Collab Help!!

[Wonder_Beats]

Hey guys,

I am doing a collaboration track with someone who normally does "folk" type of music. We decided to remix a song he had previously made. I would make all the instrumentals and he would sing.

Everything was going well until we added the vocals in. Now I know he's not the greatest singer but it does not sound good in the mix at all. I've had him re-sing the parts multiple times but still have the same outcome. I've worked with vocals many times before but have never experienced this issue.

Can someone please give me some insight or tips on how to make the vocals sound better? Is it something I'm doing wrong?

Here is the song.
Soundcloud

[jrkhnds]

he's a shit singer. end of story. try to be gentle.

[Wonder_Beats]

I can't really kick him from a remix of his own song.

I am new to collaborating. As a music producer what would you do? Should I just let go of the track or is there something else I can do?

[ehbes]

he's a shit singer. end of story. try to be gentle.

[Samuel_L_Damnson]

auto tune. melodyne is good if you can get a hold of it. compress prpperly. use small amounts (tiny) of overdrive to add harmonic content!

[nerve]

Turn it into a footwork.

[Wonder_Beats]

Thank you for the advice, I think I will check out melodyne and use some of the other techniques that were suggested.

Thank you again.

[Sheff]

HAHA THAT SINGING THOUGH

[Dustwyrm]

Heya Opes,

I don't know if he's a legit singer or not, but in this genre.... well any genre these days you're in luck because you don't need to be. See Deadmause, any Indie band, or anything by Zedd, good example is Clarity for you mainstream bros out there.

Hopefully your friend sings in tune at least. If not you can search for some programs like Melodyne, FL has Newtone, although I'm not sure how well these perform on the long term other than just a shift here and there.

I'm no expert, but the foundation is simple. First you want to duplicate the vocal track, pan slightly, use slight stereo separation that supports the instruments in your track. Some guys say you can move one track a millisecond off from the other to create more depth, use a very subtle Delay and use Reverb to taste. I usually high pass to around 300 or more (just my estimate because it depends on the sample, use your ear), just make proper cuts on EQ.

EDIT: I like the point of Sinestepper about adding subtle overdrive for harmonics. Lots of good tips here. Ultimately you just gotta experiment.

[f1rstsense]

You could chop up the vocals (artfx has some good vids on youtube on that) that way it wont matter how bad he is it will just depend on your creativity

[Musick]

Wtf at clarity not having a good singer..

The best songs in the Electronic Music world have good singers in them...

Laura Brehm, Amba Shepard, Reija Lee, John Martin, Nadia Ali, list goes on..

There's a reason they are in so many songs...

Except maybe Ellie Goulding might be the one so-so singer

[ThisIsSovereign]

The best songs in the Electronic Music world have good singers in them...

[Musick]

The best songs in the Electronic Music world have good singers in them...

I want to clarify and say the best vocal songs***

There's some hella awesome instrumentals out there. And 5 seconds of chopped up vocals does not count as a vocal song

[MORZ42]

If not you can search for some programs like Melodyne, FL has Newtone, although I'm not sure how well these perform on the long term other than just a shift here and there.

I'm pretty sure Melodyne has the capability of scanning your vocal bus and automatically correcting the pitch and vibration of the voice through the whole track