Can I get your suggestions for what to do for VOX effect

sjs94704 · 03-20-2019, 06:15 AM

I am recording the song 'Wind Beneath My Wings' in the style of Bette Midler. I decided to try something different and at the point where the phrase, "Fly, Fly, Fly Away, you let me fly so high", for the word fly, fly fly .... I want to add a little something to give them a little extra echo or maybe one of you has another idea of what I can put on them to somehow make that phrase be subtle, but noticeably different from the rest of the song.

In this picture you can see that I have two separate reverb tracks. There is also a delay track too.

Ideas?

(PS- The Blue and Red arrows were for something I asked in another post but mean nothing for the purpose of this post!)

Tod · 03-20-2019, 06:32 PM

Hi Steven, there are different ways you can do this, but without hearing exactly what you're trying to do it's hard for me to recommend anything.

Also, you've got square envelope points, it might sound better if you used a fade in and out for both envelopes, less abruptness.

DarrenH · 03-21-2019, 06:49 AM

Agree with this. OP, why not try some stuff? You mentioned echo, a good idea to start there and see if you feel it's enough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tod

Hi Steven, there are different ways you can do this, but without hearing exactly what you're trying to do it's hard for me to recommend anything.

Also, you've got square envelope points, it might sound better if you used a fade in and out for both envelopes, less abruptness.

bjohn · 03-21-2019, 06:58 AM

Just based on the words, I think a fading-out delay would give the impression of flying away. There's no way in stereo to give the impression of flying "up," but maybe a little EQ automation on the delay to gradually increase the high frequencies could give that upward impression?

It's funny I was just talking with my brother the other day about Bette Midler -- he was a bartender for years at the Oxford Ale House in Harvard Square (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and he said she was the hardest-working performer he ever saw there on his shifts. She threw all her energy into her performances; he said she came up to the bar after the first half completely drenched in sweat and drank a few big glasses of water, then went up and did it all again.

sjs94704 · 03-21-2019, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tod

Hi Steven, there are different ways you can do this, but without hearing exactly what you're trying to do it's hard for me to recommend anything.

Also, you've got square envelope points, it might sound better if you used a fade in and out for both envelopes, less abruptness.

OK, I will try this. I have never really yet worked much with envelopes. I do have a delay Fx track. So, as another contributor to this thread suggested I will try working with the delay AND I will do it as a fade in/fade out.

Since I am new to working with envelopes, my goal is not to increase the volume but rather the intensity of the delay Fx for the words I have mentioned. So, in this case I just want to confirm which envelope I should use? (i.e. Toggle Volume Visible, Toggle Volume (pre-Fx)) or some other envelope?

I guess by using the volume envelope it can be a bit deceiving to someone who has never worked with envelopes before.

sjs94704 · 03-21-2019, 12:05 PM

As I previously stated I have never worked with envelopes much. BUT, I found a Kenny Gioia video on the subject. It turns out that it is not the delay but the REVERB that I need to automate and I see now how each dial, button or whatever on each plugin is automated with envelopes.

Tod can attest to the fact that I have been the king of being heavy on the Reverb. Awhile back I finally figured out how to reach a reverb for my vocal that I am satisfied with. It is a REVERB plugin by Melda Productions called MTurboReverb. It is an awesome third party reverb Fx plugin with tons of presets and each one is customizable, etc. The GUI is so realistic too!

So, Tod, I guess I'll now become the king of envelopes for all my plugins! (Ha, Ha!)

Anyway, this looks like the answer. Now all I need to do is get the fade in/out to sound right. It will be interesting to see how things turn out!

jrk · 04-01-2019, 05:40 AM

Good ideas there. Have you thought of harmonising your echoes / repeats - either artificially or actually singing it? It would want to be quite subtle but if you add higher harmonies as it fades away... well, you can imagine.

sjs94704 · 04-01-2019, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrk

Good ideas there. Have you thought of harmonising your echoes / repeats - either artificially or actually singing it? It would want to be quite subtle but if you add higher harmonies as it fades away... well, you can imagine.

Great idea! I did experiment with harmonizing with myself with another song call 'Hero' in the style of Mariah Carey. It might not sound all that great but, hey!, for a first attempt at it I think I did pretty good!

Here is the link to the song:https://soundcloud.com/bayside-studi...o-with-harmony
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Reason · 04-01-2019, 02:33 PM

I like JRK's idea. Another one is to keep the feedback (number of repeats) high for that part, while applying a lowpass or bandpass EQ to make it sound kind of like a tape delay that loses fidelity the more repeats there are. There are also VSTs that do this automatically, I think.

sjs94704 · 04-02-2019, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reason

I like JRK's idea. Another one is to keep the feedback (number of repeats) high for that part, while applying a lowpass or bandpass EQ to make it sound kind of like a tape delay that loses fidelity the more repeats there are. There are also VSTs that do this automatically, I think.

Thanks for your input Reason.

If any of you are willing to, I would be grateful for some hands-on assistance. So, I ZIPPED up my project. The only thing I did remove was the plugin I had on the REVERB track because it is a third party on from Melda Productions.

I also removed the WAVES plugins I had directly on the VOCAL tracks. I'll put those back later.

I did this so that I can share my project with all of you and use STOCK plugins to accomplish my goals.

I created a ZIP file of my project. You can dowload it off my Dropbox account. Here is the link to the file:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6mjbkncq8h...Wings.zip?dl=0

There are the music background tracks that are all exactly the same size.
Here is a bit about my track naming convention for the music tracks:

EXAMPLE: 1-33-C-PCN.mp3

-The 1 is the order of the track
-The 33 is the record number of the song I have in a database of all my songs
-The C is the key of the song
-The PCN is an example of the abbreviation for the instrument of that track. These abbreviations are different for each track.

-DRUMS (Drums)
-TBN (Tambourine)
-BASS (Bass Guitar)
-PNO (Piano)
-EPO (Electric Piano)
-SNTP ( Synth Piano)
-SNTV (Synth Voice)
-SNTK (Synth Keyboard)

I am asking you to listen to the original version of the song 'Wind Beneath My Wings' and as best as possible to offer a suggestion of a REVERB in ReaVerb that is close to it as possible.

I am grateful for whatever help anyone is willing to offer ....

With Gratitude,

Steven

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