Recording Vocals, Part 2: Editing

By David Franz

Now I'm going to move on to the next step: editing vocal tracks. If you produced the vocal recording session well, captured excellent performances from the singer, and took good notes about which vocal takes (phrases, words, syllables, etc.) were the best, the editing process should be relatively straightforward. But even with great source material, using good editing techniques is the step that turns your collection of raw performances into one killer track, ultimately taking your song to the next level.

What is Comping?
The first step in editing your vocal track is called "comping." Comping is the process of compiling all the best parts from multiple takes into one master track. For example, say you have three vocal takes of the first verse of a song. If you edit together the first line from take #2, the second line from take #3 and the third and fourth lines from take #1 into one "keeper" take, that's comping.

Often, the goal in creating a vocal comp is to get the most emotive performance possible. Always keep this in mind while editing — think of the song first, and choose performances that are best for expressing the emotional content of the song. Often, the best vocal performances are not technically perfect. There might be slight pitch issues, slight mispronunciations, slight mic level issues, or even noise and distortion on the track. Yet, as a whole, the performance is perfect in delivering the emotion of the song. So don't get caught up in finding the best technical performance by sacrificing the emotion in the editing process.

If you used a take sheet as recommended in last month's column, follow the notes you made to steer your vocal edits. Without take sheets or other written comments on your recorded tracks, you'll probably need to listen to each take and make notes now, during the editing process. This makes the editing process much more time consuming.

For vocal tracks, I recommend analyzing the delivery of every phrase, every word, and even every syllable. Although you may not have gotten that detailed when recording the vocal tracks, it's good to do it now. Write down additional notes on the take sheet or lyric sheet about edit points. Pick and choose each part of the vocal performance carefully when creating your master comp. Professional producers go to this level of detail. Will you?

NOTE: Don't be afraid to edit between syllables. In singing (and speech) there is sometimes less amplitude in the signal in the middle of a word than there is between words. Bringing out the best syllables and creating words with them can really improve the impact of a performance.

How to Comp
Multiple Playlists on One Track: I often perform comps from multiple playlists on the same track in Pro Tools. It's easy to copy and paste parts from each take onto one master comp take. This technique reduces the track count in your Pro Tools session, and you also only need to adjust one volume fader and one set of insert effects on the track. Each playlist makes use of the same volume level and effects on the track.

Check out this QuickTime movie about comping vocal tracks from multiple playlists on one track.

NOTE: Other movies like this one can be found in the DiSK section of the Digidesign web site, and on the CD-ROM that comes with my book, Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools (2nd Ed.).

One Playlist on Multiple Tracks: Whether you record your vocal takes in multiple playlists on one track, or onto separate tracks, the comping technique is essentially the same. By working with different takes on multiple separate tracks, you always have access to each track, you can see each track all the time, and you have a dedicated fader for each take. However, you need to make sure the levels and the effects on each track are the same. Alternately, you can bus them all to one separate aux track, so you only have to control one fader and one set of effects.

NOTE: Sometimes performances aren't always recorded at a consistent volume. Quieter passages may not sound as "good" as louder passages simply because they're not as loud — but you should still consider boosting their levels with volume automation and using them in your comp.

Regardless of which recording and editing process you prefer, it's best to limit the number of takes of the track that you're comping to a relatively low number, like five or six. Otherwise, you can easily be overwhelmed by the sheer number of options, and lose track of the good takes. If you were smart enough to use a take sheet while recording multiple takes of a track, then you should have notes about what parts of each take are "keepers."

Repairing Waveforms
Pro Tools allows you to redraw waveforms by altering audio files on the sample level. This is particularly useful for repairing vocal plosives, pops, or clicks in the track. Be careful when using this tool, though; redrawing a waveform permanently alters the audio file on your hard drive once it's saved (in other words, it's destructive editing), so make a backup of the original file before editing.

When repairing a waveform by redrawing, try to keep the same basic form of the sound wave or you might create an even nastier sound than the pop or click you were trying to fix. On the other hand, you can create some wacky effects while editing on the sample level. Experiment with your waveform drawing technique…and remember, you can always undo your edits before saving.

Before: Using a pop filter reduces the occurrence of pops

After:...but you can use the Pencil tool to redraw them if necessary

Nudging
Once you've created a comp (or while you're creating it), you may need to nudge certain words or phrases in time so that they're rhythmically tight with the song. What does it mean to nudge something? Nudging can be defined as "pushing slightly or gently." When editing vocals, you may want to slightly push a word or phrase so that it lines up with the beat, or with a specific rhythmic hit.

To nudge a word or phrase, first find the word(s) in the waveform. Zoom in close enough to see where the word begins and ends. Separate the word into its own audio region, then move it slightly earlier or later in time. I recommend trying 10ms as a starting nudge value, and adjusting from there — sometimes even a few milliseconds can make a big difference in feel. You can select the nudge settings (including nudge amount and minutes:seconds versus other units of measurement) using the pull-down list in the black bar at the top of the Pro Tools Edit window.

Separate the word or phrase with the Control + E (PC) or Command + E (Mac) shortcut

	Choose the nudge value in the nudge pop-up window

Be careful using the nudge editing technique, though. You can go crazy trying to align every word, killing way too much time and taking away from the real performance — the "vibe" of the part. If the part needs that much fixing, re-record it!

Wrap-Up
Now you've got the tools to put the pieces together for a great lead vocal comp track. Join me in the following months for more Pro Tools vocal production techniques, including vocal tuning, rhythmic alignment, automation, and mix techniques. See you soon. Peace.

Like what you see in this column? Check out my book, Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools (2nd Edition). You can buy it online right here through Digidesign's web site, or visit www.protoolsbook.com. Interested in personal instruction on Pro Tools from yours truly? Visit www.berkleemusic.com and learn about several amazing Pro Tools learning experiences available online though Berklee College of Music. Wanna see my studio and hear some samples of my work? Visit www.undergroundsun.com.

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