OK, so I'm definitely not a 'singer' but I'm the sole backing singer in the band and I also write and record stuff as a side project where I need to add vocals. Playing live I've used a pair of ACS single driver custom moulds for at least a year.
Recently a few things have happened;
I've retired so I planned to do a bit of structured vocal practice.
I got a pair of KZ AS10 earbuds for use in the gym - I tried them as in ears as it's good to have a spare pair
I've been recording band rehearsals using my XR18 mixer / laptop
I've been working on original material
What I've noticed
The backing vocals from the band recording were awful (flat)
Original material. Good guide recording but couldn't reproduce as a proper take
Singing and recording single notes, scales, intervals - not too bad with headphones but went flat using the KZ AC10s
After reading up on t'internet I tried reducing headphone vols, killing reverb in the monitor mix. The result - headphone recordings pitch is good (I also check visually in Cubase). In ears - flat.
Then I checked open back vs closed headphones. Open backed ok, closed - flat (this is why the guide vocal on open backed was ok but I couldn't repeat with closed backed headphones).
Finally, the ACS custom moulds appear to give reasonable results but the KZ's (memory foam tips) are still causing me to sing flat. I'm going to try some different tips.
Has anybody else encountered such issues?
Comments
Well, despite playing in bands and being involved in home recording for a great many years I feel as though I’ve learned a lot these last couple of days.
I’ve just swapped out the tips on my KZ’s to silicone and repeated the tests. Better than foam but not as good as custom moulds or monitoring ‘au naturale’. I need to keep practicing and running tests in order to establish the limits of monitoring vs the deficiencies of my voice. So far this has taught me that;
I’m not completely tone deaf and therefore can improve with practice
The importance of reverb, or rather the lack of it, in the monitoring path
The importance of level when monitoring
I’m never going to be a lead singer but, by putting in some effort, I should be able to improve my backing abilities by some considerable measure.