Recording vocals..

[beary16]

Ive been recording for a while, but I havn't really focused on vocals as well as I should. Its seems as though, when I record vocals im not getting the sound I want. I dont know the best way to describe it (doesn't blend in smooth). Its to bright and punchy. I was intrested in what production tools and plug ins that recording artist use today for making the vocal tracks sound more profesional. I have a decent compressor mic which I know a better mic could help. But what else could I use?

Also, does anyone know of any plug-ins/tools that are used for making immediate harmonies to my vocal tracks?

[brandondrury]

I missed this post. Sorry, dude.

Pro vocals.

Well it's a tricky blend and a ton of it depends on the music you are recording. For me to help you directly, you should upload something to Bash This Mix. Then I can immediately diagnosis your problems.

lso, does anyone know of any plug-ins/tools that are used for making immediate harmonies to my vocal tracks?

There are harmony plugins out there but not as many as you would think. I've heard the new Melodyn does it.

Brandon

[beary16]

im pretty much want an I idea what most recorded vocals usually. Ive noticed a compressor is commonly used. Anything else you recommend? Just trying to get a grasp of the common plug-ins. I guess what plug ins most songs center thereselves around. Compressor, Gates, Eq, (ex of common eq settings) etc. As in what would pretty much be one of the first priorities to get a grasp of if I were going to learn to record good sounding vocals. Thanks!

[Andrew07]

waves doubler. a lot of guys use vocalign on background vocals too

[brandondrury]

Hmm.

I don't think a compressor makes a vocal have increased fidelity. I use compressors on vocals to even out their dynamic range. If you have a dense mix (which just about anything modern with a full band is) then the vocal will drop too low and fall into the abyss of sound and be lost. Then on the next syllable, the vocal will shoot super loud and hurt your ears.

The compressor helps the vocal sit where they need to be. I always have to automate the vocal levels throughout the song even after using a compressor. I wish I could tell you that you need X amount of reduction but it is different with every song. I use a really fast attack and release times on vocals and usual a 2:1 ratio. I smash it until it starts to sound funny or distort in the loudest parts of the song and then I back off a little bit (by raising the threshold).

Generally speaking, I'd say that the aggressive use of compression makes vocals a LITTLE more "lo-fi" which may be exactly what the song calls for or be the last thing a song needs.

I've never used a gate on a vocal.

EQ. I do use EQ. I've never once seen a "common" setting though. If I don't get exactly what I want, I'll bump a dB here or cut a dB there to get a lot closer. I'd say the only "common" EQ setting on a vocal is no eq at all.

In some ways, your post seams to imply that you are asking "How should process vocals to sound pro?" when maybe it should be asking "Why would I use X type of processing at any given time?". Does that make sense?

EQ is a great example. You just need to record a vocal and compare it to about 20 other professional recordings. Is you vocal way too bright, too dull, lacking character (character like the difference between a Strat and a Les Paul), etc. An EQ can definitely make a vocal brighter, thinner, darker, etc. Of course, it depends on what you have recorded already.

With all this talk of processing, I have to say that 99% of the vocal sound is the singer and finding the right mic for them. I use all kinds of mics on vocals to find the ideal mic for the singer. It may be a $2500 mic or it may be a $100 mic. I never know until I hear that singer through that mic.

Play with the distance. Usually 6" from the mic is about right. Sometimes 10" is better. Sometimes 2" is better. Again, it depends on what you are looking for. Audio engineering is nothing more than hearing a sound and knowing what to change in order to make it the "right" sound for the job. The guidelines for recording vocals are pretty non-existant. You could probably find a 'how to record vocals' guide on another site, but all of that is thrown out the window and totally useless when you are in the trenches.

I wish you would have told me the genre you are most interested in. Rock music generally has vocals that are quite effected. The Avril Lavigne Skater Boy song had 16 layers of the lead vocal panned wide. This trick has been used on Nickelback hits as well. The Beatles had a lot of doubled vocals as did the Beach Boys. Some vocals are heavily processed with delay and reverb. Before you jump the gun on reverb, there are 1,000 ways of using reverb.

These days I always make myself use a reverb even if I set it so that it's subconscious. I find that using short reverbs can make a vocal sound exciting without sounding like a 1987 song.

I've had vocals where I did almost nothing to them (except for compression) that turned out great. On the same record, I may have another song where I have 3 delays, 2 reverbs, a distortion plugin, etc.

A better way of getting help with vocals is finding problems and asking how to solve them.

Brandon

[beary16]

Thanks, for your help. I think I just might post you the song of bash this mix, I do alot of techno music. But not progressive. Has verse-bridge-chorus setup. My cousin sings and just doesn't blend in well, best way to discribe it is when some one is singing to a kareoke track, the track sounds well mixed then the vocals are coming out of left field not blending in smoothly. To birght and to electronicey? But I will post up soon.

[brandondrury]

Post when you are ready. I'm excited to help you out here.

Generally speaking, when tracking with mics with rock music or whatever, the room interacts with all the instruments in, more or less, the same way. You often end up with a sound that will more or less blend itself.

Matching the vocals to the backing tracks is extremely important. Some of this is the mic. A lot of this is mixing.

Some say that the vocal brightness should match the brightness of the snare. I dont' 100% buy this, but it's a concept where contemplating.

Brandon