Setup for vocal recording (and also for live/karaoke)

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Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. with Windows
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Nik
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2012 7:16 am
Primary DAW OS: Unspecified

Setup for vocal recording (and also for live/karaoke)

Post by Nik »

Hey all :)

first of, I'm no sound engineer, but I'm also not a real beginner.
I just got a MOTU 828 mk3 firewire to replace my edirol fa-66 (and maybe my m16-dx mixer)

I want to continue recording as before but I have major problems setting up the 828. Some settings like compressor or reverb just don't do what I expected them to do before buying :/

Anyway, my old setup looked like this:
main mic connected to voicelive 2, which I used as preamp and gate. voicelive 2 digital out connected to fa-66 digital in, this was used to record the raw vocals on my PC. The voicelive 2's analog out was fed into my m16-dx mixer, to monitor myself while recording, adding some reverb and to be able to adjust the volumes of my vocals, backing and headphones.
wireless mic was connected to the m16-dx so I could sing live using my studio monitors and simply was able to mute my studio mic.

now I got the 828 mk3. I connected both mics to the XLR ports, adjusted trim to around the value I used on my voicelive 2.
I can record my vocals, though (of course) there's no gate. the recorded vocals sound nearly the same compared to the sound I had with voicelive 2/fa-66 before, maybe a bit noisier, I can't tell for sure yet.

then I connected the voicelive 2 to the 828. I use one bus to send the mic1 to out8. out8 is fed into the vl2 and it's digital stereo out is fed into optical A of the 828.
alright, this kinda works. though I don't see a solution yet to feed mic1 into the VL2 using the optical A out. the vl2 supports digital in. vocals have to be on the right channel, instrumental sound has to be on the left channel. this way the vl2 adjusts the key that's used to create the harmonies automagically. but I can't tell how to achieve this setup yet :(

but now here are my main problems: I don't know why I can't have the main out sound on the phones, to be able to adjust each of the volumes on their own.
If I record my vocals I send the instrumental backing to the phones. I use another bus to send mic1 to phones.
I can't hear myself at all (mic1 is nearly silent on my phones, the slider is on it's loudest position), recording myself peaks at 0 dB if I sing really loud, so recording is fine. now if I use a compressor (and/or EQ) on mic1 it will affect the recorded audio. I can hear myself now via phones but the recorded audio is WAY too loud being cut off at 0 dB. (what did I read about +12 dB headroom??)
I also can't adjust the volume of what's being sent to the 828 anyway, I could simply lower the volume in the DAW, but compared to before this means more work each time I record and listen afterwards.
edit: I just noticed that my vocals sound distorted while singing loud, but none of the meters peak into overdrive, except the phones meter ...

Then, adding reverb adds it on everything. on my m16-dx mixer I can add just as much reverb on my mic as I want.

is there any way to achieve the same setup that I used until I got the 828 on the 828? and also being able to easily use it for live performance?
I also got an ePiano connected to my m16-dx, I thought I could use it on the 828 too ...

I really would appreciate help and hints!
Thanks in advance :)

Nik
zaboomafoo
Posts: 14
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:35 am
Primary DAW OS: Unspecified

Re: Setup for vocal recording (and also for live/karaoke)

Post by zaboomafoo »

I am not sure if I understand exactly how you did the routing in CueMix FX.

You can assign reverb to the individual channels, instead of the outputs. Just go to the input tab in CueMix. At the bottom there is a pot for each channel.

Set your reverb split point to mixer, and then adjust the return level in the tab for the phones bus (in the master channel, above the fader).

Did you unmute the vocal channel in the phones bus? mute works independently for each bus.

How are you sending the recorded sound back to 828? In CueMix you don't see the DAW output, it goes directly to the output. You can use the workaround where you loop the spdif out back to in, and assign output form your DAW to SPDIF out. Then you will be able to see output form DAW in SPDIF in channel, and assign it wherever you want it.

zbf
Nik
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2012 7:16 am
Primary DAW OS: Unspecified

Re: Setup for vocal recording (and also for live/karaoke)

Post by Nik »

hey zbf :)

Thanks! I will try that :)
though it's a bit inconvenient ...
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