Recording - February 2016 - 18

Headphone mixes are a crucial element to help a vocalist perform at
his/her best. What tips can you give
our readers to achieve the mix that
will help a vocalist the most?
First, check the mix for the vocalist
using the exact same headphones and
amplifier they will be using. You cannot
assume that your mix or even your headphone mix in the control room is the
same as in the headphones in the studio. Second, make the mix sound like a
record if you can, but do it quick. There
are ways to transfer the control room
mix to the headphone sends. Learn how
to make that happen fast so you don't
have to re-create your mix.
If you can, make their mix separate
from yours, but give yourself a way to
quickly check what they are hearing. It
is very easy for the vocalist to get in
trouble by asking to hear too much of
themselves in the mix-to the point that
they can't hear the music well, which is
giving them timing and pitch reference.
In their mix, turn down or eliminate
instruments where the tonal center moves
in time, either because that is what the
instrument does naturally, or because of
an added effect. Those things can easily
throw off even the best singer's pitch.
That cool tremolo effect on your Rhodes
may be throwing off your singer!
Finally, give the vocalist the best
reverb sound that you have in your arsenal. EQ their vocal "post-tape" (that's the
return, not the input), compress it (a second compressor post-tape). Make them
sound great. If singers love the way they
sound in the headphones, they will give
you a killer performance every time.
Do more experienced vocalists need less
of your guidance in the studio, or have
you found that even the most seasoned
pros need a lot of your feedback? Can
you give some concrete examples?
The very best singers may not need
much guidance, and come prepared to
give you the perfect take on the very first
pass. In that case, you better be on your
best game, because you may not get a
chance to tweak anything! Those kinds
of opportunities come rarely, so it's best
to do your homework in advance.
That said, even the best vocalists will
want and need specific feedback. If you
ask the singer to give you another take,
you must be prepared to give them a
reason why they should sing it again,
and what you are looking for in the new
18

RECORDING February 2016

take. Singing is tough work! It is physically and emotionally demanding, so
don't take the person on the other side of
the glass for granted. Don't have them
sing a part again just because they can.
Pay attention while they are singing. If
you are doing both the engineering and
the producing at the same time, a singer
may give you a pass if you have to listen
again to a take to confirm what you think
you heard during the recording.... but
don't count on it. Listen as the take is
going down. Your sole purpose for being
there is to listen and give feedback-so
listen. If you love everything that you

How much do you rely on auto-tuning
technology and how do you use it so
that the performance is still as natural
sounding as possible?
I feel very ambivalent about it. I recognize its value in saving an otherwise perfect performance, especially on a live
record. When you listen to a live show
once, your ears are a lot more forgiving
than if you listen to a studio recording,
which you will listen to over and over.
Singers in particular are very sensitive to
this, since they have to live with their
performance for the rest of their lives
once the record is done.

hear, then great, but if anything genuinely bothers you, you are the one to bring
it up, and give specific advice on how to
give you what you are looking for.
When I was producing Seal's vocals for
"Lips Like Sugar", a song that ended up in
his Greatest Hits album, he came to the studio super-prepared. His first take left me
mesmerized. I had to step out of being the
huge fan that I am, and actually give him
feedback. Although his performances had
been technically perfect, I felt that there was
a way that he could make his vocals more
sexy. Having just met him, I was scrambling
for a way to say it politely. As I fumbled for
the right words, he got my drift. " Oh... you
want me to bring out the ladies' voice." He
nailed the very next take with a crackling,
whispery, almost spoken voice that in my
opinion made that record.

However, I do feel that tuning technology has allowed us to become both lazy
and accepting of singers that have not
worked on their craft as much as they
could, if they had the chance. At the
same time, it has raised our expectations
of every singer to deliver a perfect performance every time. That is not just unrealistic-it's impossible. I've had the opportunity to work with the best singers in the
world, and believe me, nobody is perfect
all the time. How could they be? We are
all human. One of the things I love about
old records is that you get to hear some
of the imperfections. That, and knowing
that when you hear a killer performance
of a vocal that is dead on, you know that
somebody somewhere sang that.
That said, let me also say that since the
advent of multitrack recording/overdubbing,

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