Hello Everyone,
 
A problem I've always had is with backing vocals.  First off, I'm not the best at writing vocal harmonies, but that's more of a musical problem than a Sonar one hehe.   I also have issues with recording them and making them sound tight and "TOGETHER".   I also wanted to know if they should be EQ'ed differently than the lead vocal.  ANY tips really in order to get good and tight harmonized backing vocals would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
Thank You,
Adam

If they are not tite, then speak to the vocalists. I might nudge around some here and there but the tightness is in the performance..
As far as EQ, I usually take out most of the low end and maybe give a sparkly shelf above 9k. I guess it all depends if they are by themselves or supporting the lead though. But yes, I usually EQ different than the lead.
BVox I also tend to chop up into very tite clips to get rid of any room noise. 

 

High Pass filter.  depending upon the voices you can go high - 200 Hz. or so.
 
And eq the backup vox differently than the main vox.  Or at least don't put the same eq cuts/boosts on the bv as the main.  And usually I'll slather on more reverb...
 
@

BGV can make or break a tune...

 
"ANY tips really in order to get good and tight harmonized backing vocals would be GREATLY appreciated."
 
Spend a couple years singing in ensembles where a director who is actually listening coaches you until you become a useful back up singer.
 
If a vocalists skips that step, then they should do everything they can to fake it and make it seem like they know the basics of singing supportive parts.
 
SONAR (and the delete key) is a great tool for practicing and giving someone an opportunity to make an appraisal of the progress.
 
 
A lot of good backup singers voice their part in such a way that EQ reactions aren't required.
 
 
Practice. Practice. Practice.
 

for backups - performance:
i find that focusing on the beat, and getting the words that start and end a phrase totally on a beat, and end on a 'count-off', is the best way to work on tightness.
 
at first, it feels academic.
but after you get good at it, you drop the 'strict count' attitude, and it starts to flow.
 
it is something you must practice to get good at it, no one gets it automatically, 'cept for a very few geniuses.
LOL
 
 
for backups - getting the take:
 
try using a different mic for your backups, versus your lead vox.
 
then, on the backup track EQ's, roll off a bit of high end.
this pulls them to the back a bit, in terms of the mix..
 
this lets you mix them a bit more aggressively, but they do not stand out like the lead vox.
 
 
for backups - editing the mix:
 
there's nothing wrong with chopping off the backups together, using the trim function:
zoom in to all the backups lined up one on top of the other...
take the selection tool and drag across the end of the line or word...
 
and ruthlessly chop it.
but this takes finesse.
and you have to have a place to do it, where you don't hear any artifacts.
that is tricky.
but very effective, IF you can get good at it.
 
talk about tight.
heheh
 

The funny thing about backing vocals are the live bands.  Be sure to work w/ them before you start rolling and charging.  Once they hear their "live" bv w/o belting them out live they'll squirm and need hours of practice.  Often I have to record them one at a time over headphones so the ... discordent notes are minimized.
 
@

The "secret",  if there is one, to getting tight vocal harmonies and BGV is..... well according to me at least....
 
Record the best, dead on pitch, properly phrased LEAD vocal track you can.
 
Now, for the BGV tracks.... be sure the phrasing is dead on with the phrasing in the lead. Pay really close attention to when you start a word, and especially to when, and how, you end it. S's in particular will stand out like lighthouses on a dark night. Nothing says shoddy work like hearing 4 "S"s ending at different times on the last word in a lyric.   S's are not the only offenders, but they do tend to be the ones that stand out the best... or worse, depending on how you view it...  the main thing is pay attention to the details ... the minute details....
 
In this song:  http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11962059  I was working with 8 or 10 vocal tracks..... 2 leads, and several BGV and doubling tracks. I used envelopes to control the volume and used that to pull the volume down in a few places where things were not synced perfectly on the "S"s  .... The ear is listening for ONE "S" so enveloping the others out is not a big deal. I think if you listen to this on cans, or good studio speakers, you can hear one place where I missed the envelope slightly.

I do believe I pitch corrected every vocal track in this song.... not always dead on by grab those obvious ones and put them in line a bit better.
 
It's not always needed to pitch correct a BGV. It depends on how loud it is. I always pitch correct the lead and sometimes I do spend the time to PC the BGV. PC on the BGV will also bring a tightness to the vocal performance.
 
Also, in addition to the phrasing, be sure the inflection on the lead vocal is reflected in the BGV.
 
That's as good a place to start as any toward getting a solid, tight vocal performance. I can, and often do,  easily spend more time on the vocal portion of a project as I do on the entire rest of the project combined. Case in point... the song I used as an example.