I have a vocal wave track which is reasonably good but I need some tricks to make it rich and interesting, to stand out in the mix. Any suggestions on how to master this?

Hi Stratocaster.

It's very difficult to be precise without hearing the track or the mix which it's part of, but in general terms you could try one of these -

1) A few db of upward limiting to bring up the quieter words without increasing the overall level.

2) A few db lift at 4kz to brighten it and help intelligibility. This will also help it to cut through without increasing the volume of the track.

3) Similar to (2) but using a bright reverb setting to achieve much the same effect.

4) Finally, what I do to almost all the vocals I record - use a tape saturation plugin. This should give you a degree of soft limiting with a thicker sound and some harmonic distortion which can add some character and a bit of an edge to the track. The success of this method depends entirely on the quality of the plugin and judicious use.

Hope this is of some use.

ROG.

With no reference to what it sounds like now, what you want it to sound like, or the setting (style of song) my answer is .. try compression first.

Like ROG said "It's very difficult to be precise without hearing the track or the mix which it's part of"

Others can give a lot better response if you give us something to work with.

No offense meant (honestly) but;
the original question is kind of like saying that you just drywalled a room and it came out pretty good, so what color should you paint it?

I have no idea without hearing (seeing) it.

Typical vocal chain -
EQ
Compression (similar to ROG's Limiter suggestion)
Reverb

not always in that order.

Thanks Rog/Rharv!

I was mainly after, which RB tools/means are used to get a vocal stand out, the basics, if there are any :-)

Strat

Here is a very comprehensive article on vocal processing. RB has many of these effects.


http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/96-vocal-tips-437031



Regards,


Bob

Thanks very much Bob, I will read it carefully!

Strat

Rog,
can you recommend a good tape saturation plug?
In other words, what do YOU use?

Bob! I have listened to your bandmix, and I am very pleased listening to your recordings, this is so much what I'm after. How Do I get the punchy drum sounds you've got. I'm very impressed :-)

Strat

Strat -

Thanks for the kind words. That live demo on Bandmix is just a recording of a live rehearsal, and the sound is not optimal, but we wanted potential clients to hear what we actually sound like live. We use a BBE Sonic Maximizer for our backing tracks, and it gives the sampled drums some extra punch. Pro Sound people scorn the BBE, but it really can add some life to sequenced tracks.



Regards,


Bob

Not a simple answer, Pat. I'll send you a PM so I don't tie up the thread.

ROG.

I take all my tracks to SONAR.

Once there, I use OZONE on the master and on the vocal buss.

Ozone is quite amazing. I don't like to use much compression and on occasion I will use a tape saturation (from SONAR) plug in if it works for that track (sonically speaking).

Often Ozone with my customized preset and some dark plate reverb is all I use on vocals.

Ozone is a 6 module mastering suite plug in. And depending on what I'm going for, I often have several of the modules off and use only what I think it needs.

I can't tell you that I do "this" or "that" every time, because every track in every project is unique. I rarely have the same exact settings in every song. I might start with my customized preset, but it ALWAYS gets tweeked..... ALWAYS!!!!

It's more about learning what the song or the track needs by listening to it, and then knowing what to adjust to get it there. The difference in being given a fish and learning to fish.....

I swear by Izotope - Nectar as a VST plugin to adjust vocals. It has dozens of presents, which do most of the work for me as I only have to audition each to see what sounds best with my voice. Once the preset is selected any amount of fine tuning with any effect can be performed.

But of course you guys know all this..

I must say I'm impressed by Izotope (trial version), what's the difference between the nectar and the elements version, except the price? Are there similar plug ins for instrment tracks?

Strat

I have the Ozone 3 & 4 plug in..... I looked at the other things they released, such as Nectar, when it first came out. I DL'd the trial version to play with it, and (IMHO) it was very similar to what I had already.

I look for and try to get a clean full sound and Ozone tends to do that well. I call it the final polish on the mix.

I understand that Nectar is specifically designed for vocals..... so, if you like it and think it's what you want, certainly, I will say get it and use it.