Please help me recreate this 70s vocal sound

  • Thread starter Thread starter fritsthegirl
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rayc said:
Wow - doubling certainly makes a diff doesn't it?
Sounds way way closer too.
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Sure does. I actually couldn't quite believe how much of a difference it made, even without any effects it sits much better in the mix. This I'm kind of glad about. I was getting a bit frustrated trying to figure out if it was reverb or what, I ought to have known it was something I was missing in the actual recording process. :)
 
Don't confuse me. This is my first day back on my own time zone.....
 
Name your children after me, won't you? :D

Oh, and watch out for speedboats FTG...
 
Oh my....

Back on topic: I would suggest pulling the doubled vocal track down a bit. It is not always best to have them at the same level. In most cases I find that 6 db or more below the main track will give the desired effect, without sounding like two vocals. Aural food for thought...
 
jimmys69 said:
Oh my....

Back on topic: I would suggest pulling the doubled vocal track down a bit. It is not always best to have them at the same level. In most cases I find that 6 db or more below the main track will give the desired effect, without sounding like two vocals. Aural food for thought...
Click to expand...

Aye, good tip, I'll definitely do that, thanks.
 
jimmys69 said:
Back on topic: I would suggest pulling the doubled vocal track down a bit. It is not always best to have them at the same level. In most cases I find that 6 db or more below the main track will give the desired effect, without sounding like two vocals. Aural food for thought...
Click to expand...
Definitely. I've found that I can pull one of the tracks down as much as 10db's lower than the main and you will still hear it doubled. There are times when I'll have both the same volume, like for a powerful chorus, but usually 6 to 10db under the main vocal still gives a very audible doubled vocal.
 
I will often compress the double more than the main vocal, and roll off some of the highs so I'm getting more of the tone and less of the definition. Then I can mix it a little closer to even with the main vocal.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
I will often compress the double more than the main vocal, and roll off some of the highs so I'm getting more of the tone and less of the definition. Then I can mix it a little closer to even with the main vocal.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I'll have to try that. I've always put them in the same folder and treated them the same, compression and EQ-wise. :cool:
 
RAMI said:
Interesting. I'll have to try that. I've always put them in the same folder and treated them the same, compression and EQ-wise. :cool:
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It doesn't always work, but it lets the main vocal dominate while still getting a doubling effect. It's great if the timing of the two vocals isn't quite good enough.
 
I do what boulder said usually, so I've picked that up from somewhere here... if I do have them closer in level, I'll also often de-ess the 2nd fairly heavily as well, depending upon a few factors in the song.

On a separate but related note, sometimes with harmonies that won't quite sit, I'll only partially sing the word, getting the vowel sounds but not necessarily the end or beginning sound, depending what it is... :D
 
bouldersoundguy said:
I will often compress the double more than the main vocal, and roll off some of the highs so I'm getting more of the tone and less of the definition. Then I can mix it a little closer to even with the main vocal.
Click to expand...

Similar to what I do often. Especially if the doubled track is off a bit, I will often manually edit out 's' and 't's. Or pummel it with a de-esser.
 
There's always the option of the Motown exciter process as well for the double vox.
That's massively compressed & boosted highs mainly I think.
 
Even my tone deaf work mate can hear when I've doubled my vocals, so I'm definitely going to have to try these things. Thanks guys. :)
 
70;s vocal Sound

Yup it's vocal doubling all the way through expect the Babeyyy ba. Same in the 70's like Abba, the yuse lots of vocal doubling to get those wicked harmonies. Some Led Zepplin songs for the girls backup vocals. Check out the making of Dark Side of the Moon DVD. Allan Parsons demonstrates how he took the single vocal tracks and combined them used phasing and doubling. Also there is a documentary on Abba how they got that signature vocal sound. They actually found it by accident, so the story goes.
 
Old way of doing it

If i may recall exactly how these things used to be done

First there is reverb on the lead vocals (i dont remember a commercial song without it) but it blends into the music.
You may hear it when you solo the track, and believe me there is a lot of it usually ! but it will almost disappear when mixed with the music.
To mix reverb with the voice you have to first analyze the BPM of your song (beats per minute), then calculate the pre-delay you will use to set up the reverb
Here you will find a way to calculate the pre-delay: add three ws in front of this: thewhippinpost.co.uk/tools/delay-time-calculator and add dothtm after that
Then you have to set the program and the length of the reverb, but that can be made by trial and error using the music as a guide
If you want to listen to reverberation on commercial songs sum the stereo channels on a mixing board and put one of the channels out of phase
You may be able (for experimented people at least) to even say what kind of reverb program was used !

Hope this will help you (i like what you do)

From a retired french sound engineer in Paris
 
When i said: "sum the stereo channels on a mixing board" you have to understand IN MONO
 
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