Vocal Process Chains and Buses

[amagras]

Originally Posted by ZacMenton

Like I said, I know my basics, I am just TRYING to have a complex mix or try new techniques that I haven't used.

I guess this happens to most of us, you think you need a complex mix until you realize that the sound you are looking for is a simple mix, however I agree that to get there you need to ruin a lot of mixes with complexity and, indeed, try new techniques.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by amagras

I guess this happens to most of us, you think you need a complex mix until you realize that the sound you are looking for is a simple mix, however I agree that to get there you need to ruin a lot of mixes with complexity and, indeed, try new techniques.

Indeed.

Since getting PT 2019.6 and to test out how the program works for me I've been going through some old stuff I've done on both PT 10.3.10 and PT 11.3.2. While I thought they sounded okay back then along with what I've learned (and unlearned) over the years I'm finding that scaling back some of the 'fine tuning' I've done with effects actually makes for a better sound.

[ZacMenton]

Originally Posted by albee1952

No doubt

I used the noise gate to cut out both noise and space in between my words...I mean if I'm about to sing fast lyrics I'm taking a quiet breath and the mic will pick it up even at -30 db so noise gate gets rid of that...

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by ZacMenton

both noise and space in between my words.

Like... space noise.
Imagine floating in space. No noise. Silence.
I guess I digress.

[64GTOBOY]

Originally Posted by Ben Jenssen

Like... space noise.
Imagine floating in space. No noise. Silence.
I guess I digress.

Is this a haiku? Kewl.

[Ben Jenssen]

Originally Posted by 64GTOBOY

Is this a haiku? Kewl.

It is what it is.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by ZacMenton

I used the noise gate to cut out both noise and space in between my words...I mean if I'm about to sing fast lyrics I'm taking a quiet breath and the mic will pick it up even at -30 db so noise gate gets rid of that...

Well.......what noise? Removing breaths can sometimes make a performance sound odd because breathing is a natural part of singing. Imagine Steve Miller's "Big Ol' Jet Airliner" without the breaths

[albee1952]

And....just in case this fell through the cracks, delay plugins on an AUX track should also be set to 100% wet(that way they don't cause the vocal to get louder).

Back to the beginning for a moment; using tons of tricks and suggestions from videos and books is all fine, but try to get a handle on "why" those ideas are something you need to employ(rather than just piling on stuff because a video tells you to). Adding stuff that your track doesn't need just over-complicates stuff and that makes it hard to learn(something I am still doing after 30 years).

Here's my journey when it comes to vocals and processing(including WHY):
First insert is left empty for Melodyne(if needed)Tuning plugins work best on the raw audio.
Slot B is EQ III 7 band, but only with hi-pass around 120Hz while tracking.
Slot C is BF76 set to just grab the peaks.
Slot D is SMACK!, which has some "character"(its based on the LA-2A). this does more compression(4-6db of GR).
Slot E is a Pultec EQ-1A with a boost at 10-12K to add some "air"(which the double compressors tend to take away(Waves Puigtech is my fave, but the Bomb Factory Pultec works fine). This covers 90% of vocal mixing, AFTER using CLIP GAIN to level out the track(if you're asking why I use clip gain when I have 2 compressors already, that's a great question! The answer is: it makes the compressors stay more consistent in how much "work" they do, and keeps the "character" of SMACK! more consistent)

Come time to mix, here are my optional additions;
1-I MIGHT do some gentle EQ(slot 2)(the right mic and good preamp mean less EQ is needed).
2-in Slot F. If the vocal has lots of problem areas, Waves F6 is great for this, but is very complicated to learn(especially for beginners) so maybe watch some youtube videos(or Waves videos) about Dynamic EQ("multi-band compressors" are another great but complex tool for this).
3-in Slot G. This is where I insert a de-esser(but only if I really need it). Much of my de-essing(and controlling breath noises) is done with other methods(like automating volume or Audiosuite the actual "Ssss").

I use sends to AUX tracks for reverb and echo. Sometimes I will also send the echo to the same reverb so they blend in(depending if I want the echo to be subtle or obvious). Putting EQ on the reverb or delay can help clean things up. It can help to remove low end on the reverb, and I often remove the highs from delay(also to keep things cleaner). I know this is a lot to digest, but now you can try things knowing why. If you decide they don't work for you, that's absolutely cool(because you will probably understand WHY you don't like it) And yes, there are times when I dig deeper into the bag 'o tricks, but that's for another lesson