Dear audioz friends,
the singer that I'm recording has a normal voice, very simple...

I would like you to recommend me a way/system (or some plugs) to make his voice more interesting, with more character. I do not mean reverberation, delay or similars (I use them) but if you know a technique, a way to make some little change to the voice and make it more beautiful (without upsetting or destroying it) but always remaining in a tone and quality as Pop vocalist.

Thank you for your help and time.

 

Last edited: Aug 12, 2018

Try double-tracking. Make him sing the exact same thing twice (or more times). Then mix them to taste, and center them och counter-pan them to taste.

You can also layer the same vocal line with a take an octave above, and even beef it up with an octave below. Alto and falsetto. You can even double-track these as well and mix and pan them as you wish.

Sometimes I do whispers (double-tracked), and highpass these and counterpan them to create a really wide vocal. It can be helpful with somede-essing if you/he doesn't swallow the esses/ssh.

Also try to compress and/or saturate the highs (air-band, above 10k), like a Dolby effect. That can really add some sparkle to otherwise boring vocals.

 

Well, as long as you use a mic and a console/DAW and not a magic wand, I'd say shit in, shit out. You can't turn Freddy Krueger into Brad Pitt.

 

What Baxter and No Avenger said.

 

Hey @ElMoreno, as basically what you're asking is: "what all are the possibilities?" and the appearance is you have limited experience producing vocal, I would point you to the various (and numerous) instructional and tutorial vids out on the scene. Maybe query stuff like "recording", "mixing", "producing" + "vocals" on sister site. Start there and go hands-on with one or two "tricks" for yourself, to get a feel of taking tracking to the next step. Check out plug-ins. Always consider the intended mix as a whole.

Whether a singer is interesting to listen to is in their performance rather than quality of voice. The two, however, never show without each other. Often the answer to "how to produce" follows from "who commissioned the recording".

There are as many philosophies on vocal recording as there are producers, really always personal. So I would suggest you acquaint yourself with the characteristics of your particular singer's presentation, asking yourself, "Why do I like his or her sound? What in it is it, that appeals to me?" Essentially, make sure you discover the way of miking up that brings out that voice best without limiting your singer's perceived freedom. Work with a microphone you know well and like. Some singers record great with a standard studio mic in front of them, others cut their tracks with a hand-held Shure SM57! I have often used more than one vocal microphone at a time. One would be the "main" mike, a second would function to create (even slight) spatiality and allow processing in parallel with, yet separate from, the main vocal channel.

Lastly, please realize that especially where (excessive) processing is to be expected, it is important to record as reflection-free and generally "neutral" as possible. Not-too-close-miking should also be adhered to, at startout.

 

Last edited: Aug 12, 2018

Adding at all that has been said, which is right and utterly fine ; you can also add some distortion to the vocals at mix, as long as the recording path is a fairly clean one (clean mic, clean preamp and DA converter).

I could recommend this plugin, although it is heavy on CPU and need some testing and experimentations (maybe AS members could recommend other distortion plugins which could be good on vocals) :
Crimson (list price)
Crimson (one month fully functionnal trial)

You could also try this one ("free for all", Patreon supported if you can afford) :
airwindows Spiral2

Many vocals, depending on style and intention, have some kind of "pleasing analog distortion" on them, which add some flavour and character on them ; it's also a matter of taste, opportunity and circumstances.

 

Last edited: Aug 12, 2018

In descending order of importance in my defining treatise on the subject from my "Superliquid's Guide To Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Recording Vocals But Are Now Not Afraid To Ask, 6th Edition"...

1. Talent
2. Microphone
3. Room
4. Preamp
5. Quality of marijuana
6. Traditional Medicinals Organic Throat Coat Herbal Tea (amazing stuff to keep a singer's voice loose and lubricated)

 

One to 4 minutes sea water or commercial equivalent bath in the nose, for keeping a singer's voice loose and lubricated. 5 minutes later, the mechanics is ready to be employed (the mucus is cleared, resonators are cleared and ready to resonate).

Then, try to not make the singer singing more than one hour ; vocal cords are muscles, and they get tired. The voice could become affected and less expressive.

>>> And, IMPORTANT, ALWAYS RECORD !... As soon as the singer approaches the microphone, you must be ready to record and to miss nothing of what he is doing, especially the first tries. Say to him it is just for rehearsal and nevertheless record all. The first "rehearsal/tries" could be the best that you'll finally obtain.

 

Marijuana can only be recomended to heavy users.

To users less heavy, it will alter their performance and time + energy will be wasted.

 

Last edited: Aug 12, 2018

if you using Mac you can use text to speech !
it has tons of voices which you can download , then you can open text editor
then recored the "TEXT TO SPEACH"

after you can easy. using waves SoundShifter
and many others vst of waves to create the voice sound reallstic rather robotistic

or you can use this website
http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php

you can even recored word by word many words then creating for your needs sampler which will contain many words
then you can easy use it as your need .

 

Even the best MJ will significantly lower the bpm.

 

Both bpm of the song and the heart

 

Thanks to all of you audiozboyz for your advice and ideas.

I will try every technique that you have shown me to see which will give the best result and, if anything, even with the Mari...

So do not stop proposing if you imagine other tricks or plugs that could improve his voice...

Happy holiday

 

Last edited: Aug 16, 2018

Great suggestions here! The real point is you're asking "How to make a Hugo sound like a Ferrari"
Without a reference trak to comment on...your original comment is simply an opinion....its yours...entitled to it....but may be off
There is No magical plugin to create a magical voice in being .Its All in the ears of the Producer. Wat ur indicating is only your perception
of wat you think is and what should be. Garbage in ...garbage out simple....some of the biggest hits hav mediocre singers married with a great song, trak and production............

So aside from getting wasted..lol...not to knock the medications.Many of us here...either Are....or Should B
SO change the singer
or change the producer...
or spend the years to educate yourself in the overall process...
your choice...Good Luck

 

All the adages now being thrown in to the mix are summed up as, though not implying that your singer is no good, however...

"Garbage in, garbage out" as well as " You can't polish a turd".

The other thing to keep in mind is that the right microphone for one person may not be the right one for someone else. It is not about how expensive a mic is, an inexpensive mic may beat out a much more costly one. It has happened many times where a inexpensive one beats out the one you might want to use, but c'est la vie. If you have the ability to do a shootout, do so. If you can borrow or rent others, throw them into the fray and see which can help overcome the less than shiney character of your singer that you are not happy with. For example, sometimes a dynamic mic can work for a rock performance, sometimes even a small diaphragm works well for a particular singer.

It would be nice to hear your singer in action even if it is just a small clip so that we can better judge your need.