Vocal effects - recommendations

    I don't do much mixing so not that experienced...but I always struggle with vocals...how much reverb, use ADT or not, compression etc.


    Does anyone know or use a simple .VST that takes a dry vocal and adds the essentials ...i.e. takes the skill out a bit for quick results?


    I use Abelton Live...


    Any recommendations?


    BTW most times I'm either treating a live recording ( direct from the desk so dry) or just my kids singing over backing tracks...

    Maybe Toontracks EZ Mix is something for you. They have a set called lead Vocals.
    I don't have it or know anyone who uses it. But I generally like Toontrack products.


    I use Cubase and it has some good presets for vocals and more on their own Plug-ins.
    Maybe your DAW has something similar so you don't have to buy something.


    In the long run you'll be able to play with the presets and find what you like and what you don't like.

    Cheers, just listened to some demos and that is the sort of thing...bit expensive though :(


    Could find any good presets, they were all silly effects rather than genral vocals ( I'll have another look)...

    Cheers Paults...I guess I was looking for a cheat :)


    Been through a few tutorials ( but I will check these out) so I think i understand the basics but I rarely do any mixing so was looking for a short cut - bit like the toon track stuff.

    I use Izotope Nectar for vocals - it includes presets, and they have additional presets that can be downloaded from their website. I use the presets as a beginning, and edit to suit the song. It can be used as a simple program, or you can deep edit the FX in it, and create your own presets.


    EZmix is more of a general purpose plugin - it can be used for much more than vocals. Nectar is more powerful for vocals, and not as cheap.

    I attack vocals like this :-


    I normally record with either my U87 or SM7b into a 1073 with gentle compression if you get this stage right your vocal processing with be good and a lot easier.


    In pro tools I then do some corrective EQ followed by maybe some multi band comping to tame some frequencies that I don’t really like to sound of when a singer might have got a little closer/further away from the mic. After this I’ll do some character EQ mostly the waves SSL channel and some more gentle compression


    Depending on the type of music I will normall then use waves 1176 for some aggressive compression if it’s rock.


    As for effects I then use Soundtoys soundblender for a split harmoniser effect.
    Plate reverb
    And then a combination of delays to help give the vocals more space.


    All effects are on aux tracks and used as inserts so I have lots of control of them.


    Hope this helps

    It’s expensive but a vote here for another Izotope product, that being Neutron 2. When applied to a vocal track it has a learning function so it will listen to what you’re doing and then work it’s magic. It dynamically eq’s, adds compression (and multi band if it thinks it’s needed, again dynamic) and then add saturation in various flavours. Of course, you can tweak any of these entirely manually and over use / ignore any of the modules as you see fit but, for doing a bunch of stuff in one box, it’s great. I used to use multiple plugins and fight to get a vocal right and, if I spent time and effort learning the craft, I dare say I could do a better job than Neutron would do for me. But, with the lack of expertise I have and the amount of time I’m willing to spend on learning that craft being limited this thing is brilliant.....my music creation time is limited anyway so I’d rather be playing / recording rather than fiddling and it does a great job of that.


    What it doesn’t have is reverb or delay so my suggested solution isn’t a true ‘one box’ like Nectar is which also has reverb, delay, pitch correction, harmoniser etc.


    A question for Nicky and Paul who both mentioned Nectar.... does it bring anything else to the party beyond what I’ve mentioned? It’s hard to pick the bones out of exactly where it would fit for someone like me who already has Neutron 2..... Neuton arguably goes beyond Nectar with its eq, compression and saturation stuff by actually listening to an individual so, rather than a preset called ‘male vocal’ which is trying to treat Sinatra and Sid Vicious with equal eq settings, it has more of a chance to get it right. But I must be missing something - the company are still selling it alongside Neutron. Not sure where it would fit for me as I’m happy with my existing delays / reverbs and I don’t really use pitch correction.


    Just wondering if folks who have both are still using the eq / comp etc presets in Nectar or whether they’re leaving the newer program to do those bits and just using Nectar for the pitch / harmony etc.

    I think it addresses the Sid vs Sinatra problem by way of its numerous presets, Gary. Taking a look at their names reveals much IMHO. Including the free packs, here's a look at what's on offer:


    They're organised into 13 folders, each containing an average of 14 presets:


    Alternative & Indie
    Classical
    Country
    Dance & Electronic
    Folk
    Hip Hop & Rap
    Jazz
    Pop
    Rock
    Soul & RnB
    Special FX
    Utility
    Voice Over & Dialog


    Seeing as most here are rock dudes, here's the Rock folder's contents:


    70s Rock (Mirrorball Pack).xml
    1969.xml
    Acoustic Rock (Mirrorball Pack).xml
    Arena.xml
    Boutique But Famous.xml
    Breathy and Valvey (Style Pack 1).xml
    Classic (group).xml
    Demon's Realm.xml
    Garage Band (Style Pack 1).xml
    Living Bon A Vocal.xml
    Nectar Rock.xml
    Punky Crunch (Style Pack 1).xml
    Red Hot & Fast.xml
    Sizzling Lead.xml
    Southern Rock.xml


    The Utility folder says it all too:


    Add Dynamics (UP 1).xml
    Cut Rumble & Thumps (Style Pack 1).xml
    Edit Mic Distance (Style Pack 1).xml
    Female De-esser (UP 1).xml
    Fix With The Mix (UP 1).xml
    Hide The Room Sound (Style Pack 1).xml
    Hiss Reduction (UP 1).xml
    Home Recording Helper (Style Pack 1).xml
    Home Recording Helper 2 (UP 1).xml
    Loud Without Clipping (UP 1).xml
    Make Condenser Dynamic (UP 1).xml
    Make Directional Omni (UP 1).xml
    Make Dynamic Condenser (UP 1).xml
    Male De-esser (UP 1).xml
    Mud Alleviation (UP 1).xml
    Off-Axis Makeup (UP 1).xml
    Presence Peak Shaper 1 (UP 1).xml
    Presence Peak Shaper 2 (UP 1).xml
    Proximity Fixer (UP 1).xml
    Reduce Dynamics (UP 1).xml
    Rumble Reduction (UP 1).xml
    Sibilance Softener (Style Pack 1).xml
    Simple Noise Suppression (UP 1).xml
    Simple Plosive Reduction (UP 1).xml
    Thin Vocal Enhancer (UP 1).xml
    Track - Headphone Reverb (UP 1).xml
    Track - One Ear Off (UP 1).xml
    Track - Phones Phase Shift (UP 1).xml
    Track - Reduce Peaks + Air (UP 1).xml
    Track - Studio Channel 1 (UP 1).xml
    Track - Studio Channel 2 (UP 1).xml
    Vocal Clarity (UP 1).xml
    Warm Up Thin Speech (Style Pack 1).xml


    I've not had a chance to use it and may never "allow" myself to once I'm recording again, but it is tempting to test drive it for "reference" if for no other reason. Maybe Paul will chime in with more-practical feedback.


    Bottom line, I think, is that it'd be tough to beat Nectar 2 for an all-in-one solution, if not impossible. It's also on special quite often and can be had for cheap.

    Hmm... turns out that was all Nectar v1!


    The folders have been rearranged a little:


    Alternative & Indie
    Classical, Folk & Jazz
    Country
    Dance & Electronic
    Hip Hop & Rap
    Modern Vocals | Preset Pack
    Pop
    Rock
    Soul & RnB
    Special FX
    Utility
    Voice Over & Dialogue


    The Rock folder's contents have changed (they all have):


    60's Faze.xml
    Airy Space (Harmonized).xml
    Airy Space.xml
    Amped Edge.xml
    Backed-up Width (Harmonized).xml
    Backed-up Width.xml
    Broken Nails.xml
    Chic Lead.xml
    Chic Verse (Harmonized).xml
    Chic Verse.xml
    Classic Rock.xml
    Dusty Tape.xml
    Edgy Lead.xml
    Epic Ballad (Harmonized).xml
    Epic Ballad.xml
    Low-end Backing (Harmonized).xml
    Low-end Backing.xml
    Lush Ballad.xml
    Metallic Lead.xml
    Radio Verse.xml
    Shouting Crowd! (Harmonized).xml
    Shouting Crowd!.xml
    Shredding Grit.xml
    Slight Bite.xml
    Stadium Ballad (Harmonized).xml
    Stadium Ballad.xml


    The "Modern Vocals" preset pack listed as a folder earlier is an expansion:


    Brightened Vocal Bus.xml
    Control Uneven Performance.xml
    Controlled Vox.xml
    Dramatic Octaves.xml
    Edgy Rock Lead.xml
    Garbage Vox.xml
    Harmonic Clarity.xml
    Lively Lead.xml
    Pop Polish.xml
    Rap Energy.xml
    Rap Intelligibility.xml
    Spacious Vox Bus.xml
    Upfront Rap Vocal.xml
    Upper Register Pop.xml
    Warm Background Vox.xml


    I'd made a note years ago to check, when I finally install N2, whether or not I can combine the N1 factory and expansion packs with N2s, and I only just stumbled across the note. Still don't know if v1 is compatible with v2 preset-wise. If not, I'd recommend sticking with v2 as the preset-naming seems clearer, if for no other reason. Too-many-options might be another.

    Thanks Nicky - appreciate the reply.


    I’ll check out the demo but, if it does prove useful alongside Neutron (which I’m absolutely delighted with) I’ll wait till there is a sale. I always buy from Audiodeluxe anyway when I’m going for a plug-in as they shave more money off still but, despite having the two most expensive plugins that Izotope do (Neutron and Ozone) there doesn’t appear to be a cross grade offer at the moment that makes it justifiable with the results I’m already getting.


    Their vocal synth 2 plug looks interesting too but that’s more in the sound design / creativity realm rather than just getting a regular vocal to sound decent in a standard mix. I considered it (as it is currently on a launch sale) but decided against it as, for recording the vocals from me and my daughters, I’m usually playing it fairly straight. Whilst there’s a place for making me sound like a romantic encounter between Cher and a chipmunk that has just put on a Darth Vader mask, I’m not sure I’d use it much once the cool factor wore off :)

    LOL


    Yeah, I've got Vocal Synth v1 and am waiting for an attractive upgrade price. The cheapest I've seen is around $79 USD which is ridiculous IMHO.


    I've spoken to many folks who claim that Nectar's results are legit, so by all accounts it's pretty-good, and likely better than most amateurs would achieve by "fiddling" with multiple plugins. It's tailor-made for dudes in your situation, Gary, and the OP's too.

    There are many “do everything” plugins out there now which are great. In my opinion presets are ok for starting out but try and learn how to get to the sound you are after as presets will always need tweaking. For example the CLA ssl channel preset puts way to much top end on the kick but this is probably because that preset was made for a very dull sounding kick and we don’t know what processing was done to the kick before or after