Vocals Suck...need help!!!

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MartyMcFly

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I was working with a friend trying to lay down some vocals the other day...using a VS 1680
He kept commenting to me that at first he couldnt hear the vocals well enough to sing them along with the other tracks...So...
I turned down all the other instruments in the mixa little...Then...
He said that the vocals seemed to be sitting ontop of the rest of the song and were too loud. He kept asking if there was an effect or something that would help them blend in better.
I tried to tweak the mix over and over again but it was either the Vox's were way on top of the mix, or burried in it...
Is there an answer to this problem?
 
Hey Buck the Fu*k...
I would do what you suggested, but I agree with him. I have had this problem occur many times. I still have not been able to fix it....
 
It's all about compression and EQ.

Compress and limit the vocals - but don't overdo it.

EQ them and the rest of the music so the vocals fit nicely. Chances are you have some guitars and bass that are interfering with the vocals. Cut some mids out of the rest of the music, and use bass-cutting on the vocals judiciously.
 
Try some reverb

It will help the track sound not up front and in your face

Tukkis
 
Run some compression and Reverb on the track, but don't record the effects...

Im with Buck...


Can you seriously rationalize the fact that the singer is complaining about how the vocals sit in the mix, before the song has even been mixed.....

As long as he can clearly hear himself and the mix is half ass balanced, he should be fine..... It's only at the tracking stage.

A final mix and a headphone mix for the purpose of tracking are 2 very different things.....
 
It's been my experience that only people who can't sing cop out on these types of excuses. Like Vox said, it's a cue mix, if you can hear yourself you should be able to sing. If they can't deal with that, they're shit outa luck.
 
Track Rat said:
It's been my experience that only people who can't sing cop out on these types of excuses. Like Vox said, it's a cue mix, if you can hear yourself you should be able to sing. If they can't deal with that, they're shit outa luck.
Click to expand...

I have been through the same thing with singers... I can totally relate... usually it's hasty singers....

I have yet to work with a singer that doesn't need to warm up... In fact I have to sing a good half an hour in order to get my own shit done...

When I say hasty, what Im refering to, is when the singer steps in the booth, and expects to belt out the first verse perfectly with no warm up, and then when they can't do it they blame it on the mix, or the set up....

Tisk, Tisk.... the life of an engineer eh... :D
 
Pay my airfare and expenses and I will come up there and sing it for him. other than that a little reverb in the mix coming back to the headphones works wonders. Have you tried that yet?
 
Hey guys!! Thanks for all the quick responses.
Im not sure about the part about not haveing to get the mix exactly right while tracking the vocals. I mean I know that it doesnt have to be perfect, but wouldnt it help the singer if he could hear the song as it should be sounding when its finished.
I was trying to tell the guy that the frequencies of the vocals were being masked or covered by probably the guitars or bass or all of the instruments in the mix.
Its not about the guy being a crappy singer. Hes good.
Maybe someone can help on this.
Do you want the rest of the mix really quiet so you can hear your own voxs really well and just barely be able to hear the mix. Or the other way around? Would it help if I panned the mix to one side and the voxs to the other. Basically what is the best setup for doing vocals?
 
If the vocals are too loud in relation to the music (on his headphone mix) then he probably won't sing with enough power.

If their too soft in relation to the rest of the mix, then he runs the danger of singing off-key since he can't hear himself as well.

It's important to fiddle with it untill you get just the right balance.

There are no hard, fast rules, unforunately. One idea that might help would be to bounce all the instruments down to a submix. It could even be just one mono track. Cut some of the mids out of that track, and have him sing along with that. That way, he should be able to hear his voice blend in a little better, like it would be during the actual mixdown. Kill the submix when you're done tracking, of course. It's a little extra work, I know, but it's an idea.
 
I don't mix real well for the tracking of vocals. As long as you can hear everything it works for me. I also agree about warming up. I found a good article at www.getsigned.com about warming up, and it has helped me.

Matty

p.s. hope that site is still up. I read the article a long time ago, and printed it. If you cannot find it and want it, let me know.
 
I promise you he wants some Reverb. Everyone is being too complicated. Just add some Reverb and he will say it's perfect.
 
Since no one else mentioned it:

Dont forget mic technique. Sometimes you gotta work the mic a little....get a little close in the quiet parts, etc. This can help even things out as well.


heylow
 
Get him stoned and then have him listen. If he isn't happy with it then get him drunk. If he still doesn't like it tell him he sings like Kim Carnes and he really shouldn't waste his time or yours.
 
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