So for the first time I am recording a live vocalist, just needed to hear what steps you guys take when you process a vocal...EQ, Compression Settings, Maybe some multiband? I really dont know, since I mainly use vocal samples in my tracks.....
All help is greatly appreciated. The vocalist I will be recording is R&B style, idk if that helps.....Im working on Ableton. Thanks alot.

 

To record vocal tracks, I never use digital processing for digital recording. Just get the best sound you can using your mic/room set up. I like to move things around, try different patterns, and tweak the impedance on the pre-amp, if I am using one.(I usually do) The pre-amp is the only processing the mic signal runs through. I just like to make sure there is no chance of a clip, and experiment. I do all processing in the mix. The singer needs a nice sounding mix in the headphones, and they probably like a little reverb and EQ on their voice in the headphone mix. I just want the best sounding combination of audio quality and vocal performance I can get on that track. Relative level adjustments, EQ, compression/expansion, effects, etc. all get added in the mix or processed into a copy of the track later. An experienced singer can help you cut down on things like "splosives" and sibilance. Recording human voice or a real piano are the two hardest things to capture in a satisfying way. But the better the recording, the less tinkering it needs later. If you are recording in a live environment and are only going to get one take, then a limiter is good thing to have to make absolutely sure you don't clip the track. Try different mics for different styles of singing, if you have the luxury. Whether to allow room ambience into the track depends on the sound of the room. For backing vocals, I usually don't want room ambience piling up, if I am recording them as multi-tracks.

 

EDIT: I didn't see Algae's post when I wrote this.. very much agree with what they've said. There's plenty of info out there about vocal recording techniques so definitely focus on that and worry about the processing later.


If it's your first time recording a vocalist then I wouldn't worry too much about your processing approach for now, focus on vocal recording techniques (you as an audio engineer) and production approach (you as a producer). No amount of processing can save a badly recorded vocal track.

Are you recording at a home studio? If so do you have acoustic treatment in your studio room? What sort of mic/pre-amp are you planning on using? Do you have a pop filter? Will you use a hardware compressor? Can you give the vocalist some "comfort" reverb without recording it?

As far as processing goes you shouldn't have to do much to a well recorded vocal to get it sounding great. A small amount of EQ combined with a healthy amount of compression is the approach most pro's take. A common vocal chain with starting points for the processing would be:

Saturation - Just a small amount of "invisible" saturation. Reduces dynamic range, increases RMS and audibility.. less work for the compressors.

Compression - Fast attack, fast release, high ratio.. set threshold to catch just the very loudest vocal peaks. This comp makes the second comp's job easier.

EQ - The main thing need here is a nice high shelf boost set low enough to boost some high mids as well. You may need to cut a frequency or two if you have some yucky resonances, one in the low mids (often from proximity effect) and one in the high mids should be all you need (if that). Don't go crazy with cuts as the vocal will start to sound unnatural and unpleasant. A high-pass filter will help clean up the bottom end before it hits the 2nd compressor.. around 90Hz should be a good starting point but it depends greatly on the vocal track and song/genre. If you want a bit more low end in the vocal try a boost somewhere between 100Hz and 200Hz.. you could also try boosting a low shelf at a similar frequency and then increasing your high-pass filter frequency. I personally use a low-pass filter as well, often set somewhere between 18k and 30k.

Compression - Medium attack, medium release, medium/low ratio.. set threshold to get average gain reduction of 4-10dB. You should be able to really slam this compressor.. again how much you want to depends on the vocal/song/style.

De-essing - The compression may have brought up some overbearing sibilance. Personally I like to combat this at the tracking stage or through manual editing/automation but a de-esser can be a quick fix if it's not too bad. Start with the side-chain detector set to around 6k and work from there.


Once you get that sounding great you can go nuts with reverbs, delays, chorusing, micro pitch-shifting etc.

 

.......44100 sample rate, 24 bit depht, recomended 96000 samplerate/ 24bit(set in your Live-Preferences-Audio or in your dedicated audio card driver) if you use vocal tunning(after recording) and to get near-to-analog audio resolution.

 

Get a good mic...

everything else is a bonus...

 

Sorry but that's not true, 96k is not necessarily "closer to analogue" than 44.1k.. that's not how digital sampling works.

Check out this video, it explains it very well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQ9IXSUzuM