Reverbing Rap Vocals

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StanleySteamer

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Hey guys, as the title says I have a question about reverbing rap vocals. I use Pro Tools 11 and I use the stock D-Verb plugin that comes with Pro Tools. I was wondering about what kind of decay times are you guys using? I am currently using around 2.1 decay time using the vocal plate preset but my vocals on the track I am working on either seem like it has too much reverb so I lower the stereo aux track down or it sounds like it has too little. Just looking for some advice/tips on reverbing rap vocals as far as settings and decay times and what not. Feedback always appreciated thanks!
 
First: make sure that the output of the reverb is 100% wet otherwise you end up bringing back in dry signal that maybe yu do not want to include, which can skew the resulting sound

try the non-linear verb and then select decay time so that it matches tempo i.e. match to 2 or 4 beats of actual time then nudge it to be slightly longer or shorter, choosing a prime number

e.g 2 beats at 75pbm = 1.6s ((2x 60)/75) (1600ms), 4 beats at 75bpm = 3.2s (3200ms)

using a chart of prime numbers we can find that we have a choice of 1597ms or 1601ms for 2 beats and 3191ms or 3203ms for 4 beats

you can use the same approach to work out delay times

e.g.

75 bpm has a time of 800ms, 1/4 note delay is 800ms (797ms or 809ms), 1/8 note delay is 400ms (397ms or 401ms), 1/2 note delay is as above 1600ms; you cna work out triplet 1/4 / 8th and 16th note delays easily enough
 
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Reverb times and type would change between songs, so if you have an specific track you want advice on better reupload it
Anyway as a general rule, lower decay times are better for slow songs and vice verse
Also a lot of times mix engineers prefer to use a delay for the depth and not a reverb
 
Try just using a room preset with a short decay, around 0.4ms or just early reflections. You just want to add a touch of ambience around the vocal, just enough to take the dry edge off the vocal and push it back from listener ever so slightly.

Longer decay times will take up too much space and get in the way of the vocal.
 
0.4ms is 4/10000 of a second

0.4s (2/5 of a second) seems more reasonable

as for reverb times being track dependant agree 100%

I know several top-shelf mix engineers who prefer reverb over delay for the job of adding depth to name rapper vocals
 
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Yes 0.4ms was a wrote in error, 0.4s is what I meant. It doesn't need to be exact, just as long as you don't notice a tail, just a sense of space around the vocal
 
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bandcoach said:
First: make sure that the output of the reverb is 100% wet otherwise you end up bringing back in dry signal that maybe yu do not want to include, which can skew the resulting sound

try the non-linear verb and then select decay time so that it matches tempo i.e. match to 2 or 4 beats of actual time then nudge it to be slightly longer or shorter, choosing a prime number

e.g 2 beats at 75pbm = 1.6s ((2x 60)/75) (1600ms), 4 beats at 75bpm = 3.2s (3200ms)

using a chart of prime numbers we can find that we have a choice of 1597ms or 1601ms for 2 beats and 3191ms or 3203ms for 4 beats

you can use the same approach to work out delay times

e.g.

75 bpm has a time of 800ms, 1/4 note delay is 800ms (797ms or 809ms), 1/8 note delay is 400ms (397ms or 401ms), 1/2 note delay is as above 1600ms; you cna work out triplet 1/4 / 8th and 16th note delays easily enough
Click to expand...

Hey sorry I have been at work so I have a late response to this thread but I didn't forget about it! Thanks a lot for all the responses guys especially band coach. Do you think you could elaborate a little bit more on this formula as far as the delay on the reverb timing? I am having a hard time understanding it as far as the 2 or 4 beats times the bpm or whatever lol. Would really appreciate it thanks!
 
With reverb and rap vocals you want a real tight sound. Plate's or rooms with real short decay are best. (Unless your going for the A$AP Rocky sound)
I tend to use more tight slap delays, and if you have a UAD the Roland Dimension D is golden for making rap vocals sound bigger.
 
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StanleySteamer said:
Hey sorry I have been at work so I have a late response to this thread but I didn't forget about it! Thanks a lot for all the responses guys especially band coach. Do you think you could elaborate a little bit more on this formula as far as the delay on the reverb timing? I am having a hard time understanding it as far as the 2 or 4 beats times the bpm or whatever lol. Would really appreciate it thanks!
Click to expand...

how much times does a beat last? use that or some multiple (2x or 4x) as your reverb time is all I am saying; for tighter reverbs use the length of 8th note or a 16th note instead

e.g.

bpm is 75bpm

16th = 0.20s reverb time = 200ms => nearest prime numbers: 199ms or 211ms
8th = 0.40s reverb time = 400ms => nearest prime numbers: 397ms or 401ms
1/4 = 0.80s reverb time = 800ms => nearest prime numbers: 797ms or 809ms
1/2 = 1.60s reverb time = 1600ms => nearest prime numbers: 1597ms or 1601ms
1/1 = 3.20s reverb time = 3200ms => nearest prime numbers: 3191ms or 3203ms

bpm = 60bpm

16th = 0.25s reverb time = 250ms => nearest prime numbers: 241ms or 251ms
8th = 0.50s reverb time = 500ms => nearest prime numbers: 499ms or 503ms
1/4 = 1.00s reverb time = 1000ms => nearest prime numbers: 997ms or 1009ms
1/2 = 2.00s reverb time = 2000ms => nearest prime numbers: 1999ms or 2003ms
1/1 = 4.00s reverb time = 4000ms => nearest prime numbers: 3989ms or 4001ms

bpm = 90bpm

16th = 0.16s reverb time = 166ms => nearest prime numbers: 167ms or 163ms or 173ms
8th = 0.34s reverb time = 334ms => nearest prime numbers: 331ms or 337ms
1/4 = 0.67s reverb time = 667ms => nearest prime numbers: 661ms or 673ms
1/2 = 1.34s reverb time = 1334ms => nearest prime numbers: 1327ms or 1361ms
1/1 = 2.67s reverb time = 2667ms => nearest prime numbers: 2663ms or 2671ms

the prime numbers make the reverb less likely to have internal resonances that ring in your mix
 
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I would stack with very short reverb like plate or small room with at least about 40% early reflections in it.
 
Bandcoach is on form here....

Here's some maths. 60'000 ms in a minute so 60'000 divided by the BPM of your track will give you the Quarter note 1/4. Divide the answer by 4 = the sixteenth note (1/16), divide by 4 again = 1/64 note. Simple calculation for your predelays to lock them in rhythmically.

I didn't know about the prime numbers thing.
 
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