Reverb for microphone

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
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Andy Earhol
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2021 6:16 pm

Reverb for microphone

Post by Andy Earhol » Tue Oct 19, 2021 6:25 pm

Complete newb here and a bit overwhelmed. I got the Ableton live 11 Lite (dread to think what a heavy one might be like) free with my Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 and I have a basic question, which is; I understand that you can add reverb and/or echo to an existing piece of music (file), but can you add it to live music, i.e. can I sing through a microphone and have my voice come out through my Presonus monitor speakers live with the reverb and/or echo effect already applied to it?

That's all I want really, i.e. I'm not wanting to mix music tracks or become a record producer or anything, I just want to sing, maybe with a karaoke backing and maybe record (at a push), so is the Ableton live 11 Lite even the best way to go, or is there a much simpler way? Thank you.

EDIT: Just one other thing. When I downloaded the Ableton live 11 Lite, I ended up with this...

Image

I've obviously installed the application, but do I have to install 'Data 1' and 'Data 2' also? What are they even?

I think my newbiness is showing again :(

Greenapples2019
Posts: 283
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 6:43 pm

Re: Reverb for microphone

Post by Greenapples2019 » Tue Oct 19, 2021 7:45 pm

Hi Andy, yes you can, it's pretty straightforward. Have a watch of some YT videos covering an overview of Ableton but essentially what you'll do is open a new project (which automatically puts reverb on one of the return tracks). You'll plug your mic onto the Focusrite, route it into Ableton (videos will explain how) and decide how much of your mic signal you want to send to your reverb track. Then the dry vocal plus reverb will go back to the Focusrite and out of your monitors/headphones. It might take a couple of goes to get the hang of it but there's loads of tutorials online and the manual is great.

We use Ableton with our band to handle the vocals, bass, drums, backing tracks, click tracks, reverbs, delays, lights, presets on guitar effects pedals, and loads more. It's really versatile.

Good luck!

Andy Earhol
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Reverb for microphone

Post by Andy Earhol » Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:27 pm

Thank you for your reply. That still sounds a bit beyond me, but I supposed it will become more evident when I watch the videos you referred to and start having a mess around with it.

I would imagine that learning how to use Ableton to the degree that you do with your band is quite a learning curve, but I only want it for something pretty rudimentary, so it shouldn't take too long to work it out. I just didn't want to even start trying to do it until I at least knew for sure that it was possible, so thanks again for furnishing me with the answer to that question, I really appreciate you taking the time.

Greenapples2019
Posts: 283
Joined: Wed Apr 10, 2019 6:43 pm

Re: Reverb for microphone

Post by Greenapples2019 » Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:34 pm

You're welcome Andy, I was exactly where you are now, staring at my free copy of Ableton Lite wondering what the hell it was. I didn't bother, used Garageband and then Logic instead, and came back to Ableton a couple of years later. I'm no expert now but I can get it to do what we need it to, and once you get a grasp on it it's actually easier and more versatile than a lot of other DAWs. YouTube is your friend, even though most videos seem geared towards people using Ableton for dance/DJ rather than live vocals/band. Loopop is a good starting point: https://youtu.be/8NfnRShtIFE

Tarekith
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Re: Reverb for microphone

Post by Tarekith » Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:36 pm

There's a whole bunch of free, and short, videos to show you the basics of Live and get you up to speed asap here:

https://www.ableton.com/en/live/learn-live/
Tarekith
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Andy Earhol
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2021 6:16 pm

Re: Reverb for microphone

Post by Andy Earhol » Tue Oct 26, 2021 3:03 pm

Hi Tarekith, sorry for the sluggish reply but I've been a bit busy and in spite of looking at a few tutorials and having a mess Ableton lite 11 live, I'm no nearer discovering what I need to do to simply get a bit of reverb and/or echo on a live mic through the Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 audio interface.

That's all I want really, and maybe to record a little bit, but that's a big maybe. Is there a specific video clip that shows how to do that rather than learning to use the whole program just to find that one thing out? Learning the whole thing just for that seems a bit like studying for a Mathematics degree just to learn addition and subtraction. Like I said, I just want to be able to plug my mic into the 6i6, dial in a bit of reverb and make my live singing voice sound more crisp rather than slightly muffled, rather than apply reverb to an existing recording.

Thanks

AbletonMASCHINE
Posts: 104
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2021 6:27 am

Re: Reverb for microphone

Post by AbletonMASCHINE » Tue Oct 26, 2021 4:19 pm

Andy Earhol wrote:
Tue Oct 26, 2021 3:03 pm
...
That's all I want really, and maybe to record a little bit, but that's a big maybe. ...
Thanks
Sounds as you would look rather for a DAWless HW setup. You could realize it via a decent mic preamp and a delay/reverb effect "pedal". This small analog chain is then connected to your focusrite interface using it's line inputs. Not cheap but easy to handle on stage. Go to a local dealer and get the right configuration for your purposes.

miyaru
Posts: 1267
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:08 pm
Location: The Netherlands

Re: Reverb for microphone

Post by miyaru » Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:34 pm

Just add this to your setup, and your done.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/tchelicon_voi ... 9&reload=1
Greetings from Miyaru.
Prodaw i7-7700, 16Gb Ram, Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd gen, ESI M4U eX, Reason 12, Live Suit 10, Push2, Presonus Eris E8 and Monitor Station V2, Lexicon MPX1,
Korg N1, Yamaha RM1x :mrgreen:

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