Warmer vocals

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PowerCouple

PowerCouple

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Hello... it´s been a long time...

I need to know how to get that beautiful record-sound on our vocals. Our gear is: Rode NT2 mic, Presonus Bluetube Mic PreAmp, Roland VS880ex, and the PC with several soft in it (and TONS of plug-ins).

Am I doing something wrong? because the vocals we´ve been recording sound cold and kinda "stuck" on the song, even if they´re not so loud... once again I´m having trouble to describe sound "shapes"...hehehe.

Can a "wrong used" reverb on those vocals be the problem? Do we need some more compression?

I think the gear is good enough to make some "real-sounding-vocal" tracks...

Sorry for the longlonglongverylong question... But you guys out there are used to that... hehe.

Thanx!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PC
 
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hey ... can you possibly post a link to an mp3 of the tune? That will help us hear what you mean ...
The only other thing I can think of is ... what compression settings are you using?
and yes ... I believe you can use the "wrong reverb" ... if it doesn't match the song style, that itself could be the problem ... You're right though, with the equipment you describe, your vocals should sound very nice.
but, again, it's always better to hear what you're talking about. :)
 
Yo COUPLING POWERS:

Seems as if you have the right gear. Try leaving out the compressor as you set up to mix down to whatever.

Also, record your vocal on two tracks just for the hell of it.

Reverb can do bad things to a vocal or wonderful things. I knew a dude once who told me that the WET knob on my reverb should always be full on. He was wrong. Sometimes a bit less wet can make a difference in clarity and warmth.

I use a Lexicon 100 for vocals and the 24 bit processing does good things--I also have an Alesis MidiVerb 3 plugged into my rig; thus, I often use both of them when mixing down.

Last point: I know that a "good" mic is subjective but it, nevertheless, is a necessity.

I have been using an AKG3000 for vocals in my studio; it was pretty good but sometimes muddy. I just got a Yorkville Apex 430 [the cheaper of the two] [I think it's the 430 or 420]

This mic blew the AKG3000 right out of the window as far as nice warm clear sound.

Hope this helps; keep experimenting until you get the sound you're after.

Green Hornet
 
Im with Hornet,

I say two tracks...can u record 1 with effects(compression, reverb,etc) and 1 dry(no compression) and take a blend of the two......
 
From HomeRecording Magazine: "A barely audible 1/8th note delay will thicken up the backgrounds, add a sense of space, and smooth out the inaccuracies of the durations between vocals."
 
Wrong Mic?

I know it might sound crazy. The NT2 works for many peoples voices, but it may not work right for yours. I just finished a song for a woman in San Fran. She came down to track her vocals at my place in LA. We rented a Neumann u67 and an AKG C12vr. The difference was huge. Both are fantastic microphones. I've used both on vocals before. It just so happens her voice sounded better with the U67.

All I saying is if it is available, maybe rent another mic.

Good Luck,

Jamie
 
Want "warm" vocals? Turn off the electric lights, light a few candles and a stick of incense. Pour yourself a shot of fine French brandy in an oversized snifter. This should really mellow out your recording atmosphere and supply all the 'warmth' you need.
 
Yo Hix "da" Mixer:

I'm all in favor of the brandy, but, make it Fundador, the Spanish Brandy that did in Hemingway, and a few others too.

Also, add one fine flossy female to the mix and hix.

Green Hornet
 
Vocal doubling is the best way....or having a top studio, engineer, producer at your disposal. Oh yeah and tube mic stands help. Sorry i had to say it!
 
Don´t record the vocals track twice except if you´ve rehearsed the song during years. The minimum difference between both vocals may cause a pain on mixing. Just copy the first one you record on another track.
And add every effect always AFTER recording the track. Then you´ll have more control on the mix.

And take care with EQ, maybe that´s the way...

Good luck
 
Reverb can definitely kill a vocal track. If youre going for "warmth" youll want to decrease the legnth of the reverb and leave it very moderately wet depending on the genre of music. Generally, more reverb = less presence, less detailed forwardness, less low end and less "warmth." Generally.
 
WARMER VOCALS

JUST FOR KICKS TRY USING TWO MICS ON TWO TRACKS USE A DYNAMIC AND A CONDENSOR, THEN MIX THEM TO TASTE.ALSO AS AS STATED BY Tdukex A SLIGHT DELAY WILL LAY NICLEY WITH ONE OF THE TRACKS. MONTY
 
vocal doubling

can you clear up what you mean by vocal doubling? you record one track of vocals, then copy it over to another track.....then what? what does this do? I would think if the vocals on two tracks were identical, it wouldn't sound any different than one track. please help...
 
It might also be the room. Is it a dead room? What are the acoustics like?
 
doubling

Westermane,

I believe you are right. Two identical tracks won"t add anything because they are..... well,......identical! But if you actually sing the track twice, slight variations in the two tracks can make it interesting if it's done well. The beatles used this technique some.


Otherwise, you can electronically alter the duplicate track, ie: add a very short delay, and leave the original dry. It's a cool effect.

Twist
 
Vocal doubling is a LOT more commonplace then most people think. The guy from Offspring sings his tracks like 4 times he has such a weak voice. Point 2- Never see Offspring live, cause they only have one annoying voiced Dexter, and need 4 to make him sound tolerable (and I still hate him then). Try doubling it, but you have to go for 2 really GOOD takes. It justs sounds plain out bad if you take some "OK" tracks.

Jake
 
For more doubletracking...

Listen to Jethro Tull. In the '70s, Ian Anderson doubletracked a LOT of his vocals, and it's some of the best doubletracking I've ever heard.
I don't think he does that a lot these days, though.

You can also get away with using less reverb if you doubletrack, it seems...

But it doesn't sound good with every type of voice. Ian Anderson was a great doubletracker. I'm not a big fan of the way my voice sounds when I do it, though.

Not really sure what vocal character you need to make it sound good...
 
get a warm singer

you can't get blood from a turnip. sometimes it's the mic, sometimes it's the room, sometimes it's the 'verb. most times it's the singer. i'm an adequate backup singer. after i've recorded doubles of the chorus melody and harmonies, and autotuned the takes such that each vocal take has the tuned and un-tuned versions, i really sound lush. however, when it comes time for the lead, i just can't get it done. simple.

i presented 3 tunes to a young african-american r&b singer who was just signed to a french record company. she really liked two of the tunes, and wanted to use me in the studio as her male background vocalist based on the background vocals. i'm game for anything that's gonna let me meet people. she was amazed at how aweful i was in person. i believe she said "oh sh** izzy, please stop. is that really you on the CD?".

if it's not the voice that's the problem, then maybe it's mic placement. if you want warm, choke up on the mic, but hit the rolloff switch, and put a pop filter between you and the mic to stop the plossives. warm and tinny just don't go together so if you want warm. listen to the most sultry love songs performed by women. they all sing low freq.

you can get warm and reverb. that chris isaacs 'wicked game' song is proof of that.

maybe what you need is a little less reverb tail, and a little more reverb predelay. it will give you space without loosing the intimacy. like singing to someone in a concert hall, but they are sitting in the front row staring right at you.
 
Ya know, it's been mentioned, but I think that in most cases, EQ is a very important part of making a vocal sound sweet. I mean, if the voice is not occupying the right space in the mix, you'll have to overcompensate with more volume on the vocal, causing the problem that PC was talking about - a vocal that sounds stuck above the rest of the mix.

This is particularly bad if you're mixing someone with a higher pitched voice into rock music. Our previous lead singer was VERY hard to mix into the songs. I had to be pushing just about every EQ knob available to get his voice to sound good in the mix. These were sometimes quite low-Q corrections. When we started recording with our new lead singer (who has a lower, richer voice), I was shocked that I didn't have to use ANY EQ.

The mic is also very important, if not more important than EQ, which is why I wish I could go into a store with my recording equipment and mixes to trial mics! I played around with Mic Modeler by Antares. That's a pretty good plug. It's not perfect, but the tube saturation feature is really good if you've got a vocal that lacks warmth.

Rick
 
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