How to get your vocals to sound fatter and more powerful like a pop comercial track?

R

Renflexx

New member
My question is, i am currently making a cover from the song Ghost Town by Adam Lambert i'll leave the link here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix8ocFEMa1o

And everything is working fine with the instrumental i've made, in fact you guys can also check it out here: https://soundcloud.com/renflexx/adam-lambert-ghost-town-ren-instrumental

My only big main problem is my recording of the vocals, i can sing the notes ok, i do some adjusts with Melodyne and the pitch and everything is perfectly fine, although i cant get that clarity and fatness of the original track. Even if i compress a lot, lets say with a ratio of 8:1, i still can't get it to sound IN-YOUR-FACE. And that's what im looking for. I would really appreciate your help guys, i am currently working with Logic Pro X, and i have Komplete 10 Ultimate by Native Instruments, and it comes in handy but there's just so much plugins that you can get lost you know.
Also, my recording microphone is a Sontronics STC-2.

Oh and also i would like to know how can i get rid of some of the backing noise, which isn't much, but is there some way to get rid of it without affecting the track that much??

I would really like your help guys, i'm almost begging here xD
Thanks for reading and stay awesome!!!! :thumbs up:
 
Well, not much I can recommend without hearing your voice...

Don't be shy. Maybe that is the issue?

Just guessing..
 
I can show you my voice, its not a problem, do you have skype? I can send you how the recording is going from there. =)
 
Um, I meant for the song you asked about.

If that video is you and where you record, I would first suggest you get away from the wall behind you. No great vocals have ever been recorded with someones back against a wall.

The room is quite important in ways that may seem to not make sense.

Even with a dynamic mic that you seem to be using in the video, the room is affecting the sound.


From what I hear from that video is likely different than what the Adam Lambert song may need.

Best to post what you wish to have advice for, rather than giving examples.


Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum Ren!

You will get honest direct advice here. Usually... :)
 
Thank you so much bro :)
And yeah i record there, of course i dont use that Shure sm58 to record, that was just more image than other thing.
But yeah if you want a sample of what i have on the Adam Lambert song why not adding me on Skype? =)
 
Because I don't know you... I have only used Skype for clients in other countries.

Post here or else! lol!


Seriously, why are you so timid to post?

Get over it man. If you want to improve, then put yourself out there.

We will surely ruin your career by giving TMZ exclusive exploit of your early years. lol

Just post it here man. :)
 
Lay off the verb man. Focus on the voice before you start adding effects.

The original Adam version has a bit of delay on the intro and not much as far as reverb.

I would focus on the delivery and maybe two compressors before even adding spacial effects.
 
That was useful, thanks, i knew that i was wrong on putting that much reverb.
Anyways as much as i try i seem that i can never get as good as the original. Not as a singer, that's not my point here. Im talking about the sounds and effects.
That counts to the delay you were talking and to the fatness of my voice as i posted originally. I just wanted my product to sound more professional, and this really brings me down :/
 
Renflexx said:
That was useful, thanks, i knew that i was wrong on putting that much reverb.
Anyways as much as i try i seem that i can never get as good as the original. Not as a singer, that's not my point here. Im talking about the sounds and effects.
That counts to the delay you were talking and to the fatness of my voice as i posted originally. I just wanted my product to sound more professional, and this really brings me down :/
Click to expand...

Dood. Put it in perspective....

Adam has access to studios worth more than we will ever make in a lifetime.

Plus there is the fact that he has a great voice.

You have a great voice as well, but you can't expect to achieve the same quality without understanding what it takes to get that quality.


Look man, PM me and send me the tracks. I can at least see what I can do to help.

Not gonna Skype you tho. That just sounded weird to me. lol
 
jimmys69 said:
Not gonna Skype you tho. That just sounded weird to me. lol
Click to expand...
I'm sorry if that sounded weird :/
It's just that here in Portugal we're very open minded on these terms xD
But i did not have bad intentions when i asked for you skype believe me :)
Anyway yes, i will PM you tomorrow if i figure out how to do that because im new here ^^
But please dont get me wrong when i asked for your skype, im sorry man. I dont have bad intentions.
And yes you're right, Adam has a great voice indeed, maybe on of the best voices nowadays and the access to top studios. You sir are totally right. :)
Thank you so much for your support, and i will keep in touch with you tomorrow when i wake up cuz its almost 10 am here and i still haven't slept thinking about all this xD
Anyway man, i really appreciated your support, you were awesome to me, thank you so much. :)
 
All good dood. I have some free time this week.

Get some sleep.

Click on my name and the option to 'Private Message' will be there.
 
If you turn down the rest of the track a bit, it will make the vox pop out a lot more. That's the first thing I noticed with your mix vs. his.
 
Also, something to consider is don't underestimate the power of panning. Panning certain instruments left or right while keeping vocals up the middle can open up the track making it sound fuller while at the same time bringing your vocals to the front. All without even the slightest change in volume. Another thing a lot of people like to do is double the vocals. That means re-recording it the exact same way and panning one hard left and the other hard right. Know that this is different from just copying and pasting the vocals onto a second track.
 
Pop commercial tracks sound awful, so it raises the question why you'd want yours to sound like that?
 
Trptman said:
Also, something to consider is don't underestimate the power of panning. Panning certain instruments left or right while keeping vocals up the middle can open up the track making it sound fuller while at the same time bringing your vocals to the front. All without even the slightest change in volume. Another thing a lot of people like to do is double the vocals. That means re-recording it the exact same way and panning one hard left and the other hard right. Know that this is different from just copying and pasting the vocals onto a second track.
Click to expand...

I read your advice and I am intrigued by it. Do you mean to record a second take sung identical to the first? (something I've found to be rather difficult sometimes.) Or could you record the playback through the studio monitors and use it the same way?
 
Resurrect said:
I read your advice and I am intrigued by it. Do you mean to record a second take sung identical to the first? (something I've found to be rather difficult sometimes.) Or could you record the playback through the studio monitors and use it the same way?
Click to expand...

Doubling means recording it twice. Yes, you have to sing it pretty much the same both times. It's a common technique with vocals and guitars.
 
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