Help with Reverb on Vocals

[Becharax]

Hello Folks,

I am a true newbie when it comes to tracking vocals ... been used to creating EDM Music without vocals at all ...

Now I am about to use some vocals in my tracks ....

One thing I would really like to know .... how can I get that perfect reverb sound on vocals that is on most commercial tracks ...

I know one thing, it is better to use reverb as a send rather than an insert effect ....

What are the good settings for vocals using any standard Reverb plugin you guys use, whether stock or let's say any Waves Plugin ... can you provide me with a preset ?

Thanks

[JFreak]

Plenty of presets come with whatever reverb plugin you choose to buy. but few things you want to keep in mind and experiment:

1) pre-delay. if you don't have it on your lead vocal, it will get buried under the reverb and you keep pushing the volume up. you don't need much, generally speaking somewhere between 25-50ms should be perfect, depending on the material.
2) reverb length. don't overdo it. for a fast song keep it under one second and for a slower one, do not let yourself be fooled with anything longer than 1.7sec -- might sound nice to begin with, but most likely gives you trouble somewhere else. then again, these are only general guidelines, not strict rules.
3) two small reverbs might be more than one huge hall. try very short reverb combined with slightly longer plate. or something else. however these need to be two different algorithms, otherwise you would benefit from delay more than a reverb.
4) oh, did I already mention a delay? sometimes delay is better "reverb" than anything else.
5) remember, you're trying to make the vocal sound nicer, not push it back behind the drum kit...

Good luck :)

[Becharax]

can you try to elaborate a little more on the 3rd point ?? I didn't quite get it on how to do it technically ...

[JFreak]

You can do it either in parallel or in serial; for example:

parallel)
you have two sends and two auxes. sendA to aux1 drives short reverb and sendB to aux2 drives long reverb. mix to taste.

serial)
you have one send and one aux just like using single reverb. you have short reverb in insert slot 1 and long reverb on insert slot 2, or vice versa. use different MIX percentages on both reverbs to get it right.

This is art more than science :)

[Becharax]

Perfect !! Thank you !! :)

[Muddy-T]

Couple more more things you may want to try;

- insert a de-esser before your reverb plug in

- roll off some top end on the rev return

- experiment with compression on the rev return

[Stig Eliassen]

Good tips above, so I won't go there.

But, keep in mind that if you send something awful into any reverb, there's a good chance you're getting something awful in return (pun intended). Good, clean vocal tracks are important. You can't "fix it in the mix" by using reverb. Just sayin'...

[Becharax]

De-Essing, Compression and EQ on the AUX Reverb Channel ?

[JFreak]

Yep, most processing before the reverb, some after. You will know what you like once you experiment...

[DonaldM]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Yep, most processing before the reverb, some after. You will know what you like once you experiment...

All of the above AND remember a lot depends on the type of sound you're after. If you're doing, say, some sort of EDM mix with vocals, a lot of those have vocals awash in reverbs...or at least some of the vocal tracks are and then it backs off in different parts of the song, depending. So don't overlook thinking about parts of song...a chorus say, or a BGV track...where a more intense reverb effect is exactly what's on order, where as the verse might be a lot lighter. One size will not fit all throughout the entire song in many cases. Again, it depends on the type of song you're doing and the groove, feel, presentation you're after.

Another tip, you could also create 2 aux tracks...one with Reverb A and one with Reverb B...and then send from Aux A to Aux B...mix to taste. This can layer a reverb effect nicely.

Reverberate from Liquidsonics allows you to actually have 2 different reverbs simultaneously on one insert that you can mix together in any way you wish, or even automate. Clever.