How do you all track your vocals?

[dickiefunk]

Hi,

Thought I’d post this as I’m curious to know how people track their vocals? Does anyone still use external compressors and or eq’s I’m their tracking chain or just go preamp directly into interface?
Is there still and place for using external compressors / eqs etc for the tracking stage?

[Matt Houghton]

For my own voice just gentle compression. For others maybe EQ too but I'd usually try swapping the mic before that.

Yes 24-bit recording means you don't *have* to compress, but pretty much all vocals need some compression. Applying some on the way in means I start the mix with a better sound, it leaves me with less to do later, and it often makes setting up a good foldback mix easier too.

[Dave B]

You are missing an option - straight into the interface's mic pre. I don't bother with external pres these days. I do have one which is wired over sp/dif, but the psu went a few years ago and I can't be bothered to sort it out. My interface has Liquid pre-amps if I want colour. As for eq/compression ... nah ... again ... can't be bothered ...

[Jack Ruston]

It depends

I almost never eq.

I typically aim not to compress either, because I often want to ride the vocal into the compressor, and while thats perfectly possible with a consistent singer, it's easy to do odd things to performance that is less predictable. I also find that people tend to sing better if they're hearing something that's as close as possible to what they're doing...but

If there's a compressor available to me that's going to impart something really special, that I can't achieve later, then I will try that. A good example would be something like an EAR, that is just beautiful, but also unlikely to do harm.

If it's a full on rock thing, where the compression is very much part of the sonic signature, I will usually do a lot of Distressor, or perhaps 1176.

If I do compress, it's rarely set and forget.

J

[CS70]

Depends on what and how, but either I use the LA2A section of the 610, or directly the interface preamps, so I voted for both

[Drew Stephenson]

Mostly just straight into the interface, but occasionally, if i know i'm going to want to add some colour, I'll run a second mic through a little tube pre-amp.

[ConcertinaChap]

I've never done anything to the signal when tracking, just recorded it. This is mostly because I don't think I'm clever enough to do it right first time. I'd rather EQ/compress/whatever after the event where everything can be undone. This is despite the temptations of a UAD interface which make this sort of think very easy with its unison preamps and whatnot. Wish I was cleverer ...

CC

[muzines]

This is despite the temptations of a UAD interface which make this sort of think very easy with its unison preamps and whatnot.

You could always do some testing (or on a project) by recording two tracks at once, one completely dry, and one with a little bit of appropriate "colour" (project dependent of course), and see whether the benefits of running the signal through some processing on the way in is useful or not. Then you've always got the dry signal as a fallback and to compare with...

[John Egan]

Hi,

Thought I’d post this as I’m curious to know how people track their vocals? Does anyone still use external compressors and or eq’s I’m their tracking chain or just go preamp directly into interface?
Is there still and place for using external compressors / eqs etc for the tracking stage?

I've usually gone direct into the AI with no EQ or compression. However I recently bought a New Age preamp and have begun to use this. Still in the evaluation stage, though.
Regards, John

[ConcertinaChap]

You could always do some testing (or on a project) by recording two tracks at once, one completely dry, and one with a little bit of appropriate "colour" (project dependent of course), and see whether the benefits of running the signal through some processing on the way in is useful or not. Then you've always got the dry signal as a fallback and to compare with...

A good thought, though as I don't have two mics the same (not counting the SDCs) I wouldn't be able to completely eliminate that point of variation. Still, I'll probably try it. What's to lose?

Cheers,

CC

[muzines]

A good thought, though as I don't have two mics the same (not counting the SDCs) I wouldn't be able to completely eliminate that point of variation. Still, I'll probably try it. What's to lose?

No, I mean record the same signal on two tracks, but one copy going through the UAD processing on the way, the other dry. I would have thought you could set this up in the UAD control panel, but you'd have to investigate...

[ConcertinaChap]

Oh, I see what you mean. I'll have a look but I suspect not because the way the console app works is you insert the Preamp emulation at the very start of the "strip", as it were, before you can direct the signal anywhere else because sends come after preamps. I could maybe send a signal off to one of the virtual channels and put a preamp emulation on that, but then I might as well do that in Logic.

CC

PS happy as ever to take correction for anyone who knows better than me.

[James Perrett]

If I'm recording digitally I'll usually keep things flat - although I may use a high pass filter if I think there's too much unnecessary low end. If I'm recording on tape I'll use a compressor on fairly gentle settings and eq as I think necessary but nothing too drastic.

[Watchmaker]

I go straight through my pres, but they're UAD and I have tons of DSP so I'm usually putting them through the Neve1073 plug in and then in my DAW I have Console 1 across all inputs and can do whatever needs doing using the native SSL emulations. I usually record dry after the 1073 though.

[ore_terra]

I go straight through my pres, but they're UAD and I have tons of DSP so I'm usually putting them through the Neve1073 plug in and then in my DAW I have Console 1 across all inputs and can do whatever needs doing using the native SSL emulations. I usually record dry after the 1073 though.

Do you track through the console 1 emulations?

[ConcertinaChap]

Console 1 can control the UAD console app and as such can exercise some control over the UAD plugins when they're instantiated in the console app. However, so far as I'm aware the SSL emulation is native and can't be used when tracking. (Console 1 plus UAD make a very nice combination, BTW).

CC

[ore_terra]

I know... that’s why I’m asking

[Bob Bickerton]

I never use EQ or compression on the way in.

I record straight in using Audient or UAD pres and process in the mix.

Bob

[ConcertinaChap]

I know... that’s why I’m asking

True, but you're not the only one reading ( back ... )

CC

[CS70]

I've never done anything to the signal when tracking, just recorded it. This is mostly because I don't think I'm clever enough to do it right first time. I'd rather EQ/compress/whatever after the event where everything can be undone. This is despite the temptations of a UAD interface which make this sort of think very easy with its unison preamps and whatnot. Wish I was cleverer ...

CC

I’m all for recording flat but since I got the 610 and experimented a bit, I found that on my own vocals a little compression on the way in saves me time at mixing time. The thing is that by now I know pretty well how the ‘base’ sound should be and the compressor to gently work on the way I gets me there already. The LA2A is optical and sounds good almost no matter what tough. But when I record others, it’s flat all the way!

[Watchmaker]

Ore terra,

I do have several UAD plugins I can swap out on the Console 1 and I can put the Console 1 in either the input channel of my DAW or the track insert.

The way Studio 1 works is, if you have the plug in on the input, it'll record wet, if you have it instantiated on the channel, it's not recorded to the track though it is audible. So you can record the native emulations wet, depending on where you instantiate it.

It's a feature I like when trying to create ambience while tracking, yet leaving the flexibility to change my mind later, which happens often enough. I can commit by exporting a stem which also frees up the DSP resources for additional tracking.

[sifer2407]

If I track vocals with l22, no unison, sphere and daw. Lately mic, external pre, external compressor, (light compression) Apollo to daw.

[jaminem]

Depends on who im recording.
If they have god mic technique it'll be a test of which of my mics sound better into a Neve'ish preamp - I use an Avedis Audio MA5, but occasionally if I want aggressive its an API-a-like, straight in.
If they are a bit dynamic then I will subtlety compress - no more than 2db on the peaks using my Tubetech CL1-b

Very rarely eq on the way in, except this one guy I record who always has a harshness around 4K on his voice, so I'll duck that a little on the way in.

If I've never recorded someone before it's MA5>Tubetech just in case I get a great take that we want to use but they are dynamic/inconsistent in level.

[dickiefunk]

My MOTU 828es interface has pre converter sends which allows me to both record dry and with a compressor simultaneously into my DAW. I love having this feature. I pretty much always prefer the take with compression but it’s great to have the original dry take aswell.
The compressor I use is a modded Klark Teknik KT-2a (Kenetek T4b optocell, Harma Retro tubes and Alpha pots). I don’t use a lot of compression but like the way the KT-2a shapes the tone.

[jaminem]

Yeah I do a similar thing except I do it with a Slate VMS mic, so the singer is actually singing into 2 mics. the Slate goes straight into my RME interface. Then I have 2 options JIC