vocal compression

N

nosignal

New member
ive been wondering about this recently, how do you guys record vocals? do you send it through the preamp/interface and record completely dry or do you send it through any signal processors first? ive been having a bit of trouble getting the vocals in songs that i record for bands to stand out(though its probably got to do with the fact that all the vocalists i record cant record worth anything). ive been thinking a compressor might help me a bit, i just wanted to get some opinions first before i decide on anything.
also i was wondering which compressors would be good to get if i decide to get one, i read on tweakheadz they mentioned the alesis 3630 and the yamaha gc2020 would those be good starters?
so please if you have any advice please help me.
 
completely dry 24 bit / 44.1khz, then compress things when mixing.

glad i didn't throw away my old compressors though. they come in real handy for compressing my drummer's kick and snare at live gigs.
 
I usually record with some gate and compression. The singers--two of them--I record with are usually very dynamic and prefer to hold the mics in their hands. I would prefer to compress afterward, but I often use the compressor to remove some slight background noise--coming from an imperfect setting. One of the many compromises, I guess...
 
well, interesting topic, my bro and me were just talking about this.

I seemed to have landed on a channel-strip unit and seem to like it.
It has the pre-comp-eq-"de-s" in it.

I think this is a concept-copy of an old Neve board or something....according to some picture in an old magazine, the Neve has all this in the channel strip. The "golden" channel strip rack unit!! for those that won't be affording a 24 or 64 track Neve anytime soon.:rolleyes:

3630 was a unit many years ago, they used to be advertised in big studios, in the ADAT days as I recall....Alesis everything......

but I'd go with the RNC....damn its a nice cheap-budget unit, but holds up to expensive ones too so they say. (they=people who have owned hi-end and have a real comparison). But I've owned the 3630 and RNC and the RNC absolutely blows the 3630 away, imo. But a used 3630 I've seen for as low as $35....and you probably won't find an RNC in the junk bin, its a good resale too, should you try something else.

vocals...what some call a "golden channel", vocal chain/channel....some call the vocal track the "money track"... if your recording other bands you probably want something versatile.

thats a tough one, you have people who don't know the studio-tactfullness of recording. so a comp and tough mic sound to be a good start.
 
I concur with starbuck - if the vocalist is dynamic or inconsistent a little compression - & I mean LITTLE - can tame things so you don't have to retrack due to clipping. I don't use a limiter though - only because I've not tried it before. I'm also fortunate in that I record a fair bit to 4 track cassette before loading into Cakewalk so I get some natural tape effect & the red zone isn't as dangerous.
In the box I use a very little bit of Blockfish. though with the last piece I recorded I used the blockfish preset vintage vocal as I recorded two vocal tracks - one with chorus the other with verses & had to do a lot of jockeying faders, EQ etc. to get them to match.
 
i was thinking that i would use the compressor very lightly like rayc said, just to control the vocal track to avoid clipping. anybody have any feedback on they yamaha gc2020b? because i found one on ebay for pretty cheap i was just wondering if its a good compressor.
 
never used the yamaha or 3630...but honestly, most VST comp's will probably kill those performance-wise - even the free ones

personally, i usually record vox dry, but that's because the only hardware comp. at my disposal is an RNC...but if it sounds right for the application, i'm totally down for using it while tracking. when tracking elsewhere, i'm also all for compressing vocals during tracking - i typically don't compress instruments on the way in, but i don't mind doing so with vocals, since they usually end up being last on the list, which makes it pretty simple to gauge how they're going to sit in the mix.
 
+1 for the RNC

I'm part of the minority that doesn't mind compressing while tracking. Usually just a little, but sometimes a ton for effect. And sometimes it does depend on the skill level involved. I would never use any on piano, because that's my main instrument and I don't want an iota of dynamics taken away. I use the most with bass because I suck at it pretty much. Vocals, it depends on what kind of song it is. The more accoustic or chilled out, the less I use.
 
I usually track with a little bit of compression when working in digital and none when going to tape. Usually a 2:1 ratio and some slight gain reduction.
 
nosignal said:
i was thinking that i would use the compressor very lightly like rayc said, just to control the vocal track to avoid clipping. anybody have any feedback on they yamaha gc2020b? because i found one on ebay for pretty cheap i was just wondering if its a good compressor.
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I'd say not' that good. :) In spite of all the bells a whistles as I recall limited in usefulness, hard to use (seemed like it grabs even at low ratio), forget the gate -it closes half way then pauses...
I don't know, maybe there's improved versions since the one I got.
 
I usually record dry. But if the vocalist is either inconsistant, or i'm doing a song with multiple people, i will often use light compression. Then, since it on, i use a noise gate as well just to make it easier on my ears. This is just so i avoid slight clipping, it's not at all how i would compress when actually mixing. In my experience, compression has been the only thing that has proven itself to be worthwhile for me when recording. I'd much rather eq after, add any effects after, etc. Half of it is because i don't have a control room, i only use one room so i can't go off anything but my headphones. The other half, which is way more important to me, is that you can always make changes after you record.

That doesn't mean i find outboard gear to be useless however. I will often run tracks through my fx unit, compressor and i often use my eq on the mixer while doing this. Not often on vocals but on other things. I find it's often easier/quicker to do with hardware and even with the extra D/A and A/D conversion, it only has a slight difference in quality.
 
I always compress on the way in...either la-2a or 1176..how much depends on the vibe I want.
I haven't found a plug yet that can hold a candle to either of these guys.

Cheers,
Ray
 
talontsiawd said:
I just set it really light so basically you don't hear any breathing, background noise, etc before/after the take.
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I'd personally never gate a vocal take. It can be done later with out the risk of gating softer vocal parts etc. Even then I manually edit if possible.


F.S.
 
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