Green Day's vocals on Uno, Dos, and Tre. What effect/technique is that?

JohnnyAmato

JohnnyAmato

New member
It's very apparent on all three albums. Some great examples to listen to are "Oh Love", "X-Kid", "99 Revolutions", or just about anything off of their 2012 trilogy of albums.

It's sounds like compression, maybe a super fast delay, maybe even some chorus, not sure. I'm going to be laying some vocals down very soon on a few songs and really like his vocal sound. Any tips or suggestions to try to get close? Even the backgound vocals seem to be mixed the same way, very apparent on "99 Revolutions".

I've been wondering this for a while now, and just had the idea to see if anyone around here knew what it was they were hearing.

Thanks!
 
Here's a sample I found online. There's a ton of info on Green Day's recording and mixing process. Google search if you need more, it's def out there:

“Billie Joe loves the Telefunken U 47 M,” says Dugan, who did a minor mic shootout with Armstrong to determine the best mic for the vocal sessions.

“I like a little crispness on the top,” Armstrong says. “My voice has a natural compression to it, and I just want enough EQ added to make it pop out of the mix. The U 47 captured my voice in the right way. In the past, I would always hear my vocal back in the studio, and I’d want to add compression and some slapback echo, because you are so naked when it’s hitting you dry. But with the 47, I’d hear my vocal back dry, and I loved the sound the microphone was capturing.”

Dugan ran Armstrong’s U 47 through a Chandler Limited LTD-1 into a Retro Instruments 176 Limiting Amplifier.

“The Retro has an asymmetry switch and another switch that engages a transformer,” Dugan says. “I went with the Interstage setting, which delivered a warm, clean, rich compression—nothing jumps out at you. It’s one of those compressors that you don’t really hear, but you know it’s working. Then, I simply rolled off everything from 80Hz down, and notched a little bit at 110Hz. It scared me at first that nothing else was done for Billie’s voice, but it was the right thing to do.”
 
Interesting stuff, thanks andrushkiwt. The effect is all through the trilogy, but I would say the intro and first verses of "Oh Love" is the best example I can think of, since his voice is isolated good over just a short rhythm guitar. I think I hear compression and slight slapback delay/doubling. If you get a chance, check it out, unless you're a fan and already know the tune well anyway. Easy to find on YouTube.

Always loved his crunch sound, too, aggressive and bitey, yet still so clean. Background vocals are also killer.
 
I'm a fan of everything before American Idiot, though Jesus of Suburbia is one of my favorites. But I know every lyric, chord, drum fill, etc for the Dookie album. It's probably my second most listened to album after anything Nirvana.

Just listened. Definitely compression and a slapback. Just listening to the song in the background, it sounds pretty hollow. Like there's not enough gain on the guitars or something. Not sure what it is, just not filled out really well to my ears. It's the official video, so it's not a quality loss problem. Just not my choice for guitar sound, I suppose. Could be the centered guitars too. I like them wider.
 
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