Vocal Recording Tips By Producer & Engineer, Dallan Beck
Producer and engineer, Dallan Beck wrote a series of articles for Jaime Vendera's book, "Raise Your Voice". Here is Part 1 of the series that Dallan has agreed to share with our readers.
VOCAL
RECORDING TIPS
Vocal Recording Tips (click here to download)
Okay
singers, it’s time to hit the studio with all of your new techniques and ideas.
Even though your voice is going to be closer than ever to where you’ve always
wanted it, the studio can add to your newfound talent. Here are a few tips that
I hope will help you be happier with your voice on your recordings:
TIP#1: They’ve invented pitch correction and it’s here to
stay. Embrace it; don’t fight it. What they haven’t invented is an “Emotion and
Conviction” plug-in. Remember that people want and even need, to be moved by
your voice. They want to believe what you are singing about. So, GO FOR IT! Let
the engineer discretely tweak pitch and timing issues, but DELIVER IT. Practice
as much as you can, but when you start recording – GO FOR IT. LIVE IT, BELIEVE
IT, and MAKE OTHERS BELIEVE IT TOO!
TIP#2: Use Compression while you record. When used
“properly”, compression is supposed to be discrete. Even if you have some
bizarre phobia with compression, then use it in the headphone mix (without
printing it on the track). Compression will allow you to hear all of the
nuances of your voice without having to “try” so hard. It will also tame some
of your drastic dynamics, so you can belt and whisper and still hear it all.
The settings and type of compressor will make a big difference, but to keep the
sound from getting “smaller”, just remember 2 things:
1. However much GAIN REDUCTION you use, make sure to
compensate the same amount with the OUTPUT. You shouldn’t lose any decibels or
level from compression.
2. To keep the sound from being squeezed, use a SHORT
release time. You don’t want the compressor working past the time it should
“let go’ of the sound.
TIP#3: You have two choices when it comes to piecing
together your final vocal track. You can “comp” from multiple takes of vocal
tracks, or “punch-in” on a track wherever you need fix-its. A very common way
to put together the vocal is to record a few takes and pick the one that is the
”best”. Then go over it and re-record where you feel the performance could be
improved. Just make sure to sing along and try to keep the “vibe” of the
original take.
TIP#4: To “thicken” up some vocal tracks, you can use
multiple vocal takes simultaneously. The way it works in the mix, is to PAN
them. Don’t just pile them up on top of each other! That just turns into a type
of mono chorus effect. Pan one of them far left and another far right. Then
take another couple of takes and pan them slightly left and right (about 3
o’clock and 9 o’clock). It’s IMPORTANT that these takes are all “Keepers” and
very similar in performance. You don’t want them to be perfect “copies”,
because those won’t “pan” to our ears (they’ll simply collapse back to mono).
It will actually help that they are “human” and not perfect. The differences
will help create fullness in separation and frequencies.
TIP#5: In order to get a “vocal effect” without sounding
like a huge distraction, try this: Set up a Stereo Delay. This should allow you
to have separate settings for the left channel and right channel. Use two
different settings for the delay times on each; an EIGHTH note timing for one
side and EIGHTH note triplet or SIXTEENTH note timing for the other. Make sure
that the REPEATS or FEEDBACK setting is set to 0 or 1. We are not looking for
TAP Delays, just a single repeat of each timing. Pan them left and right, with
the main vocal still in the center. Because the delay values are so short, they
will simply thicken up the main vocal, if you blend them level wise. If it’s
too strong of an effect for you, take the delays and feed them into a small
reverb first. This will set them back in the mix a little, and make them less
noticeable. OR, use a High Pass Filter to roll off the top end and “darken” the
delays, until they “sit” with the vocal in the track.
I
hope these tips help you with your vocal recordings. If I can be of any further
help, find me on my website at www.dallanbeck.com. Keep the music alive.
2007 Dallan Beck. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission.