http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-little-known-recording-trick-that-makes-singers-sound-perfect
The Little-Known Recording Trick That Makes Singers Sound Perfect
Written by Meghan Neal
December 1, 2015 // 08:00 AM EST
Put on a Taylor Swift or Mariah Carey or Michael Jackson song and listen to the vocals. You may think the track was recorded by the artist singing the song through a few times and the producer choosing the best take to use on the record. But that’s almost never the case.
The reality is far less romantic. Listen to almost any contemporary pop or rock record and there’s a very good chance the vocals were “comped.” This is when the producer or sound engineer combs through several takes of the vocal track and cherry-picks the best phrases, words, or even syllables of each recording, then stitches them together into one flawless “composite” master track.
Though it’s unknown to most listeners, comping’s been standard practice in the recording industry for decades. Everyone does it—“even the best best best best singers,” says producer and mix engineer Ken Lewis, who’s comped vocals for Mary J Blige, Usher, David Byrne, Lenny Kravitz, Ludacris, Soul Asylum, Diana Ross, and Queen Latifah.
“Comping doesn’t have to do with the quality of the vocalist,” Lewis says. “Back in the Michael Jackson days—and Michael Jackson was an incredible singer—they used to comp 48 tracks together, from what I’ve read and what I’ve heard.”
But surely cobbling together a song this way must sound disjointed, robotic, devoid of personality, right? That’s certainly what I thought when I first learned about the practice. And while it’s true that vocal comping is used heavily in pop music where the intention is usually to sound smooth and polished rather than honest and gritty, most producers will tell you that this piecemeal approach is the best way to get a superb recording from any vocalist.
“This is the epitome of all that is unglamorous in music, but very necessary for the best possible presentation of the most important element in the mix,” wrote music producer Frank Gryner in Recording Magazine. He’s recorded the likes of Rob Zombie and Tommy Lee. “I’ve yet to work on a major-label record that didn’t involve vocal comping to arrive at the finished product.”
The process works like this: A singer records the song through a handful of times in the studio, either from start to finish or isolating particularly tricky spots. Starting with between 4-10 takes is typical—too many passes can drain the artist’s energy and confidence and also bog down the editing process later. (That said, it’s sometimes much more. Christina Aguilera’s song “Here to Stay” was compiled from 100 different takes. “She sat on the stool and sang the song for six hours until it was done—didn't leave the booth once and didn't make a single phone call,” engineer Ben Allen said in an interview with Tape Op magazine.)
The engineer generally follows along during the studio recording with a lyric sheet and jots down notes to use as a guide for later, marking whether a phrase was very good, good, bad, sharp or flat, and so on.
When the session’s over, they listen closely to each section of each take, playing the line back on loop with the volume jacked up twice as high as it will be in the final mix. They’re listening to make sure the singer’s on pitch, of course, but that’s not necessarily the primary measure of what makes the final cut.
Timing, tone, attitude, emotion, personality, and how each phrase or word fits in context with the other instruments and the rest of the vocal track can trump pitch perfection. Those little quirky gems add character and emotion to the track—they’re what the listener remembers.
The recording engineer picks out the best take for each bit of the song and edits all the pieces together, usually in a digital audio workstation (DAW) like Pro Tools.
“Often, I’ll have a three-syllable word in the middle of a line, and I’ll use the first syllable from take 3, the second syllable from take 7, and the third syllable from take 10," Lewis writes in a blog post. “Not kidding.”
Comping is one of the most common DAW tasks and the software has made it stupid simple, especially compared to cutting tape reels back in the analog days, when editors would mark the cut spot on the open tape reel with a pencil, slice it with a razor blade and attach the two ends together with sticky tape.
Most programs today let you input multiple files within an audio track, so you can simply drag and drop the portion you want from each take into the master track.
The editor makes sure the transitions are seamless, the track flows properly, that no glitches or bad edits made it into the final cut, and importantly, that no emotion or personality is lost in the process. A sign of a success is that the listener has no idea a song’s vocals were compiled from several different takes. The work should be invisible.
“It’s rare that you hear a really bad vocal comp,” says says recording engineer Mike Senior, a columnist for Sound on Sound and author of Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio. But that’s often because the edits are obscured by the other instruments in the track.
About 20 seconds into Aguilera’s “Genie in the Bottle” is a really clunky edit, but you can’t hear it in the song because it’s tucked behind a big heavy drum beat, says Senior. “If you think how many drum beats typically occur in a mainstream song, you can think how many places you can edit without it being heard.”
Listen closely to Adele’s hit “Someone Like You” and you can hear that in the first couple verses the opening breath is missing—there’s just no breath on that phrase, he points out. You can also hear some background noise on the mic throughout the song but then in certain places it cuts out, a sign of an edit.
As you can imagine, the whole process is incredibly tedious and time consuming; it can take hours, even days. “That’s why these records are expensive,” said engineer Mark Bright in an interview with Bobby Owsinski, author of The Music Producer’s Handbook.Blight has produced Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntyre, and Rascal Flatts, and typically spends 8-12 hours comping a track from upwards of 20 takes.
Max Martin and “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, the hitmakers behind mega pop stars like Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Britney Spears, are known for relying heavily on comping during their recording process. John Seabrook, author of The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory, writes in the New Yorker: “Comping is so mind-numbing boring that even Gottwald, with his powers of concentration, can’t tolerate it.” However, "Max loves comping," songwriter Bonnie McKee told Seabrook. "He’ll do it for hours.’”
But while pop songs are often accused of being sterile, artificial, or overproduced, each producer I talked to said this is not the result of comping. “Comping is not the thing that makes something sound robotic. Actually I would say comping does the opposite,” says Senior.
Comping gets a bad rap because it’s lumped in with other editing tools like pitch correction and auto-tune, but “it is almost unreservedly a good thing,” Senior says. It gives singers the freedom to push the boundaries and perform at the edge of their capability, trusting it’s OK to mess up because there’s the safety net of having multiple other takes. And if there is a rogue bum note in an otherwise killer recording, you can swap it out with an on pitch note from another take instead of relying on pitch correction, which alters the overall sonic quality.
Pushing the limit and taking chances is what leads to those gems that can make a whole track, says Lewis. “That’s one of the beauties of comping—you get to search for the most magical piece of every take.”
“People have a very idealistic view of a producer or recording engineer’s job. If people really knew how records were made, they’d be much more jaded,” says Lewis. “But if you go into record making with the idea that you need to sing the song down from start to finish, come what may, you will rarely find the true magic.”
It is not only vocals. Done with instruments also especially guitar solos.
Lots of tricks can be worked in a studio. That's one of the reasons live performances give a much better idea of vocals & musicianship. That said, with all the advances in technology & effects, even live performances can be somewhat augmented.
Lots of tricks can be worked in a studio. That's one of the reasons live performances give a much better idea of vocals & musicianship. That said, with all the advances in technology & effects, even live performances can be somewhat augmented.
Definitely. Not to mention that many bands will hide other musicians. No one ever wondered where the two guitars came from when Billy soloed with ZZ Top?
Plus the amount of sampling live by bands in all genres just continues to grow.
I even saw a marching band at a game play to sampled drum parts.
mostly i posted this because alot of casual music fans don't know about the recording process. lol, thats not to say alot of ABB fans are casual music fans. 😛
I don't know what 'tricks' they used on Adele's new album, but, to my ears, her vocals on several of the tracks are painful. I'm not much for pop music but I think this album, based on my initial listening, is the emperor's new clothes. I find her voice too augmented to be honest.
i do wonder how much more tech tricks are being used compared to the "old" days. then again, i would bet every trick available was used to the max then also. could there come a day, if its not here already, when to make a pop star doesn't require an actual person? just digital tricks and holograms?
lol as much as adele actually preforms live, does she really exist?
Lots of tricks can be worked in a studio. That's one of the reasons live performances give a much better idea of vocals & musicianship. That said, with all the advances in technology & effects, even live performances can be somewhat augmented.
Definitely. Not to mention that many bands will hide other musicians. No one ever wondered where the two guitars came from when Billy soloed with ZZ Top?
Plus the amount of sampling live by bands in all genres just continues to grow.
I even saw a marching band at a game play to sampled drum parts.
I may be old school or more of a purist, but I like it simple, straight, and to the point. My recording experience began in the time when studio machines were pretty much a board & a reel to reel. There's something to be said about the quality sound of those old machines. Has been a bunch of years since I've recorded with those big boys, as things have gone digital for the most part. I prefer recording clean with only minimal effects.
That's why I respect musicians who record "live" - or claim to (example, Warren). Many of the great jazz albums were recorderded using a minimal number of takes.
An interesting read about the recording process in the "good ole days" is Geoff Emerick - "Here, There, and Everywhere".
It also speaks to the work ethic of the Beatles to get a good take, especially Paul.
George Martin and Emerick were cutting edge for the time, but used nowhere near the tools and tricks they use now.
Published on Aug 19, 2012
Part 1 of 2: Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947 in London) is a British record producer/engineer widely known for being one of the 5 main engineers for The Beatles, as well as Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Duran Duran, The Jeff Beck Group, and many more. As a producer, Scott is noted for his work with David Bowie (Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Aladdin Sane, and Pinups), Supertramp (Crime of the Century and Crisis? What Crisis?), Devo, Kansas, The Tubes, and Level 42, among others.
Scott was also very influential in the evolution of Jazz Rock, pioneering a harder rock sound, through his work with Mahavishnu Orchestra (Birds of Fire, Visions of the Emerald Beyond and The Lost Trident Tapes), Stanley Clarke (Stanley Clarke, Journey To Love and School Days), Billy Cobham (Spectrum, Crosswinds, Total Eclipse, and Shabazz) and Jeff Beck (There And Back). (Source: Wikipedia).
Koop Geersing interviews ken Scott in September 2007 about his upcoming book (Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust, Alfred Books) and Ken talks about the many mistakes in 'Here, There and Everywhere' (Geoff Emerick and Howie Casey), his time with David Bowie, his work at Abbey Road with The Beatles.
Ken Scott Toazted Interview 2007 Part 1 of 2
Ken Scott Toazted Interview 2007 Part 2 of 2
I think both Jeff Beck and David Gilmour have said they will play and record multiple takes of a guitar solo, then do this comping to assemble the best parts of the solos into one version, and then learn it and re-perform it as a composition and record THAT.
Nothing beats a good quality live recording from the audience or a SBD.
Nothing beats a good quality live recording from the audience or a SBD.
Unless of course it's a aud or sbd of this.....
Definitely. Not to mention that many bands will hide other musicians. No one ever wondered where the two guitars came from when Billy soloed with ZZ Top?
Plus the amount of sampling live by bands in all genres just continues to grow.
It is not only vocals. Done with instruments also especially guitar solos.
Absolutely, including some that would be very familiar to readers of this site.
Honestly, with a studio recording, I don't mind. A studio album is a different beast altogether, like a sculpture, a permanent statement.
You want something that will stand the test of time.
Live is live, that's where you can get the performance aspect. Also why many live recordings are meh, you can' t record the live unicorn dust...certainly not on a cell phone.
I like great studio records and great live performance.
[Edited on 12/2/2015 by aiq]
Nothing beats a good quality live recording from the audience or a SBD.
It depends - just to name a few studio gems
Strawberry Fields, A Day in the Life
the studio version of Blue Sky with the acoustic guitar overdubs
Bitches Brew was entirely pasted together in the studio from isolated jams
on the other hand, for most jazz, a live feel is definitely better. To my knowledge, most of the great, classic jazz recordings were done in 1 or minimal takes. I can't say for what is happening now.
Tom Dowd was a genius at that. Didn't he tell everyone to leave for a while and when they came back, he had Jessica all spliced together with piles of tape all around him on the floor?
I think both Jeff Beck and David Gilmour have said they will play and record multiple takes of a guitar solo, then do this comping to assemble the best parts of the solos into one version, and then learn it and re-perform it as a composition and record THAT.
I saw an interview with George Martin wherein he related that when he and Jeff Beck were recording "Blow by Blow", Beck kept wanting to go back and re-record stuff. Finally, he called Martin and told him that he had some new ideas and wanted to go in the studio and record them. Martin said, "That's nice, Jeff, but the record has been in the stores for a few weeks now".
Published on Aug 19, 2012
Part 1 of 2: Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947 in London) is a British record producer/engineer widely known for being one of the 5 main engineers for The Beatles, as well as Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Duran Duran, The Jeff Beck Group, and many more. As a producer, Scott is noted for his work with David Bowie (Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Aladdin Sane, and Pinups), Supertramp (Crime of the Century and Crisis? What Crisis?), Devo, Kansas, The Tubes, and Level 42, among others.
Scott was also very influential in the evolution of Jazz Rock, pioneering a harder rock sound, through his work with Mahavishnu Orchestra (Birds of Fire, Visions of the Emerald Beyond and The Lost Trident Tapes), Stanley Clarke (Stanley Clarke, Journey To Love and School Days), Billy Cobham (Spectrum, Crosswinds, Total Eclipse, and Shabazz) and Jeff Beck (There And Back). (Source: Wikipedia).Koop Geersing interviews ken Scott in September 2007 about his upcoming book (Abbey Road To Ziggy Stardust, Alfred Books) and Ken talks about the many mistakes in 'Here, There and Everywhere' (Geoff Emerick and Howie Casey), his time with David Bowie, his work at Abbey Road with The Beatles.
Ken Scott Toazted Interview 2007 Part 1 of 2
Ken Scott Toazted Interview 2007 Part 2 of 2
thanks for the links.
The differences with Emerick are interesting, but it's one guy's word against the other, so who really knows.
Every other account that I've read / heard about the White Album is that there was a lot of tension, and in fact Ringo temporarily quit the band. That would be more in line with Emerick's account, fwiw
This doesn't bother me like auto-tune/pitch correction does. Having said that, a lot of my favorite music was cut live (the older recordings with a lot of bleed, negating the opportunity for comping).
Thanks for the thread. It's interesting to hear other folks' viewpoints.
Blooby
Tom Dowd was a genius at that. Didn't he tell everyone to leave for a while and when they came back, he had Jessica all spliced together with piles of tape all around him on the floor?
I think you are referring to "Layla" since that was cobbled together, especially the coda (and Johnny Sandlin produced Brothers & Sisters).
Having recorded performed live and recorded music, I can appreciate both as nearly separate arts. Performing music with others is a thing of beauty and skill, of course. Crafting a solo that isn't noodling or a reprise of the melody is an art unto itself (David Gilmour and George Harrison are great examples). Crafting a song in the studio has to be purposeful, so why not use the best versions that you can. Digital mixers are even better at this - a flubbed bassline can be replaced with a correct bass line from another measure.
I'm all for loose jamming, it can go to great places, but there are always going to be mistakes here and there, which don't detract from the quality of the performances. "One Way Out" is a great example - one small flub doesn't nullify an incendiary performance. Hell, even "Liz Reed" on At Fillmore East is cobbled together from 2 different performances.
I think you are referring to "Layla" since that was cobbled together, especially the coda (and Johnny Sandlin produced Brothers & Sisters).
What the hell am I thinking of then...? In one of the many books on the Allmans there was a story of a song that finally got finished recording, and somebody realized there wasn't a solo in it, and I thought it was Tom Dowd, said "I can fix it!" and when they all came back there was tape hanging up all over the place and a pile on the floor, and the mix sounded great. Now i'm going to have to go back to my archives. Maybe it was Layla but I recall it was a lot more complicated than splicing the piano part onto the end.
YDLM from Fillmore is spliced from 2 different performances. You can hear each in it's entirety on the box set. It starts with 3/12 late show and ends with 3/13 early show
supposedly, Dowd spliced 2 different versions of Liz Reed to get the album version - or so he thought. It turns out the versions he spliced together were in fact from the same performance. This is verified on the box set.
All of the material on the FE album was actually played live - there were no overdubs.
Many famous "live" records have studio overdubs. Europe 72 (actually I believe all of the GD live albums, not counting Dicks Picks etc had overdubs), Waiting for Columbus among others.
Then of course there is this...
http://dangerousminds.net/comments/kubrick_didnt_fake_the_moon_landing_but_led_zeppelin
