vocal comp sheets

[heshian46]

Do any of you use a vocal comp sheet while tracking vocals? If so, do you have a standard format? Do you just make notes on whatever lyric sheet the artist gives you?

I'm thinking of making an excel format vocal comp sheet and can't decide on how to lay it out. I've seen a few examples online, but nothing official.

What say you?

 

[Punkyskunky]

I've personally never really done a comprehensive comp sheet like this while recording...

I usually just end up taking notes via markers/channel notes for each take in reaper while I'm tracking.

A common problem I've encountered with making notes on takes as they're being sung/tracked, is that the takes that I mark as sounding good during tracking never really sound as good as I thought they were when it comes to actually comping them together.

I think the biggest reason for this is that while tracking you're not always focusing on every aspect of the performance (timing, pitch, feel, pronounciation etc.) and can end up choosing "the best" takes based on only one of these aspects.

To be honest I think it's easier to just mark takes as good/bad while tracking and deal with choosing which ones are the best when it comes to actually comping the performance when you're actually able to focus on all of those aspects.

This is just my personal experience. I might give you're idea a go on my next recording project and see how it goes.

Cheers.

 

[anotherpaul]

Recording several full takes and then commping afterwards never worked for me. When I record singers, I just make them re-record the part, until we are both happy with it and then we move on to the next part.

 

[~BURNY~]

I record until happy, three times, (sequences or whole song is up to the vocalist and his/her abilities) then I always assume the latest take is the best. I recomp if needed if I hear something wrong during the mix. Always worked for me.

 

[bryan_kilco]

Same as anotherpaul for me. I'd rather the singer and I both be happy on the spot, in the room, and move on rather than sift through a bunch of "decent" takes on my own time.

 

[Terminus]

I record 3 or 4 takes, then later on go through it and pick the one I like most after listening to it a few times, for each line.

 

[Trevoire520]

I'm like anotherpaul and bryan_kilco. Typically I'll do a pass through the whole song, and assuming we're happy with it overall we'll then go back through it a section at a time until we're happy. Normally adding layers/harmonys as we go along too. Much prefer that to sifting through takes later to make a comp.

 

[rapucore]

Like others, I'll record until I and the person being recorded are happy with the result, looking for the golden take if you will. It goes with every instrument, not just the vocals.

 

[heshian46]

I'm like anotherpaul and bryan_kilco. Typically I'll do a pass through the whole song, and assuming we're happy with it overall we'll then go back through it a section at a time until we're happy. Normally adding layers/harmonys as we go along too. Much prefer that to sifting through takes later to make a comp.

I usually do exactly this. Record 1 or 2 scratch takes to check out the phrasing layout and get the singer warmed up. And then go back and record part by part until it's good.

I have a singer/songwriter coming in next week who is very concerned about his abilities and is stressing that comping will be a major part of the vocal tracking process as this is the experience he has had at every other studio he's recorded at. To quell his fears, and to maybe make my job easier, I thought using a comp sheet would ease the workflow. But I don't have any experience taking notes on takes as I go. I have a feeling it might just get thrown to the side. Like Punkyskunky said, hearing things and noting them during the performance almost always sounds different during playback since it's hard to focus on all the things that make a good vocal take while tracking.

I made a sheet in excel (link is below if you're curious). I think I'll try it on day one and see how it goes.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/q7p26ze61290sjz/comp sheet.xlsx?dl=0