favorite dynamic chain for vocals

pcstudios

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I've got a favorite dynamic chain for processing vocals. It's the Waves CLA-76 into the CLA-2A. I also like the Waves RVox alone. But it's not as transparent as using the other two.

How do you guys process vocal dynamics?
 
my vocal chain is U47 clone mic > Avedis MA5 preamp > Pete's Place BAC500 Compressor> Motu HD192. Then in the box I'll always HPF. and maybe pull some low mid down, and that's only if needed. That's about it. If I still need to control the vocals dynamics, I'll use clip gain automation, or vocal rider.
 
This is an interesting post, so I'm reviving it.

Going back to fundamentals, I would say that my "chain" first consisted of understanding how the space sounds when you sing. Is it dead and if it's alive, are there any sound artifacts that might come through in the recording. Does added reverb work to treat a dead vocal? Or should I look for a better space to record the vocal track?

Second, I think about the voice itself and what kind of mic is the best match. I constantly struggle with harsh vocals. So sometimes a Shure SM7b is my first choice. On the other hand, sometimes that mic is not roomy or full enough. It's eliminates most of the room sound, but that's not always a positive.

Third, I rely on a pop filter and placing the singer (me) at the right distance. I also think about the words I'm about to sing to determine which might cause plosives or sibilance. Then I remind myself: "No sibilance please. Your Logic DeEsser sucks." :D And put down the coffee, It causes you to sound sibilant.

Fourth, I plug into a Great River Me1nv routed to an Apogee Duet. The processing is usually simple. EQ, compression, reverb. I use primarily Logic native plugins to keep things simple. I also have some Waves vocal plugins (mostly Renaissance). They tend to be simple with few controls and sometimes I don't feel like digging under the hood. If I use the logic compressor, I sit there all day rotating the attack and release knobs:D

Lately, I've been playing around with parallel compression to get more volume out of the vocal. Here, I'm just bussing the vocal to another Logic compressor. I've also been fooling around with multi band compression on the vocal track to address my harshness problems. The idea being to isolate the offending region (3.5-6k?) ad gradually add compression.
 
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Going back to fundamentals, I would say that my "chain" first consisted of understanding how the space sounds when you sing. Is it dead and if it's alive, are there any sound artifacts that might come through in the recording. Does added reverb work to treat a dead vocal? Or should I look for a better space to record the vocal track?

Second, I think about the voice itself and what kind of mic is the best match.
Well written. I do not have a go to chain. I will use what ever is needed for that specific singer and that specific room get the best sound possible.
I never go into a situation with pre-determined thoughts
 
High pass filter (different if it's male or female voice), gentle compression (I often use the stock Pro Tools plugins), parallel compression.
 
yes, old thread, but an interesting one. Vocals is my weakest area, I tend to use this chain:

1) siblance de-esser
2) Slate VMR (noise gate, channel console, EQ (FG-S or N generally), FG-401 compressor)

Buss out to lustrous plates and repeater plugins.

If it doesn't sound good in the mix, I'll add the Greg Wells vocal plugin from waves, or the Air EQ from Slate to tinker with, or the multi-pressor thingy that Slate added recently. Sometimes I'll try the Waves Doubler on a buss just to experiment.

Luckily our singer is a one-take wonder so I usually don't have to do any pitch correction or tweaking at all. I *might* dupe the track and apply 100% pitch correction just to get a doubled-vocal if it fits the song.

What did you all discover that made a huge difference in creating professional sounding VOX? I still feel like I'm fumbling in the dark a lot of the times.
 
Ill bump this thread, the dynamic chain for vocals....


Mic> outboard preamp or straight to interface

....then the interface might be clean or have "realtime plugin options" to select mic preamps and dynamics ITB....or maybe spending on some outboard preamps, eq, comps/limiters is preferred.

So ITB or Hardware....some Neve 73 inspired piece, or 73plugin,....PreAmp
my current is a Alctron clone of a GReatRiver which is a clone of flavor of the Neve ish...transformers and discrete components..no IC chips.....or a Neve 73 PreAmp plugin/ PodFarm.

Then EQ...Reaper 11 band...then usually a light bit of comp/and or limit.
currently the hardware is a KT2A going in, but the PodFarm has a 2A also and much much more, gates/.expanders, eq, an whatever sounds from the ocean of plugins... can put it on later and use Klanghelm comps or the +10DB Boz Channel Strip

Its a mystery how they did all the recordings before plugins were invented?
 
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