Vocal Chain

[S_w_a_m_p]

ok here's my question:

how do you start your vocal link
EQ
Compresion
Limiter
and whatever else?
or in different order??

now i did search but i didnt find what im really lookin for most of it was based on drums,and i want to know for vocals,and im also got Waves Diamond Bundle,and i DL'ed some pre-sets that dont work for some reason? and i know you shouldnt use pre-sets but i was wanting to work around them,and figure my groove..

[S_w_a_m_p]

im not askin what compression and all that is,im juss askin the basic order and whut good plug works best on vocals?

[DFSM audio]

Swamp, lots of people I know say track everything flat - no EQ / Comp. etc. Not bad practice, leaves you with clean original vocal, you can process to your hearts content later. When you record with it you're stuck with it!!
That said however, if you have a nice mic pre that suits the voice then go for it. A little bit of comp. can be helpfull but you should also try ridding the fader if your vocalist has a wide dynamic range - this is tricky to get used to a first, but worth the effort (you really have to listen!)
Be aware (sure you are) that any plug-ins won't affect the input, only playback, unless you do some funky routing through an auxillary channel, and record that.

On mix down - rule one, there are no rules!! Normally EQ then compress then FX. But you can get some interesting results by compressing before EQ

Check out www.mixingwithyourmind.com - a great book.

[superpenguin79]

yes, track everything clean and make sure the vocalist is on key when they are singing which will help everything down the road. Once you have the perfect take with the singer, you can usually do something like reverb > compressor > delay > dither or something along those lines with whatever effect is desired on the vocals. The key is to get someone who can sing well, and capture the emotions of the singer into the recording. From there you can tweak with whichever effects depending on the style of the song. Say for example you're doing a rock vocalist, I would track clean, then add a bit of compression, then a bit of reverb to fit it into the mix possibly. All depends on what you're doing and tastes of the artist that wrote the song sometimes also. There is no right or wrong, but just what sounds good. goodluck

[IntelDoc]

Hmmmm... depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Some say clean ( I used to be one of them) Some say compress... I always compress vocals going in, but I also use alot of outboard gear to do so. Depends on the tune and the singer though.

My chain usually goes like this.

MIC: TLM-103, RODE NTK, APEX 460, SHURE SM-7B (again depends on the singer)
PREAMP (What ya got you use....) API, VINTECH, DIGIPRE, DEMETER, TRIDENT
COMPRESSOR: UA 1176, Distressor, DBX 160A (depends on the singer and the song.)

Then into Pro Tools. You can also route Compression to the track inside the box, but if you are not used to doing it, I recommend testing first.

I almost always compress vocals to tape. I tend to sample a few mic passes on the singer to get the right one (or what I have) dialed in then let er rip. Compression to me going in gets it done and you can always add more later. I compress guitars too..... Just like it.

Hope this helps?

- Doc

[bigbubbaj]

I compress on the way in also

mic --> preamp > compressor -> ptle

Better to compress to control dynamics and add a little smoothness then to clip.

besides....you are going to compress anyway ITB, so doing it on the way in helps you get the sound you want "to tape"

[superpenguin79]

Hmm... I know Doc has outboard compressors probably, but do you also Justin? Do you guys still compress going in even if you don't utilize outboard compressors by chaining in PT? I have sometimes used the Bomb Factory compressor plugs going in as just an insert. Was just curious how y'all run in. I know Doc said that he does inserts sometimes also I believe.