Researching the Layering of Vocals!

For the purpose of this blog, I am going to investigate the studio production technique of vocal layering. As a budding Hip Hop producer, I felt it would be a good idea to cover this topic whilst I am learning and practicing using a recording studio at SAE. Vocals are pretty much the most important element in a traditional Hip Hop song. If a rappers voice sounds like shit in the mix and is lost in the beat, the likelihood of the song sounding extra shit is pretty damn high.

Below is a video I found online of how producer Wlpwr layered vocals for Yelawolf's song 'Till it's Gone'. The song is an incredibly eery and melodic one. It was a must that the vocals were up to par with the incredible production of the song. And boy did they nail it...

'When we like to cut vocals, basically we like to stack them four times, so that we can create a really full sound. But the first thing we do when we go in the booth, is get Yela to cut one and we use it as a kind of reference to build the rest of it'. With this technique, producer Wlpwr (spelled correctly not a typo) then describes how they layered 4 takes of the recording to really beef up the sound of the original, balance it out and give it more of a stereo feel. Wlpwr then shows how each individual take was introduced into the mix, and it is easy to se how effective this method of vocal layering is. Then what was particularly interesting in this video was when the beat maker tells viewers that a 'low part' was also added. This is evident in the video when he turns down the original 4 layers, revealing the 5th and final lower octave verbal delivery of the same lyrics. It is rapped by Yelawolf in a less audible volume and in a somewhat monotone delivery method. Adding all these elements together adds to the fullness of the record. As Matt Hayes the engineer describes; 'it's almost like making a chord out of his voice'.

Evident in this video is a noticeable reverb applied to the rappers vocal layers. After researching an article on layering via soundonsound.com, the producer may have rolled off some of the high end of the reverb, topping out at around 3-4kHz. This, and in combination with a pre-delay, would potentially help keep the vocal sounding reasonably up-front and intimate (Soundonsound.com, 2017).

Another thing that is clear in the video is the use of a Pop filter. It attributes to the removal of the plosive P's and B's that can be present in a vocal recording causing a popping sound. Now when vocal layering, the room for error is tiny. Low frequency energy can still make its way through the filter. And with the addition of multiple vocal takes, even the most minute of errors can potentially eat up massive amounts of headroom. A way to help combat this, is by adding a low cut filter on either the mic or preamp during the recording stage (Soundonsound.com, 2017). It will help remove some of those pesky lows and also remove some of the extraneous noise that can be present whilst attempting to layer vocals.

I am itching to get my production skills up to scratch so I can get a rapper in to record vocals and use these techniques. For me personally, I LOVE lyricism. It's a form of poetry to me. Having clear, distinguishable and sometimes in your face vocals, can be the make or break determining factor in getting one's point across to the listener.

References-

Soundonsound.com. (2017). Vocal Production |. [online] Available at: https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/vocal-production [Accessed 30 Nov. 2017].

Vimeo. (2017). Beat x Beat Yelawolf 'Till It's Gone'. [online] Available at: https://vimeo.com/205575088 [Accessed 30 Nov. 2017].