Care to share some vocal secrets when recording?

[Reag1502]

I am slowly learning things that help my vocals stand out and sound better like doubling it on the chorus, adding compression, and adding delay to give it some space, but other than that I don't have any more tricks in my bag. If your feeling generous, and know some cool tricks, do share.

[nlc201]

Learn basic vocal technique as to be able to make sound musical and technical advice to the singer based on their performance. Make sure the recording environment is not too cold or too dry. Give the vocalist a separate mix which can be easily monitored and changed by you. Do not give inexperienced vocalists control over their own mix. Listen to what happens to the pitch of the vocalist as you increase or decrease their level in their own mix. If the vocalist is sharp consistently, they're pushing too hard which is a good indication that they can't hear themselves well enough. Try to give the vocalist an uncompressed version of their vocal to listen back to while singing (unless they're experienced and request otherwise). That's tough to setup routing wise but it can help. Don't go nuts on the reverb in their cans. Shorter to medium plates are usually a good place to start. Learn when to spot good times to take short breaks without disrupting their flow. Don't spend 5 hours trying out different microphone/preamp/compressor configurations and then expect to get anything useful recorded. You'll most likely have to wait a day. Record every pass, even practice ones (but don't tell them unless you have to). DO NOT SHOW THEM AUTOTUNE. This may be a necessary evil later but leave it out of the tracking session and try to get what you want by punching/comping. And finally..........


Don't let the track distort (unless you want it to). Deep huh?


Best of luck

[Edge]

I have found that bussing your vocals to their own stereo track with an compresser slamed on top helps glue the vocals to the music, I do a aux track for the Hook and another one for the lead vocals and sometimes I may even bus those two to another aux this way you still can add effects to indivudual tracks like a different eq on one of the vocals, another thing is don't be afraid to roll off the bass on the vocals this cleans up the mix alot

[vernier]

To sound like Robin Zander, scream the same part on ten tracks and use 'em all in the mix. Works every time!

[u b k]

Originally Posted by Reag1502

I am slowly learning things that help my vocals stand out and sound better...

write the kind of melody that makes other people want to sing it, possibly all day long, against their will.

you think recording is hard, try that one on for size...


gregoire
del
ubk
.

[Beardhead]

I find delay often more suitable than reverb. Also, a combination of both works nice. If reverb, choose a not too small pre delay, so the vocals are not too far away.
When doubling or quadrupling or whatever vocals, I often tend not to pan them but to keep them straight mono and add a bit room with reverb or delay.
I record with a bit of compression and add more later. 1176 is my friend.
Claus

[juicylime]

Originally Posted by nlc201

Learn basic vocal technique as to be able to make sound musical and technical advice to the singer based on their performance. Make sure the recording environment is not too cold or too dry. Give the vocalist a separate mix which can be easily monitored and changed by you. Do not give inexperienced vocalists control over their own mix. Listen to what happens to the pitch of the vocalist as you increase or decrease their level in their own mix. If the vocalist is sharp consistently, they're pushing too hard which is a good indication that they can't hear themselves well enough. Try to give the vocalist an uncompressed version of their vocal to listen back to while singing (unless they're experienced and request otherwise). That's tough to setup routing wise but it can help. Don't go nuts on the reverb in their cans. Shorter to medium plates are usually a good place to start. Learn when to spot good times to take short breaks without disrupting their flow. Don't spend 5 hours trying out different microphone/preamp/compressor configurations and then expect to get anything useful recorded. You'll most likely have to wait a day. Record every pass, even practice ones (but don't tell them unless you have to). DO NOT SHOW THEM AUTOTUNE. This may be a necessary evil later but leave it out of the tracking session and try to get what you want by punching/comping. And finally..........

What he said. Plus, unless you're working with a seasoned pro, tell them every take is a good one, some are just more good than others. And record everything (worth mentioning twice).

[DirkB]

Make sure it sounds awesome in their headphones. Some juidicious compression (you don't need to record it) can make it much more pleasing and won't scare a singer that doesn't work the mic when he/she really digs in.

Basically number one priority is to get the best performance out of the singer and for that he/she needs to be distracted as little as possible.

Greetings,
Dirk

[Stitch333]

With rap vocals, the two things I mention the most to the artist are: dont move the pop screen outta the way. and step back from the mic. Someone else mentioned, record everything...I think as long as your levels are cool, thats key...but DONT use them all in the mix. Sometimes, along with a great headphone monitor mix, a lil reverb just for tracking, can help an artist a lot...

[Jason Poulin]

I've been foolin around with Fabfilters on a send/return on vox for an upcoming mix.

Excellent stuff... worth checking out


sometimes a real dirty type of delay (distortion/filters/rotors/echo/chorus) adds depth and excitment in the mix. I was adding just enough to hear it, and then take it down a dB.

Mute it, then you'll miss what it was doing.

Jason

[warhead]

Set up multiple sends with chorus, flange, delay and maybe even a vocoder or ring modulator effect. Experiment with sending very small amounts to each, it can do a lot to keep things interesting and full without sounding obviously affected if you blend it right. I typically don't go for a highly obvious sound unless it calls for it, but even a "clean" track can benefit from small amounts of effects.

Monitoring at EXTREMELY LOW VOLUME goes a LONG WAY towards seating a vocal into a track, and hearing subtle effects so that you do not over do it.

War

[MattiMattMatt]

I would be happy to share vocal secrets, but not when I'm recording!

[Reag1502]

Originally Posted by Beardhead

I find delay often more suitable than reverb. Also, a combination of both works nice. If reverb, choose a not too small pre delay, so the vocals are not too far away.
When doubling or quadrupling or whatever vocals, I often tend not to pan them but to keep them straight mono and add a bit room with reverb or delay.
I record with a bit of compression and add more later. 1176 is my friend.
Claus

That's what I'm talking about. Stuff like this helps a lot!

[bgrotto]

Room mics!!

I like to set up 2 or 3 mics out in the room. Usually I'll cop an old Bowie trick and gate them all with different thresholds; the closer mics open up with medium-volume passages, the further mics open up at the loud parts. It creates a very interesting sense of space.

I've also fiddled with heavily processing room mics differently (for example, one may have a flanger and delay, the other is distorted and has a reverse reverb). Gating these mics with seperate thresholds and panning them off to the sides creates some really weird and engaging ear candy.

Obviously, these tricks don't apply to every style, song, or mix.

If you wanna hear some of this stuff in action, try checking out the past few 90 Day Men records.

[bogeyeater]

Singers - WARM UP. that's not 2 half-assed scales, that's a structured 40 minute warm-up. if you don't know how to do that, go and see a singing teacher. they'll show you.

when you get in the booth you should be warm and in the pocket, plus the initial energy you get with fresh performance - if you were recording takes without warming up you miss the first 30 mins because the voice is still cold. that's bad because you might also get some great performances right off the bat. what you need is the voice warm and ready.

take 'half a headphone' off - so half your ear is covered by the foam - that puts the whole mix in your head AND lets you hear your voice in the room for pitching.

get your performances up to the level where everyone's getting happy. hit a sweet spot, trust the control room when that is. then track away. six times printed is good.

recognise when you need a break but don't keep going back and forth to listen to takes.

take plenty of water into the booth

try shaking an imaginary pair of maracas at head height in time with the tune - helps lock in with the rhythm - don't knock it 'til you try it!

[Surfkat]

In addition to all of the technical aspects already touched on (compression, headphone mix, EFX, etc ) I find it is really important to communicate with the singer between each take. Don't just say "that's great, do another take." You need to give them some objective guidance unless you are recording a real seasoned pro. Listen back to a take with the singer and point out the good spots and some of the problems. Where they might be losing pitch, poor anunciation, use of vibrato, consonant plosives, when to take a breath, stuff like that. These are all things that can't really be "fixed in the mix" and a little extra effort in tracking can make all the difference in the world.

This is a fine line you need to walk between encouragement and criticism. And you need to earn the trust of the singer and also understand how far you can push them. I guess what I am saying is in addition to recording the vocal someone has to "produce" the vocal track. Then the technical aspects become easier because less of your creative energy is spent on trying to fix problems.

[norman_nomad]

Originally Posted by bogeyeater

when you get in the booth you should be warm and in the pocket, plus the initial energy you get with fresh performance - if you were recording takes without warming up you miss the first 30 mins because the voice is still cold. that's bad because you might also get some great performances right off the bat. what you need is the voice warm and ready.

This point is worth underscoring. As both a singer and recorder of singers, I find the best and most energetic/compelling performances are usually in the first 3 takes.

[bruno]

important ! flip the phase switch on your pre while the singer is singing and ask which setting is better for her/him.one positions is usually weird for the singer.
once i had headphones which were wired out of phase.every singer felt uncomfortable singing with them on..

[Gregg Sartiano]

Originally Posted by Reag1502

I am slowly learning things that help my vocals stand out and sound better like doubling it on the chorus, adding compression, and adding delay to give it some spaceh

Compression isn't one-size-fits-all -- whether it comes to technique/setting OR purpose within the mix. Are you trying to squash notes that jump out, control levels (which usu. requires compression and fader rides), impart a "tone" or sonic "grain" on the vocal, bring up airiness or breaths between notes, squash a shrill range (multiband compression see also: Distressor mid-squash setting) or sibilance (which compression might actually accentuate or even smear)...

Sometimes two compressors (one slow, one fast) does the trick. Use your reference mixes and keep A/B'ing.

Riding delay sends is a great way to keep a vocal sound fresh as the mix goes down. On PT with HUI-style MIDI faders, set up a separate mono (or stereo) master fader for the delay bus...otherwise, you're stuck using the V-pots for sensitive delay automation duties.

Edit for rhythm and pitch before mixing. I highly recommend sliding notes for "pocket" until the vocal "grooves" 100% within the song (assuming you have the permission of the producer(s) or you ARE the producer). A vocal that "grooves" will not only "sit" in the mix better but will sound more confident. A note that jumps out may just be rhythmically "grabbed" ahead of the beat -- try cutting and shifting it.

Melodyne is great for editing rhythm. It also allows for easy amplitude editing note-to-note. These volume changes note-to-note (or within notes) are an important yet typically overlooked part of a "pro" sounding vocal, and fader rides and compression only go so far correcting it. If you don't have/don't like Melodyne, you can "gain" up/down notes through Audiosuite -- just keep the original playlist in the background.

Additionally, doing corrections by editing may allow you to avoid letting a vocal track "tie your hands" and force you into an overusage of compression to deal with level jumps and undesirable note-to-note dynamics. End result: a little digital editing may make the final result more natural (imagine that!).

If you do rhythmic and amplitude editing as well as the usual (hopefully) judicious pitch correction until the dry vocal is "right" within the track and THEN AND ONLY THEN commence mixing it, you'll be doing the vocalist a great service, although this tends to be an...ummm..."unsung" duty. Vocalists will walk away knowing they sung their personal best at your studio