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[LeVan Moxley]

This video got posted a couple weeks back and I was very impressed with the audio quality.  Mick seems to be holding the 58 a good distance from his mouth.  The vocal clarity is remarkable.  I don't think that there's any way possible for me to get a 58 to sound like this, especially considering parts of the video where he's 10-14" from his mouth.  Am I crazy, ignorant, foolish, etc. or can someone explain to me how this is being accomplished?

Some of the comments in the video description suggest that it's lip-sync.  I've watched it over and over and I don't see it.  Anyway, thanks for your input on this.

I wasn't exactly sure where to post this.  So if this is not the correct board please forgive me.  I realize there are some pro-engineers that frequent here and thought that they could give me some insight.

https://youtu.be/l7GnVHmTiI8

[Luke Geis]

It is very possible and not remarkably hard to do.

The clarity is mostly due to the lack of proximity effect. His voice is likely very well suited for the SM58 and there are other tricks that can be done as well to make the vocal sound less distant.  I would bet a bit of expansion is being used and let's face it, this is a live recording that is produced in the studio, so there is a vault full of studio tricks to make the vocal sound right.

If you get off the mic a little bit to reduce proximity effect you can really clean the vocal sound up. The beauty is that with some multiband dynamics you can tailor each octave to really give up the goods. You can make it sound full when the signal is weak and then the compressor will pull back the lows when the singer gets in on the mic some more. This evens out the tonality of the mic even though his distance changes. A compressor, in general, will make the vocal louder in general and even out the change in SPL when the mic is moved. An expander will help take the background and stage wash out of the mic when he is not singing or pausing for a breath.

[LeVan Moxley]

Thanks Luke for the insight.  I understand about the lack of proximity effect because of the distance from the mic.  Yep, tons of things can change in post.  My lack of experience in some of the areas you are referring to makes this vocal clarity seem remarkable to me.  Merry Chistmas.

[Art Welter]

The vocal clarity is remarkable.  I don't think that there's any way possible for me to get a 58 to sound like this, especially considering parts of the video where he's 10-14" from his mouth.  Am I crazy, ignorant, foolish, etc. or can someone explain to me how this is being accomplished?

Some of the comments in the video description suggest that it's lip-sync. 

LeVan,

Ditto Luke's post, but I've already written mine, so here it is:
Once away from the usual rock & roll "kissing the mic" distance the proximity effect (huge bass boost) of a typical dynamic cardioid mic is reduced, which makes for more "clarity", as long as the vocalist is louder than the ambient level.

A good, strong vocalist can dynamically work the mic at distance when not competing against musicians and monitors playing too loud, especially after rehearsing and singing the song thousands of times.

Using in-ear monitors, a large space, and mains placed quite some distance from the singer gain before feedback in a balanced orchestral situation is not a problem, and the result can be quite pleasant.

That said, a good singer could also re-do the vocal afterwards if the original recording was not quite as good as desired, and you'd not be able to tell whether the new track was lip-synched.

Art

[LeVan Moxley]

Thanks Art.  That's why these people are professionals.  They're great at their profession.  Merry Christmas.

[Scott Holtzman]

Thanks Art.  That's why these people are professionals.  They're great at their profession.  Merry Christmas.

Gosh Mick Hucknall (sp?) still has an amazing voice after all these years. 

One of the dirty little secrets is the better the artist the easier they are to mix.  It's the shity bands in shity rooms that are a pain in the ass.  You never get all they have in the sound check.  Every db of gain before feedback is a precious commodity and the deck is stacked against you.

[LeVan Moxley]

Gosh Mick Hucknall (sp?) still has an amazing voice after all these years. 

One of the dirty little secrets is the better the artist the easier they are to mix.  It's the shity bands in shity rooms that are a pain in the ass.  You never get all they have in the sound check.  Every db of gain before feedback is a precious commodity and the deck is stacked against you.

I guess he's still holding on, lol.  Sorry, it was an easy setup.  I totally get the "better the artist, easier to mix" deal.  In my experience that has definitely been the case.  Amen on the headroom with gain before fb.  Thanks.  Merry Christmas

[Josh Hana]

A few things at play here:
I'm guessing a relatively quiet stage (I'm seeing iems and no wedges, with some plexi shields)
The fact that this was almost certainly multi-tracked and mixed after the fact in a studio (where someone could spend several hours just working on getting a rock solid vocal chain)
And the fact that the guy has a good voice.

The sm58 isn't a cure-all, but there's also a reason it's so ubiquitous. It gets the job done.

[Karel Noon]

I saw two singers doing that on a festival, one of them mick hucknal, the other was Lionel Richie.

What can I say: it all depends on the source!
It was amazing to see how good it worked with simply red, and how bad it was right after that.

So yeah, if you have a real singer, no big deal

[Roland Clarke]

Well we all know how “rubbish”, SM 58’s Sound, all those threads looking for a better mic that’s going to cure all the things wrong with their singer.  My experience has always been that great vocalists sound great on them, Mick is no exception.  I saw them at Brighton, I’m sure it was Chris “privet” Hedge doing the mix.  When they started it sounded good, I could hear him going through the channels during the first song, tightening things up and it was a good mix throughout the night.

[ProSoundWeb Community]