Help with clean vocals on a cover

[Linchpin]

Our band is recording their first cover to incorporate melodic vocals. The song is called The End of Heartache by Killswitch Engage. The problem is we've tried recording the melodic parts with the back-up vocalist and the primary vocalist, and while they can sing much better than I can, they still come off like american idol rejects on tape.

I'm running them through a sm58 into a dmp3 preamp and then to my pc. Compression and reverb help the quality, but it doesn't change the fact that the vocals are shifty and out of key.

Do we have no skill, or is there something I am missing? This is new territory for me.

[Cyrokk]

Try having them sing with one headphone off the ear so that they can hear their voice before it hits tape. If they normally sing in tune when playing with the rest of the band, then the feedback system from the headphone to their ear is screwing up their pitch reference.

They also may have less confidence in their voice when having to record take after take of their vocals. This takes some getting used to, and can be helped by enhancing the room they are singing in to make them feel more comfortable. Vocalists are typically a weird, emotional bunch who will respond better with candles and tapestry in the room.

No mic or preamp will fix pitch or confidence problems in vocals.

[Bulls Hit]

If you can apply a little reverb or delay and monitor in real time so the vocalist can hear the effect while singing, the reduction of dryness can make the vocalist feel more comfortable

[NYMorningstar]

What Cyrokk said and get them a couple of good Ld condensor mics.