Vocal Editing -- Additional Resources

On this page I’ve collected together some additional resources to support my vocal-editing articles in the December 2021, January 2022, and February 2022 issues of Sound On Sound magazine.

VIDEO EXAMPLES

• Overview Of The Timing/Tuning Correction Process: For an overview of how I deal with tuning and timing corrections for a full production, check out the second episode of my free Step-by-step Mix Workflow video series.

• Real-time Vocal Tuning & Timing Video Series: Here’s a selection of videos taken from my real-time Fly-on-the-wall Mixing Case Study, in which you can watch me dealing with all the lead-vocal tuning and timing corrections I did for my Mix Rescue May 2017 remix.

  • Tuning: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5.
  • Timing: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4.

• Clip Gain For Vocal Balancing: Here’s a video I recently created explaining how using clip-gain fits within a general-purpose vocal-balancing workflow: The 4-step vocal balancing workflow

AUDIO EXAMPLES

(To download all WAV examples at once: 6MB ZIP)

• Editing In Silences: Here’s a section of a vocal take WAV/MP3play_arrow which has a little audio glitch during the word “be”. By putting edit points in the silences before the stop-consonants of the words “be” and “queen”, I can seamlessly replace the words “be your” from an alternate take WAV/MP3play_arrow to fix the problem.

• Editing In Noise: Here’s another section of a vocal take WAV/MP3play_arrow where I’ve decided to replace the final word “slave” from an alternate take. This can be easily be done by putting the edit point in to the pseudo-random noisy signal of the word’s “s” consonant WAV/MP3play_arrow and applying a tiny 2ms equal-power crossfade.

• Masked Edits: Here’s a ridiculously bad vocal-comping edit WAV/MP3play_arrow, but notice how it’s not at all problematic within the mix context, because it’s masked by a heavy drum beat WAV/MP3play_arrow.

• Matched-waveform Editing: In this example, you can hear a section of a vocal comp in progress WAV/MP3play_arrow with a clunky mid-note edit between two different takes. At the moment the edit has no crossfade at all, and the waveform mismatch across the editing boundary therefore produces a healthy click. By dragging one of the audio regions so that waveform repetitions are maintained across the edit point, you can dramatically reduce the click WAV/MP3play_arrow and a short equal-power crossfade (lasting just a couple of waveform cycles) will then smooth the end result even further WAV/MP3play_arrow.

MULTITRACKS FOR PRACTICE PURPOSES

The following multitrack projects in my 'Mixing Secrets' Free Multitrack Download Library include multiple lead-vocal takes you can use for practicing your comping skills:

• Whitten And. Williams: ‘How To Make A Mirror’
• The Sunshine Garcia Band: ‘For I Am The Moon’
• Arise: ‘Run Run Run’
• The Long Wait: ‘Lookout Mountain’
• Wesley Morgan: ‘Backroom In Tulsa’

Alternatively, if you’re wanting to practice tuning and timing correction, the following downloadable multitracks were all remixed for Mix Rescue articles, so you can compare your own work with mine directly:

• Tom McKenzie: ‘Directions’
• Balazs Daniel Boogie Woogie Band: ‘Own Way To Boogie’
• North To Alaska: ‘All The Same’
• Lingua Funqa: ‘Just One Minute’
• James May: ‘On The Line’

These downloadable multitracks all present vocal-recording challenges that are well-suited to a region-based processing approach:

• Dorothea Wessel: ‘Muddy Water’
• Hannes Keseberg: ‘You Know Better’
• Primakova: ‘The Glass’

FURTHER READING

• Practical Tracking & Comping Case Study: If you’d like more tips on lead-vocal tracking and comping, then here’s another fairly in-depth article: Session Notes December 2014.

• Tuning & Timing In Practice: Tuning and timing so regularly cause problems for home-brew mixes that I often talk about them in Mix Rescue. In Mix Rescue October 2008, for example, there’s a case-study of tuning a lead vocal in Melodyne, while Mix Rescue December 2009 and Mix Rescue February 2010 both talk about practical aspects of timing/groove adjustment.

• Vocal Recording & Cue Monitoring Tips: Here are a few previous Sound On Sound articles that provide some useful advice on vocal recording in general, and on cue-monitoring techniques specifically, so you can get the best raw recordings possible:

  • ‘Recording Vocals In The Computer Studio’
  • ‘Vocal Recording & Production Masterclass’
  • ‘Living With Latency’
  • ‘Tracking Vocals Without Headphones’

• Commercial Releases With Good/Bad Tuning Correction: Some commercial releases demonstrate better tuning/timing correction than others, and it’s something I’ve commented on repeatedly in my weekly The Mix Review critique articles. Here are a few recent highlights (and lowlights!):

  • Adele: ‘Hello’ & ‘Easy On Me’
  • Olivia Rodrigo: ‘Driver’s License’
  • Nathan Evans: ‘Wellerman’
  • Lorde: ‘Green Light’
  • Tim McGraw: ‘Meanwhile Back At Mama’s’
  • Ed Sheeran: ‘Thinking Out Loud’
  • Rag ’n’ Bone Man: ‘Human’
  • Paul McCartney: ‘My Valentine’
  • The Saturdays: ‘30 Days’

• De-essing In Depth: Here’s an article that explores a variety of different approaches to de-essing: ‘Vocal De-essing Techniques’

LOTS MORE VOCAL-PRODUCTION VIDEO TUTORIALS!

If you’d like to check out my fully-scripted recording and mixing video tutorials, including plenty about vocal production, then head over to my Cambridge-MT Patreon page, where I’m dropping new videos every week, alongside my regular mixing podcasts and blog posts. Recently posted vocal-production videos include:

• My recommended vocal-comping workflow
• Subliminal mix 'glue' for lead vocals
• FREE! The 4-step vocal balancing workflow
• Using side-chain EQ for heavily-compressed vocals
• The three roles of lead-vocal automation
• What's relative-trim automation, and why's it useful?
• How I record podcast and video voiceovers
• My all-time favourite vocal effect
• FREE!
• Correcting vocal wind blasts
• Muting for vocal interaction
• Counteracting vocal proximity-effect variability