Separating harmonies

[Robunck]

Hi all, this is my first post to this forum, although I'm not a total newbie to recording, just this forum. What a great resource!

Anway, my question: what are your techniques for separating harmony from your lead vocal track? What I mean is when I hear pro recordings where the lead singer is singing his won harmonies, when they kick in, you still know what is the lead vocal and what are the harmony vocals.

On my recordings, often when my harmony vox kicks in, I don't have enough "separation" and it can get confusing which is the lead melody and which is the harmony.

What are your techniques? Do you pan the harmony off from the lead left/right? Any EQ tricks? Is it simply volume (the melody quieter than the lead vocal)? Different mic placement? Do you literally sing the harmony with a different technique (more breathy or something?)

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[grinder]

Do you pan the harmony off from the lead left/right? Any EQ tricks? Is it simply volume (the melody quieter than the lead vocal)? Different mic placement? Do you literally sing the harmony with a different technique (more breathy or something?)

All of the above.

 

[lpdeluxe]

...and it has to be HARMONY to stick out! Just doubling the line will give you a....doubled line.

 

[Robunck]

...and it has to be HARMONY to stick out! Just doubling the line will give you a....doubled line.

I am singing harmony, for example, let's say I'm singing the 1st note and a 3rd. But the harmony (the 3rd) doesn't sound like "background" harmonies. You know, that "airy" background feel. It sounds lead two lead vocal tracks.

I guess I'm really hoping for any specific EQ tweaks you can share. I get panning it differently than the lead vocal and maybe adding a little reverb to bring it "further away" in the mix, but beyond that I need help.

I'll have to post a sound clip of what I mean, but I can't until I get home.

Thanks again for your help, everyone.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

Mixing Article --> Mixing 101

 

[Robunck]

Mixing Article --> Mixing 101

Thanks Blue Bear! Excellently written, invaluable resource. The following passage alone taught me more in two sentences than I could learned by tweaking knobs for hours by myself:

"Think of a mix as a 3-dimensional space in front of you... you have control over the left/right, the high/low, and the front/back of the sound stage. The tools that let you manipulate this area are Panning (for left/right positioning), EQ (for high/low positioning), and Fader Level (for front/back positioning). "

 

[TexRoadkill]

You might try panning them more, compressing them more and cutting a lot of the low end.

 

[chessrock]

I am singing harmony, for example, let's say I'm singing the 1st note and a 3rd. But the harmony (the 3rd) doesn't sound like "background" harmonies. You know, that "airy" background feel. It sounds lead two lead vocal tracks.

Chessrocks recipe for airy harmony vocals: (almost as good as my Stromboli recipe)

Try doing about 3-4 takes of the harmony. Seriously. Combine them; panning one hard left, the other hard-right, and the third/fourth up the middle. Now throw in one or two whisper tracks (just whispering). Take it easy on the consonants, though. Swallow them if you can. Do this for each of your subsequent takes, in fact.

Combine to taste and submix. Compress like crazy. Then de-ess. Generously add some 10-12 khz, lop off everything below 150 hz and low-shelf cut a few db's starting at around 500 hz. Also try a little chorus or flange effects and see if you like them -- don't overdo it.

 

[Robunck]

Thanks Chessrock! Like the recipe. I'll definitely give it a "taste." Listened to some of the stuff recorded at your studios. Really like "I Wanna Know."

 

[chessrock]

Thanks Chessrock! Like the recipe. I'll definitely give it a "taste." Listened to some of the stuff recorded at your studios. Really like "I Wanna Know."

Thanks. That was done last year -- before I upgraded all of my gear. Pretty disheartening, isn't it (when you spend a ton of money, and everyone likes the one done with the cheap stuff)?

 

[grinder]

Thanks Chessrock! Like the recipe. I'll definitely give it a "taste." Listened to some of the stuff recorded at your studios. Really like "I Wanna Know."

That is a really cool song and a great mix!

 

[chessrock]

Thanks again, guys. Yea, I think I'm actually quite proud of how I mixed the guitars on that one. I just kind of told the fellas to brainstorm on some different parts / textures (including the "wah" guitar that's kind of quiet coming in far right, and the solo actually played through a leslie speaker) and then just pan them all over the place. It was fun. If I could have anything back, it would be the drums -- way too much cymbals for my taste, but that's how they liked it.

You know, those guys got a record deal not too long ago . . . from a relatively small label, but it still is pretty cool.

 

[grinder]

That's funny, I was thinking how nice the cymbals sounded. The guitar parts and their panning sounds great too. I'll keep an eye out for the band, do they have a web site?