sibilance on Ani DiFranco: Revelling/Reckoning

Posted by: Thomas K on 17 September 2003

Hi,

If anyone has this on CD (or indeed LP), could you please do me a favour and check whether your copy has the same "fault" I'm hearing: The vocals on track 11 of "Revelling" (it's called "Fierce Flawless") sound rather tinny and sibilant, especially during louder passages such as the chorus (to me it sounds as if the microphone was broken).

Excellent music, BTW, as is most of her stuff.

Cheers,
Thomas
Posted on: 17 September 2003 by Thomas K
Jamie,

Thanks for checking. I was quite certain that this had nothing to do with my system, and sort of guessed it wasn't a production batch problem either. Seems to be on the recording itself, then.

I doubt it's intentional, though. I find voice-through-telephone effects can work well, but whatever this is, it distracts from the music. Maybe it's bad engineering (or a questionable artistic decision, after all?).

I've got all of DiFranco's studio albums from "Out of Range" onwards, except for "Dilate". Her playing puts many a self-styled guitar hero to shame -- spot-on timing and heaps of dexterity.

BTW, about two years ago I asked a similar question regarding Oscar Peterson's "Night Train". There's a distinct phasiness on the cymbals throughout the entire album. Several people with different versions confirmed this, so it wasn't just the remastered CD or whatever. Someone pointed out that he couldn't care less about the sound because the "album swings" -- well, my point was that it doesn't swing as much as it could. I don't mind a lack of clarity, or hiss etc., but sometimes engineering cock-ups really get in the way of the music.

Thomas

[This message was edited by Thomas K on WEDNESDAY 17 September 2003 at 12:09.]
Posted on: 17 September 2003 by Mike Hanson
It might just be a mistake, or it might even be intentional. Beth Orton's voice on "Central Reservation" has sibilance all the way through. I believe it's an effect they're using in an attempt to make her voice sound more edgy. Vocal enhancers (a.k.a. aural exciters) are often used to add harmonic distortion to make a somewhat boring voice sound more interesting. Sometimes it's even added to the overall mix during the mastering stage. Eek

-=> Mike Hanson <=-
Posted on: 17 September 2003 by woodface
I think there are a number of recording that make you question your system, some of Aretha's albums seem to suffer from distortion on the vocals. This can be a bit annoying as it tends to play on your mind - is there something wrong with my system?
Posted on: 17 September 2003 by Nigel Cavendish
Thomas

I have all Ani DiFranco's albums except the latest. The Revelling track is as you describe it.

Mike

I don't think Beth Orton's voice is anything other than her voice, unadulterated. She has a breathy and reedy voice at the best of times and often struggles with high notes and volume combined. I get the impression that the engineers use close micing and then turn up the gain which results in distortion and fails to do her justice.

cheers

Nigel

Posted on: 17 September 2003 by Mike Hanson
quote:
Originally posted by Nigel Cavendish:
I don't think Beth Orton's voice is anything other than her voice, unadulterated. She has a breathy and reedy voice at the best of times and often struggles with high notes and volume combined. I get the impression that the engineers use close micing and then turn up the gain which results in distortion and fails to do her justice.

That may also be an issue. However, what I'm hearing from her voice really sounds like an aural exciter. It's much more pronounced on that album versus the other two that I've got of hers, which is why I believe it's not just the way that her voice sounds.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-