elliot smith style vocal recordings?

  • Thread starter Thread starter kanga
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kanga

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hi there,
anyone got any idea how elliot smith got such atmospheric effects on his vocals, is it a doubling up of tracks? is he singing a backing vocal track? is it a subtle use of reverb etc? or a mixture of all...
sounds great and i'd love to know if anyone's gotten something like it.
seán.
 
I haven't heard his newest stuff. How does it sound now that his lungs are filled with formaldehyde?
 
Elliot Smith

Hmmmm.... some people just aren't nice.

Yep.....we need more violence and war!!!!!!

He does use doubling on some of his vocals.
 
Donny Roberts said:
Hmmmm.... some people just aren't nice.

Yep.....we need more violence and war!!!!!!
Click to expand...



No. We need more people to kill themselves because they can't handle life, then we need more people to listen to what these people say like there was something profound contained within.

The only thing profound is that there are people looking for answer from people that couldn't find their own.
 
I always thought he just had a soft, breathy type of voice and as such was probably a bit closer to the mic than your average crooner...
 
no way!

i've been pottering around using the 57 today, doubling up on vocals, wondering if that was how he got it... it's a cool effect.
 
hey kanga "elliot smith vocal"

hello-
your question about elliot smith vocals i will try and give you some ideas...(seeing that for some people it's just hard to give a simple reply to a good question hence the hipsters who know everything)......but for starter's, usually a good mic can be the answer. depending on what you are recording onto as well. this doesnt mean go buy an akg or neumann for 1 grand...but there are some companys like Rode that make an incredible line of affordable mics. also on ebay you can find some really good ones as well for affordable prices. and iv'e done this as well...i bought a lavaleire condensor mic from radio shack....it give you that condensor mic feel even though it's so small..that through an ART mic pre ($70) sounds pretty nice. another mic i use sometimes is a Shure sm7, it's a broadcaster type mic. really flat responce meaning captures the exact essence of your voice without much or any colorization. Now...you said you have a 57? well that to is just as well....sometimes it's not just the mic...so much as it's the mic pre. eric clapton recorded something with a decent mic pre and a 57....?? not saying eric clapton's the end of all ends...but you coould try that?! so just play around a bit..thats what's important.... and keep your eyes open for some differ mics...do test recordings and listen to the different sounds the mic's give to your voice. try flea markets or thrift stores...you never know? theres a company called "really nice"...actually thats not the name...but if you search google for somthing called "really nice compressor", it well take you to thier web site. on there they sell a mic pre as well...and they are top of the line...giving you the sound of a mic pre that would other wise cost thousands! check that out as well. also do what you did, with the doubling of your voice....some slight reverb..or even some slapback echo....not that thats what elliot smith did so much, i understand he has a real ummm just whispy...kinda nice...non efeected voice.i think he's great!...but just different sound tricks. the elliot smith thing well most likely come from...a good mic/ and or good mic pre...some doubling on the voice and where you record your voice as well... maybe sing against a nice riveted foam peice..just not to close to it...be aware of proximity effect getting to close causes heavier bass on your voice. well kanga, sorry to have talked your ear off, hopefully i helped you a "bit" at least.... oh and also go to tape-op.com and sign up for a free subscription! the best mag out there! it well really help you. that web site has a forum as well, and the guy whoruns the magazine, (larry crane) recorded elliot smith...you could email him and ask as well. again be aware of the hipsters as well...when you ask a question, one you would hope someone would just kindley respond to, you will get those who would rather say a whole lot of extra jargin and bullshit that just makes you feel like why'd you bother to ask...as if you've botherd them for asking ...in a forum of all places...how dare you!
oh well
i have issues....haha
be cool
pay it forward!
 
I enjoy his music also. So I decided to ask his engineer and good friend Larry Crane what the recording chain for either/or consisted of. You can find his answer in one of the tape ops a few issues back...He printed my question and gave a detailed explanation for the recording of miss misery. I was surprised at how low-fi the whole recording was. For instance the only pres used for that song were out of a mackie board. His prefered vocal mic was a Langevin c37a. You can pick up a copy of the Tapeop book at borders and read an interview with Smith if youre really interested. I read it the other day in fact.
 
thanks a lot!

your one and only homerecording bbs post has helped me a lot, i was beginning to doubt the credibility of this place... i was listening to smith's "either/or" earlier today and heard it in a totally new light, i'm going to practice those techniques. I also checked up on that compressor and pre amp you mentioned, from fmr audio, they look pretty cool, but they'll have to wait for another month, this month alone i've bought an ibook, mbox with protools le, an sm57 and an at3035 condenser mic. so if i don't eat for the next month i could get another few mics and that "really nice" compressor/pre amp combo out of my next months pay! oh and that tapeop.com is unreal! their "stickies" covers almost every type of sound i'm interested in as well as the thousands of technical terms and their definitions!

thanks again for taking the time to really answer my question, i really appreciate it.

grá,
seán.
 
Scriabin said:
I enjoy his music also. So I decided to ask his engineer and good friend Larry Crane what the recording chain for either/or consisted of. You can find his answer in one of the tape ops a few issues back...He printed my question and gave a detailed explanation for the recording of miss misery. I was surprised at how low-fi the whole recording was. For instance the only pres used for that song were out of a mackie board. His prefered vocal mic was a Langevin c37a. You can pick up a copy of the Tapeop book at borders and read an interview with Smith if youre really interested. I read it the other day in fact.
Click to expand...

thanks scriabin, but i'm in ireland, so there's no borders here except one separating us from northern ireland but that's a very touchy subject! :)
 
elliot smith

kanga...
your welcome! i hope i was of some service to you! and thanks for telling me the name of that company (FMR audio)!
ps
go to google again and search "recording the beatles"... it's a book thats due out soon! and it should be somthing els! just for kicks you know?!
take care!
 
Try amazon.com you can probably find the tapeop book on there. Its well worth the 20 dollars.
 
Basically, you hit the nail on the head in your initial question.

He sang in a half-whisper - which creates a nice "air" with the vocal - the guy from Iron and Wine does the same. Some people actually sing a complete whisper track underneath to create that sparkle. Elliott Smith naturally had it in the way he sang (which is nauseating nowadays - because since his death, everyone in acoustic music sings like him - check out Garageband some time.) A decent compressor mic will accentuate that "air". A little 1-2 db boost at 10k will give it even more "shimmer".

And he almost always physically doubled his vocal - with a little panning, compression and verb for good measure and "thickening".

I recommend that Tape Op book highly. You can also subscribe to their zine for free at their website.
 
o man i love elliots music. Ive been trying to record "I Better Be Quiet Now" and I find the um i dont know what you call it but just making 2 tracks of the same singing line.

Am I doing that right? I just record one singing track then the same thing on the second, put some reverb on there, and put one on 30% pan on one side and vice versa..... am I anywhere near doing it right?
 
Yes. That's about it. Maybe a little compression and you're good to go.
 
elliott smith had a very quiet singing voice. So what you're hearing on his records is grit from the mic pre (especially on the silibants) and a judicious amount of compression. Nearly all of his vocal stuff was doubled.
 
great stuff.

pretty much everything i had guessed has been confirmed. i've ordered the tape op book from amazon but the "free subscription" is only for those in the u.s, so i'd have to pay $40 for that.

thanks everyone, it's not as though i'm going to go and record anything like him, my voice is much louder, but it's good to know for working with others.

grá,
seán.
 
r.i.p. elliot

the guy was talented and his "new" stuff rocks. the case of his death hasn't been solved. he wasn't as pathetic and sad as some assholes seem to think.

vicariously yours
 
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