What do you use when the singer sucks?

[fooman]

I just tracked a band that had a horrid singer, but he matched the band... e.

I gave him a 57, let him run around the room, and made his vocals a bit gritty and low-fi. It turned out ok and the band was happy.

If the singer is happy, then you are ok. If the singer is pissed cause they sound like crap, they just gotta work at their instrument.

[Jay Pemberton]

About 15 years ago, I had a situation where the entire band sucked. They were a mediocre country band, just doing covers.

They were not half sloshed by the time we began recording. We eventually got 10 songs down to tape. After the band left, I had the biggest mess ever, that needed cleaning up. They'd even forgotten two or three unopened cans of beer they'd left there!

As a laugh, I still have the tape. Mixing it was....interesting. I was the only sober person throughout the proceedings, so I got to hear all the warts (the lead singer sings one set of lyrics in the chorus, the harmony guy the other set at the same time....you get the idea).

When all was done, and presented to them on cassette as they'd asked, I made the recommendation that since the lot of them were extremely drunk when they did the recording, they needed to be just as drunk again when they listened to the final product, or it wouldn't sound right.

Good job they had senses of humour--they thought that was funny!

[Knastratt]

If it ain't happening - it ain't happening.

[mtlin]

A lot of answers seem to miss the fact that you are talking about yourself. I'm in the same boat as you. I'm a home recording hobbiest and a guitarist/songwriter. What I can't do is sing. I'm going to take some lessons and practice. I figure if I ever get to the point of being passable, then I'll think about the gear. Have fun!

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by Kappi

MY Solution....Attachment 52643

lol...

[axeman]

You don´t need gear. You need a lot of takes, a lot of editing, a lot of pitch correction, a lot of volume automation and a helluva lot of patience. Depending of the style of music, try and see if there´s a way to do something "gimmiky" to his voice (think Cher-Autotune, Marilyn Manson-wierd etc...). That´s my 2 cents.

Ps. And oh, here´s a little tip: When you´re comping vocals, comp to two tracks. The first is one is the lead and the second one is for the reeeeally awful takes. The "Worst of...". This will keep your sane...

[johnnycox]

Theres no way of being the greatest than trying to be that.
In all answers to what sucks or not ur in the right atmosphere.

[El Disgusto]

Originally Posted by poncival

This is gearsluts, I'd be expecting something from Wilson Combat, not a cheap glock.

[Steffmo]

Originally Posted by Benmrx

Distortion can do wonders

I'm with you on that..... You can do some amazing and creative things while you are at it.

If all else fails....consult the Phil Spector handbook.

[The_Controllers]

Originally Posted by Steffmo

If all else fails....consult the Phil Spector handbook.

LOL, or a broomstick and a whole lotta attitude

[ddp]

Originally Posted by liquidorange

you are correct!. if the singer sucks tone wise but can sing all the lines similar timing wise it produces a thick gooey haze that makes it more pleasant than listening to a single track. think 60-s. alot of famous stuff double tracked by less than stellar singers. ive found with 3 tracks you can edit at least a doubled lead vocal. on second thought just tell the singer they suck and buy them a drink!

Also if you have three tracks to choose from have more editing options. You can edit three down to two tracks and then even recycle good bits by slightly offsetting the rime on the tracks.

[mixmixmix]

1. memorize the lyrics of the simplest part ( either cohrus or verse)
2. record the melody of this part ( use guitar or keys)
3. Sing in unison ( slow this dummy track down if it makes it easier)
4. Go over and over. Gradually lower the volume of the dummy track while singing with it, until you can do it on your own.
5. Go to next part ( bridge etc.) Repeat steps 1 -4.
Keep going until you can carry a tune for the whole song.

NOW you are ready to start recording/ comping.
Still, the fastest way is a good teacher and 1 hour a day of practice. Don't waste your money on gear /gimmics, invest in education / skill first.

Work hard, good luck

[hipass]

charge extra to make it worth your while ...

[vernier]

Whiffle bat ?

[Pearl.masters]

well what i do is loop record like half a verse, get 10 takes and move through until they get it, its laborious but works, then oh yeah the small matter of melodyne!

Tom

[Teddy Ray]

I normally tell them they can't sing..and to go away.

I'll not waste my time recording people that suck...there are so many people out there that don't , you see.

[vernier]

[gutr2]

Great answers!!
I personally leave the vocal naked for the shock factor, so they realize they need to improve, maybe get some lessons before recording for real, etc.

When it comes to final recordings, I make sure they are aware of all the hard work it will involve and make them feel secure I'm doing my best.
But I find lots of "color" helps, probably because it changes the timber of the voice and also distracts from the bad voice.

[Waltz Mastering]

MXR - Distortion +

[Ari-M.]

Originally Posted by DoMD

So I have this, erm .. friend ... yeah, and he's got a real lousy voice. Think Leonard Cohen doing a drunken duet with Rob Zombie. What would you put between him and the harddrive to make this abomination tolerable to an audience? Just your first instinct for a mic/pre/comp/eq chain. Got about a $5K budget. Not looking for miracles from any magic box, just to start with some good tools to try and polish this particular turd.

it might have already been said....hire a good singer....they come pretty cheap, and sometimes bring their own gear



also why not let it be a turd?? put amp farm on it and compress the suck out of it.....that way it will just be a wall of out of tune mush, and you can tell everyone that's what you were going for, and who knows.....you might win a grammy....

[Stepwise Sound]

This is fun!

I have a few ideas for you: field-tested and ready to go!

1. Play the main melody in another instrument (keys, guitar, strings, etc. depending on the instrumentation) -- put it in the mix behind the vocals so the actual melody will come thru even if the singing is off.

2. Others have said this but it bears repeating -- lots of takes. Comp and correct the pitch!

3. Lots of people have problems singing with headphones. Use a handheld SM-58 or other mic -- sing with the monitors on. Rock out. Works for Bono!

4. Waves doubler -- Can add detuning and lots of depth to vocals -- really excellent to disguise out of tune vocals and add popish sheen. I dig it! Alternately, you can go lo-fi -- are tons of options out there to distort and mess up the vocals.

5. Finally (and this is perhaps the most obvious answer) if you are actually talking about yourself, you have the budget! Hire someone good to make you sound decent! This sort of work is brutal and sort of demoralizing to do on your own voice. Get someone else to produce your tracks. Who knows, maybe you sound okay -- lots of people can't stand their own voice.

Anyway, you can't throw tons of money at a vocal chain and expect that you will all of a sudden sound good. However you can hire someone with perspective to do the hard work for you and turn out a decent sounding track.

[EqnoixStudios]

Originally Posted by DoMD

So I have this, erm .. friend ... yeah, and he's got a real lousy voice. Think Leonard Cohen doing a drunken duet with Rob Zombie. What would you put between him and the harddrive to make this abomination tolerable to an audience? Just your first instinct for a mic/pre/comp/eq chain. Got about a $5K budget. Not looking for miracles from any magic box, just to start with some good tools to try and polish this particular turd.

I would find the most aggresive/harsh sounding compress/limiter I could find and use that to take the focus away from the bad singing. Check out the CBS volumax for added beef.

[Audio Hombre]

Originally Posted by DoMD

this is gearslutz.com so c'mon and ***** some hardware. I'm sure lots of you have been in this situation before ...

seriously dude, you're asking guys around here about what "hardware" is going to help, and i'd lay money that most of us around here have dealt with a singer like you're dealing with and the last thing we thought about was some boutique gear to help

seriously man. give your head a shake, if anything go the opposite way and lo-fi him if he's that terrible.

Originally Posted by Benmrx

Distortion can do wonders

the man speaketh the truth. first thing I thought of. i'd carve the beejeebus out of the low and highs and give him a tone that suits his voice: brutal. very less exposing. go for ballz to the walls fx.you go highend, and all you're doing is dropping his pants.

[James Meeker]

I like the mute button myself.

[Jim Williams]

The rolladex.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

[sameal]

well, im not sure if anybody said this yet but,

some of my favorite singers by definition cannot sing. jim carrol. love it, cant sing to save his life really. i think with this particular instance though hes such a great writer and good with words that it kinda makes up for his voice not being all there. i hate saying this, cause i love him, im just trying to prove a point.

damen edge from chrome, in my opinion cant really sing. if you listen to the stuff he did after helios creed left and he went for the 80's sound (which is awsome. not quite the chrome im used to, but still killer) hes singing mostly without effects and i love it. yeah he cant sing, so what its great! but again hes pretty good with words and it makes up for it. that and there musical approach was just so weird and great.

gg allin cant sing, but alot of that is being toothless and too busy hitting people with the microphone too sing into it.


i guess what im trying to get at is if the singer is bad, they need to make that or something else in the band work for them. i.e. there writing, the music behind them.....

maybe tell this friend in the most polite way you can think of that hes bad, but bad can be good when directed correctly. hes gotta find his version of bad is good. sometimes its effects, sometimes its vocal lessons whatever it is, hes gotta find it.

this is also coming from a punk/industrial/underground view of the matter. what style of music is he going for?

its also my opinion and worth only what you want it too be.



one more good example, david yow. hes such an amazing front man it doesnt matter. hes great with words and hes just so much a stage presence that it makes up for whatever hes lacking in singing voice.

but again, hes making this work for what hes doing. the style of music the approach all of it. i think if your gonna be a bad singer, you better find some way to make it work for you before thinking about magic box's and effects


if your trying to break into the pop music charts singing like a drunken rob zombie and leonard cohen, uhm.........well....... breast of luck to ya man.

[Canopus]

Start auditioning other singers.

[amanitas]

Dave Trumfio at Kingsize Soundlabs has an outboard "Talent Booster" box. Maybe that will work?

[reggiesears]

Well, I Too Am Working with a "mediocre" vocalist...his pitch is sometimey, his tone really sucks, his voice is just not that good...and he knows it to...lol...so, other than pitch correction, I use several types of chorus, doublers, delays, reverbs, detune, and anythang else I can think of throwing in there...plus a zillion layers of backup vocals.

Thats A Start

[Dean Roddey]

My suggestion is bring me in. I will suck so much worse, that it will readjust your appreciation meter for the original singer. It's all really relative. You just need someone like me to lower the bar. If the bar is already really low, I have a shovel, so it's not a problem.