Mix with the Masters
Building intensity: From dry to slap delay vocals
Ben Baptie uses effects automation to build intensity in a vocal track by transitioning from a completely dry sound to incorporating a slap delay. Starting with no reverb or effects, the dry vocal allows the song to begin with a raw, intimate feel. As the song progresses, Baptie introduces slap delay to create a secondary rhythm, enhancing the vocal's interaction with tightly picked guitar parts. This technique not only adds depth but also creates syncopation between the vocals and instruments, enhancing the song's rhythmic cohesion and dynamic feel. By carefully timing the introduction of effects, Baptie ensures that each verse feels more intense and engaging, even if the musical elements remain similar.
James Hype
Building tension with effects automation
James Hype demonstrates how to build intensity in a track using the "Festival Gap Technique," which involves subtle structural changes and effects automation. By introducing a gap before the second drop, he creates anticipation and excitement, making the audience expect the drop, only to delay it momentarily. This technique heightens the impact when the drop finally hits, enhancing the overall energy of the track. Additionally, Hype incorporates more effects, such as white noise, in the second drop to make it feel like an improved version of the first, maintaining familiarity while increasing excitement. This approach keeps the track engaging and dynamic, perfect for festival and club settings.
Tape Notes Podcast
Building tension with effects automation on the mix bus
Jack Antonoff demonstrates how to create excitement and build tension using delay and modulation effects automation directly on the mix bus. He employs Soundtoys EchoBoy for delay and Soundtoys Tremolator for tremolo, showcasing how these effects can transform a section to feel entirely different. By applying these effects to the master, Antonoff can quickly shift the sonic landscape without getting into the minutiae of individual tracks. This approach allows for dramatic changes, such as making a bridge feel distinct or adding a pulsing movement to a section, enhancing the overall dynamics and interest of the track.
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.
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.
Mix with the Masters
Different ways to create impact with the chorus
Michael Brauer shares various techniques to enhance the impact of a chorus using panning, volume automation, effects automation, and EQ. He discusses the importance of creating width by making the chorus wider and the verse tighter. Adding low and high frequencies can extend the chorus' frequency response, making it sound bigger. Adding reverb and other effects can provide additional depth. Brauer emphasizes that while the arrangement should ideally create impact on its own, these mixing techniques can significantly enhance transitions and the mix's dramaturgy. Additionally, he explains how volume automation, such as lowering the master fader during verses and raising it during choruses or bridges, can have a dramatic impact. This approach can be particularly useful when the arrangement lacks certain elements to naturally build intensity. Brauer highlights the mixer’s role in using creative processing to elevate a track, ensuring that each section of the song delivers the desired emotional and sonic impact.
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.
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.