The letter 'S' is a VIRUS!!!!

Hey guys!
 
Just needed to vent a big frustration here:
 
So I'm mixing this song and it sounds great. I'm really happy. I'm listening on my monitors, my stereo and my "lofi"-reference (Koss PortaPro headphones and Tivoli mono radio) and it just sounds great everywhere. The vocals are nice and big and open.
 
So finally I reach for my Beyerdynamic DT770 composing/tracking headphones (which have a kind of scooped sound) and it all sounds great, except maybe, just maybe the esses on the lead vocals are popping a out a little bit.
 
So I dive back into the project and pull out the freeware Digital Fishphones Spitfish de-esser used by SoundOnSound's Mike Senior in his Mix Rescue articles. I find the offending frequency (8kHz) by using the "listen" function and increase the effect all the way up to silly lisping. So from there I figure it's just a matter of backing off until it sounds right. But no, I just can't find the right balance between the, by now, piercing esses and Daffy Duck lisping. I double check by tuning to other frequencies in the neighborhood but no luck.
 
I try other plugins like the VX64 vocal strip, the VC64 Channel strip and Line6 GearBox and they all seem to be doing an even worse job!
 
So I sit back, have a sip of brandy and recall what I've heard experts say: The best way to de-ess is to go in and manually pull down the volume of every ess. So I spend one hour riding the fader and then another adjusting the slopes but by this point it's all over the place and I simply can't hear the mix anymore for all the esses!
 
So I take a long break and return only to find my head is still tuned to the cursed consonant! So I ditch the whole de-essing enterprise ascribing the problem to my hyped DT770 headphones only to find that now the esses are killing me whatever monitoring I try!! They have infected my brain now and I can't listen to the mix anymore!!!!
 
Any similar experiences?
 
Sven

SvenArne


Hey guys!
 
Just needed to vent a big frustration here:
 
So I'm mixing this song and it sounds great. I'm really happy. I'm listening on my monitors, my stereo and my "lofi"-reference (Koss PortaPro headphones and Tivoli mono radio) and it just sounds great everywhere. The vocals are nice and big and open.
 
So finally I reach for my Beyerdynamic DT770 composing/tracking headphones (which have a kind of scooped sound) and it all sounds great, except maybe, just maybe the esses on the lead vocals are popping a out a little bit.
 
So I dive back into the project and pull out the freeware Digital Fishphones Spitfish de-esser used by SoundOnSound's Mike Senior in his Mix Rescue articles. I find the offending frequency (8kHz) by using the "listen" function and increase the effect all the way up to silly lisping. So from there I figure it's just a matter of backing off until it sounds right. But no, I just can't find the right balance between the, by now, piercing esses and Daffy Duck lisping. I double check by tuning to other frequencies in the neighborhood but no luck.
 
I try other plugins like the VX64 vocal strip, the VC64 Channel strip and Line6 GearBox and they all seem to be doing an even worse job!
 
So I sit back, have a sip of brandy and recall what I've heard experts say: The best way to de-ess is to go in and manually pull down the volume of every ess. So I spend one hour riding the fader and then another adjusting the slopes but by this point it's all over the place and I simply can't hear the mix anymore for all the esses!
 
So I take a long break and return only to find my head is still tuned to the cursed consonant! So I ditch the whole de-essing enterprise ascribing the problem to my hyped DT770 headphones only to find that now the esses are killing me whatever monitoring I try!! They have infected my brain now and I can't listen to the mix anymore!!!!
 
Any similar experiences?
 
Sven

LOL ! yeah... DT770s are very crisp, and great for dogs who can hear everything they can put out.  But don't let your dog wear them.. they will stink after that.   Save them till you are very old and then just use them to listen to music.  However, if you ever need to find a little click while editing a wav file that is exactly what you need.

Note: If you do any de-essing while using the DT770s as your monitor you will give yourself a lisp. Don't say I didn't warn you.

You can use the clip gain envelope to reduce the SSS sounds a little if you need to get it perfect. Use your ears and the envelope to adjust each one, don't trust a de-essing plugin it can't hear the other tracks so it doesn't really understand what level the sss needs to be at.

Sorry, I'll give a serious answer.

It may not just be that "S"s are too hot, they may actually have EQ issues that make them more offensive-sounding than normal. Some microphones give "S"s a piercing quality that is a side-effect of designing the mic for that "high-end lift" that vintage Neumanns are famous for. In that case, you cannot mitigate them through volume alone, but have to actually EQ them separately from the rest of the vocal. Adobe Audition can do that.

Another scenario is comb filtering from singing in a lively but too-small room with nearby windows, or in some cases from excessive headphone bleed (yes, headphones can cause comb filtering!). It will cause "S"s to stand out and sound bad, even after turning them down. And when that happens, you're screwed. No EQ, no de-esser, no fancy editor can save you. Re-track or start copy-and-pasting a good "S" from somewhere else.

Why not try "She Sells Sanctuary" by The Cult?
Just kidding.
Pop filter? I'm sorry i can't think of anything, because i've never had a problem with esses, or maybe because i only sing either shouted, imagining that i'm Axl Rose, sound like cookie monster or like i'm gargling hydrochloric acid on my throat.

I don't know if this helps, but I've noticed that if I sing through an SM57, the sibilants are unbearable. Through my NT-1A, they are much better and through my MXL ribbin, they are not a problem at all.

If you can rerecord the vocals through a different mike, that may fix the problem.