Recording Tip 48: Use a tuned and untuned vocal together to make an effect that no plugin can do

A good and a bad can make it great

This is another thing I came upon by accident. By now you’ve probably noticed that many of the tips I write about are from things which happened unintentionally. Sometimes a random mistake will be the best thing for the record if you’re open enough to use it. A lot of good ideas on great albums have resulted from accidents.  

I had just finished tuning a vocal and resumed mixing. I had the tuned vocal up but hadn't yet muted the untuned vocal. When I hit play, the two created a great sound together. It wasn’t something I wanted for the entire song, but it was a great sounding effect which I used for the breakdown during the bridge. This won't always work, of course. Depending upon the singer and how much tuning was done, this trick may not sound good. However, it’s sometimes worth a listen when you're searching for a vocal effect.

You know it just occurred to me...I’ve been telling you I prefer to not have anything in the session that’s not going to be in the mix. I think I should make the un-tuned vocal an exception!