|
|
|
|
Admit it... you were expecting a magic answer to this one. You were going to get advice on what plug-ins and effects can turn an ordinary vocal into that of a true rock god. Or goddess.
The key fact about rock vocals is that they are an established musical form. If someone invents a better way of doing vocals for rock... well they will be some other style of vocal, and not true rock.
So you have to look at the defining parameters of the style. Just as you wouldn't record hip hop without an MPC60 or the like, and you wouldn't record country music without a Fender Telecaster guitar, then you shouldn't record rock vocals without a Shure SM58 microphone.
And that's all you need. You don't need a fancy preamp - just plug it into your mixing console, set the levels and record.
Now if you really want to get better rock vocals, what you need is a great rock singer. You could of course fire your current singer and get a better one. Might as well fix the drummer while you're at it.
Or you could get your singer some voice training. Rock vocals demand great control. They might sound out of control but there is a hell of a lot of precision work going on in that there larynx. The art is to sound loud and aggressive while letting the mic do most of the work, and developing the muscles and tissues of the throat over a considerable period of time. Even the great rock singers took time to develop. (And many over-developed too quickly leading to surgery to correct serious problems).
One technique that is used all the time in rock is the 'fry'. This is where the soft tissues surrounding the throat and larynx are made to vibrate coarsely and roughly. I'm sure you know the sound. I'm sure you know also that you don't have to do this for long before you get a terrible sore throat. Look forward to an infection the next day and possibly a trip to the doctor for antibiotics.
Building up the technique to produce the fry on the regular basis required by rock demands competent instruction. You can do it alone like the ancient greats of rock, but it will be a hit and miss affair - and no-one knows about the rock singers who didn't make it because they shot their voices to pieces before they were ready.
You know, great singing will sound great with any decent microphone and any competent preamplifier. We hear so much about equipment that we forget that the source of so much music is in fact human.
David Mellor, Record-Producer.com
 ABC News | Classical music hits YouTube smudailycampus.com, TX - Dun, best known for his Grammy Award winning scores for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and more recently the official music for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, ... Introducing YouTube's orchestra... paidContent.org - Broadband Content Bits: YouTube Goes Classical ... Getting to Carnegie via YouTube |
 Washington Post | Grammy nominations a snooze San Francisco Chronicle, USA - So-called illegal downloads may no longer be the gravest danger faced by the imperiled recording industry: Just plain bad music may be what ultimately does ... The LA Times music blog Grammy nominations hit prime-time with TV special Grammy organizers are clueless |
Shazam adds 2 million tracks to music library CNET News, CA - Mobile-music discovery provider Shazam announced on Thursday that it has increased its music database from 6 million tracks to 8 million tracks, ... Shazam: eight million songs of the eternal Now Shazam Amplifies Music Database by a Third Adding Another 2 Million Songs, Shazam Grows Database by 30% |
Classical Music/Opera Listings New York Times, United States - The program also takes advantage of Mr. Levine’s passion for playing piano chamber music: it begins with Mr. Levine and Mr. Barenboim playing Schubert’s F ... |
 New York Times | ‘Tis the Music for Being Cautiously Optimistic New York Times, United States - Consciously or not, much of this year’s new holiday music expresses some anxiety about whether the old modes of merriment still matter. ... Tune to sounds of the season Connick, Crow highlight new holiday releases |
 E! Online | My music life PSU The Clock, NH - A documentary educates the viewer, "Britney: For the Record" is more like a "reality" show to help a struggling music artist make a comeback. ... Exclusive: ET's Extended Preview of Britney Spears' Music Video ... The Shuffle: Baby, one more time? A generation says goodbye |
 National Post | Folk music, civil rights legend Odetta dies at 77 The Associated Press - First coming to prominence in the 1950s, she influenced Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and other superstars of the folk music boom. ... Odetta Holmes dies at 77; folk singer championed black history ... Inspirational Folk Music Legend Odetta Dies at 77 Odetta left message of hope |
 WELT ONLINE | The LA Times music blog Los Angeles Times, CA - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss didn't just make extraordinary music when they teamed for their "Raising Sand" album. They also gave Grammy voters everything ... Farber: Music sales won this year's Grammy nominations NASHVILLE SKYLINE: Grammy Nominations Acknowledge Country Music ... Blog: Music Beat |
 Telegraph.co.uk | Plans for Salzburg Sound of Music hotel hit sour note AFP - VIENNA (AFP) — The former home of the Trapp family, made famous by the 1965 film "The Sound of Music," will not re-open as a hotel after all following ... Austria's Salzburg resists "Sound of Music" hotel London's Sound of Music to Close in February 2009 Plan for 'Sound of Music' hotel blocked in Austria |
 E! Online | Music revs up this 'Cadillac' USA Today - By Eric Liebowitz, Sony TriStar Pictures, via AP By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY Though the music in Cadillac Records hums along powerfully, the film could use a ... 'Cadillac Records—: Good music, shaky history In 'Cadillac Records,' the music's electrifying but the details ... 'Cadillac Records:' Watch it for the music -- and then the stars ... |
| Top of Page home Bookmark Us Now ctrl+d 1st 4 Music, shopping via 1st4music cost no more than going direct and can often save you money with special offers. with questions or comments about this website |