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Gambino · Posted - Mon May 19, 2003 8:56 pm

i just have a quick question... most of you rap and r&b listeners/producers will have a bit of a better idea of what im talking about.... i wish to acheive a texture to my vocals similar to vocals by Aaliyah on that "missing you", and vocals by Krayzie Bone of Bone thugs n harmony on track 2 of the new album (thug world order) i believe the name of the song is "bone bone bone", and a prime example is about half way thru the song when hes chanting "bone bone bone bone....", but on most of Krayzies harmonic vocals, they all have that texture...i dont know if this is making any sense, but can anyone help me acheive this sound w/ CEP, or is this a hardware issue?ż i want to add this thick, harmonic texture to my vocals. ive played with all of the different effects, moving sliders forever, but i just cant seem to catch the dragon....

SteveG · Location: United Kingdom

Just guessing - I haven't heard it - but you could try Antares Mic Modeler. This can achieve effects with a mic that sort-of fit that description.

twright · Location: USA

i haven't heard the krayzie bone song yet, but i think i know what you're talking about on the aaliyah song. what comes to mind to me, is the part where she's singing "i miss you" on the chorus...am i correct?

try layering the vocals. take multiple copies of the vocal that you want to sound this way, and apply some panning, a few offsets, and a little reverb. someone posted a technique that they were experimenting with on "Pop vocals". this works pretty nicely, and could probably help you with what you're looking for. i'll see if i can find that post.

Gambino · Posted - Thu May 22, 2003 7:33 pm

no, i know what youre talking about... i use 3 tracks for my vocals... thats not it... the chorusing effect in CEP is as close as ive come, but not quite... and its not done by multi tracking, because when its the most noticable is on a solo vocal track... someone told me its a hardware issue, and that i need to get a new pre amp for my mic, one with a tube drive, where you can dial in how much of the signal is routed thru the tube... prime example... listen to the song "breakdown" by mariah carey and bone... listen to the 1st verse of mariah singing, and when her vocals are down to one track in places, thers a texture to her voice that im trying to acheive... i dont know, its hard to explain... im open to any suggestions.... i need to check out that mic modeler though...

zemlin · Location: USA

What kind of mic and preamp are you using now?

Gambino · Posted - Fri May 23, 2003 8:08 pm

i think that airy texture im trying to get is a result of mic/preamp combos, or at least thats what im being told...lets see if that solves the issue

DeluXMan · Location: Canada

Can you post a snippit of the 'bone bone bone' for us to hear? Or post a link to it?

For the most familiar 'phat' mic sound nothing beats a real tube.
If the effect you want is tube-mic fattening, and you don't have a tube-mic, you could try running the mic into a tube-preamp or through a tube-compressor or tube-warmer then into the card.

Better yet, if your card has decent A/D-D/A convertors, you can put tube sound on a track without re-recording the track. Patch CEP through an outboard tube-warmer unit and process your pre-recorded tracks with it. Or dig out that 'tubeScreemer' and try a taste of it blended in with the dry track. Approve

If your card has digital in/out, you can connect to effects with digital I/O, and effectively integrate these outboard effects within CEP.

The ART DI/O [about $169.00] has two channels with 12ax7 tubes and a dial to choose different tones, and has both analog and digital I/O.

Gambino · Posted - Sat May 24, 2003 9:26 pm

im seriously looking into a tube preamp... the signal proccessors that im looking at allow you to dial in how much of the signal is routed thru the tube, so you can tune it how you want .... ill let you know... ill put together a snippet mp3 of the pieces im talking about so you can actually hear what im trying to get at... email me at and ill send you the snippet... thanx 4 the help....

DeluXMan · Location: Canada

Good idea. What microphone will you be using? Tongue

Gambino · Posted - Sat May 24, 2003 10:27 pm

ill be using an AKG 3000 B condenser mic, and right now im looking into a Tube MP Studio V3 mic pre amp... sound like a decent setup?ż i was also looking at a BlueTUBE stereo mic pre amp... i cant quite decide.... now, let me ask a stupid question... what kind of results would i get if i hooked up more than one pre amp, in a chain, i.e., mic to the bluetube, then the bluetube into the tube mp, as both have different features that i would like to use at the same time...

Graeme · Member Location: Spain

As I recall, you were looking for a soundcard not so long ago - did finally buy something decent?

If not, then I'd hold on the mic stuff for the moment, since the subtleties we're talking about here will be totally swamped by the electronics of a poor card.

Gambino · Posted - Sun May 25, 2003 8:50 pm

i am still working on finding a soundcard Graeme... im putting a lot of thought and effort into this... especially after the soundblaster scandal that ive been reading about here... a shame too, those audigys looked pretty damn good, but if theyre internally toasting my sound, then those jazzy breakout boxes are beside the point... some1 suggested a Mia MIDI soundcard, is this good in your opinion? oh, and deluxman, if you want to hear those snippets, then get at me man... i appreciate everyones help and patience...