A little context...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTU6G0-5DAg
I comped all the vocals to The Pain I Inherited (a new version based on the live show), only to discover a happy fucked-up accident. I am guessing I did three takes on the Raven dynamic mic, and for whatever reason, they sound really good. They stray a bit from the original vocal, but they sound really finished. So my choices are to comp from the three or re-do the entire set of lead vocals with the Raven mic. It sounds that good over the condenser. It shouldn't, but it does. Sigh. Now what?
I don't want to do the song again, as that could make me second guess things. As it stands, the vocals work well with the stems (backings), so I'd hate to ruin it. But that does say something about the way I got that vocal. It's almost flawless. I've named that bunch Raven Takes. I already rendered one, and it sounds great with the VCS preamp, so there's no going back. I just need to re-comp it I guess. It's not as hard as the Blue takes though. But why? Why was this just right? Was this the one I did on the stream??? I am almost certain it is, because it feels as though I would not have done three takes.
What I'm thinking is that I recorded two takes before the stream as a warmup, then went for the third during the stream. And it is that third one that sounds like a record. Maybe the nervousness of it all got me there? I don't know, but it is certainly messed up that I just comped seven vocal takes on my expensive mic for four hours, only to hear three nearly perfect takes from a live session that got hidden.
But that's another lesson learned... Listen, listen, listen ... FIRST! I mean, just look at the mess in that second picture! But there's something great here too... If I'm able to do live takes faster... This means quicker to the end. I need to eat something.
Post Lunch Notes
After Lunch... I comped the Raven vocals and made a rough mix for YouTube (posted here). However, I decided not to just spurn the first four hours of the day. Might I be wrong? Could it just be an emotional thing? A reaction to finding a new audio file after hearing the same one for hours?
I went back to the Blue mic comp and 'roughened' the vocal by putting it through a Neve-type preamp... The aim was to match the tone somewhat to that of the Raven Mic. I did not achieve it per se, but I got to thinking in the process that the vocal was very dynamic.
And after about another hour or so, I got really into it, forgetting that Reaper is not the final mix destination, but Ableton. But just in case, I rendered this as well. Now I will have to make a choice at mixdown. But at best what? Two versions? I would not be the first. I just cannot decide this tonight. I'm too tired to decide this now.
But this song is about 90% ready for a final mix. What a day.