quick vocal question (of course, all my quetsions seem to be "quick" lol)

S

shackrock

New member
I record 2 tracks of my vocalist everytime..no matter if i use them both of not.

I was just wondering, is there a trick to making one stand out as the lead, and the other one i recorded just fall behind it as a BACKUP singing part? I mean, right now, i can just make the volumes different - but it really doesn't get it how i would want it at all. If they are close, it just sounds like i have a chorus affect on basically.

so is there a trick? maybe delays of some sort (i know nothing of delays right now..).
 
Hmmm...a delay would just make it sound like chorus as well. A good way is to apply a very different effect to one of them. Sometimes when I record vocals in a rock tune, I'll make a copy of the track and then apply a guitar amp effect to it and blend it with the original vocal. Because it's an exact copy as far as timing, it does not sound like a chorus, but definately gives the vocals an edge.
 
Well, I use the Amp sim that came with cakewalk normally. You could also achieve it by running your vocal track through an actual guitar amp and record it back into your mix. The Amp Sim w/ cakewalk is a DX effect. You could also probably do some things with eq an compression to alter the copy...I've only used that cw effect though.

On my newest mix, I actually recorded the vocal track with two mics like I would my guitar, one panned right and one panned left. The phasing made the track pop out a little bit more. I experimented and found a placement I liked.
 
Try this!

Hi Shackrock. I always find it a good idea to have at least two complete takes of a vocal, you never know when you may want to replace a dodgy pitch or syllable etc.

In fact I usually get my singers to sing the whole song a couple of times, under the pretense of "getting in the vibe", but really what you're doing is increasing the chances of capturing a relaxed, no-pressure vocal take! Don't tell them you're doing this or it won't work!

Anyway, this works well on doubling stuff when you don't actually want a double-track effect : compress your main vocal ( quite hard, although depends on style of music, but anything up to 4 : 1 ), add a bit of sugar ( 8 - 10k ). Now solo the second take, roll off most of the top end so you're left with a "dull" vocal. Also good sometimes to roll of some LF here as well, but make sure you keep the "body". Don't compress this second vocal. Now drop the fader, and listen to your main vocal. Gradually move Vocal 2 up till you can hear it chorusing, then back it off till it's playing a strengthening role instead. This works great on chorus vocals, especially if used sparingly. A lot of singers don't like double tracking, but this is a subtle way to add fullness to your Vox! It also retains some of the original dynamic of the vocal 'cos it's not compressed. Voila!

Hope this is useful.
 
I've read that, if you do an EQ cut around 5K on the backups, they won't cut through as much like a lead vocal and will sound more "background-y". Haven't tried it yet, but is one of those things that I've socked away to play around with on my next tune.
 
I use a touch of reverb to dull it down alittle and it seems to add alittle depth too. Just a touch though. Also cutting out frequecies that are dominant can help too.
 
it will only sound like a chorus effect if you have the 2nd track too close to the 1rst. you need to delay the 2nd voice more, so it doesn't sound like chorus. then compress the sh*t out of it, add some reverb, and lower the volume... you know... motown style.
 
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