jonnik Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Hi In my song in the chorus part I do not want to add interval-ed back vocals but if I leave just solo vocal there (one track) I feel I lack vocals in the chorus. How do I make the vocal in Chorus sound/appear "thicker" compensating for the absence of intervaled back vocals? Any interetsing tricks on that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev. Juda Sleaze Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Layer more vocals. If the performances are tight enough it will thicken the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n6smith Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 You could also try Logic's ensemble plugin and play around with the settings to help thicken up a single vocal... Or You could duplicate (maybe 2 or 3 times) the vocal tracks and use a combination of small amounts of delay in the lower part of the track inspector plus a very small amount of pitch changes by means of Logic's Pitch Changer II plugin.. (I sometimes automate the amounts to create a more random effect) on each of the duplicated tracks.. Also a little bit of pan left and right in balance... for each duplicated track helps thicken too... I also use this 2nd technique when working with acoustic guitars, strings or even simply synth sounds to help thicken up the overall sound too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev. Juda Sleaze Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Also a little bit of pan left and right in balance... for each duplicated track helps thicken too... Good tip, even play with hard panning. I must say though, personally I much prefer seperate layered performances to any sample delay trickery, except for synths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Layer more vocals. If the performances are tight enough it will thicken the sound. +1. Make sure the performances are super tight. The layered vocal could be pitched an octave up or down, or not. It could have a different sound, for example some distortion or ring mod, depending on the style of singing. It could be mixed way down to support the lead, or it could be mixed at the same level as the first vocal. There's no rule. I personally have never had success with just duplicating a vocal track and adding effect. I prefer to record a new nearly-identical performance, making sure every attack and note end is tight with the first performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RolandFan Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 When I can't get an actual double or triple tracked vocal, I can sometimes get good results doing the following: Set up an aux send with a tape delay. Take off the tempo sync and set the delay time form 10-20ms. Set the LFO rate fairly slow and the depth moderate (I know these are generic terms, but you'll have to play around to find the best setting for your vocal). Then use a low flutter rate with a moderate intensity. Adjust smoothing to taste. This works better than just duplicating the vocal and pitching it up or down a few cents. It creates more random, more natural pitch variations that will authentically thicken the vocal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnik Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Thanks a lot! RolandFan, your solution seems interesting, I will check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eriksimon Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 This free plugin offers a very simple solution: http://www.kvraudio.com/product/adt_by_vacuumsound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamlet S. Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 An octave is an interval, but I'm guessing it may squeeze by your 'no intervals' criteria. Layer 'em as high as your singers voice will allow! I heard a good tip recently about pitch shifting a vocal an octave artificially which is sent to a reverb. Mute the pitch shifted vocal and your left with only a sparkly reverb effect. I haven't trued this yet. But I intend to I'd record the vocals six times and route send to a stereo sub mix bus (and probably pack in a folder for nice house keeping). Put some dynamics on the stereo sub mix (that fabbled glue) and then mess around with each of the 6 tracks. Maybe use flex time to tighten it up. As n6smith said above, use the delay parameter in the track's inspector to push/pull a few milliseconds, although if you've got 6 takes you may need that less than if you're duplicating them same on. Also, pan the L&R (HARD!) and I'd even look at bit crushing one of the centre vocals a bit (keeping an ear on 'boominess' then). I've no idea if that'd suit your style or not tbh. After that all I'd say is..... be sure to save a little for the last chorus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnik Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Thanks everyone! I'm still on a biz trip so cannot try all tips you suggested, but hope to be back home soon, will grab my gear then, go back to my biz location and try all ways you suggested. Will report which one worked best for my mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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