EQ Magazine - July 2008 - (Page 36)

VOCAL CORDS can do the entire track. Adding portamento gives a singer a natural pitch transition and feel at the beginning of every phrase. In the areas of the vocal where vibrato is lacking, I can increase the amount present by using the Pitch Modulation tool, and if the vibrato is completely wild, I can easily gain control of it using a combination of the Pitch Drift tool (which keeps the pitch from drifting all over the place) and the Pitch Modulation tool (which will help increase or decrease the actual amount of vibrato). By now the vocal is sounding really good, and the only thing left for me to do is make adjustments to the actual timing of the singer’s performance. Once again, because our demo singer had such a great performance, the easiest way to breathe life into a dead vocal is to edit its timing to match the rhythm and phrasing of the guide vocal. Melodyne makes this easy with its time-editing tools. This process can be looked at as quantizing without a grid, because instead of using bars and beats as a sync point, I use the demo vocal as the guide. One note at a time, I use the Move Notes and the Edit Time Handle tools to inject a little more feeling into the lead vocal. To move notes, all I have to do is hold the option key, click on a note, and adjust it to match the yellow blobs in the background. When the length of a note is too long or too short, adjustments can be easily made using the Edit Time Handle tool (see Figure 2). Once this tool is selected, a blue horizontal handle appears on every note of the vocal. To adjust, you simply grab one end of the handle and drag it up or down to lengthen or shorten the end of a phrase. I find that if you take your time, and truly explore the depth of this program, you can make naturalsounding miracles happen. THE CHASER Once I get the lead vocal to my satisfaction, the last thing I like to do before exporting it back into Pro Tools is create what I call a “chaser”—a software instrument triggered by the MIDI information that provides support to a thin or emotionless performance. The chaser could be created in Melodyne, but I prefer to create my chaser in Pro Tools or Logic. After importing the vocal into Pro Tools, I route the track’s MIDI information to a virtual instrument of choice. Now, I can choose a patch, and—just like that— have a software synth playing along with my lead vocal. This is a very effective way of adding additional energy and emotion to a vocal. Of course, it’s important to pick a synth sound that has a similar tonality to the pop star’s voice so it can go almost undetected in the mix. Improve your sound without practicing! The GRAMMA (Gig and Recording, Amp and Monitor, Modulation Attenuator) is an incredibly effective patented device that’s used to ﬂoat an amp or loudspeaker. GRAMMA yields nearly total acoustic isolation, resulting in a purity of tone that has to be heard to be believed! You may still need to practice, but using this device will deﬁnitely enhance your sound. www.Auralex.com | 1-800-959-3343 | Total Sound Control m 36 EQ JULY 2008 www.eqmag.com ® http://ww.Auralex.com http://ww.Auralex.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - July 2008

EQ Magazine - July 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Louis XIV, Four TET and Steve Reid, Can Your Record Go Gold in the Digital Age Tool Box Death Cab For Cutie Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Propellerhead Reason 4 Sony Acid Pro 6 EDAX Audio Labs VTP-100 M-Audio Profire 2626 Tape Simulator Shootout Tape Simulators Sounds Room With a VU: Infrasonic Sound Recording Company, Los Angeles, CA.

EQ Magazine - July 2008

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