recording vocals and adding fx

[cliff richard]

To help my confidence when recording vocals i thought i would add a little reverb/chorus fx onto my headphones. The result was fantastic, it almost seemed as if id sang with more reverb and depth. Thats because in my incompetence i had actually added the fx to the main mix aswell!!!! Which leads to my question, is it wrong to add a little fx to your vocal on the way in, or should i keep it totally dry? Im recording on cubase sx 2 so could add fx later on which i guess would give me more flexibility, but i did like the sound i had achieved with fx added on the way in. Is it wrong to do it this way?

Cheers

 

[Massive Master]

Normally, yeah, that's a big no-no.

(A) It's probably going to a mono track. Mono verb is... Well, it's friggin' mono for one thing.

(B) Your choice of reverb may change drastically during mixdown. Reverbs have a terrible habit of fighting with each other. Changes of 10th's of seconds in the decay and pre-delay can make a world of difference. So, you really don't want to lock yourself into a particular template.

It certainly isn't wrong to add some to the headphone mix while recording, though. It can have that "inspirational" effect that brings out a better performance.

 

[cliff richard]

I will take your advice, thanks for the help.

 

[Ed Dixon]

Record dry and add fx during the mixdown. Some systems allow you to record dry, but have fx in the headphones during recording. This can many times help the vocalist.

Ed

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Cliff-Hanger:

Yea, verily, to what MM said. I "always" put reverb in the cans for my clients. It is kind of an impowering power which enhances confidence and articulation of the singer. BUT, this reverb is NOT recorded; I add FX during mixdown, which is what most do.

You can actually spend many hours doing different reverb settings when you mix down and choose those that suit your ears or the talent's ears. Selective ambience is a real art but it isn't very difficult to become an artist.

Green Hornet

 

[minofifa]

ya hornet excelent point. The monitoring chain is different than the recording chain. Adding some verb into the cans simply for monitoring purposes has always been useful for me. don't know what kind of setup you have cliff but the reverb i add for monitoring purposes is external (not software) driven. I have direct monitoring on through my soundcard, then to a rever box then to the headphones. I didn't want to add the reverb though sonar (my software of choice) because that would munch up some of my badly needed cpu power.

 

[Reggaesoldier]

how are you guys putting the final reverb into the mix? I mean what are you using and how is it connected?

 

[mixsit]

how are you guys putting the final reverb into the mix? I mean what are you using and how is it connected?

I have a pair of lexicons as outboard on four sends and returns to/from Sonar.
The pair of returns end up as recorded effects tracks in the mix.

the Dennis Miller thing...
Wayne