Avoiding Dull Vocals | FAQ Friday - Warren Huart: Produce Like A Pro

[@INTOTHEFOLD]

Warren, the more I think about it, the more I feel like this is the best audio engineering channel on KZbin. You always give great advice and it's always very specific and practical. Thanks man!

[@Producelikeapro]

Wow!! Chad!! Thanks ever so much!!

[@TheDaveDodsonProject]

I have a couple of got to channels on YT and Warren is the first one on my list! Most of the other channels are friends of Warrens so that tells you something also.

[@jamesyanks7460]

I really needed to hear this. Sing it when you are in it. The essence of the song.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much for the great comment James!

[@xaosnox]

For the people who asked about the sibilance, you don't really need to worry about it now that Chris Johnson at Airwindows wrote DeEss (donationware). It recognizes the waveform characteristics of sibilance and smooths it out WITHOUT employing a multband compressor that will affect everything in that frequency range. Priceless plugin. I crank it all the way up as the first plugin in the chain on any FX sends for the vocals, and I put just enough of it as an insert on the track itself. I crank that one up all the way as well, and mix in some of the dry signal until it sounds totally natural. (This is really easy in REAPER as it has a wet/dry knob for every plugin. I remember doubling vocals for the first time when I did my first album for Shrapnel Records. Thing was, the producer wanted them doubled without it sounding like they were doubled, so, if I was lucky, I'd get a daily to take home so I could memorize what I'd done so I could duplicate it exactly. If I wasn't lucky, I'd just get to listen to a couple of lines, then have to do it. It was pretty grueling, but the results were great. No one had any idea the vocals were doubled. Doing an exact replication of songs that had melodies that stretched four and half octaves and some incredibly long note holds was tricky, but it really got me ready for the road. We had no Melodyne, no Pro Tools; only talent. Those were the days!

[@xaosnox]

12:26 regarding de-essing. FabFilter Pro-DS used to be the best solution, but DeEss from Airwindows has revolutionised de-essing-and it's donationware. Rather than just being a dynamic compressor that kicks in and squashes everything in the range that you've set, it actually recognises the waveform characteristics of the harshness of sibilance and smooths them out without attenuating the sound in that frequency range, so all the brightness is preserved. Only the harshness is tamed. I had always wondered why no one had done that. It's very easy to see sibilance in a waveform, so I couldn't understand why no one had made something that approached de-essing in that way. I switched to REAPER several years ago, so what I do is crank DeEss all the way up so it sounds totally lispy, then I use the wet/dry setting that REAPER has for every plugin, and bring in just enough of the dry signal to restore enough sibilance to sound natural. Also, I'll duplicate the track, remove the copy from the master send and route a completely DeEssed version of the vocal to an FX send for reverb, delay, or anything other effect that makes sibilance problematic. It's an amazing plugin. It's amazing on cymbals, too. Chris Johnson publishes his code for anyone to use, and about a month after he came out with DeEss, Waves released their "Organic Sibilance" plugin that is a complete rip off of his code. They could at least have given him credit for it! Anyone with a conscience should boycott Waves for many reasons, the biggest of which would get me banned from KZbin if I posted it here. (I boycott Avid, too, but just because Pro Tools is a piece of garbage which hasn't done anything innovative enough to get anyone to want to upgrade, so they force the Avid tax on their users through a subscription model and artificial limitations.)

[@brunoprates1694]

R.I.P. master Dunlop. Thank you for your constant knowledge sharing

[@Producelikeapro]

Yes, agreed Bruno!

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Friends! Thanks ever so much another fine load of marvellous Frequently Asked Questions! I really enjoy talking about vocal mixing and vocal recording. Yesterday we lost a great in our industry, Jim Dunlop who many ion us know from not just Guitar Picks but of course for the Cry Baby Wah Wah which he pushed into the mainstream! R.I.P Jim Dunlop!

[@darlenesheffield9835]

Amazing information !! Keep up the great work !!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Darlene!

[@jarrodottinger3]

Warren, your passion and excitement for creation and engineering are absolutely contagious! Thank you for all the work you put into making your videos. They are a treasure trove of information and experience. Blessings, my friend!

[@Producelikeapro]

Jarrod Ottinger thanks ever so much my friend! That means a lot!

[@AntonioRockGP]

About the dull vocals question. I use dynamic eqs a lot for that. TDR Nova is a great free one ;)

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks Antonio for sharing your insight!

[@yobhsiFehT]

27:06 Fun fact: Schnizzleton is actually the name of the village where Warren was born.

[@Producelikeapro]

yobhsiFehT hahaha yes! Busted!!

[@danielperkins4610]

Warren, be blessed!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever son much Daniel! You Rock my friend!!

[@halcyonstar]

Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us. And RIP Jim Dunlop.

[@Producelikeapro]

Yes, RIP Jim Dunlop! I'm so glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren

[@halcyonstar]

@@Producelikeapro Thanks, enjoy your day in the studio!

[@TheeSeer]

I'm sure that Warren is often faced with making the most from many Vocalists that are simply dull but the darlings of a pop trend. Another challenge is making the best from Vocalists that have remarkable voices. Then he faces the lack of cohesive cooperation of band members and that's why Warren is on top of every angle in the book and is great at saving the day. His best "Trick" I am happy to say, is to simply get a flat rendition of a song first, and then build from there. Since I am "Old School" for me that is exactly where the adventure must start and did so even in the days of black knobs and no sliders. My tech knowledge is meager but having been lucky enough to work on the A&R side and singing when I could mostly for fun I am positive that anyone that uses Warren will not be disappointed.

[@DerrekVanEaton]

You are sooooooo spot on with your talk about getting the emotion of the feeling in the vocal when it's there !!! At the most vulnerable time for the singer... Even if the song is not complete even in the writing... I feel that the main writing is done after 8 bars even... Cause the song is a transfer of your most strongly felt emotion that brought you to finding the need to bring it to the sound of the emotion !

[@Racingheartrecords]

Great advice on using DeEssers! In a similar vein, I've been using the TDR Nova dynamic EQ to control low mids like a DeEsser. As a result, the vocal normally sounds warm and the proximity effect, perhaps from some missed mic technique, is controlled when it's excessive.

[@thomasmichaelmerkli982]

I liked all what you said, but the part about the dynamics of younger singers was so, I mean sooo awsome. Thank you so much.

[@JUNIORT879]

I love his picks it's one of the best picks for gripping...I would always look for them first

[@TanzilHasan]

Thank You, Thanks for being an amazing mentor :)

[@Producelikeapro]

Tanzil Hasan aw shucks thanks ever so much my friend!

[@michaelarthurmusic307]

Excellent FAQ Friday. Once again I learned a Schnizzleton.

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha thanks Mike! Glad to be able to help my friend and that it was a Schnizzleton!! hahaha

[@NacekO]

Lewitt LCT 440 Pure, let me tell ya. Cheap mic for us budget guys, but man it sounds great. And the best part, it's not super bright so the S-es aren't to bad. But DeEssers are pretty standard in every vocal chain. Also studio monitors (decent ones) are designed to let you know that something is annoying in the sound. Things will not be as harsh on consumer speakers.

[@peterbrandt7911]

Hey PLAP-Team and Warren, thanks again. I have to repeat myself, again worth any second watching.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ev er so much Peter!

[@jefffehr2468]

Thank you ever so much Mr Huart!! Always so in depth, marvellous teacher!! RIP Jim Dunlop

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Jeff!! Yes, agreed RIP Jim Dunlop!

[@1gammis]

Love working around the vocals. The thing about recording when you're in the feeling is so vital... I'm really gonna take these advices to heart. THNX!

[@chrissoderlund1383]

In the S and P's on vocal.. the air from the mouth is pushed out and downward.. I have had nice results adjusting the mic slightly above the upper lip of the vocalist. Eliminates the S's and P pops, without having to back off normal distance or thinning. Ive not tried the pencil trick. Defo give it a go next time to mix things up

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi chris soderlund thanks ever so much for sharing your experience and insight!! I really appreciate it

[@lahattec]

Shnizzle-ton! Next T-Shirt... "Produce Like A Pro - Learn a Shnizzle-ton!"

[@Producelikeapro]

Clay LaHatte haha yes!

[@elftone9301]

I would buy that T-Shirt!!

[@splashesin8]

Thanks Warren, this helps with the very dynamic stuff. 🙂

[@Producelikeapro]

You're very welcome Audrey!!

[@LeadingMotive]

Very interesting tips, thank you Warren! One point I've come to disagree on is using early vocal recordings. This is probably a matter of personal workflow. In my projects I do record guide vocals as soon as possible, but then use them to learn, rehearse, and try to improve. I compare this to the situation when a singer manages to achieve a better live rendition by re-singing a song countless times and finally outperforming the original studio recording. But of course everyone's flow will be different.

[@6stringks]

Thank you Warren, it is always nice to know some background knowledge. At the same time It makes it also always very clear to me that I would make my final recordings only with a Pro like you are. Nice to create and record ideas at home..but when it is time to record it...it should be Warren Huart time. :-) I really like your approach. Cheers, Angel.

[@Producelikeapro]

You're very kind my friend! I really appreciate it!

[@TheLeon1032]

my favourite shnizzle on any video, its all in the delivery and the performance))

[@midiman5045]

Warren thanks for the video. Great advise and always appreciated.Have a great weekend my friend.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Midi Man!

[@MartinLuxen]

Thank you Warren! Great questions and tips as always! Have a great weekend!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Martin! You Rock my friend!!

[@rick4electric]

The best recording advice!

[@Producelikeapro]

Glad to be able to help my friend!

[@LeonPhythian69]

I go in and individually cut the S' in the take and bring the clip gain down first and make sure that the crossfade doesn't make the S' sound unnatural. Terribly overly excessive but I think it sounds better.... some times :)

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Leon Phythian I agree 109%! I do the same! Sometimes there is substitute for putting in the extra effort!

[@mattd7650]

I believe I got it from Dave Pensado, but you can go in a cut the clip gain on just the "s" a little to keep them from striking the compressor so hard. I find it does help if I have a really excessive S.

[@espenstoro]

And with dynamic vocals in general, better than flattening with a compressor from the start, if you weren't able to ride the gain during recording.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Matt, yes, I definitely gain down 'Esses' and 'Tees', however I was addressing the overall 'harshness' of a vocal in particular!

[@PharaohLawLess1]

Learned something new again. Thanks for making this video

[@Producelikeapro]

Fantastic! I'm so glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren

[@thatAdamW]

Hey Warren, hope all's well with you sir. Was just wondering if you've ever worked with any artists/musicians who you didn't really like or whose music you weren't that keen on (not looking for any names obviously). If so I'd be curious to know what your reason was? Was it simply the money, perhaps it was the opportunity to work with a high-profile artist to raise your own profile, maybe you have a fear of saying "no" to work in case it all dries up or perhaps you had another reason. Cheers for all the awesome videos; you're so giving of your time and experience. We all appreciate it.

[@kelvynification]

Good energy today... chuckled a lot. Thanks! Oh and your relaxed natural maven qualities are a boon wether one is a pro or noob.

[@ShiningHourPop]

Super FAQ Friday again. Thanks Warren.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much my friend!!

[@aleksanderdjuran8010]

Hey Warren, I asked this on one of your livestreams but it was a bit cluttered so I figured I'll ask here aswell. I'm currently deciding between the Kali LP-6es and the Focal Alpha 65s as my new main studio monitors. I figured since you have experience with both companies you could give me some very informed advice and lord knows I need it. Thanks and great work as always!

[@MarkHolden73]

You've up the game with the video quality as well. A noticeable difference to match the advice.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Mark Holden thanks ever so much my friend!!

[@nathanbieber2840]

RIP Jim Dunlop!

[@Producelikeapro]

Nathan Bieber yes, very sad to see the names we grow up with leaving us.

[@ryKirwan1]

Great tribute to Jim Dunlop. Right on Warren!

[@espenstoro]

How about mixing your own vocals? I don't know about everyone else, but I become super critical and keep tweaking for ages. So hard to judge what's good or not.

[@brianblackwood3120]

Give yourself a timeline And if it’s not where you want it leave it. If I don’t get something after about 5-6 takes, it’s getting put away. Save what you do and make sure you have plenty of honest feedback

[@claudius3124]

Thanks again Warren and team for another round of FAQ. As always, great content! :-D

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Claudius thanks ever so much my friend!!

[@ajaikhalsa5118]

Thanks! Great Advice. I was just working on a song where I kept trying to re-record the vocals. I could not capture the same feeling I had in some of the earlier takes.

[@neovxr]

haha now I have an idea when you are gain riding on the hardware preamp. there are those gain rider plugins, Waves has a popular one. you can record a typical take (given the singer is so reliable) without touching the hardware. have your gain rider plugin create midi data for volume control. then, plug some hardware automation motor on the preamp input knob, and route it to the midi data that was generated. (also there should be lots of shnizzle stuff out there for robotics students who want to automate a rotating axis) use some midi tech tool plugin to have a shift and scaling factor. you might edit the midi data a little bit. but then, you can record many more takes with the preamp unattended. does anyone do this already?

[@darrenross9168]

Hi Warren, so very sad about jim Dunlop, thanks for these great tips, all the best Darren Ross.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks for your great comment Darren!

[@ollie4859]

Thank you so much Warren! Greeting from Canada! I learned so much, thank you for sharing your knowledge! Thank you!

[@mellobotstudio]

Always with the best videos. Thanks man!

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha thanks ever so much!!

[@Ashtunes90]

Thank you so much for this! So much invaluable advice for someone trying to record their own songs.

[@adamfox9651]

I like the idea of riding the gain while recording vocals, but it's hard to do when you're recording yourself singing. I guess I'm gonna have to exercise more self-control when I sing. However, I'll definitely try it next time I record my bandmate "singing" backing vocals.

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Adam, absolutely! Great stuff! Try out the technique and let me know how you got on my friend!

[@3rdStringMusic]

Thanks for giving us tips and being our mentor😎

[@Producelikeapro]

You're very welcome! I'm so glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren

[@phil42069205]

Great video and excellent advice. Keep it up sir.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much my friend!

[@darlenesheffield9835]

Amazing information !! Keep up the great work !!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Darlene!

[@pnldk]

Nice faq friday Warren, bravo! 👍

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Peter!

[@bboymac84]

I learned a lot in this one. I think I may Join the Academy

[@Producelikeapro]

Wow! Thanks ever so much

[@jellybelly18]

Love your stuff. Recording now, you've helped me so much!

[@bartoniusz]

As always, great advice. However, I'm a bit skeptical about "being in a moment" recording because you can easily confuse it with demoitis. Anyway, it's good to know how it works for you.

[@Kleyver]

As usual, great great video Warren!! It´s imposibble not to learn a lot from your videos.

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much my friend!!

[@corbyvinson1175]

I need to save up for more proper mics and black shirts. I just have an inexpensive dynamic mic that I have had for over a decade and I have an AKG P420. They get the job done but I'm really just getting my feet wet in producing vocalists. I have always just written and produced instrumentals. Again, thanks so much for what you are doing. I have learned a lot since I have subscribed.

[@wangodan]

Hi Warren, Lyrics Sheets would be a great addition to the Multitracks in the Academy! Cheers, Daniel

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Daniel! Very interesting my friend! I wonder who could take up the mantel of writing them?

[@wangodan]

@@Producelikeapro Well, I hope that the singer has one when they come to you, like the one showed in the video. If archives are available, I hope it can be included in future Multitrack releases. I asked one for the "Photo" song from David's course, under the interview video, hope it exists!

[@sarahtonin4649]

Your lyric sheet with comping notes looks just like mine. Stars and circles and parentheses. Pretty high tech. 😁

[@metrx808]

right on time , just had to mix some dull ass vocals 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha great!! I'm so glad to be able to help! Have a marvellous time recording, many thanks Warren

[@shestudiossheila7423]

Excellent info on vocals!

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much Sheila! I really appreciate it!

[@artist1303]

HI Warren, I've been learning from you and the academy for 3 years now and I finally felt confident enough to record my first gig! I will be working with a 4 piece country rock band with two of the members in the rock hall of fame so I would say they are professionals. :) I will be tracking 12 songs live in a studio using all my gear minus the instruments of course, also overdubbing vocals later, mixing and mastering the album. I quoted them $150 per song do you think that's an ok price?

[@dansands6363]

That TEC award looks good sitting up on the Kali. Now you just need a second one for the other side! ;-)

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha yes, indeed Danny!!

[@royglennie]

I'd be happy to vote for that one too!

[@rickdeaguiar-musicreflecti7692]

Beautiful advice. Thank you, Warren :)

[@sirdaveandre]

Veeeery good FAQ Friday! :)

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Dave André you Rock!!

[@carljohanthore]

Great video, as always! Thank you so much for sharing! In the song "Young and Restless" the background vocals have a kind of "twisted, tuned, compressed" vocal sound? What is the technique behind that sound? Best Regards / CJ

[@Beatledave7]

Hi Warren, love the faq Friday’s! Apart from myself, I’m sure a lot of your other followers would like to know how you go setting your mic pres when they’re included in your audio interface such as the Audient you’ve used? Are you able to juice up the mic pre to near top level while still recording conservative level in your DAW? My mic pres are included in my audio interface, and the level the DAW records is set by the level of the mic pre coming out of the audio interface, ie, I can’t independently set the level of mic pre & record level of the track in the DAW.

[@Kevin-vq6rv]

If you don't have very high-quality, state of the art mic pre's and ADDA converters, then don't print a super hot signal. I highly doubt that squeezing every nano-bel out of your mic pre will translate in a sonically better recording. Actually, it's quite the opposite, really. I recommend that you record at an average of -12dB or even -14dB instead. To answer your question, if you don't have the possibility to insert hardware in the front end, you cannot trim the pre-amplified signal. Look on your interface if there is a "send & return" connection. If you have multiple inputs and outputs on your interface you can create an insert in your DAW. This means that you have an extra ADDA stage, but that's not really a problem nowadays. Hope that helps.

[@Beatledave7]

Kevin Thanks but I think you’ve misunderstood the question. I’m not talking about printing a super hot signal. Warren said he likes to run his pre hotter, I’d like to know how he does that without it also being too high a level going onto the track. Perhaps he only does this when using stand alone mic pres going into a separate audio interface. Appreciate your tip about inserting something to the signal path to knock the level down but prefer not to. It also sounds like you’re assuming I’m using a less than high quality mic pre/audio interface.

[@tyschuby]

I love Adele. Great tip

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks Tyler!!

[@db_shazamb2912]

Keep on keepin' on good sir! Feed the world : )

[@rlbradish]

Lot of gold nuggets today

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi Bob! Thanks ever so much my friend!

[@hotjamsm07]

Schenelzeton......nice word.

[@Producelikeapro]

James Watson haha yes, indeed!

[@Shadowsreach1]

Great video and info! Thanks ! Are you not using the Focal monitors anymore? Thanks again!

[@ThinBlueLaneRVLife]

Happy Friday!

[@corbyvinson1175]

I'm curious about normalization. I have seen it used before but I dont quite understand the reason behind using it versus gain. I was playing a soft finger picked guitar part and out of curiosity, I clicked normalize track after I finished recording itand it shot my volume up 10 fold. When should it be used and why?

[@cookieeclipse]

Excellent video, top notch content!

[@EmperorKamikaze]

Towards the end of the video, je describes "riding the gain knobs" during very dynamic performances. Yall know about automation, right? This is Manual automation, to print.

[@MetalBastards666]

VERY NICE ! Warren

[@anonagain]

Thanks for another helpful video Warren! You've been looking a bit tired lately - how long has it been since you've taken a week off? I'm guessing never. ;) Take care of yourself, ok?

[@amateurmusicstudio]

Thank you

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much!! You Rock!

[@richmillerofficial]

Excellent tips and ideas, as always. Have you done or can you do a segment on dealing with squeaky acoustic guitar string noises? I've tried surgically removing them by automating the volume and I've tried EQ adjustments, but nothing seems to work. Sometimes the squeakiness occurs as the guitarist is intentionally sliding into chords or notes, so the volume adjustments don't work because they impact the notes that need to be heard. And I can't seem to find a frequency (or frequencies) in the EQ spectrum that really tame the squeaks. How do you handle it? Can you give an example?

[@vladjones2446]

richm99 Try a Desser on it?

[@richmillerofficial]

I did not, but I tried EQ and would have automated it just where I needed it, which is essentially the same as using a deesser. @@vladjones2446

[@amateurmusicstudio]

Так и быть - Subscribed

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much!!

[@int3533]

Thank FAQ it’s Friday

[@mrmaramind]

Can you do a video on doing vocals on old school punk vocals and/or industrial vocals? Can’t find any.

[@michaeltablet8577]

Thank you so very much for sharing your gifts of music, recording and teaching with us. I watch a lot of videos because I am trying to learn but your videos are the most fun. Your passion makes all the difference. Blessings to you and your family.

[@adammartin7007]

Hi Warren, if you produce and co-write with an artist in your studio and it gets optioned by a major label for release, who owns the recording? Does the label acquire the master recording, or do they lease it from you?

[@gr328]

It's all in the moment :)

[@Producelikeapro]

Yes, indeed my friend!

[@RegisBladeStudios]

I run a karaoke show and mic technique is important to me ...... very VERY rarely does anyone else show any real mic technique even the really REALLY good singers. So I use a shitload of compression live.

[@windowsoflife]

Warren, great stuff here! Thanks. What’s your take on the AKG Solid Tube mic for vocals?

[@lahattec]

What did you do with the Focals?

[@estacadugan]

You look like a DJ on your Bae1073. Nice

[@PerryNunley]

WOW! Thank You

[@sounzzbyhecking4485]

Ever tried NOT to drum along the guitar mute-strums of the PLAP opening jingle with your fingers? Absolutely impossible...

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha thanks ever so much!

[@edwincrain986]

I remember my first cry baby...So sad.

[@edwincrain986]

Loved the cry baby btw.

[@Producelikeapro]

Amazing pedal!!

[@Producelikeapro]

@@edwincrain986 me too!

[@ryangunwitch-black]

Ima just put that Drip plug on everything. It’s gonna be fine.

[@BlissfulSample1]

I really like you man. ( No pun indented) Would LOVE to work with you. Seem like a great personality. Keep up the great vibes and videos. Blessings

[@clinterz]

Much prefer the faster paced, direct answer, no guitar noodley, approach used for this FAQ episode.

[@Producelikeapro]

Haha ok Keith! Glad it was to your liking my friend!

[@gourmetwaters6916]

I'm gonna listen to this a few times. Thanks mate (^n haha)

[@Producelikeapro]

Thanks ever so much

[@royglennie]

Warren sorry I have not had much chance to take part in many of your live streams lately! Sad to hear about Jim, as you said an inspiration to many many guitarists! Question for you - your live drum room doesn't seem particularly 'treated' acoustically in the technical sense - what have you done to keep it sounding good for recording? For example I know you've done vocals in there too and they don't seem to suffer from the normal problems people always say come with recording in bedroom sized spaces. Thanks as always!

[@Producelikeapro]

Hi royglennie Marvellous question my friend! Yes, I have some very basic acoustic treatment and of course I have a huge amount of things in here which stop any potential standing waves!

[@royglennie]

@@Producelikeapro Excellent, thanks Warren. My recording space is also small-ish but I too have a lot of 'stuff' (translated by my wife as junk haha) which I do think helps even things out a bit. I remember someone talking about Linda Perry's studio having one shelved wall filled with drums and amps etc etc and it sounded amazing! Thanks as always!