What do you think about recording "live vocals" on a professional recording?

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TheComposer

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What do you think about recording "live vocals" on a professional recording?

Hello, well, i wanted to use this term (live vocals) as a reference of some vocalist that doesn't really mind about breathings, expressions, improvisations, you know, all those things you'd normally do on stage to keep the gig essence, but doing it to record an album.

I'm guessing that when a singer enters the studio, he/she has to keep every or most of these "behaviors" out, because the album has to show exactly what he/she wants others to feel, but i was guessing if there are some singers that do it often?

For instance, I can think of James Brown and his "I feeeeeeeel good", for instance, screaming like there's no tomorrow :D, any others?

Why am i asking this anyway?

I'm recording a few songs, they sound decent to me, but i still note that some of the verses show differences which made me think they sounded "live", maybe an engineer would have make me re-record, but since i'm recording by myself, i let it pass, because it sounds good anyway, thoughts?
 
I always prefer to use pre-recorded vocals on my professional recordings :D

Recording is all about capturing the right performance, your mind works a little differently on a stage from a studio from the difference in atmosphere, but thats part of the producers job. . . to get the best out of the musicians, weather its jumping around behind the glass to make the vocalist feel like they are on stage, or handing them a dummy mic so they have somthing to hold and sing into.

About breathing etc, I dont really know what your on about, these things are always in the recording, but there is a fad now of having everything clinical, so a lot of mixing engineers tend to cut out everything that isn't a word being sung, then using gateing etc to get that clinical. . .might aswell be programmed in a piano roll. . .kind of production
 
It depends on the song and production goals.

If I was doing a real "intimate" recording...like say....just a singer with a piano/guitar accompaniment or where the backing tracks were more of the ambient flavor and the singer's voice would take on that real up-close-n-personal flavor...I would leave everything as it falls.
However, in a more up-tempo/busier mix...where breaths and lip smacks would not add to or really be very prominent...I take that shit out, as all it does is add more useless "noise" to the mix.

Same thing with guitar string/fret noises...on some mixes they ADD to the vibe, on others they are annoying, so I cut them out.
 
For me, the aim is always to do a live vocal take. I've upset a number of my friends by pushing them to do the thing live. I've never been beyond working on a verse, chorus, bridge, outro etc at a time then moving onto the next bit. It depends on the song. But rather than put bits together or take bits out, I push for the live take and just go for it until it's OK. I think that it's useful to have preferences but also to be flexible enough to change tack if things go a little awry.
I must say though, I'm not into clinical perfection. But neither do I think that using technology to achieve the desired result is worth invading Libya over. Since the late 40s advent of multitracking and the attendant technological leaps, music production has always been the combined result of the 'controlled environment' and the off the wall approach.
 
Miroslav's comment is excellent advice here. Depends on the singer, and depends on the song!
 
Hey Composer...are you like writing a book or term paper or something? :D

You start a lot of threads with these types of questions, and then after you get a few replies...you say thanks, and that's it.
I rarely see you actually get involved in the discussion you started...
 
He's an FBI agent. Be careful what you sign !
 
TheComposer said:
Hello, well, i wanted to use this term (live vocals) as a reference of some vocalist that doesn't really mind about breathings, expressions, improvisations, you know, all those things you'd normally do on stage to keep the gig essence, but doing it to record an album.

I'm guessing that when a singer enters the studio, he/she has to keep every or most of these "behaviors" out, because the album has to show exactly what he/she wants others to feel, but i was guessing if there are some singers that do it often?

For instance, I can think of James Brown and his "I feeeeeeeel good", for instance, screaming like there's no tomorrow :D, any others?

Why am i asking this anyway?

I'm recording a few songs, they sound decent to me, but i still note that some of the verses show differences which made me think they sounded "live", maybe an engineer would have make me re-record, but since i'm recording by myself, i let it pass, because it sounds good anyway, thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'll put it this way, serious artists spend big money to get the right team players because of the need to get it right the first time. The same goes with hiring producers. So I don't believe the idea is to take away from who a singer is. You bring in a singer to a session because you want them to be who they are, not somebody else.

For example, I had a 2 day vocal session where my artist spent 6 grand in just airplane tickets to fly his "preferred" back up singers to this session, all from different states. I thought it was crazy, because there are plenty of serious singers here in Orlando. However, it was money well spent...they where AWESOME. Granted, this was a major artist. He has specific people because they know how to vibe together. He encourages their individual nuances. All where from different aspects of the industry.

The point being, a good singer can get an idea across, but a great singer makes you believe it. :)

Every project can benefit from a second opinion.
 
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Hehehe Miroslav good one, not writing a book, but reading my own threads it seems like i do!!, now that you mention it, yes i'm a amateur writer, a novelist actually (nothing to do with music, but fantastic genre though). Maybe that explains the way i write?. Plus that Spanish is my native language and not English.

Anyway, i try to make threads in order to listen to opinions about things that i don't really know yet (like condenser mics, this own thread, and such), so even if i wanted to i wouldn't be able to exchange opinions, given the fact i know nothing or almost nothing about it :P, and i'm asking the pros here.

And finally, i tend to thank people when i think i received real and sincere opinions about what i'm asking because it makes me decide or clears my mind, on the other hand, if this would be a kind of debate topic like "Guitar vs Bass" probably i'd be more involved discussing and trading blows :P.

It's interesting that you had mentioned that i was writing, it made me reply you!!

Well, gotta go, FBI's calling!!
 
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