Vocal production : who knows how to get the result

[voorzorro]

Question about vocal production: Im wanted to try a boyband alike song
And i noticed that the vocals on those tracks like nysnc sound 'crisp' i mean theres some sort of hiss and artifacts around the vocal in the mix.

How could I get these same results? What plugins would you advise
Also any comments on general boyband vocal production are very welcome.
Since I will be working on one of the biggest studios in my country with TDM next week.

I feel there are so many threads unanswered in the DUC which is shame.
Im not really into vocal productions so any advice feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[Guitarman2k2]

As a guy who has produced one of those boy bands I would say the sound you're hearing does not have anything to do with a plug in. it's about getting a great vintage tube mic (like a C12 or an ELAM 251 or a tube U47 or the tube Sony that everyone loves) and putting it through a really clean and sparkling pre amp (like one of the avalons, sometimes a 737 sp which also has a great eq section for adding sparkle or air) and a nice compressor or 2 (like an LA-2) and recording to a good convertor . Thats it. For things like vocals you can't get around recording it right in the first place. Oh and you also need to do this in a good room.

[voorzorro]

Thanks for your reply. I will look into the mics definitly.

How about just general production of those bands? I find it hard to come up with those hooky melody lines. Its all so simple when you hear it but can be hard to get it all flow.
I just look for some general issues and suggestions, anything else you/anyone else could help me with?

[King Kevlar]

A Sony C800G and an Aphex Aural Exciter means "crisper-de-crisp!"
Ususally these two are used to get a lot of that extra "air"

Good luck!

[putney2]

Nuemann U67, Sony 800G, AKG C-12VR, SounDelux U95s(U47) / 251 are moderate to high priced mic's that achieve that 'whisper - air' is you can't get your hands on a ELam 251, $30,000 a pair on our last sale.
On a budget ? Try a Nuemann TLM 103 through a True Audio P8, no compression.
Or, Add an Aphex Aural exciter on a dull track. Look to add a 7k bump.


Oh yeah, and good singers. Brandy, for example has that effect occur naturally in her voice.

[frenchman]

Just wanted to add something about compression. Of course you can record without compression, but in the end run, the amount of compression (and EQ) on vocals in R&B pop production is just enormous, not to speak about multiband compression lately ... I am still amazed hearing legends about those singers who "have it all in the voice". Even if there is some truth in this, well, you know, you don't HAVE to believe it all ...
BUT, the art is about making the whole process transparent so that vocals FEEL natural.
One last thing, if you are set on using (and abusing of ;-) Aphex, have a good de-esser handy...

Mark

[The MPCist]

Nuemann U67, Sony 800G, AKG C-12VR, SounDelux U95s(U47) / 251 are moderate to high priced mic's that achieve that 'whisper - air' is you can't get your hands on a ELam 251, $30,000 a pair on our last sale.
On a budget ? Try a Nuemann TLM 103 through a True Audio P8, no compression.
Or, Add an Aphex Aural exciter on a dull track. Look to add a 7k bump.

Oh yeah, and good singers. Brandy, for example has that effect occur naturally in her voice.

Soundelex 251 is simply great on vocals and gives that airey sound to it. MassivePassive is also a good choice
when EQ'ing vocals to get that air sound as well.

Vocal talent-wise, have them layer 6-8 of the same line, panning them left/right, have them sing a bit lighter than
the usual lead, layer them all together, add some adlibs in it and you got it.

[The Mink]

OR... you could just stick Waves' AUDIO TRACK plug in on there and use the preset called 'voice with presence.'
I hate to say this, but sometimes that's my last resort even if I use the nice stuff to record.

Of course, the SounDeluxe 251 and Manley EQ are the right way to track. But trust me on the plug; you won't believe how overly squashed and bright it gets without sounding weird in the mix. This can be a life saver...

[Guitarman2k2]

Just wanted to add something about compression. Of course you can record without compression, but in the end run, the amount of compression (and EQ) on vocals in R&B pop production is just enormous, not to speak about multiband compression lately ... I am still amazed hearing legends about those singers who "have it all in the voice". Even if there is some truth in this, well, you know, you don't HAVE to believe it all ...
BUT, the art is about making the whole process transparent so that vocals FEEL natural.
One last thing, if you are set on using (and abusing of ;-) Aphex, have a good de-esser handy...

Mark

In my experience you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear. the vocalist has to have something about them either the tone or amazing pitch or incredible phrazing. if they have nothing you have nothing to work with. by the same token that boy band that i worked with recorded the demos at my place into an sm 57 thru a commercial 8 bus console's pres using a dbx 163 compressor and recorded to an adat and comped to the onboard converters on a mac and their vocals still sounded great. of course they even sounded better once we were in the studio but their vocal sound was still there.

i think the poster of this thread has been a little oversold about exactly aht plugins can do.

[frenchman]

Of course we all know that talent comes first, no question about that, but the "cuisine" that comes after has its importance too.
I have a "old school" training and to me plugins (the good one I mean, not some of the rubbish with nice "vintage" graphics) is just a means to obtain something comparable to hardware (notice I don't use the term "identical" so as not to get flamed ) . True, it won't make miracles. Its just a question of raising the quality level even higher.