Give me your vocal tracking tricks! NOW!

  • Thread starter Thread starter tone_aot
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Throw up a '57 and see how it sounds. Is it good?

If so, throw up a great mic, if not, you didn't waste your time opening the mic locker.

That is my technique, anyway.
 
Use a shockmount, and let the singer stand on a carpet. Some of them like to tap their feet too much. Use isolated headphones to lower bleed, like the vic firths. And if you can, run a mono mix to the singer, and pan all the way to one ear to have him/her listen to only one speaker. Or just have one speaker sealed against the head. Singers can sing better if they can hear themselves better. And this would cut down on weird latency problems that can throw them off, depending on your system of course. I also baffle behind the mic, usually with one of those auralex jobbies with the hole for the stand. Not too close to the mic, to cut down on phasiness. There's a little iso screen i've seen now that goes behind the mic, with all kinds of different sound absorbing/blocking/diffusing layers that's supposed to be good. And a good singer doesn't usually need a compressor on tracking. Some will pull away from the mic on louder parts, etc... It needs to be treated like an instrument, interacted with, not just thrown up. And I know of a singer that drinks a whole 8 oz thing of honey before singing. Whack!
 
Thanks for all the tips guys. I've gotten my vocals exactly how i want them. First i took the mic out of the closet(chessrock :D). Then i distanced myself about six inches from the mic. Then, i turned up the preamp to get the same volume i'd usally get when 2 inches away from the mic. :D After that, i played around with the compressor until i was very comfortable with the mic. The combination of all those things led to me being able to perform better because i could actually hear myself better and the vocals sound a whole lot better overall. Now, all i have to do is get a preamp of better quality and make a suitable recording space, instead of the closet, for me to record my vocals. When i have some extra cash, i'm going to get some roxul safe n sound and try to create a decent space. All this stuff was very elementary and i feel really dumn now! :o
 
You could also add a timed delay to the vocals to add a sense of being more full or whatever to it to, along with the reverb, all this after compression...
 
:D Yo Tone, et al.:

With all of the above considered, I like to take the vocal and run it through a dozen or more reverb settings and see what happens.

Different voices react differently to different reverb patches. [Does that sound redundant Chessrock?] :confused:

If you happen to find a really cool result/reverb--MAKE SURE TO WRITE IT DOWN. It might work again.

I guess I just like to tinker with sound.

Happy Thanksgiving
Green Hornet
 
Tracking:
1. Use a vocalist that can actually sing decently (IOW, don't have me singing your stuff :D)

2. Set the "mood" and provide a great atmosphere for the vocalist. This is more important than just about anything else. 95% of a successful vocal take is mental. do NOT underestimate the power of the vibe.

3. Listen to the vocalist sing the song in question. Listen for tone, dynamic range, sibilance, pops, etc.

4. Determine what mics would work for the vocalist and the song/production and have them give each a test. Pick the one that fits the best--note that this is not necessarily the one that sounds best on the vocalist when solo'd.

5. Use a preamp that complements the vocalist, mic and song/production.

6. Provide the vocalist with a monitor mix that works ideally for them. Can't sing if ya can't hear. some vocalists want a LOT of reverb, some none.....some want a LOT of themselves in the cans, some very little, etc.

7. Set the mic preamp for "maximum gain before clipping" and then roll it back a little to provide a little extra headroom.

8. Hit record.

9. Have them sing a "test" pass. Tell them it's a test. Make sure you've hit record anyway. The "test" takes when they think you're not recording are often the best ones. again 95% of a successful vocal take is mental.

10. Be careful when tracking with a compressor/limiter. Once done, it can't be undone. I almost always track with compression--but i know what i want the vocal to sound like and commit that sound to the track.

11. DO NOT screw up the take.

12. I repeat, DO NOT screw up the take.

13. Provide encouragement after each take.

14. DO NOT screw up the additional takes.

Mixing:

1. Don't have the vocalist around when you're comping the final vocal track. A "pitch versus performance discussion" will undoubtedly ensue.

2. Compressors in a series, each doing a little bit of gain reduction can be more effective than one compressor set to nuke.

3. A little distortion on the vocal can sometimes help it sit better.

4. A little delay and reverb can go a long way. Effects are just that--effects.

5. A delay set to the tempo of the song at 1/4 (or 1/8 or 1/16) note intervals can be fun and provide a sense of depth that isn't readily noticible as an echo.

5. Often a multed, hyper-compressed vocal track tucked underneath an uncompressed track can add some girth to the track.

there's more--i could go on all day but won't. :p

cheers,
wade
 
I've heard of putting a pencil up across the middle of the pop filter(behind) really helps with splosives, because they're so directional.
 
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