Vocal comping

Supercreep said:
Know what you're going to do before you do it. Construct your vocal phrasing anticipating that you're going to be recording this one line at a time, if neccesary.
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^^^^^ I go with this. As nice as it would be for anyone singing for me to learn the entire vocal beforehand, real life doesn't work that way when you've got an hour to do 2 songs.
It's actually not at all difficult to do a vocal in sections or line by line and sound good. It just takes a little thought.
 
Nuendo
Usually 2-3 vocal takes and then we listen and do the switcheroo... 😂🤣😂🤣😂 but sometimes it is necessry to punch in a few line here and there... usual stuff. I really do not have much experience with vocal. Do it as a hobby for my singer friends :).

BY THE WAY, always wanted to know how much would that cost to have someone come, and record voice, then you mix it and all... Is it better by hour, or by song or whatever... what is your approach here? Thanks :)
 
What you do with it is always a problem. You need to set the terms - I'll give you fifty to sing for a couple of hours, but what if it goes viral/famous/radio play and they want a cut? You need to make sure what you are paying is set against what might happen? Always difficult.
 
balky said:
how much would that cost to have someone come, and record voice, then you mix it and all... Is it better by hour, or by song or whatever... what is your approach here?
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It depends on the person singing. Sometimes, I'll just take them for a meal.
 
If I remember and I am feeling up to it I will always do a second take, even if I do not comp it in the end.

Sometimes unpleasant elements are not noticed on the take that you thought was good.
Could be a compressor doesn't sound as good on a specific note by accentuating a badly plucked note, or a dog barking in the background that was unnoticed, a slight timing issue that is just easier to comp than edit, squeeky chair or heavier breathing that gets brought out a little too much and it's sitting over a note which limits you. a comp can save you there a bit from automating stuff.

I dunno, it's just stupid not to do an extra take for good luck
 
I use Logic - and vocal comps are automatic - I don't really care either way - if they can't sing it through that I'd rather have the comps to make the track great - if they can sing it through but haven't practiced enough I like to have to comps to compensate.
 
I advise against doing "complete song" takes. You (the singer) will most likely mess up in the same spots every time, which makes having multiple takes pointless. I create Regions (in Reaper) for different sections, maybe it's Verse Chorus Bridge, or maybe it's just a couple lines at a time V1a V1b etc... On loop... recording each section a few times until it feels/sounds good. Then move onto the next section... the Repetition of singing the same section over and over multiple times helps you (the singer) nail it down. Also, it's good if you want to multi-track the vocals as they're (the takes) more likely to be right on timing wise with each other.
 
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