Any tips for recording hip hop vox?

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ScienceOne

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Well I ususally record rock/hardcore bands, so i don't know much about hip hop vocals. Some guy is coming in and doing the vox here. Any tips for compression or something wild i dont know about that is basic for rap vocals? The vocalist is kinda "all around" pitch-wise, but if anything a slight bit low. Only slightly. He's not a spitter. He pops his p's and sizzles his s's a good bit.
 
Hide your booze and white women and use a dynamic mic to reduce the sibilance.
 
yep dynamics sound good on the loud crazy rapping sections. as well as the percussive stuff.

on the smooth flowy stuff, an LDC is nice. but you dont need it.

i find i like to compress rapping quite a bit, so something with a nice smooth top is good. beyer m88.... is my new hip hop mic of choice (although i havent quite had the chance to run it through the ringer yet).

if the rapper is a real screamer a 57 should be more than fine.

mix up the mics in different sections of the songs... mix them up for doubling as well. hip hop vocals can take a lot of treatment.

a good trick: double the vocal and compress the living hell out of one of them, and just a little bit on the other. roll the top off of the compressed one. super thick sound.
 
I like to use just a small hint of distortion (small meaning if you can hear it, you're probably using too much).

Ditto on the dynamic mics. Have a good pop filter handy.
 
Hip hop vocals...

Good LD condenser
Track 1: Main Vocal
Track 2: Overdubs
Track 3: Overdubs 2

Record the 1st verse. Go back and on another track have the rapper either double the whole verse (not always possible, depends on how well they know their stuff... also depends a lot on the style of the rapper as well to sound right.) Or (more often) double certain words or phrases. Mix this track lower than the main verse 3-6db.
The 3 track is for ad-libs that are also kept lower in the mix. This track is optional. Usually, it's there to add high energy chatter in the background or triple certain words that are already double tracked.

Lots of compression.
Little to no reverb.

I record the hook/chorus on different tracks so they can be effected/eq'd differently. (Often rappers like to do the hook once, then have it pasted in every other time)

With pro rappers, the first vocal track is referred to as the "ghost" track. After the overdubs are recorded, the rapper goes back and retakes his main vocal. With the overdubs playing while he raps, it's easier to get "amped" or deliver a better performance.

A good trick is to keep the verses all panned center. Then double the hook and pan it hard L/R. You may need a third part in the center to even it out and make it less obvious. This "opens" up the chorus and makes it sound bigger than the verses.

A pop filter is a must. Energy is usually the most important aspect of the vocals. He/she has to deliver a confident, high energy performance or it'll suck. (90% of the time)

If it doesn't sound big, add more vocal tracks until it does.

Adding more bass is usually a good idea.

Hope this helps,
Chaz
 
i use an audio technica 4033 with a pop filter. height wise, i place it above the rappers mouth somewhere between the nose and eyes and angle it down if the rapper is low frequency. if the rapper is high frequency, i place the mic at chin level and angle it up.

this is the same thing i do for singers, and it works great. the only difference is that rappers tend to choke up on the mic no matter what the song is. whereas its easier to convince singers that the distant between them and the mic should be determined by the style of the song.

if the rapper is too loud, turn the gain down.
 
it had to be said chess.

sometimes people reach for that compressor instead of doing something more simple.

1) turning the gain down if the singer is loud.

2) making fader moves at mix time to bring up the level of the quiter passages rather than quishing the crap out of the louder parts.
 
ain't rap vocals supposed to be squashed?

crosstudio said:
it had to be said chess.

sometimes people reach for that compressor instead of doing something more simple.

1) turning the gain down if the singer is loud.

2) making fader moves at mix time to bring up the level of the quiter passages rather than quishing the crap out of the louder parts.
Click to expand...
 
not to me.

because of the use of samples and drum machines, rap music is generally less dynamic than other music forms. to squish the only dynamic in the music is just going to bore your audience to tears.

one of the reasons that hip-hop producers use break beats and drop the music out altogether is to give the song a dynamic sense.

i use a compressor to tame spikes not to tame passages. for louder passages, i use the volume fader.

that way you get some movement, some sense of emotion and vibe in the vocals.
 
http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=5627

this a great thread on how to record hip hop vocals...Pay SPECIAL close attention to the member e-cue. He says he has tracked and mixed such groups/performers such as, BEP, Talib Kweli, Rza...etc. So he has industry cred and def knows how to get that 'commercial' sound...if he's telling the truth that is....from his previous posts he def seems qualified...
 
Woah I love Kweli and Black Eyed Peas a whole lot.

Well I went and had the session. I used an AKG C414 through an M-audio dmp3 and an RNC. Sounded great; I'm thrilled. The sibilance wasn't so bad that i needed to use a dynamic. Thanks you guys for the help.
 
Wu-Tang is great, but just not my favorites. The Reflection Eternal cd that Kweli did with Hi-Tek is just so awesome, and all Black Eyed Peas is simply great. I like Wu-Tang a lot (and yes, Rza) but I don't know, I just haven't gotten into them as much.
 
i've been doin local hip hop vocals for groups more and more often. usually they bring their beat on a cd (so only one stereo track to play with), and just wanna put on vox.

I use the C1 for basically everything, and sometimes i DO compress it quite a bit. If they are 50 cent, i put them on right on top of the mic. if they are eminem, i scoot them back a bit.

occasionally, if they are really all over the place volume wise and sitting etc. etc. I'll just put a 58 for those chorus'. sounds great though.
 
Guys I am running a Oktava mk319 to a Presonus Tubepre to an Audiophile 24/96 and i just for the life of me cant get my vocals to sound MIXED with the beat....i can mix my beats pretty good but I guess I just dont have mixing in the vocal good or something becuz the vocals always seem just out front or sometimes not entirely audible thru the beat like it s loud and you can hear it but its not clear its not cutting thru the beat........now I have tried reverb and it just washed the vocals to hell they sounded like in the distance and just TOO thin so i used a lot less verb and it helped a little but its not great.......But when i did use more reverb it sounded liek it mixed better ,well on my monitors, but in my car with subs and on my home stereo it was crap..........any ideas would help..I.E. EQ tips ,compression tips tHANKS

Thanks
 
what kind of monitors do you have?

Remember, if it's a cd that hip hop fans will listen too....chances are they will turn the bass up to MAX.

but more importantly, try eqing some stuff. Look where your biggest peaks in the vox are (freaquency wise)...and maybe -1 db off the midrangy instruments that take up that same freaquency range. no boosting is needed.

also a little reverb goes a long way i've found.


and lastly, compress it nicley for the style/beat.
 
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