Recording - February 2014 - 53

Of course, an echo-y vocal reverb is not
the only way to go. While that approach
can add a nice sense of depth, the opposite can also work well. Many people like
the sound of a plate reverb on vocals, and
plates are usually dense, without a strong
echo component. However, if applied subtly, a plate can add a nice sheen to a
vocal without calling too much attention to
itself. A nice bright plate, with enough of
an Initial Delay (as above) to give the original vocal track some breathing room, can
add some gloss to a vocal, while still
allowing the track to sound up-front and
relatively unprocessed in the mix.
Vocal space
When applying reverb to vocals, you'll
want to be careful that any extra richness
isn't achieved at the expense of clarity
and lyrical intelligibility. Additionally,
adding reverb and delays to a vocal tends
to put the track in a more three-dimensional space. That's a good thing, but that
sense of space can also tend to push the
vocal further back in the imaginary space
the vocals and instruments inhabit.
Depending on other settings in the mix,
this could potentially result in a lead vocal
that seems to be coming from the back of
the (virtual) stage, behind the drums, bass,
and other instruments. If the reverb is too
strong, the end result may be a vocal that

seems to be overwhelmed by other musical parts, in terms of clarity and presence,
even if it's loud enough in the mix.
Many mixers prefer that the lead vocal sit
in front of the virtual soundspace of the mix
(closer to the listener), regardless of how wet
or dry it may be. At the same time, background vocals may be more appropriately
pushed a little further back in the virtual

soundspace, to reaffirm their musically supporting role. Now, this sense of three-dimensional placement is subtle, but getting the
elements to sit front-to-back in a mix can
enhance not only clarity, but reinforce the
musical roles of the different parts.
To give myself a little more flexibility in
this regard, I often do the same thing with
vocal reverb as I do with drums-set up at

least two different, dedicated vocal
reverbs. One emphasizes Early Reflections
(ER), to create a sense of depth-adding
this will push the vocal into the virtual
space, potentially further back into the
soundstage. Another reverb emphasizes
the later Reverb tail more-this one can
add depth and sheen to the vocal without
as much of a sense of three-dimensionality.
Sometimes I use a third, a very small ambience ER reverb, like a stage ambience,
which can add some dimension to the
vocal, but not enough room tone to push it
back in the mix (as the other ER reverb
might do). Each of these reverb plug-ins
would be instantiated in its own Aux track,
and each vocal track would have multiple
Sends, feeding each reverb independently,
allowing the blend of reverb for each vocal
part to be optimized. For more details on
this hookup, see the description of Send &
Return wiring in Part 1 last month.
The exact settings for each of these
reverb components are done by ear-
there's no real formula (other than the general suggestions offered earlier)-they
depend on the specifics of the particular
recording and the particular reverb units
employed. Typically, these vocal reverbs
might have lower density than the dedicated drum reverbs elsewhere in the mix,
but decisions like overall brightness,
Reverb Time, and Initial Decay would be

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Recording - February 2014

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