Recording vocals for so-so singers

I'm trying to write R&B music myself, but will have to rely on singing on my own tracks until I find myself a "real" singer. My voice isn't terrible and I am certainly not tone deaf, but the workpace I have requires that I don't spend all day trying to get vocals perfect. I'd much rather work on the song. That said, what do you guys think the best way is to record vocals fo a so-so singer, so that it sounds decent on playback? What effects to use while recording and post-recording? Throw on some compression and reverb while recording and then compress, EQ and more reverb after? Ultiamtely I will have to record harmonies, so I just want things to sound thick anyway. Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Hey,
First off, everyone and their next door neighbour wants to be a singer - try your local (music) colleges, the internet (there will be someone in your area, trust me), local talent nights (I know these happen, for example, in London), local press, music shops, your friends, your friends sister, your friends sister's friends... you'll be surprised what you can get.
I had a singer come down Spring 04, and I knew nothing about compression. Did a few mixes, vocals sounded a bit thin, a bit uncontrolled - when compared to anyone elses vocals sounded RUBBISH : 0 ( . I spend some time playing with stuff, thinking about stuff and reading some stuff. I take a look at the session a year later, and with
- Hi pass filter (as a standard on every track except bass and kick drum) to filter any hums or stray frequencies
- Space Designer (Vocal Reverbs>Extra Body)
- Silver compressor to get body and to rein in the loudest parts
- Touch of Multiband compression to catch certain frequency bands and compress them ("in your face" presence)
- touch of delay to add to 3D presence if needed (choruses/ad libs etc)
- Pinch of eq (they say the human voice benefits from boosts around 4k - try playing subtly with eq around this area
- Space designer (Vocal Reverbs>Golden) - adjust wetness to taste
I get pretty close to a nice sounding vocal... and I used a pretty (less than £50) cheap microphone - to be honest the difference is in the "last 5%" of the sound - if you play a track to your mum or your sister or 10,000 ravers in a field they won't stop dancing and go "man that mic sounds cheap" (guess my point is not to worry so much about it - if you do get something signed, you can always re-record it - whilst wanting your stuff to sound as good as it can, very few record labels (IMHO) listen to records with a "frequency" ear on). Obviously if your song has an "acccapella" section then people may notice the difference. Experiment with a cheap mic and maybe rent/borrow a good one for the final mix would be my advice....
I'd record them all dry (no need to affect signal chain when recording, if you apply effects post recording the effect will be the same) and then cut 'em up, pick the best bits and try variations of the above, try chorus effects, odd eqs, hi pass filters, even things like reverse reverb...
Harmonies - most important thing is being in tune and in exact time. Make a few different ones and play around with them, cut them up, compress them more than any others to get that tight "backing vocal" that's so warm and sits perfectly with your lead vocal.
My best advice would be to search the net for tips on making "professional sounding vocal", read and re-read the articles and experiment from there. I know a few producers who think they have a grasp on compression but don't really understand it... read and re-read until you get it!
Good luck with 'em!
Best,
Mickey.

Similar Messages

Your tips for recording vocals

To all the vocal producers out there:
What are your tips for recording vocals? Not necessarily the EQ and compression and that jazz, but how you record it? I'm trying to record my own vocals but naturally I can't sing a verse in one take. Do you guys break each line up? How do you do it so the tone and volume are the same each time? If you've got a different audio segment for each line, do you just chop them up and merge them into one segment? Do you record harmonies the same way or do you have pitch-shift shortcuts?

Maybe I'm just cranky today (apologies in advance), but when I saw this:
but naturally I can't sing a verse in one take
I wanted to throw something. Why the f#7*& not?
My suggestion to you is you work hard on your vocal abilities, maybe with the help of a good vocal coach. Once that's done, learn microphone technique. After that's done, practice, practice, practice.
When you have accomplished the above, test several microphones and find which one suits your voice. Maybe you should book some time at a commercial studio with a helpful engineer for this step. Learn the characteristics of each microphone and preamp, and see which best suit your voice.
Then, and only then, start buying stuff for your home studio: then there will be another few months while you learn how to put it all together.
Meanwhile, this might help:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/howto_recordvocals.htm
And good luck!

Once and for all: What's the best way of recording vocals...

hiya there,
i'm listening to some of my own recordings and it keeps annoying me that i just can't get the vocals to be powerful.... And it's not my singing voice!
I've put vocals by other professional singers over my instrumental tracks and it all sounds sharp and 'into it', whereas my vocals 9dubbed or not) keep sounding shallow and bleak. i use a good microphone, but that's it. How can i improve it all?
Hope anyone can point me in the right direction...

Yes, i suggest you to use a MIDI-Keyboard, even a small one (like my M-AUDIO KeyRig25) is good and fun to use. It's also better to use some specific Audio Plug-Ins which you can use in GB. There are many freewares around.
Look here: http://www.macmusic.org/software/softwares.php?lang=en
Here: http://www.gersic.com/plugins/index.php?daCat=-3
Or here: http://www.dontcrack.com/freeware/
Cheers!

Recording vocals seperate from main music Mac

I do most of my music on a Mac Pro, running Logic Studio 9, but the location of the computer really isn't a suitable space for recording vocals in.
I can't keep lugging the Mac Pro about, so ideally I'd like to record the vocals in a suitable (different) space on to a laptop, then import the resulting audio files to the main project on my Mac Pro.
The idea is that I'd do a stereo reference mix of the music in Logic Pro, bounce it and copy that audio file to a project on the laptop (using Garageband or Logic Express to save cost).
With that project set up at the same tempo and sampling rate, I'd then record the vocals using the laptop. From there I'd copy the vocal audio file(s) and drop them into the music project on the Mac Pro, where I'd add any effects, processing and do the final mix.
First question - would this work? As long as I recorded the vocals in a project set to the same tempo and sampling rate as the music, would I have any timing or sync problems when adding the vocal audio files to the original music project?
Second question - if so, can anyone recommend any portable, Firewire 800 audio interfaces which would be suitable for recording the vocals on to the laptop? It would ony need to be 2 input channels maximum, but with at least one XLR input and phantom power.
Any advice gratefully received!

but the location of the computer really isn't a suitable space for recording vocals in.
Is there any other room that would work better at your location? If so, consider buying a snake.
The idea is that I'd do a stereo reference mix of the music in Logic Pro, bounce it and copy that audio file to a project on the laptop (using Garageband or Logic Express to save cost).
Or reinstall Logic Pro on your laptop, but without all the content. Your license permits this, as you're not using two copies at the same time.
First question - would this work?
Yes. I do this often. Just be sure that both files begin at 1 1 1 1. Additionally, as I usually have many takes tracking o'dubs, I always record to WAV (BWF) files so I can use the 'move to original record position' command to align less than complete audio files.
Second question - if so, can anyone recommend any portable, Firewire 800 audio interfaces
Most FW interfaces are FW400. Just get an [adapter.|http://www.sonnettech.com/product/fw_adapter.html] and buy an interface which can be separately powered. There are dozens of suitable FW interfaces: one inexpensive box which I like is the [AudioFire4|http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/FireWire/AudioFire4/index.php] which is 6in/6out - they make an Audiofire2 but that doesn't have XLRs. Apogee, Focusrite, Presonus etc. all have small interfaces which you might like - just [search around|http://www.sweetwater.com/c683--FireWireAudioInterfaces/low2high]. Personally, I would avoid M-Audio.
Good luck.

Monitor my voice my while recording vocals?

I have icore5,8gb ram and my Rode nta1 mic which is pluged into profire610 that goes to my pc with 6pin buswire and headphones comes out from my pc realtak jack.Now the problem is that I can't monitor my voice while recording vocals.I have done Edit>Pre>Audio Hardware and set the device class to ASIO and device it shows M-Audio ProFire ASIO.and select Release ASIO driver in background.It records everything and play.But while im recording I can't hear my voice in headphones.Still if I choose MME from Audio Hardware and go to Multitrack window click R and "I" then I can hear everything in headphones but then again I can't record using MME.Please help me out im going crazy here

Is there any reason not to just use one of the two headphone jacks on the front of the Profire 610? That's what they're there for.
Trying to use the in built Realtek piece of rubbish at the same time as the Profire is frought with difficulties since the Profire works best with ASIO drivers whereas the Realtek is an MME device. Even if you could get it working, I suspect that latency might make the monitoring less than ideal.
Edited to add: you MIGHT be able to get it working the way you want if you download ASIO4ALL from http://www.asio4all.com/
I have no way of trying this and still think using the Profire headphone outs would be a far better solution...but if you have to use the Realtek for some reason, give ASIO4ALL a try.

Question regarding recording vocals?

Hi, I'm considering in purchasing an IMAC real soon. Will Garage Band allow me to record vocals while playing an mp3, wave, cd, etc, from an internal player within the mac? For instance, I currently have a WINDOWS PC which I use winamp to play the audio and use CoolEditPro to record that same audio as well as vocals simultaneously. Will I be able to do this using Garageband and an internal audio player which comes with mac?
Thanks
Wil
Windows XP

they are recorded as wave files on your player so you should be able to transfer them to your computer using mediasource

Edit Pre-recorded vocals

I have been trying to work out how to edit pre-recorded vocals using the Voicelive 2 and Logic Pro. I have managed to figure out the settings on the voice live 2 but I cannot work out what to do on the logic side of things. This is what I have been told (see below), but I dont understand what this means.
In LOGIC you have to set up a SEND (to VoiceLive 2 via MAUDIO SPDIF out LEFT!!! CHANNEL ONLY) for sending the dry Vocal track and RETURN the processed signal on a new stereo track (from VoiceLive Rack / input source = MAUDIO SPDIF input L & R channels). Don't forget to record enable the track. To control harmony / detecting automatically the key, you may SEND any audio signal (i.e. your instrumental, piano/ rhodes chord track etc.) via MAUDIO SPDIF RIGHT!!! CHANNEL to VL 2.
Would anyone be kind enough to explain what this means and what I need to do? ( i am trying to post edit pre-recorded vocals using voice live 2, logic 9 and m-audio fast track ultra).
Thank you

Open GB, drag the AIFF file from the Finder onto the GB window
Hey presto!
Vince

How do you setup adobe audition 3.0 to record vocal?

hi,
I just bought some equipment for recording vocal but have no idea how to setup adobe audition 3.0 to actually pickup sound from my mic.
So i have my microphone connecting to the interface which connects to my computer.
Microphone: Audio Technica AT2020 XLR cord
Interface: M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB connection
The M-Audio fast track pro CD was useless, it said it wouldnt install on my Vista 32bit so I just downloaded the vista 32bit driver which worked perfect. I also downloaded the ASIO4ALL v2 driver since my computer only has an intergrated soundcard. (Realtek High Definition Audio, Screaming Bee Audio) I dont know why there is 2. But i have no idea how to get audition working and pick up sound. I went into audio hardware setup and clicked the ASIO4ALL v2 driver in Edit view tab, multitrack view and surround encoder but still no sound picked up. Ill post up some pictures of how it looks. Any help would be appreciated thanks.
Sound card setting:
http://i51.tinypic.com/fn92fa.jpg
Adobe Audition driver setup (Edit view, Multitrack View, Surround Encoder):
http://i56.tinypic.com/167w60i.jpg
http://i54.tinypic.com/28ml011.jpg
http://i51.tinypic.com/2rdw6sh.jpg
I also tried choosing the M-Audio USB ASIO option but it wont let me
sorry for being so stupid, I'm a beginner to all this and is still learning so please don't be too harsh on me.

I use a different model of M-Audio interface so I don't know if this applies to the Fast Track Pro, but...
I've noticed that mine can be fussy about the order of power up and if I boot the computer then connect the interface, Windows doesn't always detect it's presence. I now have a switch on procedure that I follow without thinking: I turn on the audio interface, make sure it's connected to the PC and only then boot the PC. This seems to make sure the M-Audio device is always detected.
Although I have Asio4All installed, I just use the M-Audio drivers. Make sure the drivers you want are selected in the Audio Hardware setup window, then go through and then select your inputs in Edit and Multitrack windows.
Bob

Is it possible to record vocals in Logic Pro 9?

I just bought Logic Pro 9 to create music, but I was wondering if it's possible to record vocals over the music. If it is possible, how do I do that?

You've made a good point Miles. A feature they have added in both US and UK versions of cars is a thing called 'pedals'. In the UK it's a little confusing as there are 3 pedals but most people only have 2 feet, but hey!
In UK the middle 'pedal' functions as a slow-downer and the far right pedal functions as a speed-uperer. There are no short cuts to these features. In the US most cars have 2 'pedals' and most people have 2 feet, way more logical. In this case you'd want to press the left with your foot to slow you down.
I have heard that your car can go up hills but you have to configure the 'engine' properly. Once configured and the 'engine' is on, a whole new range of motoring possibilities will open up to you. The speed-uperer pedal has no effect unless the 'engine' is configured and working properly. Stumped me for ages.
Hope this helps you stick with 'car' a bit longer. Although 'boat' has it's attraction, jumping to a different platform is not always the answer.

How to link two recording channels for stereo?

I have a zoom 6 interface which naturally records vocals in stereo with audition with its built in stereo
Mic. However, I have an external stereo mic which connects to two different inputs on my interface.
I want to link these two inputs in audition to record in stereo without recording two separate busses.
How can I do this?
Thanks!

You need to select a stereo input option in the channel sources choice on the track control panel (LHS). If it's possible to pair the two inputs, then this is where you do it.
Alternatively, just don't bother! Simply record two mono tracks and mix them down to a stereo track afterwards. Mind you, if you are recording vocals like this, then there really isn't a lot of point, as your voice is mono anyway, and you only really need a single output from the mic - one side or the other would do. If you are recording ambient sound, then okay, stereo - but you really don't need that for a single voice.

How can I use Garageband on my IPAD2 to record Vocal tracks?

Sorry for the newbie question.
I have a mic setup that runs into garage band on my Imac, but would like to use my Ipad to record vocal tracks as well.
Looking at garageband version for the IPAD in the app store, it does not appear to have any sort of recording capability.
Currently I run my audio signal into my Mac via a pre-amp, connected via USB cable.
Would like any sort of help in being able to use garage band, or any other program, to record vocals into my IPAD

If you check the iTunes Apps store and seem to recall that there is a program that will allow you to transfer Photo's between iPhones using Bluetooth. I stand to be corrected but is this not a feature of the new iPhone 3GS Ant..

Recording vocals, volume level

This is a little off topic, but I would like to get input about recording levels. It has been my goal to record vocals at the highest gain possible without clipping. When I apply effects the sound level almost always goes over. When I back the volume down the sound level seems too quiet. I have to lower all the other tracks as well in order to get a good balance of sound levels.
If I lower all the tracks like that it seems the overall loudness is low, but is that really a concern? I suppose that is where mastering comes in and re-vitalizes the volume among other things. But is something lost by having a weaker volume level in the mix to begin?

Brian,
Sometimes what I do when I have a track such as a vocal that goes into the red either before or after effects are applied and then sounds too low for the rest of the mix when lowered is to duplicate that track just below the original track.
I duplicate tracks that need more volume for the mix all the time wether its a vocal or anything else. This works out very nice for me and gives me the extra volume I need.
Sometimes I might adjust all the volume levels on a track at individual points to optimize it and then compress and limit the track somewhat before I double it up.
I like to keep all my track meters just out of the red and then I adjust my master track level just below unity.
Recently I have found that using the C3 Multi Band Compressor on the Master track at its 6db preset level can bring those mixes that slowly become lifeless back to life. Scott L-R uses this component a lot and I bet he has a lot of knowledge he can partake to you ( i'd like to hear it also).
Sometimes I will use the C3 Multi Band Compressor on a vocal track after optimizing its levels and export it out of GB and then back in again. Then I decide if it needs to be doubled up. I was doing that just last night. I have found the C3 Multi Band Compressor to have some nice limiting features also.
Hope that helps!

Recording vocals, vocal pres

alright this is for people who are experienced or no what they are doing when using Creative soundblaster x-fi platinum soundcards. I have several concrens one such as when i record vocal tracks ( singing and screaming) using defualt sound options from the concole launcher the playback quality is really bad screams just sound like crackling and singing has a lot more bass and less high than how it actually sounds in real life.
the soundcard is not the problem for the most part tho, i beli've a lot higher vocal quality can be achieved if i changed the setting in the creative console laucher. This is where you viewers who know how to use this can come in handy. If you know some settings and presets you have made when recording vocals and works almost how the sound is naturally without recording i would be happy to know. Also if there is a site or page that has presets you can download for free then please give me some information on that also. If you have any other ideas that could help out at all thanks.

There a quite a few parameters you can adjust including reverb, compression, eq etc. Each of these features is almost infinitely adjustable. You can add echoes, and even pitch control to take care of those off key notes. Of course, using the proper microphone and placement of same is critical. I use both a Shure Beta 58A dynamic mic (for live gigs and also for some recording). When I want a really clean sound I use a Shure condenser mic (KSM27) for vocals. It takes some getting used to and experimentation but the vocals I get are really pretty good (even though I do perform and write and I am not a great singer). Another technique that really helps to fatten the vocals is to record on several tracks. Record the vocal on one track and then duplicate it to a second track. That's one trick that most pros use and it does work. You can add pitch control to one track and leave the other dry to get some pretty cool effects. Usually I wind up with about three vocal tracks and anywhere from two to four instruments. Record the vocals dry (no effects) and then play around with all the effects available in GB and you may be quite surprised at the improvements you can make. Of course, if you are just not a good singer or are using poor mics don't expect much. Good luck and don't give up. Experiment and have fun and you may be quite surprised.
iMac G4 20 Flatscreen 1 GB Bluetoth Mac OS X (10.4.6) Edirol UA20; Korg TR61; Mackie 1202VLZ: Shure KSM27 & Beta 58; Lexicon MX200

Recording Vocals 10.0.3 - Missing Live Performance Feature?!

Hey Guys,
I bought a new MacBook Pro, trying to record vocals on the updated version of GarageBand and the sound quality is less than ideal.
I used to use (LIVE PERFORMANCE) Vocal feature on version 6.0.5 which sounded great. Now with this update it has less then relevant options for a person trying to record demos and audition pieces...
Options like "Bright Vocal" or "Natural Vocal" sound poor next to backing tracks and live instruments.
Does anyone know of a recording setting on the latest version that mimics the 'Live Performance' setting of the old version... or maybe just a good setting in general for recording vocals in the latest version.... Kinda annoyed.

Make a backup, before you start to modify the Instrument library. You will need to move system files around.
All instruments are stored in the Instrument library - search for a folder "Library" at the top-level of your Macintosh HD.
/Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Instrument Library/
Your "Live Performance" should be here:
/Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Instrument Library/Track Settings/Real/Vocals/
Or
Copy all files over to the corresponding folder on your new mac, that are missing on the new Mac.
You may also want to transfer the old loops from /Library/Audio/Apple Loops/
Then restart the mac.
In your hidden User Library are corresponding folders.
~/Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Instrument Library/Track Settings/Real/Vocals/
That is where your custom instruments will be saved.
After restarting your Mac and opening GarageBand again you need to reindex the loops, if you installed the old loops as well. At the top of the Lopp browser is a pop-up menu to select a loop library. At the bottom of the panel you can select to rebuild the Loop Index.

Holy Grail Of Recording Vocals

So Guys, Pros, Amateurs, Hobbiests etc....Let's here how y'all record your vocals, favorit Plugs on Vox - How to DeEss - Spill All your secrets Trix N Tips:-))
Here's How We do it:
Mic - Neumann M149 plugged in to a Manley SLAM(PreAmp+Limiter) which is set to render light limiting to control peaks. From the SLAM the signals enters a Manley Vari-MU compressor that evens out the signal - Ratio: 4:1, Attack: Medium, Release: Medium, Threshold: According to Signal....These setting may vari, depending on the vocal recording: if ballad is being sung the settings are set to slower attack/release - if RAP everything is faster....
From the Vari-Mu the signal enters the DAW - conversion is being done with an Apogee Rosetta 800 - The level entering the apogee is set to medium hot in order to gain as many digital bits a s possible, and still leave about 3 - 6 db. headroom so there's room for some plugs.
After the "perfect" take we do 3-5 overdubs again depending on the musical genre. In hip hop we mainly do 3. The Main Vox will be set in the mix accordingly panned in the center. Dub one will be set 4-6 db. lower than the main panned to -5. Dub 2 will be set 9-12 db. lower than the main and panned to +5 or 7.... This makes the voice fuller without making it sound like 3 people singing....If the dubs are not tight (lying excactly in sync on one another) we use the Plug-In : VocAling from Synchroarts.com - there you will specify the Guide (the mainVox) and the the dub(dub 1 or 2) then you hit align and booom the vox are perfectly in sync...
Given that the vocals are sounding good in the mix we'll bounce our 3 vocals into 1 vocal. After that we'll do a little smoothing with and EQ - in our case an outboard Manley Massive Passive (very good for the highs). if we need to kill certain frequencies to compensate for mic technique we use plug-ins - the waves RenEQ or Q10 are amazing for killing freqs. with these plugs one can achive very steep Q curves and single out any annoying freq.
Given that we like the vocal sound we'll apply a DeEsser (almost needed in any case when close mic'ing a neumann mic) so unnessesary sibilance will be reduced...(A Deesser is a compressor set to only apply compression within a certain frequency Range - one can build his own deesser should he not own one with a comp. set to side chain*se below)
Now, if needed, a little compression will be applied along with some reverb or chamber depending on what the rest of the mix is set to...
Personally I hardly ever work with reverb in hip hop music but with short delays: Open a mono bus - set a delay plug to 13 millisecs(or any prime below 29ms but above 9ms) and feed the main voc in there. That sort of "*****" the vocal inside the mix... Should I choose to use a "room" on the vox I'll open a mono rev. plug-in and set the decay time to about 600-900 milliseconds....
* setting a compressor up as a deesser.... the easiest way is to choose a plug-in compressor with a build-in side chain eq... then turn on the side chain EQ and boost the frequencies you want the compressor to become sensitive to...sibilance of a male is typicall about 4-5 KHZ...boost the side chain eq about 12-24 db (u wont hear it on your vocal but the compressor will become more sensitive to those frequencies and reduce them.
If you dont have a compressor with a build in side chain eq u can do the following:
copy your main vox track to a new audio track and name it e.g side chain! Then open a plug and boost the frequencies u want the compressor to become sensitive to. Boost em alot. now go to your main vox track and open a coompressor - set it to side chain - in the side chain drop down menu choose the newly created side chain track and now the compressor will "Overreact" to the frequencies u specified on the side chain track.
DONT 4GET TO mute the side chain track as u will here it if you dont!!!!
Instead of above - one could also feed the main vox to a bus and open the eq that is to act as the sidechain input there..Then set the compressor side chain input to that particular bus:-)
This is how we do it - Now lets hear how you do it:-))))

sometimes over doing ( EQ, de-esser, compress, limit, slapping the singer ) kills the mood or the feel of the song
not every thing have to be EQ or use De-esser on em
Most Hip Hop Producers don't even know what that is
For Hip Hop, try not to make it sound like Orchestra or RnB because it kills the the performance abit
many rappers from south don't even EQ their whole song or de-esser any vocals
because they want their people to hear how raw they are
Most from West ( Dre and Eminem and such ) Use De-esser on alot of their vocals where you can actually hear it, especially you can Hear the Enhancer brightens up their vocals that you can hear lil bit of weird sound when you put the volume low
Many Use Double Pop stopper and get the artists to get close to the mic and rap soft so they can get more of the vocals and less room verb
then go on to add reverb when mixing, no de-esser needed
For Me:
I've got a small Booth , about 2m x 2m and height is 3.5m and mic is hanging so there is no vibration from the floor when my people wanna move around abit like on stage
the Pop stopper has its own stand ( don't attach the pop stopper to the mic stand, not a good idea ) so only the pop stopper's stand shakes when it vibrates abit
MIC (Rode NTK)--->RODE POWER SUPPLY---->SAMSON C-VALVE (tube mic pre)---->ALTO COMPRESSOR / LIMITER / GATE (for controlling the levels and gating unwanted sounds before it hits the drive )----->LOGIC
so before it gets to logic i have to do a test or mic check 1-2 1-2 first for about 5 mins and set up the artist position and mic position and ratio and threshold on the compressor before we even start recording
you gotta make sure the artist is comfortable then you fix things around them not the other way around
when thats done all they need to do is sing or rap like they do normally and you just watch the compressor and logic do the work
now this is only good for one vocal at a time
after recording many vocals, especially on top of each other, more bass or trebble starts to build up
thats when the EQ and Compressor in logic comes in to control few of the tracks
most of the times i live the main vocal free and then i side chain the rest of the vocals on to the main vocal
so the main vocals always stands out
the side chain is the Compressor, and i make sure it has a slow attach and slow release so it doesn't full drop fast like a voice over
then i pick 4 Bus channels
Long Vocal Reverb
Short Vocal Reverb
Delay
Chorus / Flanger
all this is only for vocals
alot of people inserts reverb on each channel, with different settings
now we all know if we go to a hall to record you only get two kinds of reveb
long or short, depend on where people are standing
so the main vocals usually has short reverb bring that person closer to the audience and long for the backups so it makes them sound like they are behind the main vocal just like on stage
there no point of given the main vocal church reverb and each backup different reverbs ( it mess up the pic when you listen to it )
also
this is what i do most times
if some one sings a hook, i record 1 for the main and have it sit in the middle
then i record 4 more tracks of the same thing, and i try to get the artist to try and match the first one
now this is the catch
its impossible to match the first one but they can get close ( its better than recording one then duplicating it ) because you get phase sometimes when you do
so now mixing
Main Vocal---> CENTRE
back up 1 ---> Hard Left
back up 2 ---> Hard Right
back up 3 ---> left -30
back up 4 ---> right +30
then i put the back ups about -3db below the main track
listen to how it sounds in Head phones and in Cars
and Home stereos
its not the as good in the club because of the space between the speakers so back ups 1-2 will sound abit far out
but on headphones sounds like the people are around you
front, Back left, back right,front left and front right
thats how you can get surround sound with stereo
there is more ways to mess with vocals but basically it depends what type of song, style, and feel
but the best thing i can say is
<<< Less Is More >>>>
just because something is there doesn't mean it should be use
oh this ain't going to just SteveDjokes
this is my trick for people to pick up as well
stash
by the way check out ma songs on my space, i loaded up 11 songs, i'm loading up 9 more 2night
http://www.myspace.com/stash_productionz

Recording vocals for so-so singers

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