Vocal Recording techniques and tricks and whatever else is cool

[Jason Poulin]

hello ppl, this is the thread to talk about the vox.

Any techniques on getting those airy, spacy, doubled, multiple, distorted, backups, variety, tricks, mults, eq, etc...

Spill it plz


I'm looking for alternatives to just sticking a signer in the front and mixin it in.

I use a Soundelux U99 (mostly in cardioid) and TLM 103 as main vox mics, pres are GR2NV, 3124, 2x VT737's, TC electronics Gold Channel.


Thanks

Jason

[Curve Dominant]

Any techniques on getting those airy...

Stedman Proscreen: Get one, now. Use it, always. Take those pantyhose popscreens and throw them in the trash, pronto.

spacy...

Stereo delay, timed to the tempo of the track, panned and set in the mix so you can "feel" it more than hear it.

doubled...

If you track multiple takes of your singer, use the takes that you like 2nd-best as the "doubles" and mix them under the 1st takes. OR copy the 2nd chorus, mix it UNDER the 1st chorus, and vice-versa.

multiple...

Do the above plus the 3rd-best take, and mix to taste.

distorted...

Sansamp, all the way.

backups...

Have your vocalist "vamp-out" on harmonies, counterpoints, and any intuitively crazy shit through the whole song, like 3 or more times at least. Then comb through all that for the tastiest bits, and mix that stuff into the track. Go nuts with this, it's all the rage.

variety, tricks...

Copy/paste bits of the hooks/chorus into odd places of the verses and bridges, intros and outros. Again, go nuts. The kids love it, the vocalists will love it, and it's fun.

I have used stuff - the vocalist is talking to me while the "tape" is rolling, saying things like "Alright, take it back..." and stuff like that, and mixed it into the track in percussive fashion. Yo, it's ill.

mults...

AHHH! MULTS! Check this out...

Take the lead vocal, duplicate it twice. Move one of the dupes 500 samples forward, and the other dupe 500 samples back. Group the two dupes, pan them hard L & R, and mix them low, about 50% or lower than the original. NOW: Take the original take, and put it through Autotune at a very "relaxed" setting. You should find the subtle pitch-correction of the original against the dupes creates a truly dope natural-sounding stereo chorus effect, and makes the lead vocal big and wide in the mix.

eq...

Yes, you will have to exhibit some eq Kung Fu in order to pull this stuff off. Mainly, you will be cutting the lows quite drastically in the mults/doubles/harmonies/etc. You gotta use your ears for that. Listen for lo-mid sludge, and hit those non-essential tracks with lo-shelf cutting to compensate, and be bold in that regard. You wanna get those vocal tracks sounding glassy and clean. Know what I mean?

Happy hunting!

[Kyle Ashley]

Eric,

Excellent reply...

[Jason Poulin]

diddo.


Thank you Eric


Jason

[tiger vomitt]

yeah good stuff up there.

a basic one is to not have the vocalist be too close to the mic if it's a LDC. too much mid up there. lately ive been having them stand about a foot back. with the right mic it's an instantly glassy sound.

[Curve Dominant]

a basic one is to not have the vocalist be too close to the mic if it's a LDC. too much mid up there.

Mids, and lows too. That's the "proximity effect."

Thing is, one can capture some intimate vibe with the vocalist close to the mic.

I like to have the Stedman about 1" from the mic, and the vocalist 1-2" from the Stedman.

I end up lo-shelf-cutting those tracks up to 500Hz sometimes, by as much as -5dB. Depends on the vocalist, and the velocity of the track's delivery.

If it's a soft ballad, I want the vocalist right up against that mic, like she's whispering in your ear. But if she's belting, yeah, she's gotta back off a bit.

Yeah, it's a bitch, to struggle with that beast, but it's worth it to capture "that" vibe.

Close-mic'ing vocalists is the "sweetest taboo" of sound engineering. Enter at your own risk.

[triez]

Number 1 tip of all - put a little mixer like one of the tiny cheap Behringers next to the vocalist, set up some sends & FX to it, and on it mark:
Me, My reverb, My echo, Overall volume.
Plug their cans into the headphone out, show the vocalist what each of the 4 sliders / knobs does, and they will love you forever as suddenly they have control over what is in their cans.

Most singers fall into one of two camps - either they will constantly ask you to adjust their volumes and balances, or they will be too shy and will struggle along not hearing themselves properly or pulling their belts because it is cutting their own head off.

This is so important, because a comfortable singer will be able to give their best performance and thus reduce your having to use tricks and techniques to pull the track together after the fact.

As for great vocal fx, particularly distortion and bizarre reverb FX, look no further than the Kurzweil KSP8 or the Laserverbs in the Rumour and Mangler.

[patrox247]

I second the KSP 8. The reverbs are so magical on vocals, my old Lexicons and T.C.'s have been gathering dust.
One thing I like to do at times on vocals is to overdrive compressors. Try an 1176 in front of an LA2A. Set the 1176 at a 4:1 ratio with a med input and high output feeding the LA. Then adjust the LA2A limiting to taste. You should get some cool emphasized harmonic distortion.

[tiger vomitt]

Originally posted by Curve Dominant
Mids, and lows too. That's the "proximity effect."

actually i didnt mean mids at all, i meant lows. i dont know why i typed mids

but it is true, sometimes you just have to get really close to the mic to get the vibe. for that slightly distant mic'ing, i was thinking of a more typical rock, forte kind of vocal. for quiet, intimate stuff, up-close on the mic can be very nice. especially on an E47 (nice mic, sometimes i wish i had one)

i was doing LOTS of of low-cutting on my vocal tracks, until i started giving it a little more distance on the lead vocals. with the last 2 or 3 songs i recorded, i didnt need to eq the vocal at all (which was possibly a first for me).

another trick ive been trying to varying degrees of success is this- stick up a mic like a green bullet, dictaphone mic, a crystal mic, etc next to the regular vocal mic. if it doesnt need mega mounts of gain to get recorded well, it can add a great vocal presence to the track. if it needs too much gain it's not gonna work cuz it'll just be noisy. you also might have to slide it around in the DAW a bit to get it happening phase wise.

yet another one i used to do in an apartment was-

i would feed the vocal to a little mini marshall amp (like the thing that is 5 iches tall). i put it in the bathroom on the sink. i mic'd it up in the shower with a LDC in omni (or sometimes cardioid) and blended it in. id have to set the marshall up just right so that it wasnt distorting too much. once it's good, it sounds more hi-fi than you might think. using a good pre for the marshall mic helps too. ive done this with DAW drums as well and it sounds good too. dang, i gotta start rockin that one again

have fun

[Curve Dominant]

posted by tiger:
another trick ive been trying to varying degrees of success is this- stick up a mic like a green bullet, dictaphone mic, a crystal mic, etc next to the regular vocal mic. if it doesnt need mega mounts of gain to get recorded well, it can add a great vocal presence to the track.

Yo, that's a ****in' great idea! I gotta try that now.

[natpub]

Harvy's whisper trick is always a good one, as are several on this thread:

http://recpit.prosoundweb.com/viewtopic.php?t=4330

I like printing all the vocals and snare hits backwards and upside down and putting it on it's own track as a kinda roll into a tight snappy hit on a first word of a line, etc. Easy to overuse, so be careful.


nat

[pigpen]

I know it's taboo to some, but I am absolutely one of those, "Print it to Hard drive" kind of guys. I will 1176/Distressor that vocal to death to tape. I want it as close to being mixed as humanly possible. (Of course I also use absoultely nothing sometimes too...Gotta love this game)

Cool tricks....
1. For backups/double vocals- Have them back off the mic a couple of feet. Don't adjust your gain. Leave it alone and see how well it fits in the mix. They are supposed to sound less in your face/ or distant.
2. Use a different pre and/or mic for the same when possible.
3. Borrow the idea from earlier and stereo delay them on an aux track....then add something like the Fairchild 660 or Amp Farm in line afterwards. Gives you not only a delayed effect, but a nasty retort if you will.
4. Sing into the side of a cup...sounds stupid, but if you have a siger who really belts and you need it redirected, it can work for back ups and cool effected vocals. Plus they dig it.
5. If they kill it on your favorite mic, give em a handheld 57/421 and let them run around the room doubling it! You will be amazed how well a singer can sing with themselves. I always say..."Ok Cool, we have one in the can. Wanna run it again for shits and giggles?" Absolutely stunnning how well they do without the pressure of having to do it right.
6. Have fun...I disagree with some of the earlier posts...I love recording vox.

7. And above all....don't let em spit on your mic. Stedman all the way baby.

[Kris]

Many times in the studio the vocalist is under inspired or too laid back... The other day I laid a huge life sized poster of "The Wrestling Queen" (super hot, scantily clad wrestling chick) over the drums, in front of the vocalist... seemed to get the blood pumping... I suppose porn could work too. This technique may not work for female vocalists... (but then again...)