Old 06-18-2018, 01:36 PM   #1
RobertP
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Default Panning harmony/backing vocals

I have a song with harmony/backing vocals as part of the chorus.
Main vocals are recorded twice, panned left and right for verses and chorus, and in a folder that has fx ... all well and good.

I am thinking to pan the harmony backing vocals to one side of the main vocal as they might be positioned on stage ...I think.

Given this, I am not sure if I should double the harmony backing and if so, how would the panning work?

I suppose I could put the doubled, left and right harmony tracks in a folder then pan the folder to one side ?

I am not sure I am thinking about this clearly so any suggestions would be helpful
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Old 06-18-2018, 02:39 PM   #2
tls11823
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I just want to make sure I'm clear on what you have currently. If I'm grasping correctly, you have doubled the lead vocal and have a single track for the harmony. I would suggest also doubling the harmony. Then, knowing nothing else about the song, my personal default steps would be the following:
  1. Put the two lead vocals in a folder
  2. Put the two harmony vocals in a separate folder
  3. Pan each of the individual tracks either 100% Left or 100% Right in their containing folders
  4. Change the width control on the lead vocal to something like 10%
  5. Change the width on the harmony vocals to something like 50%
  6. Play with the width on both of the folders until you have a feeling of the harmony vocals "wrapping" around the lead vocals while not maintaining a realistic sound from the lead vocals.
As I said, this is the way I'd do it. There are tons of other approaches, none always right and none always wrong. But it's something you may want to try. I'm sure others will chime in with their own methods.
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Old 06-20-2018, 03:38 PM   #3
Philbo King
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Another approach I've had great success with is at the recording stage:
Set up a mid-side mic pair in a fixed spot. For each vocal part stand where you want it panned. You need a space with good acoustics for this to work best.

If doing overdubs, record a separate 'stereo' (actually 2 chan mid-side) track for each part. Move to the next position and record the next part to another mid-side track. These will mix just like any other tracks, and the mix can then be run through a single mid-side decoder.

If recording a vocal ensemble, only one track is needed; the singers will generally self-mix themselves as they sing to a good balance.

Add a mid-side decoder plugin to the vocal (or the vocal summing bus), and you're good to go.

This provides superb imaging and source localization; far superior to what you can get with panning alone.
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Old 06-22-2018, 10:59 AM   #4
RobertP
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@ tls11823, thanks for your reply. I think you described what I was thinking of doing although not knowing about the width part which I then found in the manual (knowing the proper term for what to look for in the manual helps hugely!)It makes sense to me and I will play around with it as soon as I get the harmony recorded.
Thanks again.

Thanks @ Philbo. Your advise is above my knowledge level I am afraid, though I sorta get what you say. Unfortunately,I just dont have the resources to do what you suggest but I am sure others reading this will get benefit.
Thanks again.
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