Vocal awesomification, anyone?

[Ermz]

Hey guys,

Just taking note of how many interested parties there are about a potential 'vocal reamping/mixing' service.

As some of you may know, I started offering this for bass guitar, but few people took me up on it, and I assume it was largely to do with the price, due to proper bass mixing being remarkably difficult and time consuming.

Since vocals in general are much quicker, I started wondering how many of you guys struggle with getting that 'perfect' vocal sound ITB, which let's face it, is almost impossible.

You want some analogue compressors and EQ on there - you know it. Fortunately, my rack is full of stuff geared towards ace vocal sounds. From the Millennia Origin to the Distressor, to the DBX160 and 1176 Rev A (CLA's lead vox fave) you have a great cross section of tones to get any modern, in-your-face lead vocal.

Due to the lower time requirement, it's possible to make this quite cheaper than the bass service.

So, out of curiosity, any takers?

 

[Skinny Viking]

I've already been offering that service for a couple years man

 

[tempe]

Personally I wouldn't be keen, but that's because I absolutely love working on vocal sounds. It's my favorite part of the process, unfortunately I'm still terrible at it! There would definitely be a market for it, especially if you offered tuning / alignment services, which is a pain in the ass but I think that would definitely entice a lot of lazy people!

 

[OneDaySky]

What Sorta prices you charging for this Ermz?

 

[Rockchops]

I would take it for an lp i'm doing now depending on price. do you have one in mind?

 

[dcb]

to be honest, i never had any problems getting great vocal sounds itb... uad 1176 and la2a are amazing and deliver that "in your face sound".
i do use la2a compression on the way in though (10 db), but in my experience its slamming the vocals, deessing and riding them like crazy and clearing the low end, maybe add a little ssl 10k and youre done.
if the singer sucks , bad mic choice and bad room acoustics : its super hard to make it sound right otb AND itb.

 

[crillemannen]

^ This..

With a great mic and a decent singer vocals are pretty easy to get right in the mix if you are somewhat experience. Although after i have begun to use hardware comps on vox i can't go back. So i definitively see a business for this, especially for those who are ITB and are still serious about their product.

Ermin you should post some vox processed ITB then try to match it with hardware so people actually can hear the smooth attack of hardware and the lush nice highend you get

 

[gabriel g.]

to be honest, i never had any problems getting great vocal sounds itb... uad 1176 and la2a are amazing and deliver that "in your face sound".
i do use la2a compression on the way in though (10 db), but in my experience its slamming the vocals, deessing and riding them like crazy and clearing the low end, maybe add a little ssl 10k and youre done.
if the singer sucks , bad mic choice and bad room acoustics : its super hard to make it sound right otb AND itb.

+1

 

[Clockwork]

Depending on price I'd be interested because I'm lacking in the outboard department. Seems like a good service, you have good gear that not everyone has but some of us could benefit from.

 

[Ermz]

Hehe interesting stuff. 'I get great vocal sounds ITB but use a classic outboard compressor on the way in'. 'I agree with the aforementioned but since I started using hardware I can't go back'. So um, which is it?

It's the same story as anything. Some people get adequate mix tones using all digital amp sims, yet many still prefer to get it reamped via real tube amps. There is a certain something you gain by using hardware in favor of the software processors, otherwise none of us would bother. I certainly didn't start getting the kind of vocal sounds I wanted until I got familiar with the hardware. All depends on what the individual wants or needs though.

It's also part of the experience of mixing vocals properly that I'd hope to touch on with this too. Letting people know where they should be cutting away with the backing track to nest them properly, or whether they need to retrack etc. Obviously it's not a service geared toward veteran engineers, but more those who may be on a budget and can't afford a full mix service, but realize the vocal is one of the most important elements and want it done right.

 

[ArthurD]

price?

 

[dcb]

Hehe interesting stuff. 'I get great vocal sounds ITB but use a classic outboard compressor on the way in'. 'I agree with the aforementioned but since I started using hardware I can't go back'. So um, which is it?

you are somehow right indeed.
but its the same question with outboard summing.
depending on your console (new spl neos looks super interesting btw)
it gives a different flavor. to some it sounds better, to some it doesnt.

to me it sounds better actually, haha ;-)!

 

[Empathy]

As has been said before, I just have too much fun processing vocals to want to let someone else do it

 

[midget donkeys]

I am an guitar player recording my own songs at home. My knowledge of recording guitar (which all comes from the Sneap forum) is far greater than my knowledge of mixing vocals.

So I don't have a bunch of plug-ins and what not that you would use on vocals and if I did I wouldn't know what to do with them.

So yes it is something that would be interesting to someone such as myself. Not for the fancy gear, but for the expertise in vocal mixing.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

So in a few years, kids end up buying your bass awesomification, vocal awesomification, guitar awesomification and drum awesomification and claim they mixed it