SLMC

Vlad · Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Posts: 20

Hi there,

What is everyones thoughts and advice re: using the reverb effect on your vocals when singing live in SL?

Don't use it?
Use it?
Use a Little?
Don't use any - its for people who cant sing! (heard few people say this!)

Be good to get everyones thoughts on this....

Many thanks,
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Vlad

RayW · Joined: 05 Sep 2007 Posts: 953 Location: Twin Cities, MN

I'd say "what do YOU want to sound like?" Laughing

I use a "touch" on my vocals. My guitar has it's own effects, so the two are separate.

I've heard "pure" vocals and instruments and liked it. I've heard "verb'd" and liked it.

I just don't like ME without some sort of dimension added. People in the past have told me to drop it. They finally gave up trying. Wink

But, then, I also run through a full vocal processor to warm my vocals and remove some of the sib.

And, YES, I totally admit I can' t sing. But, that's not as important as delivering the goods. Very Happy

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Norris Shepherd · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 6:42 pm Post subject:

I'd say it's like Ray says, and like Nad said in a non-related post... it's not 'one size fits all'.

I always likened effects to makeup. If used properly, they can make a good looking girl even better. Use too much and it can look like Mimi (from the Drew Carey show... not Carpenter) or Gene Simmons.

Depends what you're going for. For me, if it's used properly it just seems to fit and you won't even notice it unless you're looking for it. Some prefer to have it a bit more noticeable. What do you want it to be?

And no, i don't wear makeup. Smile

I do use some reverb though (not too much i don't think).. and compress quite heavily.
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DjaiSkjellerup · Joined: 03 Oct 2007 Posts: 471

Jura Shepherd · Joined: 13 Jun 2008 Posts: 132 Location: METAHYPE Studios

Toby Lancaster · Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 105 Location: UK

I don't know what vocal processor Ray uses, but I recognise "sib" as sibilance, the sort of hissing sound sometimes made when pronouncing the letter "s" (as in "ssssssssssibilance"). This is a harsh sound, and can be removed by using a shield or some other kind of electrical wizardry. Similarly a shield or "pop filter" cures the loud noise made by pronouncing the letter "P" (as in "pop"....put your hand in front of your mouth and say "pop" to see what the mic has to deal with).

On the subject of reverb, I've always advocated using as little as possible when recording, because it can make the mix sound muddy. If you don't use any, it can sound like singing directly into someones ears at close quarters. Too much makes you sound distant. Enough to notice it seems to be the norm.

However, when streaming it seems possible to get away with using a lot more, and get a great sound. I know of one artist who uses far more reverb than I would have suggested, yet he sounds brilliant. It might be something to do with the way the sound is compressed as it is streamed.

The best thing Vlad is to record yourself when streaming, and base your choice on what you think sounds best.

Hope that helps! Smile

Toby
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RayW · Joined: 05 Sep 2007 Posts: 953 Location: Twin Cities, MN

Right On Toby! I just couldn't spell it Laughing

I use a Focusrite VoiceMaster Pro for my vocals .. both Live and Recording. But, with Live sound, the reverb is added at the mixer, on an aux bus and mixed back into the master at 40%.

I record all my vocals straight, not even a compressor in there. That way I can fiddle all I want to the clean track. Hard to take something out after you've recorded it. Plus, if you ever looked at your recorded audio, reverb bleeds all over the following content. You can't slice it up nicely unless it's clean. (sorry for the divergence)
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Fyrm Fouroux · Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:51 pm Post subject:

I have a touch of room ambience for my vocal mics, from the internal effects unit in my USB mixer, but I don't let that go into the pre-amped output from my guitar. I put the guitar through an external effects loop with a Korg and that adds a lot of sustain to my acoustic steel strung guitar. I play guitar and sing into one good AKG studio mic that is set up with my mixer close to my laptop. So, there is a bit of natural bleed from the acoustic guitar into the vocal mic there.

If I play my digital piano, I move across to the other side of the room (this is less than one pace in distance - the studio is a tiny room with sloping ceilings up into the roof). I don't put my digital piano (in any of its various voicings) through any effects at all, and the same is true for my Roland synth.

The voice is a bit of trial and error, partly because I have so much stuff cluttering up this studio space when I am playing. There is a power lead and two audio leads that plug into my synth. When I am not using the synth, I wrap the leads around my main vocal mic stand (for guitar songs) and then drape them across the knobs of the usb mixer when I finish my gig. Sometimes, if I am in a hurry, when I pull them off to plug everything in at the start of a show, random knobs get shifted a bit on the mixer. That used to cause me to feel puzzled during the first few songs of a show, but now I check the knobs as an early priority in the problem-solving phase.

I occasionally forget to switch in the mixer's internal effects (there is a knob that needs to be twiddled and depressed). That can be a bit of a nuisance.

The other thing is that I have a mic on a boom stand that I lug out across my piano for the keyboard numbers in my set. Now, I have to keep going across my tiny little studio back to the mic near the laptop (the one I use when I am playing guitar) in order to chat to folks between numbers and to monitor what is happening inworld. I try to remember to turn off the guitar vocal mic when I am playing piano but sometimes I forget. Then my voice is recorded ambiently by the mic by the mixer, as well as by the mic at the piano. So that gives it a different feel. Not particularly unpleasant, I should say.

The other thing is that I sometimes forget to mute my digital piano within my studio, and that bleeds into the vocal mic. I often don't notice that until I'm about half-way into a verse of the song. That does annoy me, because it changes the sound of the piano quite a lot. Either I have to play the whole song with it as it is, or I have to stop, fix the problem, and start the song again. If I can, I try to get through the song.

I feel that my set up is so shambolic, a few notches of reverb here or there isn't going to make a huge difference. However, I have to say that on the whole I have received very positive feedback about my streamed sound.

As for monitoring my sound, I just use a pair of standard in-ear phones (the sort you listen to an mp3 player with).

I hope that my ramblings will encourage you to feel moderately relaxed about the reverb thing.
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Sanity Inn · Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 28

lol, only for ppl who can't sing huh

sure an awful lot of CD's and radio singers that use it out there

my only suggestion is, if you have a wet guitar, be sure the vocal is wet too or it won't sound like the parts are coming form the same place

in my set up, I've had to turn up the reverb , drowning in it at monitor level , only to have little of it heard at the end in SL

also, it does add bandwidth because it's like a doubling effect

other then that , experiment with it, and if you like it, invest in a good reverb effect unit , not the kareoke type,

have fun with it, and if you feel it adds to your performance, the end result is you'll sing more and and feel better about your singing, and that's all that counts

good luck

Sanity Inn