So I've just set up a basic studio to record my bands demo...We have just finished laying out the tracks for the first song and have got a decent vocal sound but the vocalline sounds kind of thin especially compared to the layers of guitar and bass in the background. What can I do to add power to the vocals...Im guessing the obvious is to add some harmonies and maybe some more vocal layers but even so does anyone have any tips on how to mix for best sound...I'm not sure if its relavent but I'm using Cubase LE4 with an audio kontrol 1 interface and an ashton condensor mic for the vocals. Ive also tried using some reverb and compression. It sounds loads better but its still not enough especially in the chorus (which Im wanting to be more powerful vocally then the verse)...
and one more quick question...is it better to record with the guitar straight into the interface? Or should I put the guitar through an amp and just mic the amp?
It's hard to give universally applicable answers without hearing the song you're trying to record, but a few suggestions:
1) To thicken up a thin vocal try singing closer to the mic to take advantage of the proximity effect (which accentuates low-mids)
2) You're probably not doing this, but in case you are, make sure you aren't EQing the vocals in the signal chain (record them flat and adjust EQ after the fact if necessary)
3) do several takes of double-tracking until you get a pair of very well-matched takes, and play with panning them in the stereo field. Sometimes, panning one hard left and one hard right makes for a nice effect, but not always--sometimes something in between is the ticket
4) if the chorus kicks up the intensity of the song, consider recording chorus vocals on separate tracks from verse vocals so you can easily manipulate them independently of each other. One thing I like to do on quiet/loud songs is to run a single vocal track in the mellow verses and kick to a panned double-tracked vocal on the loud choruses. Be careful when mixing that the transition isn't too obvious or distracting.
5) like you said, try harmonies, and don't be afraid to double track and pan those as well. When layering harmony and lead vocals play with the EQ to see if you can get a nice layered sound by allowing the various parts to occupy their own space in the frequency spectrum. For example, maybe a high-pass filter on the harmonies to cut out the low range will help them sit better with the lead vocals. Remember, even if the EQ'ed vocals sound like crap on their own, they may sound like money in the mix.
