Why it is so hard to find a good singer?

i have a track, i've made the lyrics and the melody

when i call several singers to sing, its hard to have a voice like carrie skipper, tiff lacey etc

I've tried lots of take, lots of audio channel, i selected the best one. edited with melodyne, put reverb and delay, eq-ing, compressing, audio editing,

still the voice is not as good as the commercial sound.

why it is so difficult?

for example

1st singer: voice to low, pitch are not right (i have to edit it a lot with melodyne)
2nd singer: to many vibrato. ive try to train them not to use many vibrato, but they just can't do that.
3rd singer: too soft, pitch are not right,
4th singer: bad voice
5th singer: quite good, but still far away from carrie skipper or tiff lacey.


i have 2 question here

1) is it really difficult to find a good singer?
2) how to contact tiff lacey/carrie skipper? is it possible for them to sing? if so, how? where to contact? how much should i pay them?

thanks

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"Let angels and demons guide us to the path of Holy Light"

where are you doing the recording?? what room treatment do you have? what mics are you using? what mic preamps? monitoring? all those things will effect the overall sound...

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or maybe the song isnt quite right for the singer

getting the pitch right is just one part of the puzzle...

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how to contact tiff lacey/carrie skipper? is it possible for them to sing? if so, how? where to contact? how much should i pay them?

___________________
"Let angels and demons guide us to the path of Holy Light"

One way to guarantee disappointing results is to expect a singer to sound like someone she's not. Most singers spend many years developing their voices and singing styles. Work within HER strengths for the best results.

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One other thing I'll add for your consideration is that each of those singers is probably thinking to herself "I gave this guy a great recording - why is it so hard to find a decent producer?"

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This is an area where you really have to push them. Vocalists, by their nature, are lazy, many never bothering to pick up another instrument apart from their voice which they flaunt as a status symbol. If your vocalist isn't up to snuff, chances are she's just not trying hard enough.

You can change that, however. Making passive-aggressive stabs, instead of being specific about what you want, will help motivate her to correct the problem. Not happy with the last take? Say, "I must be at the opera, because it sounds like it's over." When she asks what you mean, roll your eyes and point at her belly, implying that while, yes, the fat lady just sang, she's fat and you're still not happy with her job performance.

Sometimes the Simon Cowel approach is called for. But, especially with women vocalists, the absolute last thing you want to do is make them feel small. "If only your talent matched your girth. Can you please make sure you're singing E-sharp when you start on the 17th measure?" Then, start the play-back right after you say, "Take 67!"

So, insignificant - yes. Small - no.

Anyway, keep at it. Don't change a thing about yourself. Instead, realize that you're doing them a favor by letting them sing. Keeping the locus of the problems in the studio, firmly in the singer's corner, will help ensure that she's in a constant state of reaction and unable to ascertain whether you're actually talented or just an incompetent hack, brushing off his inadequacies with a lot of psychological projection.

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Now with extra singles!
my old stuff, not quite up to snuff - but I still dig it - UPDATED 9/23/2012

Also, don't listen to cryo. If that talent-coddling, baby-sitting producer knew what he was talking about he'd have settled on one vocalist instead of the three or more, he continually works with.

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Now with extra singles!
my old stuff, not quite up to snuff - but I still dig it - UPDATED 9/23/2012

quote:

Originally posted by DreambreaX how to contact tiff lacey/carrie skipper? is it possible for them to sing? if so, how? where to contact? how much should i pay them?

they will probably tell you how much THEY charge rather than the other way round... dont expect it to be cheap. google is your friend here.

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at EddieZ - I thought you were being serious for a moment there!

quote:

Originally posted by studiobob they will probably tell you how much THEY charge rather than the other way round... dont expect it to be cheap. google is your friend here.

Good point. Now, granted this is an area where I have very little experience, but I wouldn't for a second assume that it's as simple as finding their contact info, sending them a payment, and having them immediately jump on the recording for your track. Given their standing in the EDM industry, they probably get a lot of requests to sing on their songs and likely turn down (or ignore altogether) the vast majority of them, especially if it's from an unknown artist because they don't want to cheapen their image (I sure as hell wouldn't if I was in their position). One of the singers that I have worked with for years has only a very small presence in the EDM market and even she gets several random requests to sing on other people's tracks every week, most of which are from people who are all talk, no action, but that's a whole other story. Anyway, the point is, don't be surprised if you never hear from the singers or they just turn you down. It's much like sending your tracks to the larger labels - if you don't have a presence in the industry already, they may not be interested. But, as mentioned, I'm just making a lot of assumptions, so I could be wrong here.

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quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik One other thing I'll add for your consideration is that each of those singers is probably thinking to herself "I gave this guy a great recording - why is it so hard to find a decent producer?"

lmfao

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Just hire me as a singer. I guarantee that my vocals will give clubgoers an experience they will never forget!