Voice

[flyingb]

Well, now I need to record my voice.
I have a Presonus AudioBox and Cubase 4 LE.

I can plug a mic in the correct place on my Audiobox and actually recording my voice. But what is the right way to proceed to apply effects?
Before I go through experimenting, could someone tell me (roughly) in which direction to head?

Ciao.
C.

[Vulconizer]

Man, that all depends on a lot of stuff.
What kind of music are you making? Are you going for a certain vocal "sound"? Do you want lush, huge reverb? Do you want it real thick and chorusy? How about real tight and dry, in-your-face?

Maybe you want all of these at once? I dunno.

I personally think that experimenting, along with some reading-up on various threads about this topic, is the fun way to go.

[Electriclight]

While you are reading up on the topic, consider that nearly every vocal track will require some compression, often a lot. Adding a de-esser plugin (like Spitfish) to reduce sybillants is also something to consider.

But dont' go into a recording thinking about effects. Think about gettting the best performance and then later, the song may beg for effects, maybe not.

The most used "effect" for vocals is reverb and for that, less is usually more...It is very easy to go overboard on reverb until eventually the vocals lose their intelligibility and it all becomes mush in the mix.

[Vulconizer]

Originally Posted by Electriclight

While you are reading up on the topic, consider that nearly every vocal track will require some compression, often a lot. Adding a de-esser plugin (like Spitfish) to reduce sybillants is also something to consider.

But dont' go into a recording thinking about effects. Think about gettting the best performance and then later, the song may beg for effects, maybe not.

The most used "effect" for vocals is reverb and for that, less is usually more...It is very easy to go overboard on reverb until eventually the vocals lose their intelligibility and it all becomes mush in the mix.

Quoted for truth. I tend to get on one track sometimes and forget to look at the rest of the deal. Thanks, Electric.

[roanboy56]

If your going for a natural sounding vocal I recommend;

Noise Gate if you have one,

EQ to get the correct tone, possibly boosting around the 2k/8k range to help cut through the mix (of course this will depend on what you have recorded and the style of music).

Compression to even out the level and boost if possible

Reverb to liven up the sound (medium room size and distance is a good place to start) You want it to sound natural not overdone so start low.

It is also important to remember get a nice strong signal without clipping when recording. Sing from consistent distance (possibly using a pop filter as a guide)

Hope this helps

[flyingb]

Yep. I am going down in the basement right now. I have sat up a comfortable environment and will start to treat voice now.

I mean, the problem is not "what effect to use". The problem is "how to apply an affect". I add an audio track, can listen to my voice and actually record. Now I want to add reverb. How do I do?

Well, you cannot damage a computer messing with a software... so I am going.
Ciao!
C.

[Electriclight]

Originally Posted by flyingb

Yep. I am going down in the basement right now. I have sat up a comfortable environment and will start to treat voice now.

I mean, the problem is not "what effect to use". The problem is "how to apply an affect". I add an audio track, can listen to my voice and actually record. Now I want to add reverb. How do I do?

Well, you cannot damage a computer messing with a software... so I am going.
Ciao!
C.

How? Either add insert effects on the individual vocal track or on the final mix, or create a send effect. Open the inspector window for the track by clicking on the little round "e" button. There you can add insert effeccts and control send effects levels. To create send effects open an FX track and insert plugins on it. Experiment!

[flyingb]

Thank you, that's exactly what I was asking for.

I also learned that timezone is important when you post. Now it's almost 22 here in Rome (Italy) and business time in the USA, so replies are very quick :-)

Ciao!
Cris.

Originally Posted by Electriclight

How? Either add insert effects on the individual vocal track or on the final mix, or create a send effect. Open the inspector window for the track by clicking on the little round "e" button. There you can add insert effeccts and control send effects levels. To create send effects open an FX track and insert plugins on it. Experiment!