Echo/Reverb on Vox

[dravenzouk]

Hey folks,

This question is kind of a general survey on use of reverb or echo (or other effects) on FOH vocals. My applications are usually rock bands in smallish venues, mostly indoors.

What kind of processing do you use on vocals here? Echo/reverb? How much or how little? Do you run dry most or all of the time? What factors in to your decision on how much or how little to use? Do you typically run the same processing for the vox in the monitor chain? Any favorite processors or settings? More or less effect on lead vox relative to backups? Do you apply the same effects to the rest of the mix? etc.

Different viewpoints and approaches are appreciated. Discuss.

thanks, d.

[BlueShift]

Wow, a lot of questions. Here are some answers in no particular order:

I always use some kind of vocal effect, the amount depends entirely on the application. For what I do I generally have three vocal effects running, a reverb, vocal doubler, and a multi-tap stereo delay.

So I usually work with a vocal line consisting of 7 people. 1 leader, 6 backing vocals. of the backing vocals, there will be one key female and one key male who sing melodies, then at least one harmony and then the rest melodies. So I set up a hall reverb (yamaha rev-x hall) with a decay time of around 2 seconds, medium-large room size and then apply varying amounts to all the vocalists (less on the leader and weaker singers). Then I 2 instances of a vocal doubler for the key male and key female BV with some panning to fatten up the line a bit. and then a tap delay (more on leader, less on BV).

In addition I will use another 2 reverbs: 1 for drums, and 1 for general band (if any particular instrument sounds a bit dry).

[colebrooke]

Hi, to answer your questions:

 

q: What kind of processing do you use on vocals here? Echo/reverb? How much or how little?

Both in moderation. Less is more, especially if the acoustics are poor.

 

q: Do you run dry most or all of the time?

about 70% of the time. depends on the venue, the band, and what outboard is available.

 

q: What factors in to your decision on how much or how little to use?

Acoustics of the venue. How 'full' the mix is (can I notice when I add a little reverb when the band is playing? If not, I generally take it out all together, or add a little for quieter tracks). I use delay mostly timed to the tempo of the song (lead vocals only), and manually fade up the delay FX return at the end of some song lines... it's down to artistic taste really.

 

q: Do you typically run the same processing for the vox in the monitor chain?

In my XP some artists hate reverb in the monitors, others love it, so it varies.

 

q: Any favorite processors or settings?

Where possible I use the processors built into digital desks. Otherwise an Alesis Midiverb does the job fine. Nothing too fancy for live work. IMHO high end reverb units are more at home in the studio. I normally tweek the hall and stage reverb or plate settings a little, either shorten or lengthen the decay time. And maybe adjust the pre-delay a little to try and preserve intelegibility.

 

q: More or less effect on lead vox relative to backups?

A little less on backups, but would depend on the song. Or they would be dry if the venue is quite 'live'.

 

q: Do you apply the same effects to the rest of the mix?

Hmm, not really... sometimes a little reverb on drum overheads / snare, and guitar, but mostly no.

 

Just my approach!

 

all the best

Justin

[StevieR]

Well, I would generally always have a reverb unit in the rack. Whether or not I would use it is dependent on the material and the venue acoustics. Normally I would have a little on a vocal but only just enough to 'wet' the vocal unless I am trying to achieve a very lush effect. For rock'n'roll I would also generally have a dedicated delay unit (e.g. TC D2) but its use will very much depend on the material that the performer/band produces.

 

Addition of effect to instruments is again very dependent on the situation but I would consider adding to things like acoustic guitar, strings and piano.

 

Favourite units - Yamaha Rev500 and SPX990 and also used to use the Alesis Midiverb4 in the past. Generally 3 or 4 favourite patches in each unit.

[dbuckley]

As you mentioned "other effects", then worth mentioning is compression of vocals; thats the thing to get right first, in my opinion.

[jamesperrett]

As you mentioned "other effects", then worth mentioning is compression of vocals; thats the thing to get right first, in my opinion.

 

Compression is also very dangerous if you aren't absolutely sure of what you are doing. Inappropriate use of compression is probably one of the biggest causes of feedback that I've encountered in systems that I've used recently.

 

Cheers

 

James.