Shotgun - hard panned vocal doubles?

  • Thread starter Thread starter maxmax77
  • Start date Start date
Edited the title because there’s one issue in particular I have a question about.

I’m using hard panned vocal doubles on the left and right to compliment the single-tracked center melody. I was going for a sort of larger than life feeling without the really undulating feeling that comes with unplanned doubles.

Are they adding anything to the mix? Should I maybe chop them up and only use them to add emphasis in certain areas of the song?

I’m also wondering if anyone else feels like the vocal is a bit too loud in some parts (the first verse especially) and a bit too quiet in others (the build into the outro)?
 
I don't know that doubling the vocals really did much for the mix. I would have probably worked on doing real harmony vocals rather than doubling. I don't think the vocal is overly loud in most of the track, but with a bit of automation or compression you could drop the level a bit in some spots or even things a bit. The vocal is pretty dry. Did you put any reverb on the vocal?

The biggest issue I had was that the guitars seemed to be on the harsh side. I would be trying to tame them a bit.
 
I can't really hear those hard panned doubled vocals, except in a couple of quiet sections where I "think" I hear one in the left channel only.. never from the right. Even then it's more of a distraction than an enhancement.

The vocal is louder in the beginning but the music is softer there, so it's a relative thing. Everything builds through the song and seems better balanced as it goes.

Overall, this has some 90's grunge sound going on in spots, sounds good.
 
Thank you both—I’m incorporating all of your helpful feedback.

TalismanRich said:
I don't know that doubling the vocals really did much for the mix. I would have probably worked on doing real harmony vocals rather than doubling. I don't think the vocal is overly loud in most of the track, but with a bit of automation or compression you could drop the level a bit in some spots or even things a bit. The vocal is pretty dry. Did you put any reverb on the vocal?

The biggest issue I had was that the guitars seemed to be on the harsh side. I would be trying to tame them a bit.
Click to expand...
Thanks Rich! I appreciate the feedback. I think harmonies are a great idea. I've got some ideas for harmonies, I just need to bring them together and record 'em.

I didn't do much processing on the vocal, just some saturation, a tiny bit of reverb, a few minor EQ tweaks, and minimal compression at a low ratio. I just tested dropping the vocal doubles and adding a bit more compression and reverb to the main vocal track and I already like the sound a lot more.

When you say the guitars are harsh, do you mean the acoustics as well as the electrics, or just the electrics? I definitely hear the harshness in the electrics.

spantini said:
I can't really hear those hard panned doubled vocals, except in a couple of quiet sections where I "think" I hear one in the left channel only.. never from the right. Even then it's more of a distraction than an enhancement.

The vocal is louder in the beginning but the music is softer there, so it's a relative thing. Everything builds through the song and seems better balanced as it goes.

Overall, this has some 90's grunge sound going on in spots, sounds good.
Click to expand...

Thanks Spantini. Sounds like it could use some more automation in the front half. And as the other poster said, it seems like the hard panned doubles didn’t add anything so I’m dropping them. I’m glad you’re getting the 90s grunge vibe! I really wanted it to drop in certain parts, kinda garage revival style, so that makes me happy to hear.
 
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