I don't particularity appreciate stacked vocals either. I think it creates an unnatural sound that is harder to mix and always sounds a bit smaller to me. I think this effect is better acquired from my approach which is Bruce's approach going backwards. which is imho, related to a good stereo image. Which is what I look for when mixing.
When I remove what i call obnoxious layers, a mix usually sounds better (bigger). I like to use one good stereo room ( which is where a Bricasti rivals all) but.. I get "close enough" reverbs with the Samplitude as well. My goal is to get a common stereo room and share that with all tracks. Its so simple and so effective.
My own take on recording is that there are basically two ways to do it - one is to do what it takes to capture the performances in as natural of a way as possible. This style puts the listener right there in the same room with the performers. It's an intimate sound - and I don't mean intimate in a way that suggests "soft". I'm using the word "intimate" in this regard to define
the proximity of the listener. The listener can be in close proximity to a loud rock band just as easily as they can be to a 3 piece jazz group in a laid back nightclub scenario. So, using this reference, the first way is to put the listener in the same room with the performers, regardless of volume level or power/impact level of the musicians.
In terms of Rock music, songs like Bad Company's
Shooting Star, or The Beatles
Get Back, while somewhat powerful, are still pretty intimate, in terms of the listener's proximity in a "natural" space.
The second way, is to give the listener an experience that is "un-natural". Something that sounds
bigger than life. Queen's
Bohemian Rhapsody, PF's
Run Like Hell, Alan Parson's
Some Other Place, are examples of a "larger than life" kind of production.
Stacked vocals can be heard in many songs, such as Journey's
Anytime That You Want Me, or, pretty much anything off of Def Leppard's
Hysteria album, (
because this was Mutt Lang's production style at the time).
I think that this style of production worked well for
those particular songs and projects, and lent a texture to the music that gave them more impact, more power. BUT... it has to be done well. Stacking is not easy... for the performer
or for the engineer.
Many novice musicians and engineers think that simply doubling or tripling parts is sufficient. There's a lot more to it than just that.
I could use the analogy of movies vs theater to better serve this opinion.... There are times I really dig a movie that has lots of cool CGI effects, that has things happening visually that you wouldn't ever see in real life. But, I also like theater, too, where the entire scope is basically focused on acting, and performance ability. There's little special effects happening, and it seems much more plausible, much more real.
So, with that same analogy used for
audio production, much like going to the theater to see a
play, there are times I want the sound of a song to be like I'm right there next to the performers. But, there are also times when I like the sound to be larger than life, to be un-natural, other-worldly, just like if I went to see a
movie like Star Wars, where things are happening that aren't real, but are
still cool to see.
The great thing about audio production, and the tools we have at our disposal these days, is that we can do either one. We just have to determine which style works best for the song we are working on at the time.
IMHO of course.
d.