Vocal warmth (looking for a certain vox tone)

[reg3n]

Hi people, i know the whole loudness and warming fx is hella .... wore out or something... so, i've been trying to get some specific tone, i've read a lot about how to get warmer guitars, drums, etc but nothing really specific into the vocals, so check this out: Sugar Ray, Waiting:

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Waiting/eMX6x

So, that's exactly the tone i'm looking for in vocals, i've got a singer that fits the style perfectly but ... lacks a lot of warmth in the mix... so apart from compression, limiting, delay, etc... would you use any special technique to get that kind of sound? i've heard tube saturation does wonders on vocals but which vst would you use? (i'm not a big hardware owner you konw...) i kind'a got close using a clipper but... it was probably more out of randomness and trial and error...

Any help is greatly appreciatted.
PS: i hate automation.:Smokin:

 

[shred101]

My first choice for vocal warmth would be a good quality tube mic/preamp. Also I personally find that shitty desk preamps are a big downer for vocal tones. I'd always go for a real tube over a simulation when looking at recording anything like vocals.

 

[arv_foh]

http://www.antarestech.com/products/avox-evo.shtml

Look at Antares WARM

but yeah what the dude above said, a great mic and a great preamp are the best place to start

 

[Charles J]

A LOT, and I mean a LOT of this has to do with the singers voice, unfortunately.

Sounds like the typical pop vocal chain to me... U87 (or the like) > Neve 1073 > 1176.

Compression definitely sounds 1176-ish to me, and that will get you a loooong way. Don't be afraid to peg those meters, bro. =D

I'm fairly certain I could get a similar vocal sound using SM7 > CL 7602 and Softube's FET compressor (not as good as a hardware unit, but sounds sick when pushed into distortion).

BTW, ya gotta learn to love automation or just automate your mixes by printing stuff and putting it in certain sections if you don't like actually drawing in all the automation. I tend to do a little of both as I agree, it can get kind of annoying... especially the way Cubendo handles it.

 

[reg3n]

i found these a minute ago, anyone have experiences about them?

http://wavearts.com/products/plugins/tube/

http://freemusicsoftware.org/category/free-vst-effects-2/tube-simulation

(and all others from that site..)


And
http://www.voxengo.com/product/tubeamp/

 

[reg3n]

A LOT, and I mean a LOT of this has to do with the singers voice, unfortunately.

Sounds like the typical pop vocal chain to me... U87 (or the like) > Neve 1073 > 1176.

Compression definitely sounds 1176-ish to me, and that will get you a loooong way. Don't be afraid to peg those meters, bro. =D

I'm fairly certain I could get a similar vocal sound using SM7 > CL 7602 and Softube's FET compressor (not as good as a hardware unit, but sounds sick when pushed into distortion).

BTW, ya gotta learn to love automation or just automate your mixes by printing stuff and putting it in certain sections if you don't like actually drawing in all the automation. I tend to do a little of both as I agree, it can get kind of annoying... especially the way Cubendo handles it.

Thanks a lot for the great info, actually i don't have any hardware pre's :'( but i guess i could give those vst's a try to see what yer talking about, the singer i have is really good but... mi tracking is killing him right now sounds cold as ice...

 

[reg3n]

http://www.antarestech.com/products/avox-evo.shtml

Look at Antares WARM

but yeah what the dude above said, a great mic and a great preamp are the best place to start

i'll certainly check that one out man thanks!

 

[shred101]

If you ever have to record like ain inwards growler (a' la Randy Blythe) then I find its best to get the guy to do a low track as well as a high of the entire song if it comes out super thin.

 

[Wisheraser]

I've used that wave arts one before and loved it, but it will absolutely RAPE your CPU, so I had to bounce tracks often. It's still on my "to buy" list.

PS: Even though this doesn't really matter, that GUI is absolutely gorgeous!