[craigfaganmusic]

Anyone know a good technique to get multi layerd breathy backing vocals? - think fleetwood mac rumours album

[tone]

I don't know - I would imagine a breathy singer, a multi-track recorder, and a decent reverb ought to do the trick.  The rest will be in the magic of the mix I suppose.

[starbar22]

Hi Craig,

I recently recorded some breathy, almost whispered vocals. I'm no expert but here's how we did it....

We used a condensor mic, large diaphragm U87. Put the mic through a pre-amp (on this occasion an Avalon 737) and got a healthy level while the singer practiced. Got the singer (female) close to the mic behind a pop shield and asked her to TREAT THE MIC LIKE A HUMAN EAR. Get someone to get close to your ear and whisper, it's surprisingly loud and detailed.

We did a few test recordings and got her to listen to the results. It was an enlightening session for us all. We found her perceived breathy vocal was
actually quite harsh, and had to back off her effort quite a way to get the effect we wanted. It's definite trial and error, but you'll get into it and it gives a great texture to a track!

Get maybe 10 or 12 good takes and pan to get a spread (if you want). Also, EQ is vital. Try taking some of the top end off and maybe thinning out 200hz and below.

All the best

Baz

http://www.myspace.com/prissmusic

Let us know how it goes!

[Ramshackles]

first I think you need a slightly breathy vocal going in (i.e. adapt your voice a bit), and then I think E.Q can do the trick - push the high frequencies up to give it some air