Evening out Vocals

Levels you can sort out with automation, compression or both.
 
Tone is slightly more problematic.
 
Is it different enough to warrant extensive EQ'ing? how many "different" tones are you working with.
 
You said singerS (Plural) so is this a song with multiple singers at the same time or are any of them at the forefront?
 

Jonesey: No, different vocalists one at a time on different songs. I can get them to come back and do some corrections but I might end up with the same issues. 
 
Sausy: That sounds like a good idea. Something with its own tone might be enough to fool the ear.
 
Thanks!

jb101
I highly recommend Cakewalk's Ca2a, if that's the road you go down. I use it on almost every vocal track.

HTH

I do agree with this... Although it is essentially the same as the Pc2a, the leveling plug available in the Pro Channel... I use this on all vocal tracks to match levels.
 
You might also want to try out a new product... which has a demo, from ISW, their new Peak Rider, their new sidechain dynamic envelope processor which is pretty revolutionary and has loads of tone shaping and can match vocals... here's a link to discussions at V.I. Control which has a link to their free trial which you might find does what you want and more: http://vi-control.net/com...able-now-vst-au.50836/.  They have a vid on how to use it in Sonar if you're perplexed...
 
From ISW's site: A brand-new approach to dynamics processing! Peak Rider uses a sidechain signal to fluidly shape the envelope of the main input. Attenuation and boost are alternatingly applied based on the sidechain, so that the main input "rides" the peaks and valleys of the sidechain. The creative possibilities are endless!
 
PEAK RIDER - KEY FEATURES

• Novel new approach to dynamic processing
• Wideband and multiband
• Zero-latency analysis with linear phase option
• Four processing modes available
• Three analysis & detection modes
• Fine control over envelope shaping
• Left/right and mid/side stereo processing
• Simple one-time serial number activation
• PC VST (32/64bit), Mac VST / AU formats

ditto on Quantum Effect's Waves VocalRider!

Just got the waves vocal rider and found out that some of it's features does not work in Sonar. It is more suitable for Pro Tools.
 

Do you use a pop shield? As well as dealing with plosives, they are good for telling a singer where to be. They also remove the very close option, where you get a lot of variance in tone.

This is how it looks in Pro Tools.

Vocal Rider and Bass Rider are super good at ending endless fader rides, and pretty easy to use. I picked both up last week and am very happy about it.
 No additional fx that can change the feel and sound of your original track.

Those menus in the first pic are part of ProTools/StudioRack/Whatever host is running the plug,   not Vocal Rider. 
 
The plugin is the same regardless of the platform

Level automation by ear to get the different lines "even."   Then a comp - the Cake optical is my favorite for leveling and adding some tone.  The standard 1176 will also work for that, although I use it more for an "on/off" switch.
 
If the tone still ain't right, start laying an EQ on the tracks.  The Blue Tubes stuff, as said above, is great for adding some steady state tone on top of tracks.  Since it is an older plug, the tone it has doesn't seem get heavier when driven.  It should work well for your needs, dissolving the small changes in tone between takes under the BT sheen.
 
 
 

Volume and tone.... 
 
As the studio engineer, your job is to coach the singers and pay attention to things such as position in the room, how far they are from the mic.... distance in inches from mouth to the mic, if there's a pop filter, if the lava lamp was on or off.....always be sure it's on, and even to how they are singing. If it's a bad day for them, it's your job to call it a day. Most singers will try to push on, but you should call it a day if they're not getting the singing right.
 
A singer, even an amateur, should be able to get the same tone and vibe from one day to the next. They should be able to do a take on Monday, and come back Wednesday and do a punch in that is essentially  the same and requires no EQ fix.   In other words it should sound like the same session and like it's one take.  This assumes that they are not sick and are properly warned up vocally. If they take a break and come back and stand a few inches off from the last session, that really should not be a factor.... I can see if they are 6 to 12 inches off, yeah, you can hear that. But again that goes back to how professional they are and how observant you as an engineer are.  I like to tell singers I work with to stay within an inch or so of the pop filter, and I set the pop filter where I want it... That keeps them in the area within an inch or two.  A pro will do that without needing to be coached and will pull back for those power notes. And... if they come back from a break and sound different....call it a day and reschedule another session if possible.

Using envelopes is one thing.... I use them to adjust the volume of tracks and of takes and to push certain words or pull others back.... but to rely on plugs as a substitute for poor engineering is not the way to go.  Get it right going in and your life will be so much easier.
 
If there is a noticeable difference in the tone from one session to the next, you need to find out what has changed and make the proper corrections. Doing a completely new take is an option if you can't figure it out. I have done that more than once with guitar tracks.... I don't often write down my settings and if I have worked on something else, the tone is subject to be really different. That's one of my shortcomings. But you're talking about vocals so that is a totally different topic. I've done vocal punches a week apart and couldn't tell the punch in after the fact.
 
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

Getting things right at the source is always the preferred option.  Sometimes you just can't get the talent back though and you are stuck with what you have.  Good audio engineering often requires fixing less than perfect things.  Things can slip through the cracks especially when you are attempting to engineer and produce at the same time which does require extra skill.
 
My approach to fixing tonal changes is worth knowing so I feel it is a worthy exercise.  It has saved my butt a few times.
 
Things to watch out for when a singer goes off axis might be mids and high falling off slightly and the bottom end changing as well.  The good thing is that even if they go off axis they are still more than likely doing it under near optimum conditions such as a quiet studio, a reasonably dead area with little reflection and room sound around and a decent mic etc.. Applying EQ to some off axis phrases can work very well and in the final overall scheme of things it can be very hard to tell.
 
Just thinking other things I like to get 3 takes of everything.  One take alone is a bit dangerous. Chances they went off axis in the same spot on 3 takes is considerably less.  I edit phrases in from other takes regularly..
 
If they go way of axis like 3 feet away then you are in for a bit of fiddling.  It is possible to remove the room now more so (reverb removal tools) and it would require a bit of substantial EQ I would say.

Kamikaze
Do you use a pop shield? As well as dealing with plosives, they are good for telling a singer where to be. They also remove the very close option, where you get a lot of variance in tone.

+1 This.

northlake63
Sanderxpaner how do you go about sidechaining the vocal rider to the music bus ?

Create a send from your music bus, and select Vocal Rider Input 2 (I believe that's how the sidechain is labeled).