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  #1  
Old 09-17-2008, 09:30 AM
tommydigiowen tommydigiowen is offline
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Red face MESH Vocals? Advice needed..!

I know this is such a loaded question but oh well, here we go:

I am working with a singer who has somewhat of an awkward voice/tone and I am finding it next to impossible MESHING this in with the other tracks..... I dunno, it almost sounds like a karaoke session.......

Is there a "rule of thumb" approach to take on vocals like this? Reverb? More compression? It actually blends well when I drop the volume considerably but at that point you can't make out a single lyric........... Needless to say I'm somewhat of a novice here... any suggestions would be appreciated........ (sample below):

Also; (after thought question) - In the past I have had the singer double the vocals and then pan one hard left, the other hard right -- it seems to even things out but I know this isn't a "pro" technique..... Any thoughts on this?

http://www.zoobuzzmedia.com/printer/77.mp3
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  #2  
Old 09-17-2008, 01:33 PM
erthquake erthquake is offline
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Default Re: MESH Vocals? Advice needed..!

He's a bit pitchy, which will always prevent a vocal from 'meshing.' I actually don't mind the sound of his voice that much as I like to hear voices that have some character and not sound like they're from a cookie cutter. Try boosting a band on EQ3 using a narrow Q and sweeping it around to find the part of his voice that bothers you, then cut those frequencies down.
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Old 09-17-2008, 01:39 PM
tommydigiowen tommydigiowen is offline
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Default Re: MESH Vocals? Advice needed..!

Not exactly sure what you meant by "using a narrow Q" ? Should I go with the 4 band EQ to do this? Thanks alot.

T
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Old 09-17-2008, 01:48 PM
erthquake erthquake is offline
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Default Re: MESH Vocals? Advice needed..!

I mean using one of the bands in 4-band or 7-band (doesn't matter), the MF band for example, and turning the Q setting up to somewhere between 6 and 10.
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  #5  
Old 09-17-2008, 02:04 PM
tommydigiowen tommydigiowen is offline
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Default Re: MESH Vocals? Advice needed..!

Thanks Erthquake...

Any compression suggestions? Aren't there also doubling techniques out there that help mesh vocals a little better?

Thanks alot!

T
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  #6  
Old 09-17-2008, 10:07 PM
remute remute is offline
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Default Re: MESH Vocals? Advice needed..!

Quote:
Originally Posted by tommydigiowen View Post
Thanks Erthquake...

Any compression suggestions? Aren't there also doubling techniques out there that help mesh vocals a little better?

Thanks alot!

T
http://www.recordingreview.com/artic...101/Page1.html

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr0...12e8786b1e4021

http://www.harmony-central.com/artic...ocessing_tips/

HTH
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  #7  
Old 09-18-2008, 12:13 AM
Naagzh Naagzh is offline
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Default Re: MESH Vocals? Advice needed..!

Quote:
Originally Posted by tommydigiowen View Post
Thanks Erthquake...

Any compression suggestions? Aren't there also doubling techniques out there that help mesh vocals a little better?

Thanks alot!

T
Right away, the vocals sound a little too loud in the mix. You could bring the vocal down.

Compression will allow the vocal to remain intelligible when it's lower in the mix, but it won't "thicken" the sound. The vocal levelor preset in the Digi Comp/Dyn III plug might be a good place to start.

But you'll also raise the quiet noises from his voice, like the lip-smacking between phrases. Use a gate plug-in (before the compressor), or automate the fader level, or manually highlight and delete those parts of the region, to get rid of these noises. But don't erase the breathing, or it may sound unnatural.

But yeah, this guy's voice needs some support from his diaphragm. Basically, he's not projecting his voice loudly enough. Of course, it's very difficult to do this and stay in tune...

Adding some delay might give you what you're looking for. Try a short delay, or an 8th note delay, or both, in addition to your reverb. Use the LPFs to warm up the sound of the delay. Also, the Massey TD5 tape delay plug is great for this. Reverb, without a sublte delay, usually sounds very amateurish to my ears.

Double tracking will certainly sound thicker, and could be good for the mix. Not necessary to pan the two vocals hard right and hard left, especially since the guitars are already panned wide. Maybe tuck the 2nd track underneath the first, just to lend a little weight to the lead vocals. If I were you, though, I would not double track.

Finally, you mentioned the when the vocal is mixed lower, it's difficult to discern the lyrics. Which instrument(s) hide the vocal most? Perhaps you might EQ the vocal, the offending instrument(s), or both in order to get the vocal to poke through.
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  #8  
Old 09-18-2008, 07:16 AM
tommydigiowen tommydigiowen is offline
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Default Re: MESH Vocals? Advice needed..!

Naagzh! Thankyou..... quick question:

Not sure exactly what you meant by: "LPFs to warm up the sound of the delay" What is LPFs? (Sorry, pretty new at this stuff)

Thanks

T
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  #9  
Old 09-18-2008, 01:01 PM
Naagzh Naagzh is offline
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Default Re: MESH Vocals? Advice needed..!

Quote:
Originally Posted by tommydigiowen View Post
Naagzh! Thankyou..... quick question:

Not sure exactly what you meant by: "LPFs to warm up the sound of the delay" What is LPFs? (Sorry, pretty new at this stuff)

Thanks

T
Always happy to help when someone posts their mix! Makes being of help much easier.

LPF = Low Pass Filter = most everything above a certain frequency is gone. Look hard at the Digi delay plug!
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  #10  
Old 09-18-2008, 01:09 PM
tommydigiowen tommydigiowen is offline
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Default Re: MESH Vocals? Advice needed..!

You rock Naagzh!
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