PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic Share you knowledge of 'hallmark' effects processing used on famous vocalists' voices

Cher: autotune
Tommy James: Tremolo (Crimson & Clover)
Jeff Lynn: ELO telephone voice EQ & Vocoder: Mr Blue Sky
Eric Burton : the animals: Phaseshifter (Sky Pilot)
Peter Frampton: voice box (Do You feel like we do)

Beatles: doubling... when it had to be done manually and without software to fix it.

These are a few examples of using FX on vocals. Doubling and layering is a commonly used practice and is probably evident on just about every artist's singing these days. It is one of the few fx that when done properly is really not evident as an fx but simply adds a fatter, fuller sound to the vox line. Same on the harmonies. If you can hear it clearly, you're probably doing it wrong. Not counting where there are background singing voices, but they are normally harmony, and not unison.

The other FX, I'm not saying you shouldn't use them, however, generally speaking, in most songs, yeah, it's not a good idea to use them.

Go for a clean vocal recording regardless of genre.

In another post here recently I commented a bit on the vocal recording. Often, folks who don't sing well, or think they don't sing well, often try to use fx to cover up and "improve" what they think is a less than good performance. The result is often the exact opposite and draws attention to the vocals rather than people simply getting into the singer's vocal qualities. In reality, most folks who can hold a tune fairly well have a voice that tends to work fairly well with a nice clean recording of their voice in a song.

Neil Young, Tom Waits, and a whole host of other singers are probably not in line for a "singer of the year" award based on their vocal abilities, but since we can hear their vocals clearly, we have come to appreciate their singing for the unique quality that they exhibit in their performances.

There are the occasional songs, which use a new or unique effect quite effectively. But even those folks don't generally repeat it. Frampton, didn't use the voice box on anything else to my recollection. Tommy James left the tremolo to the guitar players after Crimson & Clover.

Unfortunately, Cher used the autotune as did hundreds of others and now, you still hear it even in country music. T-Pain made a career out of it.

As I pointed out in the other post, I too used FX to cover up and disguise the lack of quality in my early vocals. Mostly using excessive reverb. It's incumbent on the home recording enthusiast to learn how to record vocals well. It's not the impossible mission, but it does take time and some experimentation. A good quality mic, a pop screen, a mic stand, and proper technique and some time playing with settings and levels. Sing close in for a warm and intimate sound. I'm generally with in an inch or so even on my condenser mic.

Singing without FX lets you hear what your voice really sounds like. Once you hear it, you can then work on the deficiencies you hear. But if you try to cover it with FX, quite simply, you can't fix what you can't hear clearly.

Another tool: Melodyne. This tool, when used properly and with the correct understanding, can actually give you the tools to become a better singer, and I'm not talking about using it to fix the bad notes. It lets you see what the note looks like and where your vocal inflections are taking that note. There's a really, really good chance that you are not even aware of what you are doing to your singing by means of the vocal inflections. It's the stuff that the vocal coaches hear and train you not to do. I haven't watched AI for the past few seasons but the folks in the final 12 get vocal coaches for each week, and that is what they do to transform the raw talent into polished talent in such a short time. Most people who sing for fun have developed bad habits. Fix those and you improve your skill level by leaps and bounds. But, as I said before, to fix the bad habits, you gotta be able to hear them and recognize them first.