threshhold2
New member
are there any "basic-rules" for improving/smoothing vocals after recording?...i mean like do you have any hints for eq.?
NYMorningstar said:The basic rule is to retrack it. The mix is not the place to fix your vocals.
MessianicDreams said:try to listen to what's wrong with it. if there's a harshness problem with it, try sweeping through the freequencies with a fairly low Q, boosting it until you find the right frequency. then zoom in and pull down the offending area. you probably won't want too high a Q as this could give a more unnatural quality to it. alternatively you can boosting an "opposing" frequency. say if the voice sounds bass heavy, try adding highs instead of cutting lows.
WillyDavidK said:Avoid compression if you can, (it usually helps if you tell your vocalist before recording to shout a bit into the mic until you find that spot where it begins to clip, not so much to damage the mic, just so he has an idea of his 'space') that is unless you have a high end compressor which gives your track a certain desirable color.
Robert D said:I think Scrubs pretty well nailed it.
Unlike other things, where the best thing during mixing is nothing, and it's all about nailing the tracking and then leaving it alone, I'm more about not getting in the way of the vocalist during tracking. Vocals are all about emoting, and nothing will kill that like doing a bunch of takes while moving mics, swapping out mics, instructing the vocalist on level control, etc. It's almost like a great vocal is a rare animal or bird that you have to be very stealthy to not startle it, and quietly snap a picture of it in it's natural habitat. So, this means that there's going to be work to do on it later in the mix. I've rarely met a vocal take that didn't want some compression, ditto with some light reverb. And I'd rathing fix a couple of flats on an inspired vocal, or even leave them in than to beat the performance to death with a dozen or so takes to get the intonation just right, never mind that the words don't mean anything anymore to the singer.
Really, I'll do whatever the right take needs, with no hesitation, so long as the performance is genuine and not sterilized by the process.
Robert D said:I think Scrubs pretty well nailed it.
Unlike other things, where the best thing during mixing is nothing, and it's all about nailing the tracking and then leaving it alone, I'm more about not getting in the way of the vocalist during tracking. Vocals are all about emoting, and nothing will kill that like doing a bunch of takes while moving mics, swapping out mics, instructing the vocalist on level control, etc. It's almost like a great vocal is a rare animal or bird that you have to be very stealthy to not startle it, and quietly snap a picture of it in it's natural habitat. So, this means that there's going to be work to do on it later in the mix. I've rarely met a vocal take that didn't want some compression, ditto with some light reverb. And I'd rathing fix a couple of flats on an inspired vocal, or even leave them in than to beat the performance to death with a dozen or so takes to get the intonation just right, never mind that the words don't mean anything anymore to the singer.
Really, I'll do whatever the right take needs, with no hesitation, so long as the performance is genuine and not sterilized by the process.
fraserhutch said:I'm with Robert on this, but I'll go further by stating that I'd rather hear that inspired take with all its imperfections than hear it after fixing everything, pitch included.
That doesn't mean that it can't use some eq and compression to make it sit better in the mix.
Who says it has to be perfect? Music is not perfect. I hate that there is this feeling that recordings have to be perfect, that the humanity has to be driven out of it.
If the musician sucks, let that be reflected in the recording.
If the musician can't sing in tune, is it the same singer after autotuning it to death?
I want to know when I listen to a vocalist that this is how the vocalist sings. This is how the musician sounds wehen he/she plays.
Anyways, I guess I'm wierd that way.