Vocals coming out tin sounding

You say you are using good mics... what mics?

The A/D converters on the Omega, like many "budget" interfaces, are simply not all that good. BUT, you should still be able to get a respectable sound into them.

You mentioned using the gain plug-in. That indicates a low recording level. Make sure you are sending enough signal to Logic. Do you have a +4 or -10 setting on the Omega? Try switching it to wherever it is set currently.

Have you tried different cables? What monitors are you using? Are they wired correctly?

I use an Omega with SM57's Rode NT-1A's, MXL Condensers, etc and get great levels on all of them.
The phantom power button is on the back just above the AC in; make sure that's set correctly for your mics.
Each Mic input also has a button for a -20dB pad; make sure that is not engaged.
The Mic input level knobs have switches between them for
Output 1-2 and 3-4 as well as Mono/Stereo; make sure those are set correctly.
I've never had to go higher that 1 o'clock on any of the input knobs to get good hot levels.
Mic placement and technique are key to utilizing your mics to their best advantage, experiment.
You shouldn't have to use the Gain Plug-in.




PB G4 17 1GHz Mac OS X (10.3.9) 1Gb Ram, 7200 RPM HD, Lexicon Omega

Perhaps, it is the room you are recording the vocals in that is giving you a tinny sound. As well, perhaps a little bit of EQ may help (cutting around the 500Hz range often takes away some of the "honky" characteristic).

jord

Try throwing an outboard compressor into your signal chain if you are having trouble setting an appropriate level for recording vocals.

Logic is simply recording whatever you are feeding into it. Your mic/pre combo is what you are capturing. Sounds like you need to find a better combination to accentuate the qualities of your voice that you do like.

Most important is the voice you are recording. I could set up a Radio Shack mic into a cassette recorder and I'm pretty sure I could capture something useable from say Jack White or Tom York. If the voice you are recording is 'thin' or 'tinny' by nature, try doubling it up or adding a little distortion...anything to give it some added character.

GET A MIC PRE!

my suggestion would be a vintech neve clone like the X73i (i own this piece ...it rox)
http://www.vintech-audio.com/x73i_info.html

IF you are on a budget then go with the ugly (but brilliant) mic-pre from FMR.
http://www.mercenary.com/fmrrnmp.html


this is the single most important investment to achieve a fantastic vocal sound! It is also the one thing most people do NOT wish to spend money on.....

RMEMEBER..over 50 % of rock vocals are done with 85$ shure SM-57s (BUT through mic-pres that cost 1000+)

My point is ...that a crappy SM-57 through a great MIC-Pre, will yield far better results than a 700+ Rode through a crappy mic-pre.

SvK

I'll respectfully disagree, sort of. A couple of years ago, I was using a Digi 002, Neumann TLM103, Rode NTK, some other Chinese condensors, and of course, the SM57 and SM58. In the quest for that Magical sound, I got an Avalon 737sp, a Seventh Circle preamp with API, Neve and Jensen modules, an Apogee MiniMe, and a Studio Projects VTB-1. The Avalon is a favorite of many, the 7th Circle boxes are revered by anybody who has used them, the others are good, but not raved about.

I used them a lot, all sorts of combinations of mics and preamps. And the one conclusion I made is that it's a lot more subtle than some would suggest.

So, I'm not saying a great preamp isn't a good thing, I just think it's often overstated.

teleplayer:

I wll agree that the differences between various hi-quality Preamps will be more difficult to hear....

But a crappy mic-pre is a crappy mic-pre and will translate into a "tinny" sound.


A 299$ Lexicon Omega? You are goona tell me that pluging that ROde into the Omega versus plugging it into a 500+ $ dedicated MicPre will not yield HUGELY ascertainable differences?

it's a rhetorical question 😉

(this is gonna be one of those 2 camp threads;-)

SvK

Rhetorical - I know what that means, but...

I'll clarify - the difference between the great preamps and the cheap preamps in the Digi 002 wasn't really earth-shattering, either. Sure, I could hear a difference, and I never used the Digi preamps when I had the others.

using one signal from a below par mic pre could be ok.

using a lot of signals from same certainly would not.

the effect is cumulative.

i gotten great results from a digi 001, and susso results from apogee and tube gear. it depends on the vocalist a lot.

if your vocal doern't cut it, go get some singing lessons.

logic may be a lot of things to a lot of people but a cure all for bad technique it certainly isn't.

I agree, David. If your vocal isn't cutting it, no amount of gear is going to make it sound better. I can attest to this because we've dealt with a vocalist nightmare over here for the past 6 months. We've finally found some fantastic singers and I can attest to the fact that while great gear does make a very pleasant difference, a great singer singing through crappy gear is still going to sound a million times better than a crappy singer singing through great gear.

Now, all that being said, the preferable combo would obviously be having that great singer singing through the great gear 😉

cheers brent.
i think it's a producers responsibility to surround themselves with the best talent possible. (human and electronic).

just remember, that a vocal is mainly in the mid range and just about any device does this area ok. it's in the extremes where a superior converter earns it's keep.

Although everyone's comments are on target, nobody has mentioned mic position. If you're too far away, or moving around too much, you'll never get any presence or immediacy in the vocal sound. Having to use a gain plugin sounds highly suspicious to me.

Aaron H is right - even with very modest equipment and set up, it should be possible to get something acceptable. Try experimenting with a blanket hung up behind the singer, use cardiod only to eliminate as much room effect as possible, and concern yourself more with the performance and the signal before it hits your Omega than plugs in Logic, by which time it's probably way too late.

Rhetorical - I know what that means, but...

I'll clarify - the difference between the great
preamps and the cheap preamps in the Digi 002 wasn't
really earth-shattering, either. Sure, I could hear a
difference, and I never used the Digi preamps when I
had the others.

Were you still using the 002's D/A convertors to monitor? Bypassing those in favor of a D/A from Benchmark or Lavry would've given you the opportunity to hear the difference in your mic pres.

Mostly, I used the 002, but also used the Apogee MiniMe converters.

The original post here had several people recommend a high end preamp, without recommending upgrading from the Lexicon Omega converters, as though a new preamp would be the solution for 'tinny' sounding vocals. I'm just saying that a preamp isn't necessarily the answer, unless the Lexicon is way below normal quality for cheap home gear.