Interesting spaces…

My vocal booth is a very interesting space. After critically listening to the recordings aI did with my vocalist Willow, I can definitely hear the room. There is a reverberant space in the tracking, that on first listens, give the recording a warmth and adds to the openness. When the vocal sits in the mix with the other instrumentation it is not at all noticable. However, I am mindful of adding reverb to the vocal. I don’t want to wash it out with more spatialisation.

What I didn’t get a chance to do in our vocal session was record harmonies. Listening to all the straight takes Willow did I exported them all from the composite file to individual tracks. I spent a session trying to combine different versions of the same phrase, to build a harmony section. This did not turn out so well, as there was too much difference in each take to comp a believable harmony together. Instead I found a few phrases I wanted to use and duplicated them. I had three copies, centre left and right. I then spent a session using plugins and eq to make a harmony section.

I used Waves Vocal Bender to change the pitch up a 3rd or down a 5th for the left and right copies. I left the centre at normal pitch, but added effects and EQ. The Vocal Bender also has a formant control that enables fine adjustment over the harmonics. It took out some of the more nasal sounding artefacts when transposed.

I’ve added some accent reverb and delay for interest at key transitions in the arrangement to different instruments (and sparringly on the vocal). I’m sure I will go over them and adjust as needed when I spend more time on the mix and less on the arrangement. At the lead min to bar 25 there is a 4 beat dynamic drop of percussive sounds to allow the African Sabar (drum) sound to hit on its own. I have added a rising heavy reverb sound to the hit, allowing it to linger through the minimal soundscape unto the drop of the next bar. I have employed a similar tactic to the end of the vocal at bar 48 that leads into the drop and faux chorus of the track. On the last vocal part the reverb is applied to linger through to the end of the track.

Im still not sure if I am happy with the shaker. Howerver the more I work on it the less confident I am becoming with the sound.

Thankfully I use Logic’s built in version control for saving alternative versions of changes I make to the track. I always know where I am and can go back and hear original or unprocessed versions.