| If you are producing a band that performs
their tunes, the lead vocalist will get in front of the mic to overdub the lead vocal,
performing much like the tune is performed in the club. This is really insufficient
for a record. |
| The vocal performance must "stand
alone" on it's own. If there is any small off-key note, the record doesn't have much
potential for repetitive air play. Listeners, hearing the record over and over, will
pick up on flaws and soon want to hear something else. That small flaw gets
overlooked in a live performance but will actually "stand out" on a
record. In addition, the recorded performance must be much more
"interesting" than the live performance. Again, the listener ONLY has the
audio to listen to and the standards are, therefore, much higher on records. |
| Over a series of overdubs you can easily get
a performance that is 1000% better. |
| Overdub#1: |
| This overdub you simply let the performer
perform the tune. This can make a "work vocal" that you can use for
reference while overdubbing lead guitars and other tracks. |
| Overdub#2: |
| This is the first serious overdub, where the
producer coaches the vocalist line-by-line, into a performance that has exaggerated
"feeling" and "delivery." I usually like to go between two
tracks so that lines can be tried different "ways" to see which came off
better. At the end of the session, run off a "composite" vocal of the best
performance between the two tracks. The singer takes home a copy of this run-off and
"practices" the vocal the way it was done in the studio. This overdub is
not likely to be good enough for a final vocal because it gets "dis-jointed"
from all of the punching in and punching out. |
| Overdub#3: |
| If the vocalist is good, you will get the
feeling and deliveryon this overdub more as a "performance" and you will require
less punch-ins. You watch for mistakes or "let-downs" in the performance
which are corrected by "punching in" the vocal. |
| If you are really lucky you have a final
vocal. Most likely, however, there will still be lines and sections that have to be
worked on more extensively. If you had a lot of punch-ins, you will want to try
another overdub. |
| Additional Overdubs: |
| You will want to repeat the process until you
can get a vocal laid down with a minimum of punch-ins and still having that "great
performance" on each line. |
| Final Overdub: |
| You should always try a final overdub after
ALL of the other overdubs are done. For this overdub get a real good mix that the
singer can sing to, and get inspired from. Most often, this final overdub will be
your best. |
| Conclusions |
| Producing vocals takes more time and effort
than your originally thought. The process described above will eat up over 12 hours
of studio time - but IT WILL be worth it. |
