Recording Davey Havok

[ScumBum]

What was the experience like working with Davey Havok on Sing the Sorrow ?

What did you do to get the best performances out of him ?

[ButchVig]

Originally Posted by ScumBum

What was the experience like working with Davey Havok on Sing the Sorrow ?

What did you do to get the best performances out of him ?

Davey is an amazing singer, with a wide and powerful dynamic range!

It was tricky recording his voice. Joe McGrath engineered the album, he set up the vocal chain. I'll email Joe and see if i can get him on the board here, he can answer a lot of the technical questions regarding AFI.

[JoeMc]

The way to get a performance out of Davey is threats and intimidation. I did punch him once, but that's another story.
Anyway, here I am so ask away.

[ScumBum]

WOO HOO !!

Thanks Butch

[mobius.media]

I'd love to know his main mic/pre/tracking-compressor/eq.

Also on for example the Leaving Song II chorus, how many times were those shouting "BREAK DOWN!..BURN NOW!.." parts layered and was it the same signal chain?

On others like Silver & Cold, you get multiple layers in the chorus. I presume it was done similarly (?). Great stuff.

[ButchVig]

Originally Posted by JoeMc

The way to get a performance out of Davey is threats and intimidation. I did punch him once, but that's another story.
Anyway, here I am so ask away.

Ha!!!! That's a true story!!!!

After Joe gives up the sordid details on his punch, we should all meet at the Red Lion for a sausage platter!

[ScumBum]

So what was the Vocal chain ??

Did you use many different mics to capture his very dynamic singing ?

I hear a little bit of grit or distortion when he pushes on some notes , is that actually just his voice or was it an effect you added ?

[JoeMc]

Let me shake the cobwebs out. On Sing the Sorrow I remember that we spent half a day trying different mics (15 or more), mic pre's and compressors. We finally settled on a Blue Bottle w/B-6 capsule - Chandler TG-2 mic pre - EAR 660 compressor.
We would record in parts - singing parts, quiet singing and screaming parts. Dave does have an incredibly dynamic voice so it took a lot of riding of levels. On decemberunderground I changed up the chain a bit and on the new album I tweaked it again to suit his singing style.

[Yosh!]

Originally Posted by JoeMc

Dave does have an incredibly dynamic voice so it took a lot of riding of levels.

We're you riding levels on the way in? If so, pre or post compressor?

[JoeMc]

Originally Posted by ScumBum

So what was the Vocal chain ??

Did you use many different mics to capture his very dynamic singing ?

I hear a little bit of grit or distortion when he pushes on some notes , is that actually just his voice or was it an effect you added ?

Some of the grit you hear is good old fashioned tube distortion. Some of it on purpose, some of it, ur, got by me, but the performance was good so we used it.

[JoeMc]

Originally Posted by mobius.media

I'd love to know his main mic/pre/tracking-compressor/eq.

Also on for example the Leaving Song II chorus, how many times were those shouting "BREAK DOWN!..BURN NOW!.." parts layered and was it the same signal chain?

On others like Silver & Cold, you get multiple layers in the chorus. I presume it was done similarly (?). Great stuff.

On Leaving Song II we stacked up about ten tracks of stereo gang vocals. The vocal chain was mainly the same except that I used different mic capsules on the Blue Bottle - B-6 cardioid and B-3 (?) omni. The technique as the same for all gang vocals

[JoeMc]

Originally Posted by Yosh!

We're you riding levels on the way in? If so, pre or post compressor?

Riding was post vocal chain.