Flat Vocalist - What should I do?

[Ganks]

Hey guys,

I've got a pop/punk band that is recording with me at the moment, and all of the instruments have been tracked for one song. (They're recording one at a time.)

Except the vocalist. He's coming in the next day or two, because he's getting over a cold that is going around.

But I'm pretty worried about it. I don't have that much experience tracking clean vocals, and he sings EXTREMELY flat. He sings flat on their demos, he sings flat live, he probably even sings flat in the shower!! And we all know everyone sings their best in the shower.

But anyways, could anyone give me some pointers on tracking vocals, or vocalists that are sub-par in general.
I don't want to resort to auto-tune because it doesn't fit this music, one bit.

check their demos here: http://www.myspace.com/redcarpetalibi

Any suggestions?

 

[crazykarl]

Do multiple takes, take what sounds best. Bring his attention to his flattitude. Try different methods of monitoring too, it could be he just can't hear himself (that would be a simple fix wouldn't it?) Another thing to try is layering the vocals, giving it more of a chorusy feel (this can sometimes make a much bigger problem).

At the end of the day, don't put out something you're not comfortable putting your name on, but don't try too hard to polish a turd.

 

[Unavailable]

You know autotune doesn't have to be used in the non-transparent way that so many terrible artists these days use it, right?

 

[Ganks]

Well, I'm not too familiar with auto-tune, so I don't know how to get the most potential out of it.

Any suggestions on using auto-tune?

 

[Morgan C]

Reverb makes your pitch bad (hence why we think we sound good inthe shower), so less/no reverb.

Turn the vocals up, if they're too soft he'll go flat, if too loud he'll go sharp. Or the other way around.. I forget :/

Auto-toooooo-oooon.

Vibrato can also conceal bad pitch.

 

[paladin shredder]

try out melodyne, soooo much better than autotune

 

[BLUElightCory]

Turn the vocals up, if they're too soft he'll go flat, if too loud he'll go sharp. Or the other way around.. I forget :

You got it backwards

Turn the vocals down and compress them in the headphones if he's singing flat. If they're too loud in his phones he'll back off a bit, which will result in him singing with less air, which will most likely make him sing flat.

If he can't hear himself well enough, he might sing TOO hard and he'll likely go sharp. If this happens just turn him up a bit.

Also, many singers tend to have better pitch if they take off one earphone. It may take him a couple of takes to get used to it, and it doesn't work with everyone, but I've seen dramatic improvement in the pitch of singers who use this technique.

Finally, don't blast the headphones too much; loud volumes can distort our comprehension of pitch and cause tuning problems.

A good headphone mix is incredibly important when trying to achieve great vocal takes. Spend plenty of time making sure the singer is comfortable with the mix.

And follow all the usual guidelines of studio vocal recording:
- The singer should get plenty of sleep
- The singer should abstain from dairy products, alcohol, pot, aspirin, caffiene, and acidic or spicy food and drink as much as possible.
- If the singer smokes, DON'T make him quit.
- Have plenty of room temperature or hot water/tea available. No cold drinks.
- Ban ALL unnecessary people (friends/family) from the session. The less band members present, the better. Singers can easily become self conscious in the studio so the less people around, the better.

 

[DanLights]

about monitoring for vocals, I´ve heard that headphone always fuck up your pitch and that some people actually use (speaker) monitors, is this true? and how you do that without getting intense deadly bleed into the vocal mic?

 

[Morgan C]

about monitoring for vocals, I´ve heard that headphone always fuck up your pitch and that some people actually use (speaker) monitors, is this true? and how you do that without getting intense deadly bleed into the vocal mic?

Make the mic face opposite the speakers (or wherever rejection is best), or.. I've heard this but haven't tried it, you record a take with the backing track phase switched, and then combine it with the audio track to get rid of a lot of bleed. Or record as normal then phase switch afterwards.

 

[AEL89]

Make the mic face opposite the speakers (or wherever rejection is best), or.. I've heard this but haven't tried it, you record a take with the backing track phase switched, and then combine it with the audio track to get rid of a lot of bleed. Or record as normal then phase switch afterwards.

I've started to record vocals in the control room now - monitors absolutely cranked to hell but I don't bother with the phase thing, I'd guess that would only make the problem worse. I cut out a lot of the bleed by hand anyway - would rather trust my own editing than a gate. Most vocalists I've recorded tend to feel so much more comfortable this way.

 

[Jackal_Strain]

Try to make him record with the headphones on only one ear. It sometimes help singers find the correct pitch.

 

[onqel]

Would it help to bring the whole backingtrack/monitor up a few cents in pitch so the vocals are closer to pitch after the vocals are recorded and the track normalized again.. ? This is something I would try myself if I were in that situation..

 

[BLUElightCory]

about monitoring for vocals, I´ve heard that headphone always fuck up your pitch and that some people actually use (speaker) monitors, is this true? and how you do that without getting intense deadly bleed into the vocal mic?

Using headphones doesn't necessarily always mess with your pitch; it usually more due to a bad headphone mix or an inexperienced singer. As I and some others mentioned, taking off one earpiece can immensely help singers who are having trouble with phones.

Some producers/engineers really like cutting vocals using monitors instead of headphones. The trick is to reverse the polarity of ONE of the monitors and to position the mic exactly between them. This way, the playback cancels out as it reaches the mic, but the singer can still hear it. It takes a bit of time to get the placement right but it can work really well.

 

[beyond dead]

until today I had never heard of recording vocals with monitors and all that jazz. sounds interesting. I may have to try this myself. I have been recording guitars and bass this way, and it is soooo much better than tracking with headphones OBVIOUSLY

I find alot of times, singers dont really know what they want when you are trying to get a headphone mix. Its hopeless, because they are unable to accurately describe what they hear, or want to hear.

I usually wear headphones, and make sure im hearing the same thing they are. it helps me get a good headphone mix for them. I observe how changes in volume affect their performance. I can usually get a feel for things during the first song. Ideally this would be done during preprod, but most bands loathe pre prod

edit: another tip: record with a tuner. tell the singer its standard practice. That way he will see if he is flat, and you wont even have to tell him!
( I may start doing this)

 

[lolzgreg]

First ask the singer if they NOTICE if they're singing off key. If not, let them know nicely and pick up a guitar/play along with the vocal line and help him improve his intonation.

 

[AeternusEternus]

Make him smile. It'll correct his pitch up to where it needs to be.

 

[ForefrontStudio]

Would it help to bring the whole backingtrack/monitor up a few cents in pitch so the vocals are closer to pitch after the vocals are recorded and the track normalized again.. ? This is something I would try myself if I were in that situation..

that is a very interesting thought....

if he's flat, tell him to raise his eyebrows on the note he's flat on. seriously. for some reason it helps.

 

[ahjteam]

until today I had never heard of recording vocals with monitors and all that jazz. sounds interesting.

How about all the live albums?

 

[greyskull]

Make him smile. It'll correct his pitch up to where it needs to be.

ALWAYS use that one..
other than that; depending on the singer; comp the bet bits and melodyne to taste.
BOOM

 

[BLUElightCory]

Make him smile. It'll correct his pitch up to where it needs to be.

This is also really good advice, which made me think of a couple more tricks for singers:

- Drop your jaw - Instead of opening the mouth wide when singing loud/high parts, keep your mouth a bit narrower but drop your jaw further. This relaxes the larynx and makes it easier to hit higher notes without the voice breaking.
- Keep your tongue rested on the bottom of your mouth. This helps keep pitch steady on sustained notes.
- If you are having trouble hitting a high note, bend forward at the waist (so your face is facing slightly down) when the note comes up. This helps combat the psychological "up" feeling that oftentimes makes singers tense up before high notes.

Also, those of you who hook up tuners: Don't you worry that the singer will focus too much on the tuner and not enough on just delivering a good performance? It seems like it would preoccupy and distract most singers.