How Do You Record Harmonized Vocals?

[Branden Giraudy]

Hello guys, this is my first post on this forum, but I've signed up pretty recently and I've been taking and using the information for my own production benefits since about 2008. It drastically improved my production skills and I personally thank everyone on this forum for that.

The question is really not about the equipment aspects of recording harmonized vocals (or vocals in general), but every time I try and harmonize vocals, the final product sounds extremely robotic and just... Fake?

What do I need to do to fix this problem? Do I need to pan one track a little to the left and the other to the right? Adjust the volume on one of the tracks?

Thanks for any tips, I appreciate it.

 

[Unavailable]

I think as long as you have a good singer and you aren't autotuning the shit out of it you shouldn't have an issue.

 

[Branden Giraudy]

No auto-tuning at all, and the singer is pretty good. Thanks for the tip though.

 

[NikSin]

Try using two takes of the harmony, panning them out maybe 50% L/R, keeping the lead in the middle. Adjust the volumes to taste.

 

[amarshism]

Try riding them up under the main vocal more subtly.

 

[Blacklight_Studio]

Maybe a little bit of topic, but you told about a "real" harmonization when singer sings diferent intervals and it is only about clean vocals. But what about harmonized growls? I have never got a great results in it. I am talking about Septic Flesh - Communion album. or some Jens Bogren records like the last Draconian. They all have similar huge harmonized vocals. What do they use for that? Behemoth on Demigod, etc... I ve tried all waves doubler, TC harmony4.... and could not get even close. Someone told me that Fredman does it in Eventide plugin from Anthology bundle but it is PT HD only.

 

[ahjteam]

You don't harmonize growls for the same reason you don't autotune them; It sounds like shit. Doubling is okay tho. And for harmonizing; Figure out the scale of the song and then sing third above the line that the singer does

 

[Blacklight_Studio]

You don't harmonize growls for the same reason you don't autotune them; It sounds like shit. Doubling is okay tho. And for harmonizing; Figure out the scale of the song and then sing third above the line that the singer does

I don't think you understood me right. Why are you so sure that noone harmonizes the growls? )) Or you must haven't listened to the records Ive mentioned, take a listen when you have some time. Communion aspecialy, it is clearly audible there that it is not just a double tracked vocals, they may have been doubletracked though but harmonizer is very audible still.

 

[ahjteam]

Communion aspecialy

I didn't say no-one harmonizes the growls, I just said I think it sounds like shit.

I listened to the communion song from myspace and on the grunt parts there was two type of vocals; doubled and different styles of vocals there (One was more like the black metal style evil witch and the other one was the death metal style cookie monster), not harmonized, as in singing the same thing same way in different key.

edit: But that Sceptic Flesh sounds actually pretty good, might have to buy the album.

 

[timislegend]

Figure out the scale of the song and then sing third above the line that the singer does

this is the best advice i could think of as well... there is only so many technical things you can do until it becomes a choice of taste ...rather than "right way/wrong way"

with growling... try using melodyne. i have done this before. first you would track the vocals into melodyne then 'select all' and move it up to the appropriate harmony.

it sounds ok... but you should probably request that the vocalist actually perform the harmony.

 

[Branden Giraudy]

this is the best advice i could think of as well... there is only so many technical things you can do until it becomes a choice of taste ...rather than "right way/wrong way"

with growling... try using melodyne. i have done this before. first you would track the vocals into melodyne then 'select all' and move it up to the appropriate harmony.

it sounds ok... but you should probably request that the vocalist actually perform the harmony.

I wouldn't know much about harmonizing growls, and it wouldn't seem like something I would attempt to do to be honest.

Thanks for the tips guys!

Are there any programs you can recommend for easier harmonization of vocals? Mac please.

 

[timislegend]

Are there any programs you can recommend for easier harmonization of vocals? Mac please.

if you are crafty... i would say antares harmony engine.

you could also use the method i suggested in the previous post about melodyne.

this can be accomplished the same way with melodic vocals. melodyne is a powerful tool... and if used together, with skill... harmony engine+autotune+melodyne= extremely powerful.

with auto tune, the graphical editing mode is essential. this will result in less un-natural auto tune artifacts. also, in order to achieve sample accurate transients... when using auto tune or any pitch variation software you must apply a version of plug in delay compensation... i.e. mellomuse ata.

 

[Blacklight_Studio]

I didn't say no-one harmonizes the growls, I just said I think it sounds like shit.

I listened to the communion song from myspace and on the grunt parts there was two type of vocals; doubled and different styles of vocals there (One was more like the black metal style evil witch and the other one was the death metal style cookie monster), not harmonized, as in singing the same thing same way in different key.

edit: But that Sceptic Flesh sounds actually pretty good, might have to buy the album.

Maybe you are right. I dunno why, but I hear these double vocals in communion to be too artificial for a live performence most of the time, there are some parts with recorded sreamy parts but overall impression is like it was harmonized.. I may be wrong though.
BTW realy phenomenal album, I suggest it to anyone who has not heard it yet.

 

[nialldoran]

yeah the vocal styles are just different as aposed to harmonised, and the main vocalist can pull that shit off live like nobodies business, dont know to what extent they use the back up black metal style vox live though, absolutely fantastic album for material and production, flawless in my eyes

 

[BLUElightCory]

Just take a keyboard, figure out the main vocal melody, and then just go note by note through the melody while finding the complimentary notes that will make up the harmony. This will potentially give you cooler harmony ideas than just singing a set interval all the time.

A big thumbs down from me regarding auto-harmony software; it just never sounds good to me.

 

[JeffTD]

What the hell are you guys on about with harmonized growls? Growls/screams are entirely devoid of pitch, unless you're talking about the specialized vocal styles like Joe in Gojira uses?

 

[Star Ark]

Everything has pitch

the sound my keyboard makes as I type has pitch

Growls have pitch

What is a growl? James Hetfield on the Black Album? Or Something deep and 'extreme' metal, like death/doom?

Lots of heavy vocal harmonies in the music I listen to, I love Mudvayne for production, heaps of vocal layers to Chad's Growls, or are the shrieks? Grunts?

We really have to define what we are arguing about