[monroe]

So, I am my band's lead singer. And not because I'm a great singer, but because I'm not quite as terrible as everyone else. Still, I'm not a great singer. Average at best.

So, aside from the obvious things (practice, lessons, etc) that I should do, what else can I do to clean up my vocals, to sort of hide my shortcomings in that department? Effects? Anything?

[tigerstrat]

practice singing scales and modes as you play them on an instrument. practice vocalizing on pitch at every opportunity, even if its just going over your grocery list or reading billboards as you drive. And practice picking out and nailing harmony parts will improve lead ability as well.

[Emoto]

You could take voice lessons. A friend I used to jam with a lot started taking them and he is amazed by the difference it made.

Something free you can do is make sure you don't sing with a "closed" throat. Always be pushing out air when you sing. You can do this by mentally spelling the word differently. For example, the word "I" would ordinarily be closed throat, but if you sing it as "hI" the h forces you to expell air. Nobody will hear that you are singing an h there if you are careful. Apply this same principle to as many words as you can when you sing and your ability to hit and hold the correct pitch may improve.