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Thread: Lo-fi micing

  1. #1

    Default Lo-fi micing

    I'm working on a tune with someone who wants to do the vocals something like through a bullhorn. He is probably thinking of sound through a particular a low quality mic - not what I strive for. When he was voicing it, I was envisioning the Phil Rizzuto bit in a Meatloaf song.

    I have been playing around with a variety of things and haven't hit the right one yet. I think the next try is going to be a kid's telephone of a string and 2 cans with a mic at one of them.

    Any ideas?

  2. #2

    Default Re: Lo-fi micing

    Quote Originally Posted by jmh View Post
    I'm working on a tune with someone who wants to do the vocals something like through a bullhorn. He is probably thinking of sound through a particular a low quality mic - not what I strive for. When he was voicing it, I was envisioning the Phil Rizzuto bit in a Meatloaf song.

    I have been playing around with a variety of things and haven't hit the right one yet. I think the next try is going to be a kid's telephone of a string and 2 cans with a mic at one of them.

    Any ideas?
    EQ that rolls off highs and lows is common for making an over-the-telephone sound. I've done that a lot for radio spots. More extreme EQ and maybe some distortion could work for a bullhorn emulation. There are also impulse responses of various types of lo-fi mics and megaphones and stuff that might work. The old SIR free IR VST plug-ins could be the ticket. I guess there's an updated version called SIR3, but it's no longer free. Looks like SIR1 and SIR2 are still out there, though.

    https://www.siraudiotools.com/SIR3.php
    https://www.siraudiotools.com/sir1.php
    https://www.siraudiotools.com/sir2downloads.php
    Dave "it aint the heat, it's the humidity" Labrecque
    Becket, Massachusetts

  3. #3
    Join Date
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    SF Bay Area
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    Default Re: Lo-fi micing

    Quote Originally Posted by jmh View Post
    I'm working on a tune with someone who wants to do the vocals something like through a bullhorn. He is probably thinking of sound through a particular a low quality mic - not what I strive for. When he was voicing it, I was envisioning the Phil Rizzuto bit in a Meatloaf song.

    I have been playing around with a variety of things and haven't hit the right one yet. I think the next try is going to be a kid's telephone of a string and 2 cans with a mic at one of them.

    Any ideas?
    Here are some options

    High-Quality, Cheap sounding mics
    https://www.placidaudio.com

    VST
    https://www.audiothing.net/effects/megaphone/

    Other info
    https://reaperblog.net/2016/05/megaphone-vocal-effect/

    Buy a real bullhorn
    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...SABEgLRg_D_BwE
    ---------------------------------------
    Philip G.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2004
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    Portland, Maine U.S.A.
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    Default Re: Lo-fi micing

    On eBay you can buy old telephone handsets that have been modified with an XLR output at mic level. They are pretty lofi.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Circuit-Ben...gAAOSwqgFeKyBC
    Michael McInnis Productions

  5. #5

    Default Re: Lo-fi micing

    I agree with Dave about the EQ. I have done that in car spots for years.

    I had a band in one time that wanted a distorted vocal. I didn't want to buy a plugin, so we recorded the vocal normally, then dumped it to reel at too high a level. That still sounded too good for them, so we tried overdriving a cassette. That was the ticket. Dubbed it back in, lined it up, and they smiled.
    Ian Alexander
    VO Talent/Audio Producer
    www.IanAlexander.com

  6. #6
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    Stuck in FL for now...
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  7. #7

    Default Re: Lo-fi micing

    Funny thing is I bought a bull horn at an auction for just a few bucks just to have it for this.
    I've also turned a megaphone backward and recorded that for a lo-fi effect.

    A lot of compression helps as well as the extreme EQ.
    " It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life … that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

    Bill Corkery Productions
    Studio for Creative Audio

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