I've recorded some vocals and was wondering what the best effects from Live would be to enhance them or make them sit in the mix like a professional recording would sound. I read somewhere that using the Compressor II would be good, but what about any others? Anyone have a tried and true method of using the Live 5 effects on vocals? Any help would be appreciated, or a link to the place of information.
Thanks.
Tips on using strictly Live 5 effects on vocals?
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rlwilliams
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2003 1:42 am
It really depends on what kind of sound you are trying to achieve.
For basic vocal recording info try this link:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_record_vocals.htm
You could try a Chorus or Reverb with subtle amount then EQ then Comp2.... or you could mic your vocal thru a Leslie speaker and achieve some Lennon filtered vocalness(perhaps a bandpass filter with some Erosion and verb)
Just try different things... maybe cut a small section and preview some different Effects Chains.
Only you will hear what sounds right to you.
For basic vocal recording info try this link:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_record_vocals.htm
You could try a Chorus or Reverb with subtle amount then EQ then Comp2.... or you could mic your vocal thru a Leslie speaker and achieve some Lennon filtered vocalness(perhaps a bandpass filter with some Erosion and verb)
Just try different things... maybe cut a small section and preview some different Effects Chains.
Only you will hear what sounds right to you.
With vocals I usually stick in a non-Live effect or two, but here's what I would do if I had to go strictly Live. Keep in mind that a LOT of this varies with how/where the vocals were recorded, so this is just a general guideline for what I would do with my set-up.
1) Gate
- keep everything moderate here. the key is transparency. keep a low threshold and attack, while keeping the release generously high.
2) EQ4
- I like to stick an EQ in before and after compression. Usually I stick my rolloffs here. Again, it's all about being subtle. My low-end rolloff is usually around 120hz and my high-end around 14k.
3) Compressor II
- This all depends on how you prefer your vocals. If you need some bite, leave the attack a little higher to keep some of those transients. What you want here is to smooth the dynamics of the vocal to keep it level in the mix while maintaining some presence. You'll want to play around with this one a bunch, so don't use a preset and call it a day, but the Moderate preset is a good place to start. Remember to keep tweaking this one while you mix.
4) Saturator (Optional)
- If you need a bit of bite, you know where to turn. I've found that Sine mode sounds a bit better on the other modes - it's not as harsh. If you go easy on the drive and keep it wetter than dry, you'll find that that you can tweak it a bit better. Add some color if you're feeling zesty.
5) EQ4 (again)
- I'd take care of some problem frequencies here. If there's a little bit of sibilance, do a really subtle notch. If you want to add some air, up the higher frequencies a little. Keep the EQing really light, and try to cut frequencies instead of adding them.
6) Reverb
- Pretty much a must for vocals. I usually use my Waves TrueVerb for this one. This also depends on the kind of style you're going for. Screw around with the presets to see what you like. I like taking the "Room" preset, making it a LOT more dry (we're talking 30%ish here) and making it a bit thicker. The Abes really have made some great presets - fiddle with them! They're a great resource.
7) Filter Delay
- Again, it all depends on what kind of genre you're working with. It's easy to go nutso on the delay and really some nice stereo effects going on, but I've found that you get better sounds if you just keep it all nice and subtle. If you have trouble with this, stick with the 2/2 setting on the Simple Delay (trust me, I'm a recovering addict as well). I tend to stick with the lower synched delay times - 2-6 serve me best. Keep the feedbacks and gain low, and I really love the sound of a low/midrange filter with a pretty small width. Tinker to your heart's content here as long as you keep it subtle.
That's what I would use as a starting point for a basic vocal. I uploaded the effects chain for tweakage:
http://www.retrobyte.net/ableton/fxgrou ... _vocal.adg
Cheers!
1) Gate
- keep everything moderate here. the key is transparency. keep a low threshold and attack, while keeping the release generously high.
2) EQ4
- I like to stick an EQ in before and after compression. Usually I stick my rolloffs here. Again, it's all about being subtle. My low-end rolloff is usually around 120hz and my high-end around 14k.
3) Compressor II
- This all depends on how you prefer your vocals. If you need some bite, leave the attack a little higher to keep some of those transients. What you want here is to smooth the dynamics of the vocal to keep it level in the mix while maintaining some presence. You'll want to play around with this one a bunch, so don't use a preset and call it a day, but the Moderate preset is a good place to start. Remember to keep tweaking this one while you mix.
4) Saturator (Optional)
- If you need a bit of bite, you know where to turn. I've found that Sine mode sounds a bit better on the other modes - it's not as harsh. If you go easy on the drive and keep it wetter than dry, you'll find that that you can tweak it a bit better. Add some color if you're feeling zesty.
5) EQ4 (again)
- I'd take care of some problem frequencies here. If there's a little bit of sibilance, do a really subtle notch. If you want to add some air, up the higher frequencies a little. Keep the EQing really light, and try to cut frequencies instead of adding them.
6) Reverb
- Pretty much a must for vocals. I usually use my Waves TrueVerb for this one. This also depends on the kind of style you're going for. Screw around with the presets to see what you like. I like taking the "Room" preset, making it a LOT more dry (we're talking 30%ish here) and making it a bit thicker. The Abes really have made some great presets - fiddle with them! They're a great resource.
7) Filter Delay
- Again, it all depends on what kind of genre you're working with. It's easy to go nutso on the delay and really some nice stereo effects going on, but I've found that you get better sounds if you just keep it all nice and subtle. If you have trouble with this, stick with the 2/2 setting on the Simple Delay (trust me, I'm a recovering addict as well). I tend to stick with the lower synched delay times - 2-6 serve me best. Keep the feedbacks and gain low, and I really love the sound of a low/midrange filter with a pretty small width. Tinker to your heart's content here as long as you keep it subtle.
That's what I would use as a starting point for a basic vocal. I uploaded the effects chain for tweakage:
http://www.retrobyte.net/ableton/fxgrou ... _vocal.adg
Cheers!
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Sales Dude McBoob
- Posts: 2844
- Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:34 pm
- Location: Durham, NC. USA
- Contact:
I use compression always. Try the preset "subtle" or "moderate" and tweek it a little.
For a more dramatic altering, use the compressor first, then stick an EQ in there. I forget which Live EQ it was (I'm not in front of my DAW at the moment), but one of them has a preset called 'Midnight'. Midnight is dramatic, it almost has that telephone quality to it. I'll sometimes stick in Midnight but I almost always tweek it for a bit, till it sounds more natural with the mix + the voice.
A little reverb and a dab of delay always sweetens things up a bit.
For a more dramatic altering, use the compressor first, then stick an EQ in there. I forget which Live EQ it was (I'm not in front of my DAW at the moment), but one of them has a preset called 'Midnight'. Midnight is dramatic, it almost has that telephone quality to it. I'll sometimes stick in Midnight but I almost always tweek it for a bit, till it sounds more natural with the mix + the voice.
A little reverb and a dab of delay always sweetens things up a bit.
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rlwilliams
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2003 1:42 am
The .adg is a device group, but not sure where to put it-- don't have a manual handy but check the manual for location of device group files, mebbe.
If there is a tune that is being sung, you might want to turn off warping on the vocal track before adding anything, because warping can subtly (or not so subtly) alter the timbre of the track in vocals. I'm thinking the implied assumption here is that the effects are applied after the vocal track is laid down,
I think the chain chrs mentions is good:
1) Gate -- primarily to elminate noise.
2) EQ4 -- don't forget to roll off the way low end. You can actually get rid of a lot of high highs and low lows with vocals, mess around and see how much of these you can cut with minimal impact on the vocal.
adjust 1 and 2 first...
3) then add and adjust this: Compressor II set to compress, moderate is good but don't be afraid to use drastic and tweak settings.
Get it to sound as good as you can with just these, and if you like that you might want to skip 4 and/or 6 and/or 5a and go to 6.
4) Saturator (Optional)
5) EQ4 (again), to smooth some of what compression and saturator might overemphasize.
5a) Might want to add Compressor II again, set to Limiter. This
allows you to boost the saturator.
put these right in the track
6) Reverb
put this on a send, set to post.
6a) Gate, optional: to clip off the reverb so it doesn't get too muddy.
7) Filter Delay or Simple Delay:
Put this on a send, set to "pre". Simple Delay set to 40-60 ms can give you a nice doubling effect. Send some of this signal to the Reverb send.
Another thing you can do with any of these is use them all on sends (1,2,3 on send A; 4-5a on send B; 6-6a on send C, 7 on send D, and then set "sends only" on the audio track and send D. In general set your audio track to sends only and then back to master can be fun to see which you like better.
If there is a tune that is being sung, you might want to turn off warping on the vocal track before adding anything, because warping can subtly (or not so subtly) alter the timbre of the track in vocals. I'm thinking the implied assumption here is that the effects are applied after the vocal track is laid down,
I think the chain chrs mentions is good:
1) Gate -- primarily to elminate noise.
2) EQ4 -- don't forget to roll off the way low end. You can actually get rid of a lot of high highs and low lows with vocals, mess around and see how much of these you can cut with minimal impact on the vocal.
adjust 1 and 2 first...
3) then add and adjust this: Compressor II set to compress, moderate is good but don't be afraid to use drastic and tweak settings.
Get it to sound as good as you can with just these, and if you like that you might want to skip 4 and/or 6 and/or 5a and go to 6.
4) Saturator (Optional)
5) EQ4 (again), to smooth some of what compression and saturator might overemphasize.
5a) Might want to add Compressor II again, set to Limiter. This
allows you to boost the saturator.
put these right in the track
6) Reverb
put this on a send, set to post.
6a) Gate, optional: to clip off the reverb so it doesn't get too muddy.
7) Filter Delay or Simple Delay:
Put this on a send, set to "pre". Simple Delay set to 40-60 ms can give you a nice doubling effect. Send some of this signal to the Reverb send.
Another thing you can do with any of these is use them all on sends (1,2,3 on send A; 4-5a on send B; 6-6a on send C, 7 on send D, and then set "sends only" on the audio track and send D. In general set your audio track to sends only and then back to master can be fun to see which you like better.
UTENZIL a tool... of the muse.