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.
Audiopunks
Using character mics while tracking to inspire drummers
Tchad Blake shares insights into using effects like distortion and compression while tracking drums to inspire drummers and enhance their performance. By sending processed sounds back to the musicians, such as a Spectrasonics 610 compressor or delay on the snare, drummers can react to the altered textures and rhythms, leading to more dynamic and expressive playing. Blake emphasizes the importance of creating characterful sounds and textures, which can transform the way musicians interact with their instruments. This approach encourages drummers to play differently, adding a unique groove and feel to the music. The use of contrasting hi-fi and lo-fi elements can infuse a track with depth and character, reducing the need for excessive overdubs. Incorporating these techniques into the recording process not only enhances the creative atmosphere in the studio but also results in more authentic and engaging music. By creatively placing mics and using effects, engineers can create a rich sonic landscape that inspires musicians to explore new musical expressions.
Hainbach
Tape loop tricks: Bypassing the erase head for layering
Hainbach demonstrates the technique of sound on sound using a Nagra tape recorder, focusing on the roles of the erase, write, and read heads. By bypassing the erase head, he creates multiple overlapping signals, adding depth and movement to the sound. He explains how to cut and splice a tape loop using quarter-inch tape, emphasizing the importance of a smooth splice to minimize noise. This setup allows for the creation of a continuous loop that can be layered with new sounds. Hainbach sets up the tape loop in a standard configuration and shows how bypassing the erase head results in a repeated sound, forming a rich, layered soundscape. This technique is ideal for creating more interesting and dynamic synth textures.
Tyler Gilmore
Comparing the sound of 7 tape loop machines, back to back
BlankFor_ms demonstrates the sound of different tape machines from his collection using two different tape loops: a synth pad and a beat. This showcases the character of each machine This explores the creative potential of tape looping to add depth and movement to music.
Produce Like A Pro
Taming acoustic guitar to sound like on tape
Marc Daniel Nelson demonstrates how to achieve a tape-like sound on acoustic guitar using a chain of plugins. He starts with Softube Tape for subtle tape saturation, which adds warmth and glue without being overly aggressive. Next, Nelson uses FabFilter Pro-Q 3 for dynamic EQ, targeting the low-end boominess around 280Hz and taming harsh high frequencies. This step ensures the guitar sounds fuller and less muddy, enhancing its presence in the mix. Compression is applied with the Klanghelm MJUC, adding color and slightly tightening the sound without compromising its natural dynamics. Nelson then employs Waves Trans-X for transient shaping, smoothing out harsh transients to make the guitar sit well in the mix and not interfere with the vocal. Finally, a touch of Waves Abbey Road Reverb Plates adds depth and warmth, creating a more natural and inviting acoustic guitar sound. Nelson emphasizes the importance of using these techniques in a subtle way to maintain the instrument's dynamic integrity.
Produce Like A Pro
Adding character with mono overhead and poke mic
Darrell Thorp demonstrates how to add character and depth to drum recordings using a mono overhead and a "poke" mic. By employing the Coles 4038 as a mono overhead, he captures a fuller drum sound, enhancing the snare's presence and overall kit depth. Thorp uses the UREI 1176LN for compression and the Pultec EQP-1A for EQ, boosting at 10kHz and 100Hz to add thickness and brightness. For added character, Thorp introduces distortion to the mono overhead using the Overstayer Saturator NT-02A, creating a trashy yet controlled sound. He also utilizes a Sennheiser MD 441-U as a "poke" mic, positioned to capture the kick and snare, and processes it with a DBX 160VU for punchiness. Aggressive EQ boosts at 7kHz and 50Hz further enhance the mic's impact, providing an aggressive knock that cuts through the mix. Thorp emphasizes the importance of phase coherence, ensuring it is as good as possible during recording. He suggests using Auto Align by Sound Radix during mixing to align these special mics with the rest of the kit. He encourages engineers to embrace aggressive EQ during recording, as it can significantly enhance the character and depth of the drum sound.
Puremix
Add depth and punch with a mono kit mic
Greg Wells shares his approach for adding depth and character to drum recordings using a mono kit mic, inspired by Eric Valentine. By positioning a mic like a U47 horizontally over the kick drum, angled towards the beater, Wells captures a focused, punchy sound. He enhances this mono mic signal with EQ and compression, adding low-end frequencies around 60-100 Hz and using compressors like a 1176, Distressor or LA-2A to squash the signal liberally. This processing creates a sound that, while potentially unusable on its own, blends beautifully with the rest of the drum kit to add weight and depth. Wells emphasizes the unique quality of mono mics, which can be cranked without becoming overwhelming, maintaining focus and clarity. They are particularly effective for enhancing the low-end of the kick drum, snare, and toms, providing a rich, full-bodied drum sound.
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.
Tape Notes Podcast
Layer bass sounds for bigger low end
Four Tet demonstrates how to create a distinctive dubstep-influenced bassline using two layers in Spectrasonics Omnisphere. By combining a wobbly bass preset, "Swaggering Around," with a low sine wave for added sub-bass, he enhances the bass's depth and weight, showcasing the power of layering different sounds.
Sound On Sound
Spice up drums recordings with parallel processing
Vance Powell demonstrates how to enhance drum recordings using parallel tracks with analog effects, creating a deeper and more characterful sound. He employs an old Ampex mic under the snare, routed through effects pedals for distortion and analog delay, achieving a triplet echo reminiscent of "When the Levee Breaks." This track, dubbed "Sprinkle to Taste," adds a unique texture to the drum mix. Additionally, Powell uses a "distorted kit" track, blending the entire drum kit through a distortion box, and a "mono kit" track, which compresses the kick, snare, and toms via an 1176 compressor, excluding cymbals. These elements are recorded directly into Pro Tools, avoiding excessive plugin use, and are layered with the original drum tracks to create a rich, dynamic sound.
Puremix
Creating room sound with speaker playback
Vance Powell explains how he creates a natural room sound by playing back recorded signals through studio loudspeakers and rerecording them with microphones. This technique is particularly useful when the original recording lacks room mics, as it can simulate the natural ambiance of a real room in a very convincing way. In this live take, Powell strategically splits up the band, placing the drums in a booth but leaving the door open to allow some natural spill and echo. This setup provides the needed isolation between the louder drums and the quieter acoustic instruments, while preventing full isolation of the signals, enhancing the depth and cohesiveness of the recording. Feeding the recording back into the studio loudspeakers then augments the illusion that all instruments are playing together in the same room, creating a unified and immersive sound.
Puremix
Record snare with distorted delay for character and depth
Vance Powell employs a unique technique to add character and depth to the snare by using a dedicated mic, which he calls the "Sprinkle to taste" mic, placed under the snare as an effects mic. This mic is routed through a chain of guitar pedals, including the Pigtronix Polysaturator for distortion and a custom analog delay pedal, which together create a reverb-like sustain. The delay and distortion enhance the snare's sustain, giving it a deeper, more textured sound. Powell uses a gate on his console to eliminate noise when the snare isn't being played, ensuring a clean and focused effect. By experimenting with phase alignment, Powell further refines the snare's sound, ultimately deciding that the out-of-phase setting provides a more desirable tonal quality. This creative approach results in a snare sound that stands out with added character and depth.
SonicScoop
Using the vocal mic as a drum room
Catherine Marks creatively repurposes the vocal mic to capture drum room ambience. By leaving the vocal mic open during drum recording sessions, she harnesses its characteristics to add depth and character to the drum sound. The vocal mic's signal is processed with the same reverb and delay effects intended for vocals, using an Echosex delay pedal and a Holy Grail reverb pedal. This approach creates a spacious quality that she blends with the rest of the drum mix for added dimension. Additionally, Marks employs gating to tighten the sound, allowing for a controlled yet expansive drum ambience.
Tape Notes Podcast
Layer live violin over MIDI strings for organic depth
Bonobo demonstrates how to create a fuller, more organic string ensemble sound by layering live violin over MIDI strings. By recording a single live violin in multiple takes, and layering these live takes over MIDI strings, Bonobo achieves a natural and deep ensemble effect. The MIDI strings provide the foundational weight, while the live violin lines add authenticity and depth. In Bonobo's "Black Sands," this technique is employed by using Mellotron pads as the MIDI foundation, with live violin layers on top. This approach enhances the sense of a live performance, enriching the texture and creating a more immersive sound.
Tape Notes Podcast
Adding depth to a stereo piano with a mono plate reverb
FKJ enhances the depth of a stereo piano by using a mono plate reverb to fill the center of the mix. By running the wide, stereo piano through a vintage EMT 140 Plate Reverb and panning the effect to the center, FKJ creates a blend that adds richness and focus to the track. This technique ensures the piano remains expansive while the reverb provides a distinct presence in the middle, balancing the stereo field and adding captivating depth to the mix.
Tape Notes Podcast
Pitching and saturating reverbs for interesting spaces
Bonobo delves into creative reverb processing by utilizing return channels in Ableton Live, incorporating tools like Soundtoys Decapitator for distortion and Little AlterBoy for pitch shifting. He pitches the reverb return above the root note, often using settings like nine or five semitones, to create a shimmery, harmonizing effect that adds depth and interest to the mix. His technique also involves sidechain compression, allowing the reverb to duck in response to the input source, adding dynamic movement to the sound. Bonobo manipulates parameters such as drive, pitch shift, and reverb decay to craft complex audio effects, utilizing Ableton Live's instrument macros for efficient control. This approach results in a rich, musical texture that enhances the overall sonic landscape.
Produce Like A Pro
Enhance character with reverb
As an example of how specific reverbs can enhance the character of a sound, Marc Daniel Nelson uses the UAD Lexicon 224 reverb to imbue synthesizer parts with depth and emotion. This choice is driven by the Lexicon 224's historic synergy with synthesizers, famously used by Vangelis to create iconic sounds. Nelson illustrates how the right reverb choice can instantly convey a specific vibe or era, in this case, evoking a 'Blade Runner'-esque atmosphere.
Universal Audio
Create an interesting, dynamic ambience with a gated room
Inspired by David Bowie's "Heroes," Thorp and Dave Grohl implemented a dynamic room mic effect for the vocals using gates, allowing for an intimate sound during quieter verses and a more expansive, reverberant sound during louder choruses. Thorp's technical execution involved an LCR track configuration that holds the dry vocal along with two mono room mics. The gate on this track has its settings unlinked, permitting individual adjustment for each channel to dynamically alter the room sound based on the vocal performance intensity. After the gating process, Thorp applied compression to further shape and control the dynamics of the vocal, ensuring both the intimate and expansive moments translated effectively in the mix.
Mix with the Masters
Add width and size with short delay and chorus
Tom Elmhirst enhances the width and size of jazz and pop vocals using a combination of short delay and chorus effects. He employs the UAD Brigade Chorus to add warmth and width, creating a "cotton wall" feeling around the vocal without overwhelming it. Additionally, Elmhirst uses the Valhalla DSP Delay set to a slap delay with no feedback, providing depth and a sense of space while maintaining clarity and intimacy in the vocal performance. This approach ensures the vocals sound bigger and more engaging, fitting seamlessly into the mix.
SonicScoop
Give a tambourine length and depth with reverb
Mick Guzauski uses the FabFilter Pro-R 2 reverb to add length and depth to a tambourine. By adjusting the EQ and decay time of the reverb, he enhances the sustain and high-end presence of the tambourine, making it more prominent and immersive in the mix. Guzauski follows up with a touch of compression to further refine the tambourine's texture, ensuring it sits perfectly within the overall track.
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.
Mix with the Masters
Add depth and lift the chorus with ping pong delay
Scheps employs a ping-pong delay technique to impart depth and size, which helps elevate the chorus above the verse.
Avid
Add width and movement with modulation and spatial processing
Tchad Blake adds width and movement to an electric guitar by utilizing a combination of modulation and spatial processing effects. Initially, the guitar signal is sent to the Waves MetaFlanger, set with a very slow rate and mixed to about 60% wet, creating a subtle flange effect. This flanged signal is then further processed with the Waves MondoMod, which modulates amplitude, frequency, and panning, again using very slow settings. Finally, the resulting signal is passed through a hardware spatial processor, augmenting its stereo width and adding a three-dimensional quality. Blake calls this effects chain "Buenas Noches", a nod to a preset in the Eventide H3000 hardware harmonizer, which inspired this idea.
SonicScoop
Bigger, deeper drums with reverb and compression
Sylvia Massy adds ambience to the drums by blending reverb on the snare, overhead, and kick with compression on the room mic. Utilizing Valhalla VintageVerb's drum plate preset, she enhances the depth and size of the drum sounds. Concurrently, she applies crushing compression to the mono room mic using the Avid BF-76. This technique not only fills the gaps between drum hits but also adds thickness and body, enhancing the overall impact of the drums. By balancing the expansive quality of the reverb with the intensifying effect of compression, Massey creates a drum sound that is both big and cohesive.
Sam Evian
Create an interesting ambience with a compressed mono reverb
Owens amplifies the atmosphere of the synth solo with a heavily compressed mono reverb, created using the Boss RV-6 guitar pedal. This technique yields a compelling reverb ambience that introduces depth and expansiveness. Skillfully avoiding any cheesy or overly prominent effects, Owens ensures the reverb enhances the synth's texture without loosing clarity or impact.
Sam Evian
Add depth and bigness with vintage digital reverb
On top of a shorter delay-chorus effect, Owens adds a longer reverb for more depth and a bigger vocal sound. He expresses a fondness for the tone and character of vintage digital reverbs from the late '70s and early '80s, due to their distinctive and unique sonic qualities.
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.
Sam Evian
Combine analog delay and chorus to add depth and character
Owens combines multiple effects to get a more interesting, complex and spacious vocal effect. On one hand, there is a mono slap delay that is fed through a stereo chorus. The delay-chorus combination produces a short and interesting ambience. Both the slap and the chorus are analog guitar pedals, printed back into the session. Their limited frequency response and harmonic distortion gives the effect a distinctive character.
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.