Stereo on vocals?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ashulman
  • Start date Start date
I probably don't know enough to talk about this properly, bu hasn't anyone heard Revolver? There is an example in which almost every vocal is recorded "Mono" but ADT is applied and the signal is sent hard left and right which really fills out the sound. What I am saying is that on my recorder I have a tracks 1-6, then two stereo tracks 7/8 and 9/10. I can record a single miced vocal onto track 7/8 and when I add chorus to it, the effect makes use of both the left and right channels. In other words, it kind of has the effect that Deepwater talked about.
 
Does anyone ever just record their vocal on mono once, and then decided that it sounds good with just one track, and no overdubs? I recorded an album with my old band, (well, I didn't do the recording, I did the singing) and they never asked me to double it...is this a good sign or a bad sign? I mean does this mean that the guy doing the recording should have done this? Or does it mean that the vocal may be strong enough by itself? Even on harmonies, he never asked me to double it. But, when I have done stuff for promotional stuff, i.e. radio jingles, or business to business type advertising on video, or training video stuff, it seems that they always wanted to double EVERYTHING.
Oh, what does it all mean?

Once a long time ago I sang on someone elses album too, and I don't recall him doubling us. We sang together a lot, however. Maybe during some backgrounds there was some doubling. Could this maybe just have to do with different destination points? I do hear doubling on radio stuff, I just don't ever seem to like it as much with my voice as I do with ONE clear signal. I'm sure it's just that I don't know WTF I'm doing, though.

Just some thoughts...hope they weren't too stupid.

Kirstin
 
Depending on the style of music, I think doubling is rarer today than it used to be. When I mentioned the Beatles Revolver you should note that John Lennon always wanted to double track as he hated his voice. Sometimes verses are sung solo and bridges or choruses are doubled and harmonied to add impact. I like this approach. I hate my voice also but doubling doesn't always sound right in today's environment.
 
I think I like that approach too, just from a logistical standpoint, not that really I've done it on myself very thoroughly. I never sit down long enough to get down anything that I'm satisfied with--and I ALWAYS seem to just start all over, looking for that nugget of perfection that is never really going to be there...

Maybe the thing is that I just like my voice? Used to anyway. Note to self--must stop smoking--voice sounds much less controlled these days. A little exercise now and then probably wouldn't hurt either. It's funny when you're naturally thin and people expect that you are healthy, and you feel like dying after trying to run one block. Not AROUND an entire block, but basically, 1/4 of a block. Man, that's pitiful, n'est pas?

I guess I see the reason to double, but am unsure again as to why a stereo spread is better than a mono track just partly on one side and then partly on another, or w/two mono tracks spread to different areas of the spectrum. I can actually understand it for something like piano, I think, where you get different sounds from different sides of the instrument...but for voice? This has probably all been said before.

Kirstin
 
Doubling

I have never doubled my lead vocal for two reasons.

1. My voice is pretty full and really doesn't need it.
2. It's not easy singing it close enough to the original track to make it sound good and I usually don't have the time to spend getting it right.

I may play with it in the future though as an effect if I get time.
 
I also think that if you are naturally someone who improvises a bit, or at the last minute comes up with an embellishment, that this is weird to re-sing, exactly. Whether you have time or not. The first time, it sounds perfect, natural and all that, and the overdub is likely to feel unnatural. Would anyone agree with this?

I know that a lot of the recording I've done tends to be on the spot like that. I'll just do something I didn't do the last time. I don't want to be robot-like everytime. I also, though, want to feel absolutely confident enough in my part so that I CAN do this. Changing it up sometimes a little bit is fun as a singer. I think a guitar player or piano player (not classical) would say this as well, or at least some of them might.
 
Yeah, what real difference does a single mic recording on a STEREO track offer? Why should that sound different than the mono, other than possibly louder? If it splits on signal into two? Or would it even make it louder, but instead equally divide the two--resulting in the same net volume? Is it just an image sound difference? I would be interested in hearing the same track, ashulman, recording with one mic, first on a mono track, and then on a stereo track as you describe. both with the very same effect, if you want to put one in there. I'm curious as to what the difference would SOUND like. I can see how a true stereo recording would sound different, but why should a mono track split into a stereo on one track sound different? I don't know if I'm asking this right? I really want to know this--it seems that if there were really an answer to this, it might be useful.

If it's just a louder thing, okay, I don't care if I hear it.
 
I see what you mean, in a way, although I think the song that you did (mono) stereo vocals in sounds better as a whole, recording wise. Wonder why that is? Technique improving, maybe?

I'm still interested in targeting that one specific factor, based on the same song, where everything is identical, except for that one vocal track, whether it was recorded in a mono track, verses a mono signal through a stereo track. Same effect, same everything. I could also probably do this myself, ya know, however, I spend all my time on here talking, and never actually working on any kind of recording skills. In my mind, I'm picking up all kinds of nuggets of info. In reality, I've recorded very little.

If you decide to ever do that, though, in order to really compare, let me know. I'd be interested to hear that.

I like that song Miss You, by the way. It reminds me of something, not to imply that it's not original. But, the opening guitar line and general pattern has the feel of an entire cd that I used to have, and loved, until I dropped it and cracked the cd. I've never replaced it. It was the soundtrack from a not much seen movie, entitled, Until the End of the World. Horribly experimental hollywood movie that didn't make a bit of sense to me. Great cd in my opinion. Saw the movie after buying the cd. Don't even know for sure why I bought the cd, except that the cover looked cool, and it had some really well-known musicians on it, like Lou Reed, Elvis Costello (I think), the guy that writes all the David Lynch movie stuff, U2, and others. Probably would sound a bit outdated to some on the board, but I know for a fact that I'd still like it.

Thanks,
kirstin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top