Anyone else add reverb to vocals while tracking?

  • Thread starter Thread starter murphyd311
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I was once told that "forum threads that stay strictly on topic die a quick death".
 
Out of interest, does anyone else just mute their vocals?

A guy I work with can't get enough vocal in the headphones and I have to keep latency down for him, but for me, I always mute the vocal track and keep one side of the headphones off.

Maybe it's just cos I'm always tracking vocals to a sparse arrangement, where everything will be tweaked around the vocal?
 
grimtraveller said:
Is it ? The OP asks "does anyone else use reverb on vocals while tracking ?". Well you either do or you don't, it's kind of a yes or no answer, really, not a great deal of discussion can be had.........unless people start to point out why they do it which then leads to others saying why they don't which then leads to someone pointing out something or other about reverb which then opens up the subject of reverb which then leads to where we currently are ! :D
That's sometimes the nature of conversations, even on the internet. It just goes to show how interelated different things can be and how one thing can spark off something else.
Or maybe many of us are just rubbish at answering a question briefly and sticking to the subject.........
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You interrupted this conversation for that? :D
 
Steenamaroo said:
Out of interest, does anyone else just mute their vocals?

A guy I work with can't get enough vocal in the headphones and I have to keep latency down for him, but for me, I always mute the vocal track and keep one side of the headphones off.

Maybe it's just cos I'm always tracking vocals to a sparse arrangement, where everything will be tweaked around the vocal?
Click to expand...

I've done that very rarely...I used to work with one vocalist who preferred to just have the basic melody in the headphones (and one side pushed off the ear) and just hear their "live" voice.

I tend to let myself be guided by what the vocalist wants--but, when working with beginners, it's important to let them experiment and get just the right mix. It's amazing how much difference a bit of balancing between the music and the vocal can make to the performance even if they don't initially know what works best for them.

(As an aside, this is one area where I love my Yammy digital mixer. Push one button and the faders become the aux sends, allowing me the easiest way in the world to "mix" the headphone feed.)
 
Bobbsy said:
(As an aside, this is one area where I love my Yammy digital mixer. Push one button and the faders become the aux sends, allowing me the easiest way in the world to "mix" the headphone feed.)
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OOOH, that's nice.
I used to have that with the digi 003, to an extent.
Ok, you had to set up sends at the start of the session, but there was a flip button that turned the flying faders into a sends mix.

It's one feature that is actually missing from protools unless you have a control surface.
They should totally have a flip button for your on screen sends.
Scumbags.
 
Reverb Used For Vocals

I use reverb for all vocals while recording. The best reason is that a vocalist won't know what vowels to accentuate and what hard consonants to lay off of unless they have a feeling of how it will lay in the mix with reverb. Vocalists also tend to hold out notes a little longer with reverb, which adds feeling to a track. On Reverbnation, look for "Keeno Noir" and the song "Nice To Know You" was recorded in this manner.
 
Depends on the genre. I don't put monitor reverb on rap vocals but (as has been stated many times) it can improve the performance (confidence, comfort) while singing. I, for one, can't sing too well (okay - AT ALL) but I'm a real Frank Sinatra in the bathroom, where there's such amounts of reverb that would instantly kill a mix.

As a side note I found it to be true that often monitor reverb makes a vocalist sing a little flat.
 
I never use reverb when I record my vocals. But then, I don't monitor them either. In the project I'm doing at the moment, where my vocals are actually going, they are covered in reverb though. Often soaked in the stuff. =P Purposely for effect. Generally a little delay too in parts. But I always record everything dry.
 
Yup, I always do it. On inserts to my desk so it's not printed.
 
Bobbsy said:
I was once told that "forum threads that stay strictly on topic die a quick death".
Click to expand...

Then this is the exception that proves the rule. Once it became about using reverb in a mix instead of using reverb in monitors it became boring and generic.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Then this is the exception that proves the rule. Once it became about using reverb in a mix instead of using reverb in monitors it became boring and generic.
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I think it's just starting to get interesting. Look at all the posts following the segue....about the segue! :D

;)

Kidding aside though...like someone mentioned a few posts back, the question/discussion about using reverb (or not) in a cue mix during tracking...well, there's not really much to discuss, either you do or don't. I mean, there's not a heck of a lot of technique to talk about or application. It's mainly a do or don't thing...with maybe a small consideration as to what amount of reverb to use in a cue mix, but again, it's all down to personal preferences...and/or up to the singer/player.

I think we hit on all the good points...and then it was inevitable that a segue would occur.

AFA as mix reverbs...I'm guessing that these days most people in the HR world are using soft sims. I was wondering if anyone in the HR world ever tries to utilize real acoustic spaces...like long hallways or other spaces?
I know there are some long standing pro studios that still have large echo chambers in use for certain sounds.
Of course for us HR people, it's not feasible to build them...but there is the possibility finding existing spaces to record in.

At my IT day gig, one of my side jobs is maintaining the website and ticketing system for the theater that falls under our organization...and it's a big MOFO, seats over 4k and has two balconies, and a huge stage.
I've thought about dragging in an amp and maybe trying to cut some guitar tracks in there on an off weekend...but just never got around to it.
So yeah...does anyone here ever try stuff like that to get natural reverb...?
 
miroslav said:
.well, there's not really much to discuss, either you do or don't. I mean, there's not a heck of a lot of technique to talk about or application. It's mainly a do or don't thing.
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I beg to differ. Well, I won't beg, but I will differ.....gimme about 5 minutes, while I go differ.........

....OK,I just finished differing. I washed my hands and I'm back............


But I think there can be a discussion on certain techniques for using reverb on vocals in a mix.

For example, I've sent the vocal to a delay, and then send the delay to the reverb. I guess that's just adding a predelay which can probably be done with a reverb alone. But I got used to doing it this way a long time ago. It has it's benefits because the original vocal signal is dry, but a few milliseconds later the delay/reverb kicks in. So the vocal is still in your face while still having depth. And you can have just one repeat on the delay or several, and they'll all have a reverb tail on them, so it's not just a predelay on the reverb. It's a cosmic mash of religion and hockey. :eek:




So there...........(sticking out tongue smiley needed) :D
 
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Wait, wasn't I the guy that first pointed out that this thread changed direction?

And now I'm part of the problem!!!!

Et moi, Brutè?

:eek:
 
I just bought a new Alesis Nanoverb2 for $100. I put it in my aux channel of my mackie mixer. So now I don't have the delay issue to worry about. I don't print it. I hated changing monitor buttons and extra software busses all the time. etc.
 
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