I'm a Reverb junkie in need of help

[J1oNE]

So I recorded this the other day, and this is the first draft. I played it to a friend and he said the vocals were unclear most probably coz of the reverb and delay...
I do like my share of reverb so ye it's a valid reason. I heard with less or little reverb, that was just terrible.. My feeling is that it's the ad-libs and shit... I'm hoping for some other opinions.. and hopefully some handy tips on controlling reverb/vocals.. whichever's the issue


The Matrix _1st Mix_.wav - DivShare

[CoMpLeXx]

LOL i just spent 10 mins writing about the tune in your sig instead of the track you posted!

Anyway the one in mention. It seams the vocals are not in front they do seam a bit washed out it sounds like you done something weird with the spacing because they don't seam dead centre. I would also EQ it a bit differently. The reverb seams fine to me i would just eq the vocal a bit different and sort out the stereo control of it a bit more.

[KoleBeats]

Record your voice as clear and dry as you can and not too loud , then use compressors to raise the volume , and add the reverb after wards but if u record with the reverb on, u can't turn it down if u used too much etc , also record 2 tracks at a time , and only add reverb to one of them so u get ur voice clear and u still get the reverb that u like

[J1oNE]

@Complexx - Ye you're right though. I messed with the stereo imaging of all the vocals. I'll leave the lead dead centre... I thought I was creating more space by messing with the stereo lol.. And also on the eq, how would you eq em differently?

---------- Post added at 11:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 AM ----------

@Kole lol don't worry I wouldn't record reverb to tape... The booth itself was quite big but we did take of that...

[KoleBeats]

if u layer the sounds , the one with reverb eq so the low and highs are raised slightly but lower the mid tones quite a bit , then on the one with out reverb leave the eq flat but raise the mids slightly , it shound give a nice sound "image"

[J1oNE]

Ye I'll try, sounds interesting... But I won't be in studio for a while so could I just duplicate and make the duplicate completely wet and leave the original dry?

[KoleBeats]

yeh thats right u could , then eq them accordingly on the one with reverb slightly turn it down its not really meant to be heard its just meant to fill out some space and make your vocal sound fuller

[Mix it! Studios]

I haven't listened to the track yet, but here's a few general tips regarding reverb on vocals:

1. Bus/aux your reverb - don't insert it directly on a channel. This way your vocal channel will be completely dry, and you can split the signal to a bus with 100% wet reverb on it. This way you'll get much better dry/wet mix control using the bus fader, plus you can EQ/compress your reverb separately (although be careful with compressing reverb signals.)

2. EQ your reverb - primarily low cut. For a vocal I would low cut up to 120-150hz. I'd also cut the top end down to at least 12khz, but depending on the type of sound you're going for sometimes right down to 5khz can be appropriate.

3. Use predelays. Definitely use a reverb with a predelay control on it. This will allow you to push the bus reverb signal further back in the mix. If you want a vocal to really sit forward and at the center of a mix, but still have the reverb to help it sit well, a predelay of 25-30ms will work well.

Hope that helps! Mastering reverbs in a mix takes a while but one day it will eventually fall into place Another thing to keep in mind is whether you are using reverbs for a specific effect, or whether you're using it to make a part 'sit' in the mix (or both.) This can really determine what you need to do to get the reverb right.

Oh, and tweak those parameters! Plates and room sounds often work best on vocals. Rooms are good for subtler sounds, plates for something more dynamic, and halls can be good if you want an over the top reverb. You'll probably want a lot of diffusion and not too large a 'size' on the verb.

[J1oNE]

^^^^
Ye you're right, I've actually been taught most of the points you brought up... I understand the importance of having the reverb in a send and shit so they all the same kinda thing and still I didn't do it lol. But thanks Imma definitely keep these in mind while I carry on.

[CoMpLeXx]

@Complexx - Ye you're right though. I messed with the stereo imaging of all the vocals. I'll leave the lead dead centre... I thought I was creating more space by messing with the stereo lol.. And also on the eq, how would you eq em differently?

1/2db dip at 200hz
2/3db boost at 2khz
1db boost at 600hz
1db boost at 400hz
3/4db boost at 6khz
But i would use different types of EQ for them cuts and boosts.

That only on the first vocal i think its the same guy 1:20. but that sounds a lot clearer cos it a lot less muffled. TBH its hard to tell you how i would eq it when the stereo image is a bit crazy