How do I make the vocals not stand out

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trusk8er18

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I was at a friends house and we were trying to record some vocals to a song but to me it sounded as if the vocals stood out too much and didn't blend well with the music.He thought it was fine but I've noticed the same problem on some other projects.Is there some effect commonly used in finalizing the vocals I don't know about other than compression or reverb? He's too proud too ask for help himself.
 
you can retrack the vox and have the singer stand further back from the mic.
 
Vocals in the mix

In addition to these good suggestions, experiment with adding reverb. Reverb tends to push the vocals back in the mix some. However, you'd want to be able to apply the reverb specifically to the vocal track. I take it you can't isolate the vocals on a separate track or else you'd just turn down the slider for vocal track on the mixer. There are certain frequencies you could turn down with an equalizer that would change the characteristics of the vocals in the mix. What sort of gear are you using to record and mix the performance?
 
Thanks for the brutal but honest answers,but

Yeah maybe it is something as simple as turning the vocal track down,It's my friends PC and I assume if that were the answer he'd know.Allow me to go into furhther detail.He uses CUBASE,some compressor( I don't remember what kind),an interface,and a shure beta87 mic.The music track is finished (it's digital-courtesy of fruity loops-)And the vocals are recorded on a seperate track. My problem is that the vocals are maybe too clear,the mic picks up every minor inflection in my voice.How could I smooth it out and give it less of a live sound.
 
Use a crappy mic. Or squash the crap out of it with compression, add some distortion and then....

turn it the fuck down.

sorry, couldn't resist.
 
Actually, now that I think about it...

I once solved this problem by actually taking my hand and partially covering the mic while singing. Worked quite well.
 
Don't record a vocal track over a stereo mix of the music, just in case you're doing that.
 
jake-owa said:
Actually, now that I think about it...

I once solved this problem by actually taking my hand and partially covering the mic while singing. Worked quite well.
Click to expand...

I believe I read somewhere that John Lennon used to wave his hand in front of the mic to help prevent plosives. An old trick.
 
I had this problem for a long time. What helps a lot is to roll of the low-end. start with a low cut at 100hz and play around with the Q. You can even try a high cut in the same manner. In combination with the low cut it simulates kind of a proximity effect.

What also helps is more "early reflections" in the reverb. if your verb hasn't got this option, create a very short reverb and add that.

A slight chorus might also do the trick. Play around with the delay-time.

A very short delay might also help but in my opinion it alters the sound in a way that doesn't always suit.

hope this helps.
 
A few thoughts on this.. if it's heavily compressed... back that off abit... add some reverb (keep it light) Eq it down slightly in areas where it might be fighting for space with instruments and most obviously of all turn it down. Actualy, if theres alot of plosives in it a de-esser might help
 
1) Try turning it down.

2) scoop our some midrange to allow the high end to give the vox deffinition, but still feel like it sits inside the mix.

3) add short delays instead of reverb.
 
The problem could be the rest of your tracks as well... Say maybe the guitars don't have enough mids. The vocals don't have enough "competition" in their frequency range and stand out too much. Just a thought. You probably just have to turn the vox down 'tho. :D
 
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