MICROPHONE -VOCAL TRACK - SETUP

Would anyone have alot of experience setting up a VOCAL TRACK in Project 5 ?
I manage to record my voice on a AUDIO TRACK in P5 no problem there , what I need to know is how do I add in reverb or any other effects to get that top notch polished vocal track .
Can I make these ajustments before I laydown my vocals or do I have to laydown my vocals and then go in and add effects like more reverb or whatever else might create a polished vocal track ?

I always record the vocals dry. I had a singer complain that she needed to hear some reverb, so I added some into the chain, but made sure the reverb wasn't recorded. I always work with DRY recordings and add the effects afterward. Some neat things that you can try with vocals to make them sound a bit better are: doing multiple takes, recording yourself more than once with each time singing it slightly different... perhaps a line of harmony. Panning... very underrated, but highly effective. Record one vocal take, and pan it left... record another and pan it right. Mess around to find the right levels on them so they give it some depth. It also serves to add a chorus kind of effect. Speaking of chorus, P5 has a nice little chorus effect which can thicken the sound up. Reverb is always fun, but don't forget that 'echo' and/or 'delay' effects work sometimes better. I'm loving the DELAY FX tool in the Sonar suite (is it Sonitus?). So, usually a combination of all of these is used to give a vocal a high polished sound.

Digital Aura

I always record the vocals dry. I had a singer complain that she needed to hear some reverb, so I added some into the chain, but made sure the reverb wasn't recorded. I always work with DRY recordings and add the effects afterward. Some neat things that you can try with vocals to make them sound a bit better are: doing multiple takes, recording yourself more than once with each time singing it slightly different... perhaps a line of harmony. Panning... very underrated, but highly effective. Record one vocal take, and pan it left... record another and pan it right. Mess around to find the right levels on them so they give it some depth. It also serves to add a chorus kind of effect. Speaking of chorus, P5 has a nice little chorus effect which can thicken the sound up. Reverb is always fun, but don't forget that 'echo' and/or 'delay' effects work sometimes better. I'm loving the DELAY FX tool in the Sonar suite (is it Sonitus?). So, usually a combination of of these is used to give a vocal a high polished sound.

Sorry for the delay getting back be busy , thanks for this information . I have always recorded dry but I was wondering what type of effect it might have on you if it was song with alittle reverb .
Thanks again for sharing all this with me , I'm sure it has helped a few others who might be reading this post too.

Cheers!

ORIGINAL: nightriderXL


blipp


Once I have lyrics and vocals if I need some help with the melody lead track are you still interested ?
If so you'll be the first person I will work with , you can listen to it first with vocals then decide.

Cheers!

Yep definitely. Guitar at the ready.

ORIGINAL: nightriderXL


I was wondering what type of effect it might have on you if it was song with alittle reverb .

I guess if you're creative enough you can roll with it, or if its really subtle it'll work... but for me, I can't stand having someone else's reverb on a vocal. It's very limiting to me, because reverb is usually the LAST effect in my chain. Why? Because I find the ear is more sensitive to reverb, or to the compounding of things on top of reverbs. I'm usually more attuned to reverbs with echoes and delays and more reverbs stacked on over top. Try this. Put reverb on something and then add a chorus effect, and then add a delay or a gated effect like CAMELSPACE. Now try it the other way, with the chorus and everything BEFORE the reverb. What a difference! Reverb tails tend to get REALLY picked up and accentuated through other effects like echoes and other reflective / reverb effects. For that reason, I need vocals dry... because of the gamut of FX I use on vocal chains.

but just so you know, this is how I work, and there is certainly NO actual WRONG and RIGHT way to do it... it's whatever you like in your own ears after it's all done that matter!

Just to pick up on what DA said - if you want to get the best possible vocal track you nearly always (unless you have the 95% vocally accurate Celine Dion in your studio) have to record multiple takes. I'm not using P5 lately, but in Sonar I record vocal tracks over and over (and over ...) and then 'comp' the pieces either into one 'perfect' take by muting all the bad bits, and/or use the comped pieces to construct a much larger doubled vocals piece - or a vocal track with harmonies.

I used this method on one of my latest tracks, Little Flag. It's not perfect, but check out how effective layering can be. And just a technical note, all vocals are centered here, run through Voxengo Voxformer and a bit of convolution reverb (in that order).

Please don't leave reviews of the actual song here ... I don't want to hijack this thread. Merely want to point to an example of recording multiple takes - with a final comping.

KEv

Lots of good advice here. I would also add that you should make sure that you are recording in 24-bit, rather than 16-bit. This will give you much more headroom.

cryophonik

Lots of good advice here. I would also add that you should make sure that you are recording in 24-bit, rather than 16-bit. This will give you much more headroom.

I should be but I will have to check good point thanks!

on the topic of vocals, do you guys come up with your music first then go back and add the vocals or is it possible to come up with the lyrics first and record the vocals then later compose the music to what's been vocally recorded.

I suppose one could write lyrics first then create some type of music for it but thats not the way I create a song. I start with a good drum track and work off of that first , after all its the beat that create motion and feel from that point you might build from there with a solid bass line track or maybe a good solid chord progression then add in other instruments to fatten up the sound or enhance the overall feeling of the music .

Then you can start writiing lyrics to fit the music you created thats what I do but that doesn't always make it right it all depends on you the creator what is easier for you .
What works for one may not work for someone else so do what feels conforable for you is my advice .

One last thought some including myself create something off of a title , they have this title in their mind and a vision of what it might sound like then create their music,your choice whatever works for you.

Cheers!

what's a middle eight? I heard reference to this by Andrew Fletcher of Depeche Mode when they were working on their single, "Wrong" for Sounds of the Universe and he said it took them a while to get it just right knowing that they knew the song would become a single.

another quick question since we're on this topic. how do you know how many measures suppose to be in a verse or chorus. what if you already composed and built that part but when you go to write lyrics for that particular part, it doesn't fit because there's too many or few words.

not sure if any of you are VNV Nation fans but I was reading an interview from their lead singer that was very insightful about their music and the business. http://www.ebm.gr