Vocal Overkill?

[HA_DA_JA]

Does this seem a little overkill.
We tried the Beesneez Mic through BLA API clone but settled for the Neve 33415 through the Tube TEch EQ through the Daking Comp through the LN1176 and just for the heck ran it through just not really touching the meter but sort of.. in the loud vocal parts through the Rob Squire heavily Modded LA-5 (Dream machine).
Thats a lot of tubes and transformers and this was just the practise run.
Wow you really have to be careful with the gain staging on each device but the results sound pretty good.
I dont get to do this too often as most of the gear is either at someone elses place or too busy with Kids and family.

[stosostu]

Is the Beesneez so bad that it needs all that outboard to make it sound any good..............

Only joking.

[The Tasmanian]

Why so much compression? - that is overkill - choose the best comp and take out the others.
Unless you are trying to squash the life and dynamics out of it so every word has the same impact/emotion.
Move the Neve pre settings as the singer gets loud - learn the lyric and adjust it live, this is the ultimate use of compression, plus a little help from 1 nice comp

[wez]

I think the answer is at the end of your post. Had you said "results sound freaking awesome", i would've said hey, whatever works... but "results sound pretty good", well that doesn't sound like you're especially excited by what you're hearing.

Having nice gear and knowing how to use it is great, but having it and then choosing not to use it is where the real skill is.

[The Tasmanian]

Could you imagine the best engineers in the world coming to do vocals for an album, and they have 40 amazing compressors sitting around the studio doing nothing - so they put 40 comps across the vocal?

You are putting so much importance at the wrong end of the chain.

Apart from the singer - Its all about the mic, the distance from the capsule and the mic pre's gain - thats it, thats the secret to the whole game.
Stacking a whole bunch of comps on the end of a lead vocal chain really is an amateurs approach.

[NathS101]

do whatever you want, as long as you're happy with it and it sounds great
there's no right or wrong answer, if you've squashed it too much you learn from it and move on...
i can't see a problem with tickling the comps a db or two here and there if it sounds good
YMMV

[The Tasmanian]

Thats BS - every great engineer and producer that Ive ever read/ worked with / watched with a vocal would not pile heaps of compressors on the end of a vocal.
Maybe they would on a room mic on a drumkit
May as well learn properly the craft - rather than pile heaps of shit on the end of a vocal chain and say "whatever sounds good" - such a overused GS cliche
Good sound principles that have been proven over many decades - by the great masters in the feild

[chribble]

I'm with Chris on this one. If you're hitting all those EQ's then pick a different mic or use it differently?
As for comps It's probably about overall GR. But i don't see why you can't get that effect from just the 1 comp?

But that being said - I'm keen to see how it sounds.

[Chinagraf]

Of course it's overkill, I just thought Dale was havin a bit of fun, not suggesting it was a best method,
Nothing wrong with two comps on a vocal though, maybe not in tracking, but in mixing 2 comps doing less reduction each will always sound smoother than 1 comp doing the same amount of total gain reduction.
Depends on the style of vocal..

[NathS101]

occasionally i use an 1176 when tracking vocals followed by an LA2A just to stop some of the overs, both doing 1-2db reduction. now any more than 2 comps squashing the crap out of a vocal would definitely be overkill!
and yes of course the mic & positioning is important as is gain staging throughout the chain.

[rob]

I see two units in there that have passed through Pro Harmonic, a preamp and a compressor. Perhaps just hook these two together; you can call it your Pro Harmonic vocal chain if you wish.....

[ChrisW]

Less is more.
Cliche..... but then a cliche becomes a cliche because it's based in truth.

[chribble]

I see two units in there that have passed through Pro Harmonic, a preamp and a compressor. Perhaps just hook these two together; you can call it your Pro Harmonic vocal chain if you wish.....

tr needs a like button for stuff like this

[Wiz]

Tracking comp


Channel comp during mix


Buss comp at mix


Comp at mastering


All adds up..



I would say .... If you like it....use it....but just give it a quick bypass to check