taking presence out of back up vocals

  • Thread starter Thread starter sixforty
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sixforty

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alot of the time when i record back up vocal parts they stick out along with the lead vocalsmaking it very cluttered, and if i turn them down they just get lost in the mix. any ideas on how to take the presence out of the back up vocals?
 
I usually
- Compress the snot out of it
- Bring some of the higher-mids down a bit
- Add more reverb than the lead vox and sometimes a dash of chorus

also, make sure your lead vox are as "up front" as they should be - go easy on the reverb & delay.
 
Other things to try:

- Cut at 5kHz and/or 10kHz
- Add a short delay, 5-15ms
- Pan further from center
 
Yeah, a broad but gentle(2-3db) cut in the 3K-8K range combined with more ambience (reverb/delay) and panning can help, but the process starts when recording them. Use a different mic & preamp (with a darker tone f'rinstance) and back the singers off - 2 or 3 feet is a good starting place. That will tame the transients somewhat, and let in more 'room'. I often find myself using ribbon mics on BG vox... YMMV.

Scott
 
DigitMus said:
Yeah, a broad but gentle(2-3db) cut in the 3K-8K range combined with more ambience (reverb/delay) and panning can help, but the process starts when recording them. Use a different mic & preamp (with a darker tone f'rinstance) and back the singers off - 2 or 3 feet is a good starting place. That will tame the transients somewhat, and let in more 'room'. I often find myself using ribbon mics on BG vox... YMMV.

Scott
Click to expand...

^^^

This is all good advice.. I was going to say back them up off the mic a little bit and get some room sound, and forget about the reverb... ANd DEFINITELY use a different mic.. sometimes a really cheap mic will do the trick..

Scott (also)
 
Unlike the suggestions so far, I actually find myself rolling off a great deal of the low end on background vox. That's what seems to make them take up a lot of "space". Without the lows, they are "thinner" sounding and don't conflict with as many other elements.
 
Yo 6 of 40:

In addition to all of the good advice already given, you might try panning your back up vocals [on two tracks?] way left and way right. That will lower their presence and if you add in all the other tweaks, it should give you what your ears want to hear.

Green Hornet:D :D :p :p :cool:
 
I'd go with littledog's advice if I were you - shelve the low, don't take highs out
 
sjoko is right about littledog being right... sorry i watched "blazing saddles' again.

i also roll off the lows and low-mids for back vocals. and give them a little more reverb than the lead. since i roll off the highs on my reverb, things don't sound too bright.
 
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