I know that knowing how to work with audio and plugins is the secret and not the plugins one uses. Unfortunately as a musician (Piano and vocals) I totally lack the needed knowledge and experience to get the best out of my DAW.
I have already done a setup that works pretty OK (not even sure about this as it's OK to my ears and maybe not OK after all). But I have been always dreaming that a professional would setup my Vocal chain once and allow me to enjoy doing what I do best (playing music and singing).

But to get someones help, that person should come to my place or at least have my microphone. (As what I need mainly is correctly EQ'ing my MIC and adding compression)

Tonight suddenly an evil thought got into my mind! What if I remove all effects, EQ, Compression, etc and Just sing (or talk) with my microphone and record it! Anyone opening that audio file inside their DAW could make a vocal chain as if they had my microphone and material!?

Before going any further let me ask if what I think makes sense!? Can someone with a RAW audio sample of my singing be able to EQ and compress it correctly?

For information I use Studio One as DAW and here is the Vocal chain I'm using right now:

 

Last edited: Aug 14, 2022

Absolutely. That's what most home studio-ers do anyway. Record raw, process later.

 

if it wasn't the plugins, how else do you explain that little Fabfilter predilection you seem to have going on?

Without hearing, of course; this is how I almost always setup a Channel Strip using only FF plugins:

1. ProQ3, to tidy up as normal
2. Saturn - Saturation tape,etc
3. Pro Q3 - Subtractive EQ
4. Pro C2 - Compression
5. Pro Q3 - Additive/Sweetener Eq
6. Pro DS - if needed. Single Vocal, Wide Band. or other preset to start
7. Pro-MB if needed
8. Pro L2.

Quite simple. Timeless and Pro-R I almost always just put on a send/aux.

 

Last edited: Aug 14, 2022

Processing vocal is one of the hardest part of audio production, there's no such thing as Drum Producer, Bass Producer or Piano Producer but for vocal most of the the major label artist use this one specialist they call "Vocal Producer" (google Andrew VoxGod Belooki, Kuk Harrell, Jenna Andrews [BTS]) for the vocal part alone. It is so hard even a self-proclaimed "Mastering Engineer" like this one (video below) clueless about how to do it "correctly". Listen to how the vocal is better left unprocessed everytime he processed it, like a total noob. Also he is processing his own vocals, he should know better. lol.

To answer your question, yes anybody can do it, but the result may vary depends on how much of the song you gave them because it basically done in context not in solo. I'll guarantee you'll get better result by asking others to do it because from what I learn through these years, never process your own vocal because you actually don't know how you naturally sound (not through recording). What you hear is basically went through bone vibration etc etc etc. (another story for another day, complicated shit) plus all the psychological factor some more, bias and whatnot.

 

studios use different DAWs, different plugins,
you can't make own plugin chain and expect others to have those installed,
if you had great vocal technique, great songwriting, great arrangement, good microphone placement and good recording space, you wouldn't need whole chain of plugins at all

 

the fabfilter bundle is obviously installed. I would reorder them into something I felt more sensible. like moving Saturn before a reductive instance of pro q3. I will put my grilled cheese sandwich up against someone with the finest bag of random ingredients. because I have a stupid little recipe and they will be on youtube. the strip posted looks nearly random.

 

I really hope that's the way you are already doing your recordings.

The question is, if that someone uses different pluggies than you, how could this help?

but

, this depends too much on the song.

When editing your vocal recordings, you should distinguish between downward compression, upward compression, and leveling.

 

This may not be the wisest answer, but it's one I used to use in my recordings. Just slap a Waves CLA Vocals on your track. Find a preset that makes you feel good and move on. That is a fairly solid, produced sound that will give you the piece of mind to move on to the rest of your production until it is ready to be sent our for mixing (assuming your songs will be mixed by an engineer). It's not going to be your final vocal sound as you will want to send your dry track for mixing, but it's a hassle-free way to get a produced sound as a temporary measure. I say "used to use" because I'm out of the Waves world, for reasons that don't matter now. When I needed to wow clients for a preview of their recorded vocals on the session, that was my go-to plugin.

 

100%

 

Actually, more than worrying about a vocal chain that is going to be someone else's job as I understand your post, you might want to focus on get the most honest dry recording you can. No matter which microphone you have, I'm sure it's at least a decent mike. So is your audio interface. What you could look into is cheap or DIY ways to improve your recording environment if you haven't already done so. Things like drapes or a thick quilt behind you, a microphone shield, a pop filter, a sturdy mic stand that will reduce vibrations going into your take, a piece of carpet or rug on the floor where you stand. Those things will ensure the best take possible.

 

Thanks to all of you guys for your time and kind answers. I have read each carefully and will follow your advises.
The reason I got (am) little confused is maybe because of my microphone. It's an old Shure Beta58 connected to
a Steinberg UR44 Device. To my ears the raw recording sucks! RAW I need to set the input gain at 3/4+ to get a
descent volume and without EQ the sound is very bad. You would probably say that it's normal to add some EQ to
on any vocal chain, except that I have the impression that I have to add a lot to the high end of the mic to get a
clear and good sound. In non of the guides I could see anyone adding that much! So I wonder if I am doing it wrong
or my MIC needs Eq'ing in such way.
Here is how I have EQ'ed my MIC:




I know that without hearing it's impossible to judge! But doesn't it seem extreme just by looking.
Maybe what I needed even more help about is EQ'ing my MIC and not necessarily the full vocal chain.

 

And if you know that without hearing it's impossible to judge why don´t you just kindly upload some examples? Or the capture of the Pro-Q3 with the spectrum of the recorded voice? That curve with the +15 dB at the 14 KHz seems a little strange to me.

 

Last edited: Aug 15, 2022

The Best!!

This is a great truth, and I would say even ideal. But we are not always lucky enough to have someone else do it for us. If you have the money to do it, it is ideal. But you know, it is more and more often that everything is done by yourself, look at the vst "Auto", "Auto". We are moving away from working together to working individually.

I totally agree. After years and years of mistakes when recording with FX or Chains. I realized that the best thing to do is to leave the voice clean and in my case I process it at the end. It is the last "instrument" that I process. Besides, I consider it the most difficult instrument to "mold" to the mix.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Aug 16, 2022

I give you my opinion as a singer. For a long time I also used effects chain or plugins for vocals "Racks". But then your mind associates that chain (Eq, compression, etc) and when you hear the natural sound of your voice, it will seem wrong, because your ear got used to the chain or the rack.
My opinion is to record dry, with nothing. The best thing you can do is to have a good recording, a good take, nothing will beat that. If you put a chain on, you won't notice your mistakes. You are your first "vst", you know what I mean, if you have sung too soft, too loud, out of tune, etc. Plugins will only add to that. So I would tell you to always have your voice dry without effects, and put all the effects, once you like the way your voice sounds.

 

Too much gloss. You may be singing too close to the microphone and feel you need to increase the brightness, if you move away, you will get more brightness and less body. But as they said, without listening, one can only imagine. If you upload an audio, it will be better to notice.
You may also get the feeling that there is a lack of brightness, but that is not the case.

 

I hesitated to post this question for few weeks thinking that maybe my question would sound stupid. This happened to me before and I now figure out that the only stupid thing was to not ask! You can't believe how these answers were inspiring to me and what a great moment I spent today working a little after re-reading this thread.

@Ryck, Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts man. I did as you said today and removed the vocal chain (All effects, EQ Compression etc..) and started singing a song just to realize how all those plugins were preventing me to hear my mistakes and weaknesses! Already after a few takes the result was MUCH better and adding only two plugins (EQ and Compression) + a light reverb on the RAW recording I got the best result (better then anything I recorded before with my chain). This also was in a way a VERY bad experience, as I realized I need to work on my voice and fix all the bad habits I developed singing with the vocal chain.

YES! Exactly! This is how I sing most of the time. I almost have my lips touching the MIC when I sing.

I was just waiting and hoping that someone would ask me to do it. Didn't want to to be rude and send my voice asking you guys to check it out for me without an offer to do so! But if this is OK it would be a great chance for me to share a RAW recording and have it checked by you guys. I will record and upload a short audio this weekend