Production RECORDING VOCALS -- Drop ur techniques and tips!

[2_nice]

i don't know if anyone has mentioned this but i often use an omni pattern (using cad vx2) when recording raps. It works great with deep frequencies when you get up close. (with an omni pattern you really do need to record in a quiet environment and i also use deaden behind the mic so i don't get reflections coming back of the wall behind the mic.

i also try subtle things like mismatching impedance with my mics and preamps (my isa 428 has 4 impedance settings and alot of gain allowing you to use low impedance settings with even my beyer m260 ribbon mic and get a subtely darker tone) the very highest impedance setting on the isa428 with a sm58 i find often cuts through (if you're after the 58 flavour)

these are basic things

 

[Hypnotist]

i don't know if anyone has mentioned this but i often use an omni pattern (using cad vx2) when recording raps. It works great with deep frequencies when you get up close. (with an omni pattern you really do need to record in a quiet environment and i also use deaden behind the mic so i don't get reflections coming back of the wall behind the mic.

That's funny, because omni-directional microphones are the only mics that have no proximity effect (prox. effect is when bass frequencies are boosted when the artist gets close to the mic). This worked for you with bass freqs up close?

If someone does use an omni-directional microphone, listen to what 2_nice said about deadening the room. The omni mic will pick up ALL or MOST of your room sound, as opposed to a cardioid, hypercardioid, or supercardioid.

And another tip:

When using more than one mic at a time on one artist, make sure you check for phasing issues. There is a common rule, called the three-to-one rule, and it means that each microphone you place should be distanced at a ratio of three times the distance of the other microphone. <a href="http://www.recordingeq.com/EQ/req1001/mmi.htm" target="_blank">Read this page if you want to learn more about phasing.</a>

Pce.

 

[Lo-Key]

lay down the 1st vocal track as a 'motivator', then have the mc spit the verse again on another track. Hearing the first track while spittin will hype the artist, and if the artist is feelin it, the listener will feel it also. Delete the 1st take. Double up on the remaining verse, making an effort to use the same tone of voice... take the volume of either 1 of the tracks and drop it a few db, to 'blend in' the sounds of either verse. Double up again on rhyming words, and throw in the little 'extras'. Play around with the panning... add vocal reverbs or choruses... No more people than necessary in the studio/bedroom... and don't get too f*ck'd up (this applies to both the mc and producer)! Become familiar with the mc's style, loudness, quietness, whatever. I use the 'hiss removal' option on cool edit/adobe audition pn the individual tracks amd the final mixdown. Its also better to have recorded something 'too loud' than too quiet, because raising the volume on a quiet track will bring up more hiss... better to have the mc redo the verse than amp the volume.

 

[Melodix]

Get $3000 dollars and cop a Neuman U87
Get $8000 and get an SSL Channel Strip/Mic Pre
Get $7000 and get Waves Platinum Bundle
Ohh Dont Forget------Good Cables!!!!!!

but if that out of your range then try to record in a dead room. You want to have the smallest amount of reflections. Remeber, you can always add reverb but u cant really take it out if its recorded to tape.

tell your artist to do the vocal dubs as if they were doing the original. you want them as similar as possible. nuver cut and paste over dubs because u will have phase cancelation

 

[qenetic|storm]

great tips...

in regards to getting a hot signal... assuming vocals will be recorded dry(no fxs,compression, eq, etc.)

wouldn't the singer moving foward on quiet parts and moving back on loud parts ruin the overall dynamics of the recording?

 

[Hypnotist]

wouldn't the singer moving foward on quiet parts and moving back on loud parts ruin the overall dynamics of the recording?

No. This is called good mic technique, and it should be used more often. There are some artists out there who distort the microphone itself, because the engineer didn't put the pad switch (-10 dB, -20 dB, etc) on the microphone on a really sensitive mic.

Also, the best mixes come from good fader rides, not compression or maximization. If you spend hours and hours on a mix, like you should spend, your mixes will come out so much better. So if the artist practices good mic technique, that's the first step. Unless, of course, your point is to startle the listener when the artist gets really loud.

 

[micjinx]

i actually rec flat, but next rec session i think i may want to add a gate first(to reduce natural hum or lip smacking), then after the gate add light compression of a ratio more like 2:1, very subtle. when rec rhymes its very hard for even a great artist who rehearsed well to keep the same dynamics throught the whole track. i often run into situations when mixing which require me to turn up or down the volumn during the verse on serveral parts and silencing the background noise the mic pics up.

question..... is rec in such a way a bad idea from anyone's experience?

like i said, adding a gate will cut down on removing certain types of low vol anomalies within the track after the vocal is rec, and the compressor will keep the volumn within an acceptable dynamic range.

also, what is a good db range for rec the vocals. i learned that to much heardroom will cause the vocals to loose its initial harmonic feel after volumn is increased manually but when its rec to hot than any light to heavy eqing, compression or editing afterward can ruin the recording by distorting many of the sound frequencies within the track(especially around 800khz)


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with this all said i believe that the natural presence of the emcee's voice is essencial to keeping a soulful feel to a track. this is something even many mainstream hiphop tracks lack but oldschool hiphop or some engineers of today understand not to flatten the vocals and beat to the point on which all sonic levels sound the same. b.i.g.'s ready to die has the best sounding rec vocals i have heard and not even many of the recording of today can capture the feel of the engineerer of that album.

 

[Hypnotist]

i actually rec flat, but next rec session i think i may want to add a gate first(to reduce natural hum or lip smacking), then after the gate add light compression of a ratio more like 2:1, very subtle. when rec rhymes its very hard for even a great artist who rehearsed well to keep the same dynamics throught the whole track. i often run into situations when mixing which require me to turn up or down the volumn during the verse on serveral parts and silencing the background noise the mic pics up.

question..... is rec in such a way a bad idea from anyone's experience?

Yes. I personally never gate vocals. I always treat vocal tracks very carefully, and "baby" them. This includes relying on the artist to get a clean take, getting the hottest levels without clipping with MODERATE compression, deleting any audio that doesn't contain vocals (could have coughing, page-turning, swallowing, breathing in your recording), and riding faders or automating the levels before re-compressing the vocal track during the mix. (if you ride the faders meticulously, you won't need re-compression during the mix stage)

also, what is a good db range for rec the vocals. i learned that to much heardroom will cause the vocals to loose its initial harmonic feel after volumn is increased manually but when its rec to hot than any light to heavy eqing, compression or editing afterward can ruin the recording by distorting many of the sound frequencies within the track(especially around 800khz)

Never heard of losing 800 Hz (not kHz) in from too much headroom, but maybe the combination of recording too low, then over-compressing. If you're recording at 16-bit, then you really have to worry about getting hotter levels. But at 24-bit, you have more headroom, and a higher SNR (signal to noise ratio) so a LITTLE less to worry about.

What you don't want is to record too low and hear unwanted noise. ("air" noise from your equipment, air conditioning, even construction work outside, etc).

 

[nfx]

Regarding Gate: I think it's best not to gate if you can avoid it. The reason is that many of the natural sounds of the performance (breathing in particular) may get lost. I once took the time to remove every instance of a breath (intake) in a rap vocal and it sounded very unnatural.

Ghetto Pop Filter: Tape a pencil or pen in front of the mic (between the performer and the grill of the mic). this causes the plosive air to be dirverted away and does not reduce the quality overall.

 

[Doc Henny]

I learned this mic technique from a VERY HIGHLY RESPECTED engineer/studio owner, so although it sounds crazy, it should actually work!! He said that, for rap, proximity effect is good to have, and that a good way to record is to have the rapper actually hold the mic like he's performing live, and rap into it the way he does live (basically eating the mic), proximity effect and all (he said to use the SM58, not the 57, b/c the 58 has a pop filter built into the mic). It sounds like a crazy technique, but believe me when i say this guy really knows what he's talking about. I've yet to try it out, but it sounds like a pretty slick idea...if anyone has tried it, i'd like to hear how it worked out for them.

A good mixing technique is to pan the vox slightly (like + or -6 to one side), and pan the snare in the opposite direction by about the same amount, if not a little more. It really helps to clarify vox, since the snare level is very hot in hip hop. Since the snare and the vox often share much of the same freq's, the snare can muffle the vox a lot. If you have muffled vox in ur mix and u can't figure out why, try that one out; it really helps.

 

[Relic]

Ok I think :
1) you need to turn them up.
2) Your mic may be a problem as well, but I might normalize them and use an eq to sort of trim off a little of the high end.
What are you recording with and do you have waves plug ins?

 

[StressWon]

Okay, most of you cats know I record and mix my own vocals. I'll drop some ish on what I do,,,but what works for me and my mic,,,may not for yours,,but whatever,,take it for what it is,,,



First off, I goie thru a verse a few times on the mic without recordin. Like Hypno said,,,REHEARSE. This is prolly the biggest part of recordin. You can't go wrong because you cxan learn from mistakes here. Plus, if it's a new verse, you may not have the right feel for it, and may want to try different approaches. Like last week, me, Clev and Fury were in the lab recordin(a hot joint comin along nicely) and there were spots we had to change on our verses. I needed to change the delivery and Fury I think needed to switch up a breathe spot. Lil things like this go a long way. But practice makes perfect.


When I'm done I usually leave it alone for a day or two. Whether at Cleverwon studios or last Son,,,,I save my data and let it sit for a day or two. Doin everything in one day sometimes seems rushed and that'snot what you guys want to do. I like to listen to the ruff untouched mix for quite a few round before startin on the levels and effects.

Some cats like to take the breaths out. this depends on you. Personally, I take out some of the heavier breaths that are more audible. But on some joints, it doesn't really take effect so i leave them alone. Then again, some artists dread there breaths so they ask to take them out. (B.Grimm hates em, you'll never hear his,,,ever!) lol


Once i feel confident with my vocals, its then time to add some weight to them.(and for my fat ass, it's easy,,lol) Jus playin but for real,,,,I'm a fat ass...movin on,,,,,,,,,seriously, Formant once told me that a lil compression goes a long way, and he's right! You really don't want to mess with too much compression,,it will take away from the artist's vocals. I don't do numbers here, I go by what sounds right. As long as the verse sounds leveled out,,,I'm cool.

Once the verse is compressed, i like to add a touch of reverb. Some of yall have the reverb set up as you record...ignore,,,okay, for those of yall software after-reverb guys,,,,check it,,,too much reverb sucks a tremendous amount of booty!!! Don't get me wrong, on certain beats they may need to be beefed up.(See, "Children Who have never Seen" off Immaculate Deception",,,released this summer)shameless plug, but a good example none the less. This track is produced by Illmuzik's own, Wings. Wings has those very atmospheric beats that allow for some unconventional methods to be tried. For more on this,,,pick up Halo-Dim...Holla MERC! Anyways, on this track, we decided that a higher reverb then normal would definitly balance the vocals and the beat. For those who aren'y into thgis type of beat or formula,,,you WILL be pleasently suprprised.

But, reverb is a good way to go on any track,,IMO. Just don't overdue it. Too many effects will steal the artist's pressence. Other then that, it's a learn as you go process.

 

[Relic]

My technique for vox:
Protools.
1) I have a mashall mic with the wind screen round thingy in front of it.
2) I have some tube amp thingy to warm them up that runs into a compressor
vtb1 mic tube preamp and a behringer procomposer
3) Depending on how the song is set up (chorus,verse,chorus, verse or verse,chorus etc..) I will have the artist drop the choruses I have them do this 4 times per chorus( hook) and stack them like that.
Why do I do this 4 times? Because when all is said and done I can truly position the sound hard left and right then maybe the other 2 at 48 L and R or what ever.
I like to have the vocalist actually do it 4 times instead of copy and paste. I think it gives it a better sound/vibe.
4) When I record the verse I just have the artist do it one time then I have them come back and emphasise certain words or phrases to accent the verse.(callem adlibs or whatever)
5) Plugins- I like the waves plugins and will usually use 1 of 2 favorites outright.
D-verb(stereo) has a vocal setting on it and I think it usually sounds good, or Trueverb with a tight new york room effect.
I then put the standard compressor here set for vocals.
EQ to taste (lord knows there are enough of them). and the vox are done.
For the adlibs I usually keep them mono panned off to the side a little with the standard vocal compressor .
For the chorus I like verb again. Apperently thats not the way your supposed to mix your hooks with verb but I think a slight touch adds some depth.
Suit yourself thats how I do it!!!

 

[Ash Holmz]

word my technique is somewhat similar to stresswon..

first off, .. know ur lyrics .. fuc readin ur verse on a sheet of paper it takes away from your performance

warm up the mic and do a rough verse.. mainly to see where your levels at ... i usually try to record so my levels are sitting about -14 - - 12 to leave some rome for peaks ..


then u set up the compressor ... i use a cheap ass dbx 163 .. i got it for 50 bux and it beats a plug in anyday for vox ... its only got one knob labeled "more" lmao .. u couldnt fuc it up if u tried.... i set it to taste depending on the style track .. mainly im using it to control peaks and add some wamrth and weight to the signal.. even when u turn the compression all the way down, the compressor still adds warmth to the signal

i usually record the hook first.. that way when ur doing the verse you got start and end points already worked in.. i usually double up the hook and hard pan them right and left.... alot of times i buss the hook tracks to a limiter and maybe use a very slight delay

for the verse i just record.. sometimes ill take 2 takes and have the second take playing at a lower volum than the original so it still sounds like 1 take only thicker.. but sometimes ill just leave the first one alone.. depends on the track .. a dash of reverb

most of the time i also double the ends of the lines

adlibs .. i usually put a delay and a lil reverb .. i like my adlibs to sound effected.



and lastly i usually bus all the tracks to a tone shaper for "glue" but sometimes it is not nessecary either

 

[Hypnotist]

Very good tips, peoples.

proximity effect is good to have, and that a good way to record is to have the rapper actually hold the mic like he's performing live, and rap into it the way he does live (basically eating the mic), proximity effect and all (he said to use the SM58, not the 57, b/c the 58 has a pop filter built into the mic).

This was good for me when I was working with a very live beat with a grungy feel. I used a ton of compression while recording and it came out perfect. Very clean cut song; no reverb used on any vox, just melodic stuff in the beat carrying out a little longer.

Hell yes. Just remember when you mix it, mix the snare soloed with the vox in mono, and you'll make sure they don't clash in the center and you're good even better in stereo.

Some of yall have the reverb set up as you record...ignore,,,

I kno right... never tarnish your recording with FX... always keep the dryest, most natural, manipulatable, inflatable signal. You can always go back to the pure form, but you can never delete reverb, unless you know something about gates with compression that duck out all the reverb tails with release time, but that's a pain.

3) Depending on how the song is set up (chorus,verse,chorus, verse or verse,chorus etc..) I will have the artist drop the choruses I have them do this 4 times per chorus( hook) and stack them like that.
Why do I do this 4 times? Because when all is said and done I can truly position the sound hard left and right then maybe the other 2 at 48 L and R or what ever.
I like to have the vocalist actually do it 4 times instead of copy and paste. I think it gives it a better sound/vibe.

Back in around 98, I had a cassette 4-track recorder (some of you probably know it- it's the Tascam Portastudio MKIII or some shit) and I had limited capabilities... using track 1 for the beat in mono, and the vox on 2, 3 & 4. When I would bounce it over to Cool Edit, I would try to copy and paste the same vocal track to "thicken it up". But thicken it up it did not, my fellow beat junkies. The only way you hear anything is if you either shift it over a little, (which causes phase problems) or move it over and pitch shift it (which works rarely unless you really find the perfect time and randomness and make it sound real.

But this aint 4-track days anymore. Record the vocal take 17 times and I guarantee you'll have one that's perfect, while the others will support it when the song needs a little energy.

-Hypno

 

[Relic]

hehe ok I just had an engineer tell me to do that and it sounded cool so I was tryin that out lately.

 

[VIRTUE]

" or Trueverb with a tight new york room effect. "


at the risk of sounding stupid, whats that?

 

[FirstBass]

if you are using a small mic you can put the mic in a shoe box so some that it doesn't have that "live" sound, that what I did when I first started - yeah, my pockets were a lil short when I first started lol

 

[Relic]

" or Trueverb with a tight new york room effect. "


at the risk of sounding stupid, whats that?

Waves plugins- Trueverb is the plug in and it has some nice verbs in there, one of them is called tight NY room, or somthin like that and I think its a pretty good alternative to D-verb.
Sorry about that I should have explained better... Stress good post.
Oh and your trak is done I just gotta find a way to get it to you!!!
2 different sides of the planet makes timely communtication difficult somtimes!
Sorry for the delay Virt!

 

[TACTIK]

Record with Goldwave, Sample in FL Studio.