Vocal Harmonies

[NSGUITAR]

Hola.


So, over the past few bands I've recorded/mixed, I've not been completely happy with the harmony tracks for vocals. What I've been trying is to use the same fx chain as the main vocal track, and tweaking.


Some things I've tried that SORT of help:

-Adding a touch more compression

-Eq.ing
---With eq.ing harmonized track, I was taught to put an analyzer on the main vocal track, and whatever hz are peaking prominently, pull those frequencies down a tiny bit.

-Adding a very slight waves doubler

-Autotuning the FUCK out of it




These methods have gotten me a little bit closer, but not to where I essentially want to be. I was just curious as to what everybody else is doing, if you care to share.

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

Depends on what you're going for. I usually treat harmonies exactly the same as the lead vocals and I'm talking about real harmonies not fake done by "harmonizers" or "doublers", it's just all about placement and riding them vocals

 

[kev]

I've always found fake harmonisation to sound disasterous in all contexts!

 

[Skinny Viking]

fake harmonizing sucks except for helping you to write out the parts occasionally ... always best to actually track the parts

I treat my lead vocals this way:

EQ
Compression
2 Sends ... 1 to a delay, 1 to verb. I try to get like 80% of the sound with the delay and the rest with the verb
EQ after verb

harmonies are generally NOT sent to the delay, only verb and they get more of it with even more post EQ after

the harmony tracks themselves have just an EQ and then are sent to a group bus where I have a LOT of compression

panning to taste but as a rule I keep the lower, deeper harmony parts more centered or if they're doubled, spread like 15% L/R. Highest harmony goes centered and the mid / filling harmony parts are spread out about 25% L/R

apply SSL generously

if you're going for a more "choir" like backing sound, do not edit too tightly and you don't have to auto-tune the fuck out of them ... keeps it more humanized and natural sounding

 

[guitarguru777]

+1 to what Skinny said not big on the delay on Harmonies, get them to track them and try not to Auto tune. Slight panning to each side with the bigger more predominant harmonies closer to center.

 

[Machinated]

I tune harmonies harder than i would lead vocals tbh.

its all about the arrangement, having the right harmonies in the right places and then its just a case of how up front you want them.

 

[NSGUITAR]

fake harmonizing sucks except for helping you to write out the parts occasionally ... always best to actually track the parts

I treat my lead vocals this way:

EQ
Compression
2 Sends ... 1 to a delay, 1 to verb. I try to get like 80% of the sound with the delay and the rest with the verb
EQ after verb

harmonies are generally NOT sent to the delay, only verb and they get more of it with even more post EQ after

the harmony tracks themselves have just an EQ and then are sent to a group bus where I have a LOT of compression

panning to taste but as a rule I keep the lower, deeper harmony parts more centered or if they're doubled, spread like 15% L/R. Highest harmony goes centered and the mid / filling harmony parts are spread out about 25% L/R

apply SSL generously

if you're going for a more "choir" like backing sound, do not edit too tightly and you don't have to auto-tune the fuck out of them ... keeps it more humanized and natural sounding

Excellent!


I'll have to try not having the harmonies go to a delay send. I've always had it go to a delay.

 

[BLUElightCory]

I tune harmonies harder than i would lead vocals tbh.

its all about the arrangement, having the right harmonies in the right places and then its just a case of how up front you want them.

+1

 

[ahjteam]

autotune them to fuck, compress to hell and just keep them down in the mix. nobody will notice.

 

[Machinated]

autotune them to fuck, compress to hell and just keep them down in the mix. nobody will notice.

then whats the point of doing them?

 

[Skinny Viking]

^

thats actually a pretty good point

 

[Dexter_prog]

Don't Katatonia fake harmonize all the time? They sound pretty good to me, though the harmonizations are usually mixed very low so it is a subtle effect

 

[Dexter_prog]

then whats the point of doing them?

nobody will notice that they are autotuned.

 

[Skinny Viking]

Don't Katatonia fake harmonize all the time? They sound pretty good to me, though the harmonizations are usually mixed very low so it is a subtle effect

thats probably the idea though, to have it more as an effect, which is totally fine but that should usually be the exception, not the rule

my opinion

I know for instance that Devin Townsend has a couple of Anneke's vocal tracks on "Addicted" auto-tuned to hell and back but its for effect cause obviously my girl can sing

 

[Machinated]

nobody will notice that they are autotuned.

uh, i didnt mean it like I deliberately tune my backing vocals really hard so people notice that they are tuned hard.

the idea of tuning them hard means that slight fluctuations won't clash with other vocals and will therefore be less distracting from the main vocal.

 

[setyouranchor]

Have them so they're not very noticeable when they are there, but very noticeable when they aren't. If that makes sense?

 

[NSGUITAR]

Here's what I'm talking about. I like my lead sound (other than a section that I left WAY too much delay in), but to me, the harmonies don't sit right at all.



http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4985090/ZachAudition2.mp3

 

[NSGUITAR]

Oh ya, I must add: Guitar solo- Padge from Bullet for my Valentine

 

[JeffTD]

Doesn't sound too bad - I always have my harmony vocals darker than the lead vocal, not as much extreme top end or brightness. Chop the low end off a bit higher, too, and don't really use much delay on them - try using a delay sent into a verb set 100% wet so you're only verb'ing the delay'd signal, and blend that in and see if it helps.

Also, add bass. I don't know how some of you guys judge vocal mixing/tuning without a bass... such a fundamental part of the entire sound, and I find singers tend to track better when there's a bass guitar in the headphones.

 

[egan.]

Don't Katatonia fake harmonize all the time?

Nah.