Using Reverb On Rap Vocals?????

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I rap but i am new to mixing. I usually add a reverb plugin on only one of my verse takes instead of putting it on both takes ,so the reverb doesnt drown out my actual verse. Anybody else have any tips on how you use reverb on your vocal tracks?
 
I like just a touch of reverb on the lead tracks. I add a bit more on the hypes and ad libs so they sounds like they're in the background. I don't like the sound of leaving any of the vocal tracks completely dry. I want the vocalists lead tracks to sound like they're right in front of me (a slight amount of reverb), not inside of my head (no reverb).
 
Cavvy Studios said:
I like just a touch of reverb on the lead tracks. I add a bit more on the hypes and ad libs so they sounds like they're in the background. I don't like the sound of leaving any of the vocal tracks completely dry. I want the vocalists lead tracks to sound like they're right in front of me (a slight amount of reverb), not inside of my head (no reverb).
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ok, i was only putting reverb on my lead track and on the adlibs/emphasis. Do you combine different reverbs on your tracks or just one good sounding reverb that fits the track?
 
I don't use verbs on rap vocals. I reverb on r&b, pop, country, ect., but not really on rap (it depends on the vocal of course) but for rap in most cases it is a carefully tweaked delay instead, but when I do use a reverb I use multiple reverbs to address different parts of the vocal (low, mid and high).
 
HIMbeats said:
I don't use verbs on rap vocals. I reverb on r&b, pop, country, ect., but not really on rap (it depends on the vocal of course) but for rap in most cases it is a carefully tweaked delay instead, but when I do use a reverb I use multiple reverbs to address different parts of the vocal (low, mid and high).
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Give it a try sometimes. You can use a primarily ER verb and think of it as an exicter. Or you can do an uber long predelay and use late reflections - it's the sonic equivalent of using the shadowed font in a word processor.

Also - reverb is a secret weapon. If you can't get a certain frequency to pop in the source sound, make it pop in the reverb. The brain will prescribe it onto the source.
 
Unless you're going for a special effect such as a tail on the end of each phrase or something, you shouldn't put much on at all. If you can easily hear the reverb without listening specifically for it... then it's too much (for rap vocals). You don't want to sound like Celine Dion.
 
WeissSound said:
Give it a try sometimes. You can use a primarily ER verb and think of it as an exicter. Or you can do an uber long predelay and use late reflections - it's the sonic equivalent of using the shadowed font in a word processor.

Also - reverb is a secret weapon. If you can't get a certain frequency to pop in the source sound, make it pop in the reverb. The brain will prescribe it onto the source.
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Awesome info as always Weiss....think I will try to use them more in my hip hop mixes. I mainly use verbs to fill space and most of the hip hop tracks I work on have very little of that with everything going on they tend to sound wrong to me.

I do like your suggestion of using an early reflection like an exciter.

Do you have a reverb that you recommend using that you like? I read in a post that you use Lexicon PCM, but that is a little to rich for my pocket..lol. I have Lexicon MX400, but that is nothing like the PCM as far as number of room choices, plates, ect.
 
A little reverb does not hurt at all, it's more professional and it doesn't have the vocals sound too dry after they're 1st recorded, maybe a little delay here and there too.
 
I would NEVER put reverb on a rap vocal. I've been studying my favorite mainstream famous soft rock vocalists and even they don't usually use reverb. It's usually automated delay that is not constant through the song. It comes in just at certain parts to form the tail.

If you want the vocals to sound close up, do NOT put a reverb on them. Reverb makes stuff sound like it's back in an abandoned warehouse. That's bullshit. Reverb is so 1980s and overrated. If you don't want it to be dry, double it up, or put a chorus on it or get creative with the other effects at your disposal. Delay perhaps, reverb, hell no.
 
astroidmist said:
I would NEVER put reverb on a rap vocal. I've been studying my favorite mainstream famous soft rock vocalists and even they don't usually use reverb. It's usually automated delay that is not constant through the song. It comes in just at certain parts to form the tail.

If you want the vocals to sound close up, do NOT put a reverb on them. Reverb makes stuff sound like it's back in an abandoned warehouse. That's bullshit. Reverb is so 1980s and overrated. If you don't want it to be dry, double it up, or put a chorus on it or get creative with the other effects at your disposal. Delay perhaps, reverb, hell no.
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You're mistaken. It's all in how you use it.

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HIMbeats said:
Awesome info as always Weiss....think I will try to use them more in my hip hop mixes. I mainly use verbs to fill space and most of the hip hop tracks I work on have very little of that with everything going on they tend to sound wrong to me.

I do like your suggestion of using an early reflection like an exciter.

Do you have a reverb that you recommend using that you like? I read in a post that you use Lexicon PCM, but that is a little to rich for my pocket..lol. I have Lexicon MX400, but that is nothing like the PCM as far as number of room choices, plates, ect.
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Nothin' wrong with the MX400! Small Hall, late reflections all the way down. Diffusion low. About 15 or 20db quieter than your source. Otherwise, check out RVerb - or DVerb. Both are kind of trashy sounding, but not necessarily in a bad way (and at -15 to -20db below the source sound the quality difference is a little less noticeable).
 
I usually throw a little rverb on the the vocal tracks I record. For hip hop on a scale of 1-100 I never even go into double digits.
 
not too much reverb, it will make the rap sound wierd.. but it depends what your going for
 
for rap I always use a room reverb on every vocal, just a little touch. The reason for this is not to give off the effect to the listener of.."REVERB" but to put my vocals in a space, give them a place. My room isnt that treated so my vocals sound very dry and the little room reverb makes them seem more authentic.
 
crunkman24 said:
for rap I always use a room reverb on every vocal, just a little touch. The reason for this is not to give off the effect to the listener of.."REVERB" but to put my vocals in a space, give them a place. My room isnt that treated so my vocals sound very dry and the little room reverb makes them seem more authentic.
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If you're room isn't treated I doubt that your vocals are "very dry", you probably just don't notice.
 
Dam I didnt Know this I usually use reverb because thats what i was taught to use every big studio i went to the enginner used a little bit of verb. I guess its all on how you mix and how you want it to sound. Mixing is a art just like every other art, there is more then one way to get the sound you want. But I am going to dry to not use reverb and substitute with something else. wont hurt to give it a try

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But I do use reverb on my instruments as well.

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Over Dose said:
If you're room isn't treated I doubt that your vocals are "very dry", you probably just don't notice.
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They are dry...maybe treated wasn't the right thing I was trying to say.....My recording room is very small and confined so it does not give off a natural reverb on my vocals in the mix. Alot of engineers in the industry dont use reverbs because their recording rooms kinda give off a natural reverb giving the vox a certain space. Mine doesn't, thats why I add a little room reverb, but only ROOM reverb, to my rap vocals.
 
crunkman24 said:
They are dry...maybe treated wasn't the right thing I was trying to say.....My recording room is very small and confined so it does not give off a natural reverb on my vocals in the mix. Alot of engineers in the industry dont use reverbs because their recording rooms kinda give off a natural reverb giving the vox a certain space. Mine doesn't, thats why I add a little room reverb, but only ROOM reverb, to my rap vocals.
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Don't confine yourself. Try a plate, or a hall algorithm. Or experiment with subtle delays. Set up four copies of the same vocal and flip back and forth between them and listen critically to the differences.
 
im with weiss

A nice room, plate and hell even a good hall reverb can put a vocal in a really nice place sonically with the rest of the track. To each there own but most popular rap vocals I hear and are told that are mixed by such and such etc has reverb on the vocals. I don't know about everyone else but I like that sound and aim for that when mixing like most engineers do but...
To each there own right ;)
But let me say that a good room reverb can really help sit a vocal in a good place quickly.
 
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