Vocal Layering

[zenden]

Evening all, first post here so please be gentle

I consider myself to be an intermediate when it comes to production but vocals is definitely not my strongpoint. Recently something has been bothering me, I keep hearing a certain vocal "sound" on tracks and wanting to achieve it myself but I have no idea how its done. I get the impression that there is a lot of vocal layering going on and that some harmonies are also being faked (eventide perhaps?) but I cant quite put my finger on it. Some obvious examples of "that sound" are the chorus of "The Hound (of Blood and Rank)" and pretty much the whole of "Justice in Murder" by Coheed and Cambria, the chorus of "Crawling in the Dark" by Hoobastank and the chorus of "The Authority Song" by Jimmy Eat World (although it seems less obvious in this track).

Can anyone point me in the right direction for this kind of vocal layering/production or any other useful layering techniques they have picked up? It seems this sound is associated with the hook lines of choruses within the alt rock scene and helps to cement the domainant melodies and helps them to stand out!

any help would be hugely appreciated

 

[Federation Jack]

I think it's best to layer vocals after you have the lead vocals down.

Vocals were never my strongpoint either but I came up with a shortcut technique to getting quick ear candy harmonies.

First record the lead vocals.
When you're sure you've got adequate lead vocals then move onto the layering.
Record atleast two good stylized takes (there's many different ways a singer can go about this)
Basically do what you think can fit into a layer, if it dosen't work, don't use it. Eventually you'll get the hang of that.

Use the steinberg voice machine VST plugin to with -5 pitch, this can create a nice ear candy style harmony that you can use underneath your lead vocals, and then atleast one of your stylized vocals.

Panning is the next part.
It's going to sound too thick and just plain weird until things are properly panned.
If you're not good with panning, don't worry, here's a basic shortcut I use from time to time when I'm in a hury editing a chorus.
Pan the lead vocals to the right, pan any harmonies on the lead chorus righter. (yikes)

The steinberg vst will give you that harmony effect I can tell you're looking for, but it's not going to give you a perfect layering, that's something you gotta work on.