Vocal tips...

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cellardweller

cellardweller

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Damn, I've been trying to double track some vocals for 2 weeks now, but the inconsistencies are about to drive me to gouge my own eyes out..

Are there any tips for idiot guitar players, things perhaps commonknowledge, but unknown to me (drink much whiskey, keep bologne in your shoes, meditate and masturbate prior, ya know... things like this?)???
 
cellardweller said:
Are there any tips for idiot guitar players, things perhaps commonknowledge, but unknown to me (drink much whiskey, keep bologne in your shoes, meditate and masturbate prior, ya know... things like this?)???
Click to expand...

Have you tried them simultaneously?
 
cellardweller said:
Damn, I've been trying to double track some vocals for 2 weeks now, but the inconsistencies are about to drive me to gouge my own eyes out..

Are there any tips for idiot guitar players, things perhaps commonknowledge, but unknown to me (drink much whiskey, keep bologne in your shoes, meditate and masturbate prior, ya know... things like this?)???
Click to expand...

The bologne typically works, but make sure it's the left shoe only, otherwise you'll get some phasing issues. So, I'm assuming you're going for a dead on double, eh? What type of inconsistencies are you getting, exactly?
 
Try standing up if you aren't already. Breathe from your gut rather from your chest. Drop you jaw, more as notes increase in pitch. That's all I remember... I never worked at it long enough for it to make a difference though.
 
whyseye said:
Have you tried them simultaneously?
Click to expand...
Now that's just the sickest thing I've heard all day, simultaneous meditation/masturbation/with bologne...c'mon... :D

Mostly small variations, but so many that it just seems... inconsistent...

Probably just need to practice it more, maybe (did you pick up on the conviction in that statement?)

I've heard the thing about the jaw/etc., but I tend to slobber all over my bologne filled shoes, spit shield is a must...
 
cellardweller said:
Now that's just the sickest thing I've heard all day, simultaneous meditation/masturbation/with bologne...c'mon... :D

Mostly small variations, but so many that it just seems... inconsistent...

Probably just need to practice it more, maybe (did you pick up on the conviction in that statement?)

I've heard the thing about the jaw/etc., but I tend to slobber all over my bologne filled shoes, spit shield is a must...
Click to expand...

I think the variation thing is generally due to nervousness about.....well variation. Maybe the whiskey will help. :D
 
Reshp1 is right. You know, Jake has a crazy work ethic. His recordings are TIGHT and it's only because he works his arse off getting every single part how he wants it. And then we're talking like 50 takes to get it down how he practiced it to be. Seriously!!

For the rest of us, just stick some chorus on and hope no-one notices :eek::eek:
 
Some of those inconsistancies are the reason people double a part. If you are way off, you just don't know the part yet. You are the one making the decisions about pitch and timing, make sure you make those decisions before you start singing. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Remember, starting the note on time is only half the battle. You need to end it on time as well.
 
Keep practicing. That is probably most important. If that doesn't work, have you tried cutting, pasting, and then applying a slight amount of delay, and some different eq to the 2nd track? I have so much trouble on some parts, that's what I do. I figure after 50 tries, I'm not getting it right now.

Just a suggestion.
Ed
 
Farview said:
Remember, starting the note on time is only half the battle. You need to end it on time as well.
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You ain't kiddin'! There were takes when I swore I nailed it, then it just petered out at the end of the line...

I initially started this recording thing as a way to keep myself in practice. To be honest, I wouldn't know how to begin to cut and paste parts, and I think I'd rather invest that time in practice. I do not mean to look the gift horse in the mouth (or advice horse). There is so much that I need to learn, that at this point that would seem counter-productive to any "long term" positive result. I really need to regain my "solidity" in performance that I once had, before slacking off for 3 years... :o

No delusions, just want my songs to at least be tolerable.

Now I'm babbling. Think I need to change my bologna.
 
Threads like these make me wonder if getting into recording is worth it :eek:

I don't understand how it can be hard to get things in time? You lay a ryhtym track down, then monitor back through the headphones, and sing to it? Or doesn't are we talking about something different here.. :confused:
 
Hey Cellar-

Sounds like you're trying to wear too many hats at one time....

....a new one that isn't shaped to your head yet...

...and an old one that's all broken in to your old hairstyle...

....all while standing on bologna and meditating, drinking much whiskey, etc...

I'm surprised you can still even HOLD a guitar, let alone try to do the fancy stuff, at the same time no less!!
:D
 
cellardweller said:
You ain't kiddin'! There were takes when I swore I nailed it, then it just petered out at the end of the line...

I initially started this recording thing as a way to keep myself in practice. To be honest, I wouldn't know how to begin to cut and paste parts, and I think I'd rather invest that time in practice. I do not mean to look the gift horse in the mouth (or advice horse). There is so much that I need to learn, that at this point that would seem counter-productive to any "long term" positive result. I really need to regain my "solidity" in performance that I once had, before slacking off for 3 years... :o

No delusions, just want my songs to at least be tolerable.

Now I'm babbling. Think I need to change my bologna.
Click to expand...


Yeah, cutting/pasting is just a short term fix, for something that takes some practice. I'm in the same boat, having put everything away fro some 15 years, then getting back into it, and finding out how bad I really am. :eek:

Ed
 
Acoustic_Daddy said:
I don't understand how it can be hard to get things in time? You lay a ryhtym track down, then monitor back through the headphones, and sing to it? Or are we talking about something different here.. :confused:
Click to expand...

lol Thats what I'm talkin about. Practice makes perfect. Do it over, over ,and over again "BEFORE" you record! Then the next problem will pop it's ugly head-up. In how it sounds, EQ'ing, compression blah blah blah. Good luck, Have fun.



L8er,
livilaNic


Post Script,
Read your damn PM's man damn. Your lucky I'm not in Decantur <--correct? yey? ney?
J/K. :D
 
Is this just a "nerves" thing..... try getting somebody else to press the record button whilst you practice, so you don't know when the recording is taking place.... but no substitute for practice.


Mal
 
a little different take on the whole thing...

if you read chris harris' suggested EQ reading material there are some tips for us there

if you sing in a regular room the mic picks up slapback echoes and they aint pretty - carpet, uphosltery, drapes, etc absorb mostly higher frequencies while parallel walls create standing waves and resonant frequencies in the muddy ranges

you dont hear individual echoes you just hear the added mud

doesnt sound too bad with one voice right? add another voice and you are doubling your problems

since you are using a standalone recorder its harder to do EQ but i think you are editing individual tracks on you computer. i have soundforge 5 which has a cool paragraphic EQ. you can experiment with cutting lots of low frequencies out of your vocal tracks. you should be doing that anyway but if you have a woofy voice to begin with like i do - my range is much lower than most singers - cutting the right amount of lows makes me sound more like a real singer

the tracks should sound better combined without making any other changes
 
Actually, I have a free-standing "panel" of rigid fiberglass, wrapped in plastic. It is two 2 inch thick sheets on top of each other.

I wonder if that could make an improvement in the muddy vocal department, if I stand it in front of the location (myself facing the "panel") where I usually stand to sing.
Would the plastic kick back too much high freq? Hmmm...
 
cellardweller said:
Actually, I have a free-standing "panel" of rigid fiberglass, wrapped in plastic. It is two 2 inch thick sheets on top of each other.

I wonder if that could make an improvement in the muddy vocal department, if I stand it in front of the location (myself facing the "panel") where I usually stand to sing.
Would the plastic kick back too much high freq? Hmmm...
Click to expand...

Ha, ha! My cheapo vocal booth:

In the bedroom do you have a closet with sliding or bifold dorrs? Open the doors as wide as you can exposing the most hanging clothes. That would be my wife's at my house. Put the micstand in between the clothes so that the mic is outside the clothes by about 6". Stand in the bedroom and sing toward the clothes.

The clothes act as a major kickin' good absorber acting on almost 180° of your projection. There is very little left to go bouncin' round the room and hit the mic again. The bed is a big absorber, too. Open up the other closets if you can. This makes for a very localized acoustically dead space which will take care of 99% of those echoes and reflections.
 
Can you double track a guitar rhythm accurately? I'm assuming so. Why is that? It comes from knowing the parts well and knowing your intrument well. you have to treat vocals the same way. Most singers I know don't think this way so it's not strange that a guitar player would not either.
 
apl said:
In the bedroom do you have a closet with sliding or bifold dorrs? Open the doors as wide as you can exposing the most hanging clothes...
Click to expand...
Silly apl, I'm the cellardweller... my wife doesn't let me record/setup in the bedroom! :D

hangdawg said:
Most singers I know don't think this way so it's not strange that a guitar player would not either.
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What can I say, I'm impatient. The truth of your statement is apparent in my every vocal attempt...
I've heard the heavy cover/movers blanket idea (for a "vocal booth) kicked around and shot down several times, is there any purpose in attempting it?
 
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