KVR Audio

AegisPrime · Post by **AegisPrime** » Sat Oct 10, 2015 11:28 am

A friend of mine sings Karaoke (very well) and has asked me to record some of his performances for him with my video camera (Blackmagic Pocket). The problem I'm having is figuring out the best way to isolate the vocals in the chain and record them to a high quality.

Here's a diagram of the current setup:

This results in mixed audio going to the camera which (due to various settings he likes to use whilst performing) results in a very muddy recording which I can't really do much with in post.

I'd like to insert some hardware in the chain that allows me to pull off the clean vocals whilst still sending them to the Karaoke amp - preferably something that allows me to control the gain so I can boost/cut as needed.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

GHOST19 · Post by **GHOST19** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 9:14 am

For best vocals the performer has to wear headphones/earplugs or part of the instrumental from the speakers will be recorded with it, leading to muddiness. Just replace speakers with headphones (or wireless earplugs for better video looks).

AegisPrime · Post by **AegisPrime** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 10:27 am

Thanks Ghost, but the person I'm recording is nearing his seventies and has 'his way of doing things'

I don't want to interfere too much or ask him to change the way he performs (since he does this for fun and he likes his setup the way it is). I just want to insert some hardware in the chain to allow me to record the vocals as clean as I can before they hit the amp.

He uses a dynamic mic (a nice Shure one, not sure of the model number) and tests running it direct to the camera have been promising but it needs to go to the amp for him to perform and I need some control over the gain.

I've ordered a cheap Behringer UMC22 audio interface which I'm going to try to use to plug in the receiver, pass the mic signal to the amp via the line-out and run the headphone jack to the camera. Not expecting the quality to be stellar but if it works it's a better solution than anything I've got at the moment.

thecontrolcentre · Post by **thecontrolcentre** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 11:29 am

Use a second microphone to record only the vocal. Thats if you can get the singer to use headphones instead of speakers. Another option is to import the backing into your DAW and record the vocal on a separate track.

AegisPrime · Post by **AegisPrime** » Sat Oct 17, 2015 11:42 am

Thanks TCC - yeah, I thought about recording the vocals straight to his laptop whilst he's performing but a) it's not a great laptop and b) he'd be running WinAmp *spit* on it whilst singing (for the Karaoke lyrics).

He's also a bit of a technophobe so he has all this stuff set up the way he likes it and doesn't want anyone fiddling with it (I tried to set it up to minimize clipping but he just went and changed it all back to how it was set before *sigh*).

So my plan is to stick something in the vocal chain that doesn't interfere with his setup but gives me some gain control and a way to record the vocals independently. Doesn't matter what he does with the amp then (man, he *loves* his reverb

).

He's been a good friend to me though so I'm trying my best to work around these minor roadblocks in the hope that I can find a workable solution.

Some advice needed on recording vocals please :)