Compression & Verb for vocal chain??

[JLEpperson]

I usually bus my vocals. I sometimes put compression and verb/delay on the bus. I also set up a 2 auxs , one with verb and one with delay. This way I can put individual verbs and delays on individual parts. This seems to work ok,but I'm not blown away with the results.

I would like to get input from those who know...

1. What verbs do you use? TC...Lexicon...etc
2. What settings? hall.... plate...etc
3. What compression settings?
4. What about my Verb being on an individual Aux so drums/keys/guitars can use also?
5. What about putting comp/verb/delay on the vocal AUX?

Thanks
JE

[ToolWeanie]

Originally posted by JLEpperson:
I usually bus my vocals. I sometimes put compression and verb/delay on the bus. I also set up a 2 auxs , one with verb and one with delay. This way I can put individual verbs and delays on individual parts. This seems to work ok,but I'm not blown away with the results.

I would like to get input from those who know...

1. What verbs do you use? TC...Lexicon...etc

Answer. I prefer to use the Lex 960 or TC M6000 but when I don't have that I tend to use the LexiVerb but it depends on the song and what you are trying achieve.

2. What settings? hall.... plate...etc

Answer. Depends on the song...use your ears.

3. What compression settings?

Answer. See below

4. What about my Verb being on an individual Aux so drums/keys/guitars can use also?

Answer. See below

5. What about putting comp/verb/delay on the vocal AUX?

Answer. See below

Thanks
JE

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">My Vox chain:

A.) Inserted over Ld vox track

1.) Ren eq rolling off at 150 (or whatever gets rid of muddy low end freqs).

2.) Ren Comp set at a soft comp (ratio 2:1) to even the vox out a bit

B.) Bus Ld Vox track to an aux named "Ld Vox Aux"

C.) Ld Vox Aux has in this order (sometimes) Ren Eq to boost say, 8k (or whatever will brighten it)..and if the vox was recorded badly and has ugly peaks in it, I will automate the eq to eliminate the offending freqs, etc.

Then Ren comp set to the "Voiceover" preset to do a fairly deep squash on it (I tweak the settings to taste). Next in the chain I use, believe it or not, TC VocalStrip. It has the best desser of all the plugins out there in my humble opinion. Try the "vintage" preset if you are looking for some grit on the vocal (works great with rock) and tweak to taste. Now with all this comp the breathes get a bit too loud so I will then go back to the "Ld Vox track" and draw automation to decrease the db's on all the breathes so they are not hitting the aux comp too hard. Some people like to use the desser inserted over the "Ld Vox track" but I prefer at over the "Ld Vox aux" so I have more control over it. I can always automate it at this stage.

D.) I'll create a couple of auxes for verbs and then create sends from the "Ld Vox Aux" to send to them. I also like to create a couple of auxes that are dedicated for delays. One will be a mono aux with a delay set at around 175ms that I will roll off the hi end to around 1K or less and set the "mix" to 100%. I tuck it in way back behind the Ld Vox to the point where you can barely hear it, but it adds life and depth.

I don't like to put any delays or verbs as inserts over my "Ld Vox track" or over my "Ld Vox Aux" because you don't have as much control over the sonics.

This is just a basic starting point. I change my approach to some degree or another with every mix I do because different artists want different things.

There are many ways you have to learn to make a vox work in a mix and each song is different. There is no "one way". Bob Clearmountain starts his mixes with only the vocal and builds the sonics around it according to the type of track it is and then adds everything else around it. There is not one way to mix a song. You have to carve out the way that you do it through experimenting until you find the way that works for you.

I mainly do rock so if you are doing jazz or classical you need a very different approach than what I am posting here.

I hope this helps.

[JLEpperson]

Do you use your aux verbs for other instruments other than vocals? Is this common practice?
Thanks

[ToolWeanie]

Originally posted by JLEpperson:
Do you use your aux verbs for other instruments other than vocals? Is this common practice?
Thanks

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Of course (why waste a good verb on just one thing), again if it is appropriate for the material. I was working with Niko Bolas today and he was using his EMT 250 on the snare drum and the BG vox. It is a common practice.

[Philthy]

A common reverb will help to make the mix feel like it's all happening in the same environment. I usually use Lexiverb or Reverb One. Sometimes Reverb One is just too transparent and nice sounding, if you can imagine that- Lexiverb has more substance to it if you need to fill things up. Settings depend totally on the singer and song!

Use sends for reverb / delay on auxes. The FX auxes should be set to 100% wet. Without this how can you control the balance between the reverb and the clean signal, between multiple tracks?

The vocalist, the song, and the mic you're using are going to really affect your compressor/eq settings, so much so that it's not worth getting into numbers. Well, almost not worth it. Generally you might try a compressor with a fast attack and a slow release, a high-pass or roll-off to get rid of low freq mic noise, a boost somewhere between 1 - 2.5 k for energy, another boost in the 10-12 k for presence. Sometimes I do all of these, sometimes none- it really depends on the situation and your ears. Before anyone ditches on me for throwing out numbers, admit to yourself that you've made those same tweaks-

Usually that will be it for a lead vocal. For choruses or layered parts with stacked vocals and/or harmonies I will often bus all those tracks to a stereo aux and then compress that aux. That tends to give it cohesion and a popular music quality. You can also tweak the EQ again there if you want, or maybe add something fun like a chorus. You could even set up a second aux return and only effect that one, mixing together clean and dry- maybe an amp plug to dirty things up or cut through a heavy mix, or maybe something like Bruno to thicken things up or just get generally spacey.

But again, try putting the reverb on an aux and using sends to color to taste!