Trying to capture a clean, controlled vocal for the mix engineer,

Recording & Production
1

Hey everyone, I’d appreciate some feedback on my vocal recording chain.

Right now I’m recording through a Neve 1073, then going into an API Vision Channel Strip where I’m mainly using the gate/expander and a small amount of high-pass filtering. From there I’m going into a Tube-Tech CL 1B compressor.

Once the vocal gets into Pro Tools, I’m currently using Auto-Tune, EQ3 7-Band, BF-76, a de-esser, and R-Vox.

My goal isn’t to mix the vocal myself — I’m trying to record a clean, controlled vocal that I can send to my mix engineer so they have a good starting point.

Would you recommend adding anything else to the recording chain, or would you keep it this simple? Also, are there any plugins in my Pro Tools chain that you’d recommend removing or changing so I’m not over-processing the vocal before sending it to the engineer?

Any feedback on the gain staging or overall approach would be appreciated.

2

Hi Yoan,

It seems to me that you have a pretty solid chain here!

Neve 1073 into a CL-1B is a great recording chain used by many elite engineers.

Though I would only recommend sending your vocals with only the Autotune printed on them without the other plugins (along with a raw track without any processing at all).

It’s best to leave your engineer as much headroom as possible for mixing - meaning leaving the vocals with very little processing on them (the recording chain that you have already colors the sound).

What you can do is provide him with the vocals treated the way you like (especially for any creative effects) so he knows what type of sound you are looking for.

In total, you should send him :

  • the raw vocals, with only the recording chain and no other processing,

  • the vocals with only Autotune printed with the settings you like,

  • the vocals with an idea of the processing you are looking for.

Note that if you are using any creative effect such as reverb or delay, you should send it to him 100% wet on another track (not printed on the main vocal track) so he can either keep it or suggest a better alternative !

Best of luck

1 Like
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okay thank you so much Elie