Andrew Dawson - Rap Vocal Recording & Mixing

[The Marrvel]

This post is for anyone who wants info on Kanye West / GOOD Music vocal recordings.

I love the vocal sound on Kanye's Late Registration, MBDTF, and WTT. I also love the vocals on Common's Be and Finding Forever albums.

I'm looking for more info in terms of what was added to the vocals ITB after the initial tracking. Hopefully Andrew (soundeq) will chime in. I know that he recorded the vocals for most of these albums.

Common - Be

Originally Posted by soundeq

Alright... The vocal chain for this album:
The Mic was a U67 at Sony Music Studios, they have a few U67's, but only one
really shines on Common's voice. We went through several different mics at first,
to find the right one. Common's voice is VERY hard to record/mix,
because he has a very bassy full voice, with LOTS of presence in the 2-4k range,
and not a lot of mids. His voice if not mic'ed or mixed right can get very "harsh" or "boomy".
The pre used was a Tubetech MP-1A
After the Tubetech his voice went through a "perticular" la-2a that I rent, with about
-5db of gain reduction at the max. I keep a database of serial numbers of rental gear that I like in NYC and in LA....
(no I'm not going to tell you what la-2a or where I get it from, because I don't want it to become unavailable!)
After the la-2a His voice went through a GML 8200 EQ, and was usually EQ'ed to
taste, and fit the track. Honestly it was never the same day to day.
Never more than +/-3db boost or cut on any frequency.

Kanye - Graduation

Originally Posted by soundeq

one of 3 mic's ELAM 251, U67, or Sony C800G....

A "good" sounding ELAM or U67 is getting harder and harder to find, so the C800 is the standby. While I'm not nessisarilly a fan of the c800 Kanye likes seeing it in the booth...

I Like the Tubetech mp1a mic pre, either that or a Neve 1081 or 1073...
Anthony Killhoffer uses the 1073's... Killhoffer usually uses an ELAM (they have a great sounding one at the record plant!)
If there's a good sounding LA-2A I'll use that next in the chain, otherwise I'll grab the Tubetech CL-1B no more than a Max of about -5db of gain reduction, and SLOW attack and SLOW release set on the CL-1B around the 2oclock position....
Ratio is usually around 3:1 or 4:1
After the Compressor I put a touch of Eq on it to taste. (different mics, different rooms, kanye's voice changes from day to day as well).
My vox EQ of choice is a GML8200 but that usually makes Kanye too sylibant.
So usually I opt for a Manley Massive Passive EQ when tracking Kanye.
Its a very "smooth" sounding EQ. You can boost quite a bit of uper mids, without it getting harsh.

Thats it! Not rocket science at all! nothing crazy fancy, just good quality solid gear.
The key is to know when stuff sounds "off", because he moves around lots, its hard to travel with a vocal setup...
Telling the difference between a "good" or "bad" mic or compressor, is just experience mainly...
If you have time the best way to try this at the studio, is try multiple U67's or La-2a's and get a vibe for what you like.
I guarentee anything more than 10-15 years old will sound VERY different from unit to unit.

[Dayl]

Legend! thanks man!

[godphaser]

Dope!

[e-are]

Thanks for the post!!!!

What's funny is I hear lots of slutz say la2a on rap vocals is not a good choice. I knew a guy who recorded with 2pac and they always used a la2a.


Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz.com

[P Floyd da King]

I never understood why other would want to emulate another one's vocal chain. Maybe it's because I am within the Art and Music world but I thought being unique and having your own sound is the reason you create.

[The Marrvel]

Originally Posted by P Floyd da King

I never understood why other would want to emulate another one's vocal chain. Maybe it's because I am within the Art and Music world but I thought being unique and having your own sound is the reason you create.

I'm curious because my music has a similar sound to that of a 2005 Kanye/Dilla sample record.

In my opinion, those involved with the projects mentioned, sonically do that style the best. Therefore, I'm very curious about the vocal recording and mixing process for those records. I want to learn from the best (in my opinion).

Andrew posted the gear list, now I'm looking for techniques as to why they chose that gear.

I hope that gives you a better understanding.

[Storyville]

Originally Posted by e-are

Thanks for the post!!!!

What's funny is I hear lots of slutz say la2a on rap vocals is not a good choice. I knew a guy who recorded with 2pac and they always used a la2a.


Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz.com

You'll notice that the ones who have actually used it say that it is a good choice

Optical compressors in general tend to be a pretty good choice for vocals. The curve seems to preserve the naturalness of the voice while making it sound full. Not all optical compressors, and some are better than others.

[Storyville]

Originally Posted by P Floyd da King

I never understood why other would want to emulate another one's vocal chain. Maybe it's because I am within the Art and Music world but I thought being unique and having your own sound is the reason you create.

99 percent of a vocal sound in terms of character is the actual voice itself. The mics are used to flatter that character, preserve it, but rarely to actually change it or give it a marked characteristic. Unless you are specifically choosing to use the tracking and processing to give a vocal a signature characteristic like Drake and his super-squashed vocals.

[mista min]

Originally Posted by Storyville

You'll notice that the ones who have actually used it say that it is a good choice

Optical compressors in general tend to be a pretty good choice for vocals. The curve seems to preserve the naturalness of the voice while making it sound full. Not all optical compressors, and some are better than others.

CL1-b is a nice opto that seems to get a lot of love here, but what about the TLA-100 or the TLA-50? That one is not that expensive. I've only had the privilege of hearing what the CL1-b does, but never actually got to use it myself, I've never used either of the Summits as well.

[TonyBelmont]

Originally Posted by mista min

CL1-b is a nice opto that seems to get a lot of love here, but what about the TLA-100 or the TLA-50? That one is not that expensive. I've only had the privilege of hearing what the CL1-b does, but never actually got to use it myself, I've never used either of the Summits as well.

TLA-100 is every bit as good and easier to get a good sound with than the CL1b...


TLA-50.... not so much.

[madehumble]

Great info. I really enjoyed the read.

[EDF]

Great read.

[mista min]

Originally Posted by TonyBelmont

TLA-100 is every bit as good and easier to get a good sound with than the CL1b...


TLA-50.... not so much.

Wish I could try one myself, but unfortunately, don't know anybody that has one.

How does the plugin hold up against the original unit? (Weird question, but I thought I'd ask).