Vocals Mono vs Stereo?

[Goldtop75]

I have my vocal part recorded in Mono. I guess because that was some advice given to me at a prior time. There was no reasoning why it was kinda just do it advice. To be able to have a FX vocal of whatever you wanted, does it have to be recorded that way or can you add the FX on playback? Also, do you record vocals in Mono or Stereo and why? Thanks for any help

[serr]

In music mixes it's typical to record a vocal in close mic'd mono. The idea is to have the voice isolated to let you produce the space it's in (with reverb, room sound, fx, etc) with intention after the fact. The production you create for the stereo or surround mix is where spacial elements come from. Anything from a realistic room reverb sound to the voice spinning 360 deg around the room in surround sound.

On the other end of the spectrum...
Sometimes you make a live stereo recording of an event. Maybe a live acoustic performance that includes voice. Here the intention would be to capture the event as it sounded live.

There's all kinds of in-between of course. If it sounds right, it is right.

But it's usually done the first way to make it easy.

[nicholas]

Originally Posted by Goldtop75

To be able to have a FX vocal of whatever you wanted, does it have to be recorded that way or can you add the FX on playback?

In most circumstances I would advise against recording a vocal with FX, basically because if you later don't like it, you'll be stuck with it. One notable exception could be applying a limiter to prevent clipping. Although this is no substitute for setting levels correctly.

It's more common to add FX to the track later (via ther track or item FX chain) - you have then as much flexibility as you need to experiment to get it just right...

[DVDdoug]

A solo vocal and most solo instruments are mono.


The lead vocal is normally panned to the center and other instrument are normally panned (positioned) "naturally" from left to right across the stereo soundstage.

[ashcat_lt]

How many microphones are you recording? Each input hole in your interface is a mono source. Even if you’ve got 8 different things in 8 different holes, each one is still just a mono signal. If you have a couple that you think should be a left/right pair, you could select them as a stereo input pair in your track. You could also record them separate and just pan their tracks.

But most of us when we record just vocals are using exactly one hole in the interface. If you really want to you can record that twice - use twice as much disk space storing a redundant copy - but why?

Originally Posted by nicholas

One notable exception could be applying a limiter to prevent clipping..

Nowadays the better way to avoid clipping is usually to just turn it down.

[serr]

I'm with the "turning it down" technique to avoid clipping.

You're not printing to tape and battling hiss are you? If no, then turn it down.

The question for stereo recording a vocal:
Are you truly doing something in stereo? Moving around for the performance?
If you actually are doing something like that... 9 times out of 10 it would still make more sense to record in mono and do the stereo panning after the fact. Unless you really have some live performance vibe going on with that or something.

[nicholas]

Originally Posted by ashcat_lt

Nowadays the better way to avoid clipping is usually to just turn it down.

I agree. No harm in adding a limiter as an additional precaustion though!

[ashcat_lt]

Originally Posted by nicholas

I agree. No harm in adding a limiter as an additional precaustion though!

Unless you have to go out and buy a hardware limiter. Oh and a(nother) preamp to feed it...

[nicholas]

Originally Posted by ashcat_lt

Unless you have to go out and buy a hardware limiter. Oh and a(nother) preamp to feed it...

Ha ha, I meant a JS Plug-in (see context of thread!)

[ashcat_lt]

Originally Posted by nicholas

Ha ha, I meant a JS Plug-in (see context of thread!)

If your input is clipping, no plugin is going to help.

[nicholas]

Originally Posted by ashcat_lt

If your input is clipping, no plugin is going to help.

I've used this - in Input FX Chain - several times, and to good effect, as a precaution against the odd note that jumps out, obviously not as a substitute for setting sensible sound levels. The playback has been fine.

but of course ... each to their own ...

[ashcat_lt]

Sorry to burst your bubble but what you are suggesting is impossible. If your interface is clipping, then the signal Reaper gets is already clipped and there’s nothing you can in Reaper to stop it. Your limiter might stop Reaper’s flip lights from turning on, but the damage is already done.

[nicholas]

Yes ofcourse: but I'm talking about experiences where it could just be the odd note or two and honestly nothing discernible to the human ear, not mine at least.

That said, I'm struggling to find a sensible example when you would use input FX. Any suggestion would be welcome!

[foxAsteria]

Originally Posted by nicholas

That said, I'm struggling to find a sensible example when you would use input FX. Any suggestion would be welcome!

It's just the way some people prefer to work. Saves you from overchoice later on. Probably most common with live fx experiments.

[serr]

Originally Posted by nicholas

That said, I'm struggling to find a sensible example when you would use input FX. Any suggestion would be welcome!

There really isn't one.
The answer "It forces decisions" doesn't really follow in this digital system. You need to record well enough to not clip. Nothing can undo that downstream (as ashcat_lt mentioned... although I've had pretty good luck with iZotope RX! but I digress). You can put up a plugin on a source track normally and you can call that a decision and stick with it!

You can be as stubborn with not looking back as you please!
And... if you really did screw up distorting something (or some technical mistake WITH that plugin), no big deal. Quick fix it and there's your (now fixed) decision still working out.

Or pretend it's still analog workflow and print the incoming recording through that plugin as input fx. Stubbornly not saving the pre input fx data stream. Now you discover that mistake (from last example) later. Time to re-record just like the old days!

It doesn't help make decisions up front. (That's still 100% up to you.) It only serves to make any error a permanent mistake. Negating the one big thing computers are good at - being able to easily roll back when something comes up.

[foxAsteria]

Originally Posted by serr

There really isn't one.

That's merely opinion. Some prefer to get it right at the recording stage; some prefer to endlessly tinker after the fact. Not being able to understand that doesn't mean it's wrong.

I never mind spending a couple hours playing my parts again, but a couple hours teasing envelopes with my mouse? Yea no thanks.

For the record, I've never once used inputfx. But I still get why it's there. The answer is flexibility. Yes that's a bit counter-intuitive, since recording dry leaves you with infinitely more options. I mean flexibility to accommodate different workflows.

On the subject of clipping...of course should be avoided at all costs, but in a pinch I've found that this envelope compressor can minimize audible distortion, at least in transient-heavy material. I had one section of really distorted kick drum, but when I applied envelopes to visually match the shape with the good kicks, it was much less noticeable.

But lemme try again for a "sensible example." Say you're one of these all too common hack singers who relies on auto-tune instead of practice and skill. After a couple months, you've arrived at the most perfect and transparent settings for your voice. Wanna tell me why you shouldn't print the CPU-intensive fx right out of the gate? You'd just be wasting time trying to manage resources, freezing tracks, etc if there's no chance you'll be altering those settings...

[serr]

Originally Posted by foxAsteria

That's merely opinion. Some prefer to get it right at the recording stage; some prefer to endlessly tinker after the fact. Not being able to understand that doesn't mean it's wrong.

I'm saying that it doesn't follow or apply to that mindset. Nothing is stopping anyone from getting it right at the recording and committing to a decision. Willfully choosing to not record the raw digital data stream only serves to make a correctable technical error permanent if it comes up.

I have zero argument for making decisions up front and sticking to them! 100% behind that.

Willful weirdness with technology...
Yeah, then you forget about your input fx you had up and record the next thing. Now you've ruined two recordings for the price of one!