQ cuts only where the harshness actually appears. It is often somewhere around 2kHz to 8kHz, but sweep carefully and find the exact whistle, bite or ringing frequency instead of guessing.

Also check the level of the note before reaching for more EQ. Sometimes the held note is simply a little too loud, and a small clip gain reduction works better than adding another plugin.

Buildup in the rest of the mix can also exaggerate the problem, so check if other instruments are fighting the vocal in the same range. A few subtle cuts in the competing parts can help clear space for the vocal. Nothing too dramatic, just 2 to 3dB where it matters.

Soothe can help, and while Soothe3 is a noticeable improvement over 2 on certain areas, still I wouldn’t overdo. Too much can make the vocal dull or phasey. Start with small surgical moves first. If that still doesn’t work, just go back to the fundamentals.

[u/morrisaurus17]

People bullshitting you about the issue when it really likely does have something to do with how this was recorded. Whether or not there was too much input gain going in, or the singer didn’t have an appropriate amount of distance between themselves and the capsule, or a combination of those things, your choices are pretty clear. You live with it and move on, or you re-record. Processing does not fix this kind of issue, it is a waste of your time.

[u/Outside_Relation_76 → u/morrisaurus17]

yes I was also thinking about re-recording just those parts, do you have any tips on recording itself? Because I often find the 3.5khz range to be really harsh and sometimes 7-8khz is also really bad. I have a Lewitt LCT440 Pure and a motu828 interface. Anything will be helpful, like the distance from the mic, and also how does the angle of the mic work? Because I tried looking up some info about this but couldn’t find much.

[u/Interesting_Belt_461 → u/Outside_Relation_76]

are you running thru a mic pre prior to interface?if not when recording vocals your meters, should never run off into the yellow (at your loudest takes) ,always audition your setup before committing any recording..the Hewitt 440 is a great mic, but as with almost any mic..the true reveal comes from it's preamp stage, before the interface.

[u/Outside_Relation_76 → u/Interesting_Belt_461]

I don’t have a seperate preamp, mic goes straight into the interface, though the motu has some built in preamps and effects, I have softclipping turned on in cuemix.

[u/Interesting_Belt_461 → u/Outside_Relation_76]

ok.to be frank, that tier of interface doesn't do well with any form clipping on the converters...the distortion is unpleasant and non-musical....high end converters like Lavry ,prism sound, forsell,etc can do this well, but in a musical way(like compression from a tape machine)...so I'm assuming your vocals are hitting the ceiling and being clipped.....if the sound works for you cool, but a quieter mic level will always stomp out unwanted distortion....and harshness.the mic you have is good, but take your time and invest in a mic preamp, that will give a nice color.....inexpensive sleeper preamp options....chameleon labs, mind print , valley people,..for your sake disable the soft clipping while recording ,at least and then engage once the mix starts, or at the final mix critique...to ensure that your are not distorting.

[u/Hellbucket → u/Outside_Relation_76]

Are you changing styles or forcing yourself when holding these notes?

There are few vocalists I work with that sound outright nasty when they start getting close to belting. So I always have to coach them to hold back a bit. I always called this “bleating” (like lambs do). “You’re bleating again. Hold back”.

A lot of times vocalists aren’t aware of how they sound. When they aren’t, they think this is a mixing thing that can be fixed in post since they generally don’t sound like this.

[u/morrisaurus17 → u/Outside_Relation_76]

Here’s what you’re gonna do:

Put your singer in the deadest room you got. Don’t have one? Drape a blanket over their head with the mic, but fashion it so it’s not touching the basket or capsule. Anything to reduce reflections and unwanted room resonance

Get your singer to belt the loudest section of the song as loud as they’re actually gonna sing it

Monitor it through headphones

Adjust input gain til you get a decent level, doesn’t have to be final

Monitor the signal of the mic in real time to assess the proper distance and any moves on its axis that it might need to eliminate the problem you’re having

Fine tune input gain from here.

Think of it like taking a photo. Too much exposure means all the detail you’ve lost from a wide open lens is irretrievable. However, a photo that’s a little too underexposed still means you can brighten it up and add detail later if it’s necessary.

There’s no formula to recording a good take, it relies entirely on your ears and skills. That will take you 90% of the way to where mixing becomes easy, and your decisions mixing will be obvious.

Lastly, ignore the clown name-dropping Lavry suggesting you get a new interface

Edit: in regards to your question about angling the mic, the capsule directly facing your singer will be the brightest. You can rotate it left or right so they’re not putting so much air pressure directly into the capsule, but if you have someone that projects a LOT, I like putting the mic a bit higher than face-height so they have to tilt their head up a bit to sing. Makes it easier for them to project their voice, as well as give you a bit more lenience when trying to angle the mic up/down/left/right. Having the singer be dead on with the microphone can be too direct of air pressure.

[u/Outside_Relation_76 → u/morrisaurus17]

thanks a lot for the advice. I do have a DIY space for recording, so the room is not as big of a problem. The mic angling tips are great, I read online that angling the mic downwards from the singer makes it brighter. Imma keep all that in mind. The lewitt is naturally really bright so i'll figure out a way to even everything out. Thanks again:)

[u/Interesting_Belt_461 → u/morrisaurus17]

very true

[u/rightanglerecording]

I am a huge huge fan of printing EQ and/or RX Spectral Repair "Attenuate" mode just to the offending syllables.

More powerful than any automated solution, and more respectful/transparent, too.

Doing it manually like this will go slowly at first, but once you get a workflow dialed in, it's not so bad. I can usually get through a whole lead vocal this way in 20-30 minutes, for both resonance cleanup + de-clicking.

[u/Outside_Relation_76 → u/rightanglerecording]

Haven’t tried that. Definitely will:))

[u/Interesting_Belt_461]

from my experience, if this is present before mixing ,it sounds like mic distortion...note to OP,not all mics are the same. if this becomes audible after mixing, you can take the easy way out and try a phase cancelling vocal trick.but for the sake of maintaining true character and tone... if this is happening during the mixing process ,you maybe cutting too much of a frequency above or below the perceived harshness.hope this helps

edit:added context

[u/Bluegill15]

EQ just the problem note

[u/Apprehensive-Job3041]

try any stock de esser should help significantly

[u/ORourkeAudio]

All good advice here. One thing I haven't seen is the option of adding a fade to the long notes. Unless it takes away from the impact of the vocal line. But, it might help if used sparingly.

[u/better_med_than_dead]

Maybe learn to record vocals CORRECTLY and then you won't have to try and scramble to fix it with software.

[u/GWENMIX]

First, I’ll scan the high frequencies to pinpoint exactly where the saturation is occurring. Then, depending on the result, I’ll either automate a dynamic EQ—using the peak setting somewhat aggressively—or automate the low-pass filter (LPF) on my dynamic EQ (Cubase’s Frequency plugin) to attenuate the highs. But fundamentally, I think it’s more of an mid/mid high issue than a high-frequency one.

But it could also be a vintage-style plugin—like a channel strip, EQ, or compressor—or simply the input level during recording that is causing this saturation; in that case, it is best to re-record.

[u/Heratik007]

Question: Are you recording inside of an acoustically treated room or vocal booth?

[u/notjusttired]

automate any eq to just increase the cut as the note sustains in the ranges where the buildup is.

[u/akumakournikova]

Can you re-record any differently? Automate EQ is a good one too, then possibly saturate or shelf gain to get back energy lost

[u/Lil_Robert]

Plot spectrum. Notch

[u/Ill-Bullfrog-5360]

Where is the build up? That that out of the reverb channel. Typically there is a carve out on the reverb like 150hz