lip smaqcking/flat sound

[me-crazy-ac]

I use noise gate etc... however I still find a lot of edit work on lip smaking, breath etc... any suggestions?

In addition, I notice much of the new country sound has a flat yet not raw vocal sound. Seems like there is not much effects on the vocals, however when I try this it comes out flat. Any suggestions?

 

[Jagular]

Do you mean the new country stuff has a raw, but not flat sound?

What do you mean by flat? I have this discussion with my wife all the time. To me flat means off pitch on the low side. To her it means lacking life or lustre.

I don't know...but I would assume that there is a fair amount of compression being used on these vocals. Maybe there is a trend toward less reverb? Do you have any specific tracks in mind?

I may not know the answer, but I like & sing country music and wouldn't mind hearing a discussion on this.

 

[Jagular]

Oh...and the lip smacking & breath sounds can all be controlled by the vocalist. Some are better at it than others. My lips tend to smack more when my mouth & lips get dry. Keep water available when tracking vocals. As for the breath sounds, I personally find that I like to hear them if they are not distracting. The vocal sounds more natural. If they seem too loud...consider two things. Maybe you have too much compression running while tracking? This would bring up the softer sounds (ex. lip smacking & breathing). Also consider mic technique. If you have a softer voice and need to really get up on the mic, you may need to back off the mic to breath since there is a smaller dynamic differnce between your breaths & the vocal as compared to someone who can really holler . That can be problematic though, if you are in an intense section where the phrases run together quckly and you need quick breaths.

Hope that helps some.

 

[TexRoadkill]

I think by 'flat' he is talking about dynamics. Are you using any compression? That helps. Of course you still need a good vocalist and a good signal path.

 

[me-crazy-ac]

YES sir. I notice it a lot on artistsw like Tim Mcgraw and Jo Dee Messina.

I dont mean flat as in losing pitch etc... just kinda dry on effects however it don't sound dead. It's one of those real warm songs that makes ya relax in the yard on a summer day while throwing back a few beers.

I do use compression.