How Pro Engineers Put Effects On Vocals
Summary
TLDRIn this engaging tutorial, the presenter shares a technique for enhancing vocal effects to achieve a clean and impactful sound without the typical issues of delay and reverb washing out the vocals. The video addresses the challenge of adding delay to vocals without making them sound messy. Instead of using side chaining, the presenter introduces a method of vocal automation that selectively applies delay to the last word of each phrase, thus avoiding overlap with the first words. This is followed by the use of a compressor to duck the delay volume when the next vocal phrase begins, resulting in a clean and well-defined vocal track. The tutorial concludes with a before-and-after comparison of the track, showcasing the effectiveness of the technique. For those interested in mastering audio production, the presenter also provides a link to a website offering discounted courses on mixing and mastering.
Takeaways
- 🎤 The goal is to achieve clean vocal effects without them being washed out by delays and reverbs.
- 🔄 To make the vocal more interesting, the producer works on a vocal track with gaps between words that sound dry.
- 🚫 Adding a delay to a vocal track can make it sound messy if it affects the entire track, especially when there are gaps.
- ✂️ A solution is to apply the delay only to the last word of each phrase, avoiding the messy effect.
- 🎛️ Vocal automation is used to control when the delay effect is applied, specifically to the last word of each phrase.
- 📈 By automating the delay send, the delay is triggered only on the last word, enhancing the impact without clutter.
- 👍 Encouragement is given for viewers to like and subscribe for more content like this.
- 🔄 After applying the delay to the last word, a sidechain compression technique is used to avoid overlap with the next vocal phrase.
- 🎚️ A compressor is set up on the delay channel to duck its volume when the main vocal comes back in, ensuring a clean mix.
- 🎼 The final result is a track where the delay effect is well-controlled, providing a fuller sound without interfering with the vocals.
- 🎓 For those interested in learning more about mixing and mastering, a promotion for a summer sale on courses is mentioned at streaky.com.
Q & A
What is the main issue with the vocal track as described in the script?
-The main issue is that the vocal track sounds dry and lacks impact due to the gaps between each word, making it less engaging in the song.
Why does adding a delay to the vocal track make it sound messy?
-Adding a delay to the vocal track makes it sound messy because the delay picks up on the first transient of each word, causing an overlap and blurring of the words.
What is the proposed solution to make the vocal track more interesting without making it sound messy?
-The proposed solution is to apply the delay effect only to the last word of each phrase, rather than the entire vocal track.
How is the delay effect automated to apply only to the last word of each phrase?
-Vocal automation is used to release the last word of every phrase to the delay, so the delay only picks up on the last word.
What is the purpose of side-chaining the delay in the described process?
-Side-chaining the delay is used to duck the volume of the delay when the vocal comes back in, ensuring a clean transition and preventing overlap with the next vocal phrase.
How does using a compressor in conjunction with side-chaining help in the process?
-The compressor, set to side-chain to the vocal track, reduces the delay's volume when the next vocal phrase begins, resulting in a cleaner and more controlled sound.
What is the effect of the described vocal processing technique on the overall mix?
-The effect is a cleaner vocal track with a more filled space due to the delay on the last word of each phrase, enhancing the song's impact without making it sound cluttered.
Why is it important to avoid having the delay on the first part of the vocal?
-Having the delay on the first part of the vocal can cause the vocal to sound washed out and less clear, as it would overlap with the main vocal, reducing the song's intelligibility.
How does the side-chain release work in the context of the vocal track?
-The side-chain release determines how quickly the delay's volume returns to normal after the vocal has finished, preventing an abrupt end to the delay effect.
What is the significance of the gaps between words in the vocal track?
-The gaps between words are significant because they can make the vocal track sound dry and less engaging if not properly addressed with effects like delay.
How can one learn more about professional mixing and mastering techniques?
-One can learn more about professional mixing and mastering techniques by visiting streaky.com, which offers courses and has a summer sale for discounted learning opportunities.
What is the final result of applying the described vocal processing technique?
-The final result is a vocal track that sounds more interesting and impactful, with a clear and controlled delay effect that enhances the song without causing a muddy mix.
Outlines
🎤 Enhancing Vocal Clarity with Selective Delay
The video begins with the host's intention to improve the quality of vocal effects without losing clarity due to excessive use of delays and reverbs. They discuss the challenge of adding delay to vocals without making the performance sound messy. The host demonstrates how to use automation to apply delay selectively to the last word of each vocal phrase, avoiding the common issue of side-chaining which can lead to a less controlled effect. The result is a cleaner vocal sound with a more impactful presence in the song.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Vocal Effects
💡Side Chaining
💡Delay
💡Reverb
💡Vocal Automation
💡Compression
💡Transient
💡Phrase
💡Mixing
💡Mastering
💡Streaky.com
Highlights
The speaker demonstrates how to achieve clean vocal effects without them being washed out by delays and reverbs.
A common issue with adding delay to vocals is that it can make the sound messy and unclear.
To solve this, the speaker suggests applying delay only to the last word of each vocal phrase.
Side chaining is mentioned as a technique but is not preferred due to lack of control.
Instead of side chaining, the use of vocal automation is proposed to control the delay more precisely.
Automation is used to release only the last word of every phrase to the delay.
The speaker provides a demonstration of how the vocal sounds with the applied delay and automation.
A side chain is then introduced to duck the delay volume when the next vocal comes in.
The use of a compressor is shown to achieve a cleaner vocal sound by ducking the delay during vocal entries.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of a clean mix and how the technique fills the space with delay effectively.
A before and after comparison of the track is presented to illustrate the impact of the technique.
The speaker promotes a website, streaky.com, for learning how to mix and master like a pro.
A summer sale is mentioned for those interested in purchasing courses on streaky.com.
The speaker encourages viewers to like and subscribe for more content on vocal effects and mixing.
The video provides a step-by-step guide on how to make vocals more interesting and impactful in a song.
The technique avoids the common problem of vocal delays causing a loss of clarity in the mix.
The use of automation to control the delay on the last word of each phrase is a key innovative method.
The combination of delay, automation, and side chain compression results in a professional and polished vocal sound.
The speaker's method ensures that the vocal effects enhance the song without overpowering the lyrics.
Transcripts
I'm going to show you how to get your
vocal effects sounding super clean
without them being washed out with
delays and reverbs and no it's not your
typical side chaining them out of the
way so settle in and I'll show you how
so I have a vocal that I've been working
on for the last couple of videos that
I've shown you now I want to show you
how to make it a little bit more
interesting the vocal has a lot of gaps
in between each word and it sounds quite
dry and doesn't have as much impact on
the song as I want it to have this is
how it sounds now
[Music]
so you can hear it's got Reverb and
stuff on it but it still has got a lot
of space in between I want to add a
delay to it problem is when you add a
delay to it it picks it up on the first
transient of the word it just sounds
messy and a little bit all over the
place this is how it sounds if I just
put a delay over the top to cover the
whole thing
[Music]
so you can hear I can't really hear what
the words are saying now it's just kind
of a blur of DeLay So what I want to try
and do is not have the delay on the
first part of the vocal but just on the
last word of the vocal now I can hear
you all screaming at the screen well you
just side chain it to duck it down and
then the side chain releases once the
vocal is finished problem is with this
it's not going to be as controlled as we
want it to be so what we want to do is a
stage before we side chain it we want to
just add some vocal automation so that
what we're doing we're just releasing
the last word of every phrase to the
delay the delay is only going to pick up
on the last word so as you can see I've
made some automation here and I'm just
automating this send this is how it
sounds
a little love
so you see I'm just showing the delay
that last word so now I've turned the
delay on this is going to trigger the
delay
if you're enjoying this content so far
and you want me to make more of it then
please drop me a like now and make sure
you subscribed to the channel so that I
can make more videos like this for you
so now that's working lovely it plays
and it's just triggering the last one
but you'll notice that it's still
overlapping the first words here so we
want to put a side chain on now to just
duck it down when the vocal kicks back
in so we get a compressor and we put it
back to the audio channel of the vocal
so that the compressor will duck the
delay when the vocal comes in so it'll
sound like this
hello
I'm calling you
are
so you can hear that's much cleaner on
the vocal we've got it triggering the
last word and then the compressor is
docking the volume down when the next
vocal comes in which makes it super
clean and we get a really nice filled
space with the delay here's how it
sounds with the track before and after
[Music]
wow
[Music]
we're falling in
and out alone
[Music]
save you like this and you want to learn
how to mix a master like a pro then go
to streaky.com where we have our summer
sale currently on so if you want to grab
yourself one of our courses at about 80
off then get yourself to streaky.com
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