Craft Deep and Spacious Vocals
Tired of flat, lifeless vocals? Here are some nice reverb ideas from Catherine Marks (Manchester Orchestra), Darrell Thorp (Beck), Stuart White, Will Yip, and Bob Horn. Get their tips on how to create depth, space, and emotion in your vocal productions.
Mix with the Masters
Sidechain reverb swells for dramatic vocal depth
Catherine Marks demonstrates her 'Swell Reverb' effect on vocals using Valhalla VintageVerb and Avid BF-76 for sidechain compression. By applying a long decay reverb and typically keying it off the snare, kick, or a click track, Marks creates a dynamic swelling effect that adds dramatic depth and interest to the vocal track. Even with the return level kept low and subtle, this technique effectively enhances the vocal dimension without clouding the mix. Initially used with subtlety, it became more pronounced in Manchester Orchestra's album 'Million Masks of God', where vocal reverbs prominently swell and pump in the background, enriching the overall sonic landscape.
Puremix
Feed delay into reverb to create a spacious, ethereal vocal effect
To create a spacious, long, ethereal vocal effect, Darrell Thorp employs a technique he calls the "Delay Verb". It involves using a stereo aux return with both a delay and a reverb, fed by a single send. He favors the Massey TD5 delay for its authentic tape-like quality and the Avid D-Verb for its lo-fi character and spacious sound. The TD5 delay is set to about 40% wet, so it sends both the dry signal and the delayed signal into the D-Verb. The reverb is set to 100% wet. The delay's mix and feedback controls can be used to effectively adjust the length of the tail. Thorp points out that the effect, despite its length, does not take up too much space in the mix, so it doesn't necessarily require additional filtering or EQ. He also automates the send, so it only activates during specific song sections. This enhances the song's dynamics and interest. The same vocal effect technique was applied on Beck's "Morning Phase" Album.
SonicScoop
Crafting psychedelic vocals with layered effects
Stuart White delves into crafting psychedelic vocals by layering and interweaving multiple effects. He combines a short delay for texture, a stereo flanger for width, and a long, psychedelic delay to create a rich, ethereal sound. By routing the long delay into a spring reverb and the widener, Stuart enhances the psychedelic atmosphere and expands the soundstage. To maintain clarity and prevent the effects from overwhelming the dry vocal, Stuart heavily compresses the effects returns, ensuring they remain controlled within the mix. This approach allows the effects to be prominent without overshadowing the vocal's presence. Additionally, he employs sidechain compression on the long delay, ducking it with the dry vocal to preserve intelligibility and keep the vocal at the forefront.
Universal Audio
Layered reverbs for a deeper, more intricate vocal space
Will Yip combines two different types of reverb to achieve a deeper, wider, and more intricate space around his lead vocal. One of the reverbs is a shorter, brighter, crisp-sounding plate (1.4s), namely the UAD EMT 140. This is blended with a larger, longer echo chamber reverb (3-4s), the UAD Capitol Chamber. The echo chamber is slightly EQ'ed (high-pass, with highs boosted) to prevent it from becoming too muddy. When blended together, both reverbs provide a coherent, spacious vocal ambiance without overpowering the source or muddying up the mix.
Produce Like A Pro
Add a short ambience for depth and width
Bob Horn uses the Valhalla DSP VintageVerb to add a short reverb to vocals, creating a sense of depth and width. He sets the reverb time to less than half a second with a slight pre-delay, keeping the mix level low to maintain subtlety. This technique gives the vocals a small room ambiance, adding a unique vibe without overwhelming the mix. Horn emphasizes the importance of learning from others' sessions, noting how this trick was inspired by a producer's Pro Tools session. The result is a vocal sound that feels intimate yet spacious, enhancing the overall texture of the track.