ok so I have a vocal track that has some loud and quite parts how do i smooth it out so it is uniformed?
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The Mountains
Compression. Set your attack time long, release time short, and pull the ratio up to taste. If your compressor has a limiter in it, turn that on and drive the gain up to smash it a little further. Enjoy, that's the shit dreams are made of
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Geneva, NY
Rainbowdragoneyes wrote:
Compression. Set your attack time long, release time short, and pull the ratio up to taste. If your compressor has a limiter in it, turn that on and drive the gain up to smash it a little further. Enjoy, that's the shit dreams are made of
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If your singer can sing,, please don't smash too much, thx,
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Tacoma WA
node wrote:
ok so I have a vocal track that has some loud and quite parts how do i smooth it out so it is uniformed?
rerecord it and do it right this time?
yah you can fix it, but why not do it right and not need to fix it?
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Brooklyn NY US
infradead wrote:
node wrote:ok so I have a vocal track that has some loud and quite parts how do i smooth it out so it is uniformed?
rerecord it and do it right this time?
yah you can fix it, but why not do it right and not need to fix it?
In my (limited) experience, the natural volume variance of a singing voice can sound very unnatural when recorded; I can't really imagine vocals being recorded without some sort of compression involved (whether as a dedicated effect, or as a function of the intrinsic character of the recording medium, i.e. tape compression, etc.). You'd have to be a pretty smooth & controlled singer to maintain a uniform volume -- and even then it'd be at the expense of vocal dynamics (deliberately quiet parts, deliberately belted-out parts, etc.).
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Experienced singers with mike technique back off the microphone a bit during louder moments, and come in closer during those intimately quiet sections. This certainly helps cut back on the amount of compression you have to use, because too much compression and you lose the dynamics anyway. Or so I've heard...
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York, Yorkshire
fluidvolt wrote:
Experienced singers with mike technique back off the microphone a bit during louder moments, and come in closer during those intimately quiet sections. This certainly helps cut back on the amount of compression you have to use, because too much compression and you lose the dynamics anyway. Or so I've heard...
Mic control is mainly just for live work.
In the studio the vocalist should stay as stationary as is comfortably possible, let the voice channel comp sort out any loud bits and/or bring up the quiet bits. If they start moving about you can get weird phasing type noises, especially with any sibilance.
You can always spot a singer who has done mainly studio or live by their mic technique 
EDIT : I would add, that (with the exception of mild vocal channel comp) it's best to get the vocal take right first before you start doing any processing.
Last edited by BitPop (May 7, 2010 1:14 pm)
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Yea but that can backfire too.. forcing a singer to be uncomfortable like that can lead to a stilted performance. I think i'd rather take the phase problems and have a kick-ass vocal take.
edit: or yea, work with an experienced studio singer ! 
Last edited by herr_prof (May 7, 2010 1:59 pm)
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Geneva, NY
I have a buddy who recently paid top dollar to have his album mixed by the guy who does all Jason Mraz's (yeah) stuff. He said when he went into the studio to hear the final mix, he took a look at the Pro Tools session and said the dude had gone nuts hand drawing the the track volume automation to make sure each syllable was just right. I'm not saying this is good or bad, just throwing it out there as technique used by modern industry professionals.
Listening to pop music throughout the ages, I suspect this has been the norm, albeit executed differently. There's no way that vocal performances have been that "even" that often. Historically, there is definitely some compression and on final mixdown, the people doing the mix were riding the faders hardcore. The final mix was a performance itself.
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Yea I remember reading about abbey road sessions where it would be all hands on deck for a mixdown with all the assistants riding a groove o faders and mutes for the final mixdown.
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York, Yorkshire
herr_prof wrote:
Yea but that can backfire too.. forcing a singer to be uncomfortable like that can lead to a stilted performance.
That's why I say as still as comfortably possible. A professional vocalist soon get's used to it. The big difference is live vs studio, two totally different styles! Someone who's done lots of live work can be a bit of a nightmare in the studio.