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Drums + Vox ("Phil Collins?") tips

 
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sarysa  





Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 195

PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 1:42 pm    Post subject: Drums + Vox ("Phil Collins?") tips Reply with quote

So someone in the voxtar sticky suggest I make a new thread for this. I beat the ESL Expert/Expert drums + vox yesterday, so here's some things I figured out that helped me do it:

Anyway, what I've learned so far:
1. Xbox headset mic is a must. Period. Simply do not plug in the Rock Band mic, put the headset mic in your xbox controller and that's that. PS3/PS2/Wii users...good luck. :/
2. Regarding xbox headset sensitivity, I set it to about 3/4 the maximum and it picks up my voice just fine without too much interference. Funny part is, I've had short talkie parts filled in by the drums without me even realizing I missed them. Either that, or it picked up my breathing.
3. It's really important to actually know the songs on vox well enough to pass, or at least pass after no more than two saves. heh. I pretty much do not look at the vox chart unless the drum part is repeating.
4. If you can't do #3 with DLC songs, delete said DLC songs until you get your PR Firm. Then you can just do "Make a Setlist" and genre named setlists (like 90's songs and Femme Fatales) to get the stars you need for Hall of Fame, which is a set 8 songs, and Endless Setlist, which is set and contains no DLC. Genre named setlists also contain no DLC. You can redownload the DLC songs later. At least DRM is good for something. Hah.
5. There's nothing wrong with energy hoarding songs on drums for songs you don't like singing. (Gimme Shelter...I'm looking at you!)
6. RttH, is actually pretty reasonable after practing voxdrums on other songs. I sing it well but I drum it poorly, but I'm sure most of us know the lyrics well due to all our drum deaths. Hah.
7. The talky parts in Epic can be passed by just going like "blah blah blah" quickly. This doesn't work on Sabotage as it has some long talks in it.
8. Don't go for the vox percussion. But if you really want to, just go like "puh" in the microphone to match up what your main hand is doing. You'll get most anyway.
9. In WGFA, vox can energy hoard for the drum solo. It becomes available at the beginning of the organ solo so vox can save drums if you die before that.
10. In Sabotage, if you think you're going to go down vox before the long break in the song, (before WHYYYYYYYYYYYY) ignore the drums completely and focus on hitting the vox part. If you die right before the break, you won't get to a drumfill in time to save the vox. It's so incredibly lame.
11. Now that I've done it, I endured the entire ESL, didn't even die once, and only took one 30 second break. I guess the best advice I could give: Go easy on your voice/drums early on. I'd usually end a song early if I knew I couldn't die skipping a couple vocal/drum parts and it wouldn't cost me an extra star.
12. Singing in the lowest octave you're comfortable with requires less breathing. Don't go overboard in FP/LT vocals.

I could offer advice with other ESL songs too. For the most part, the "hoard energy to save the weak link" strategy tends to work on any song.
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dore  





Joined: 26 Jun 2007
Posts: 1244
Location: Boone, NC

PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This is a decent guide for just getting to/getting through the ESL but these definitely aren't good tips if you're going for insane scores . The only thing I really disagree with is that headsets are not as good as a boom mic stand with a USB mic... there's just no replacement for the better registry that a real mic will give you. Find some way to comfortably rig up a real mic; it's worth it.
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sarysa  





Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 195

PostPosted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I mostly agree. I've gotten 99% vox in songs before, if I really, seriously know them...like Snow or Dani California. Not FCing them is just because I forgot where the pitch goes and obviously I can't sightread it.

My two concerns with the RB mic:
- Picking up the drum beats as interference
- Even with a solid stand, you pretty much have to keep your mouth really close to it the whole time. This seriously disrupts drumming.

Not to mention it's going to get in the way of your hands, unless you have the stand far off and the mic coming down to you. (and that'll probably cost more in terms of stand costs...heh)
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Most difficult: Ramblin' Man (click to see!)
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dore  





Joined: 26 Jun 2007
Posts: 1244
Location: Boone, NC

PostPosted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

sarysa wrote:
My two concerns with the RB mic:
- Picking up the drum beats as interference


As long as your sensitivity is reasonable it's not an issue. The only times I ever get interference is with stuff like the TKaR or DFTR rolls (neither of which actually have singing so it doesn't matter, I just see the arrow move a little).

Quote:
- Even with a solid stand, you pretty much have to keep your mouth really close to it the whole time. This seriously disrupts drumming.

Not to mention it's going to get in the way of your hands, unless you have the stand far off and the mic coming down to you. (and that'll probably cost more in terms of stand costs...heh)


Proper positioning is key... with a decent boom stand positioned well you can have everything working properly with almost no problems with your hands.
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jrod321  





Joined: 13 Nov 2007
Posts: 178
Location: Bronx, N.Y.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well hello there sarysa, I'm Elite Draconian on XBL. Nice tips, and you do make a good point about having to focus on putting your mouth close to a mic on a mic stand but whenever I've used the headset while multitasking, the arrow barely followed my pitch. There were times where it just went all over the place even though I KNOW I was on pitch, so I think the mic works wayyy better at any time, especially the vantage mic, couldn't have beaten vox on expert without it .
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sarysa  





Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 195

PostPosted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 2:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jrod321 wrote:
Well hello there sarysa, I'm Elite Draconian on XBL. Nice tips, and you do make a good point about having to focus on putting your mouth close to a mic on a mic stand but whenever I've used the headset while multitasking, the arrow barely followed my pitch. There were times where it just went all over the place even though I KNOW I was on pitch, so I think the mic works wayyy better at any time, especially the vantage mic, couldn't have beaten vox on expert without it .


Hey, I know you. :p

Have you tried changing the mic sensitivity as i suggested? (3/4 full) I don't get that problem...maybe the issue is with your XBL mic, it's old or maybe batteries are low?
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machetemonkey  





Joined: 02 Feb 2008
Posts: 3043
Location: Minneapolis, MN

PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 12:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

does anybody else have any issues with a shaky voice while voxdrumming?

Maybe it's the way I drum, which involves bouncing my body a lot more than most people, or so it appears, but even when I know a drum and vox part practically by heart (lump), my voice is so shaky that I can only sporadically pass vox on hard (with expert drums).

Obviously part of it is that I'm still uncoordinated in terms of multitasking, but even parts where the drums and vox are in perfect unison (she's lump! She's lump! for example), my voice is still waaay too shaky.

any tips for this?
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jrod321  





Joined: 13 Nov 2007
Posts: 178
Location: Bronx, N.Y.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 14, 2008 4:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

machetemonkey wrote:
does anybody else have any issues with a shaky voice while voxdrumming?

Maybe it's the way I drum, which involves bouncing my body a lot more than most people, or so it appears, but even when I know a drum and vox part practically by heart (lump), my voice is so shaky that I can only sporadically pass vox on hard (with expert drums).

Obviously part of it is that I'm still uncoordinated in terms of multitasking, but even parts where the drums and vox are in perfect unison (she's lump! She's lump! for example), my voice is still waaay too shaky.

any tips for this?


Hmm...you should probably just try a lighter touch on the drums. That might be why your voice gets shaky, too much force=extra body movement. If that doesn't work then practice makes perfect .
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blingdomepiece  





Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 4358
Location: Ottawa ON Canada

PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 6:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

machetemonkey wrote:
does anybody else have any issues with a shaky voice while voxdrumming?

Maybe it's the way I drum, which involves bouncing my body a lot more than most people, or so it appears, but even when I know a drum and vox part practically by heart (lump), my voice is so shaky that I can only sporadically pass vox on hard (with expert drums).

any tips for this?


Change your drumming style so you don't move as much. You don't exactly need it for Rock Band.
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KEFIOX  





Joined: 02 Oct 2007
Posts: 640

PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 6:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is there any way for PS3 players (like myself) to use a headset when drum/voxing? A mic stand just doesn't cutt it and I don't have a boom mic nor anywhere to put on so... Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.
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anonymous_104  





Joined: 01 Jan 1970
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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skywilliam  





Joined: 28 Oct 2006
Posts: 526

PostPosted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 3:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only tips that I have, are kind of what are already said.

- Get a mic stand. (or equivalent)
I use a vacuum with mic taped to the neck as a backup. I've used every setting offered, but my headset don't work. I fail on EASY difficulty

- Know at least one of the charts fairly well.
If you know the pitch, you can fumble your way through the lyrics if you don't know them well. If you know the drum track well, or you're playing a fairly repetitive beat, them glance up at the vox track to spot the pitch and lyrics to keep you on track. I have problems with lyrics most of the time, so I make sure I concentrate more on pitch.

- Positioning is key!
If you are one of the unlucky that cannot use a headset, then you need to make sure that you have room to maneuver around the pads without bumping into the mic stand. Make sure you're not cramped in either.

- Turn down the volume of anything not needed (optional)
I normally only do this for songs I've never heard. But generally, I don't voxdrum songs on a sightread. lol The option is there for songs where you cannot hear your parts clearly. This option helps when you're doing voxbass.

- RELAX!
Who cares if you are struggling with a song, just have fun.
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