This year I want to take Your Private Universe in a slightly different direction. Over the past 14 issues we have looked at con-ventional recording and processing techniques for a number of the usual instruments you are likely to record at home. I want to continue with recording and processing tricks in this coming year, however I am going to focus on much more unconventional methods that can help you to get some weird and wonderful sounds.
Making your recordings stand out in this modern world where there is so much competition can be very difficult and often you will need to try some very different techniques to create a ‘new’ and ‘exciting’ sound.
In this issue we are going to look at some unusual techniques for recording vocals. Once again, to remind you; when it comes to recording vocals, it is very dependent on the genre of the track as well as the particular feel you want. Some people prefer recording the signal very ‘dry;’ that is with minimal room ambience and other effects and then applying ambience and effects at a later stage. Others will try to get the desired sound in the recording process so little has to be done in the mix. Each approach has its pros and cons, but I will be focusing primarily on recording with the desired sound.
One very interesting and quite popular vocal recording technique is to record the vocal through a mega-phone; this will give you a filtered and slightly distorted sound somewhat similar to running a signal through both high and low pass EQ filters with some applied distortion. I would suggest setting up a dynamic vocal mic like the Shure SM58 about 15 cm in front of the megaphone.
There are a number of bands that have used this technique to great effect (Muse and Tom Waits to name just two). This technique can lend a unique sound to a vocal, helping to create emphasis on a certain phrase or part. Check out Muse’s cover of Feeling Good on their album Origin of Symmetry for a great example of this in action.
Another way of achieving a similar effect is to run a vocal through an electric guitar amplifier, apply tonal or distortion effects to the signal with the amplifier’s controls and record the signal back in. This will give you more control over the exact tone and distortion you desire, but will of course give a different sound than the mega-phone.
Another trick used by Tom Waits is to put a microphone at one end of a long PVC pipe and sing into the other end. This gives a very unique sound with an unnatural ambient character that can help your vocals to stand out. You can hear the effects clearly on his album Mule Variations. Of course Tom Waits has a unique style to his music so bear in mind these techniques are going to result in an unnatural vocal sound, but if you want something more unconven-tional they can be used to great effect.
There are almost endless ways you can get weird and wonderful vocal effects in the recording stage. Some other examples are to record your vocal through a Vocoder or to apply the much used Autotune to your vocals. The Vocoder will give you that synthesized sound that was first heard on Cher’s track Believe, and Autotune will give you the vocal sound synonymous with the Hip-Pop star T-Pain. These techniques however are nowadays considered to be a bit overdone and cheesy.
There is really no limit to what you can do to vocals to create the unconventional, just make sure that the vocal sound you settle on works well with the genre of music you are creating.
Written By : Jonathan Pike
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