Vocal warmth

[bluearrow]

Hi,

I am interested in a range of techniques using Logics plugins to achieve a warmer vocal sound.

 

Say clip distortion/ overdrive/ distotrion

 

For example, is any one using Guitar Pro Amp on vocals? and how etc

 

Thanks in advance.

[marcel72]

Have you tried this?

[sayenex]

wow.... wow

[fader8]

Don't forget the mic! These help too!

[pantomimeHorse]

Spot on, fader8 ! What we used to call, in the olden

times, a dead cat.

-

And, remember that, these days, a preamp with a tube

back end can be had pretty cheaply. TC and Behringer

both do budget models and, when tweaked properly, can

add a kind of "tape" warmth to vocals. Don't overdo this,

though, or it sounds dreadful.

 

-

C

[JigMD80]

From what I hear and observe, the best way to get warmth is from hardware. No plug-in is really going to give you true "warmth". It might come close, but a nice (not budget) tube pre will be your best bet.

[fader8]

Spot on, fader8 ! What we used to call, in the olden

times, a dead cat.

 

"You get a whole dead cat in every bar of Dead Cat Soap"

-Firesign Theater

[pantomimeHorse]

Very good, fader !

Where can I buy some ?

 

....No plug-in is really going to give you true "warmth". It might come close, but a nice (not budget) tube pre will be your best bet.

 

I agree that a good pre is better than a cheap pre, JigMD80, but I was

guessing from the OP's tone of question that he/she might not be just

about ready to mortgage the house ! ! !

-

I have an ART Tubefire and a TLA 5001 here, and both are under $600 and

give superb results. I also own two T1953 Behringer's (under $200) and am

hard-pressed to find sonic characteristics in them which would justify

condemning on price grounds.

 

-

C

[marcel72]

Good A/D converters would be pretty important, too.

 

We're talking about high-order harmonic content, which gets phased and smeared pretty quickly by cheap A/D chips...

[vm1971]

Hi,

I am interested in a range of techniques using Logics plugins to achieve a warmer vocal sound.

 

Say clip distortion/ overdrive/ distotrion

 

For example, is any one using Guitar Pro Amp on vocals? and how etc

 

Thanks in advance.

 

for basic warmth ive reallly been diggin such simple plugs like that Massey tapehead plug, Pressure [both free], etc. even mild setting of the CamelCrusher.

and then yeah --- what all the guys say about preamps and such, too. but if youre tight on $$ try some simple plugs! its fun, too... messing around with different combos. i even got a really cool warm [but odd] effect that [in a dirty way] colored a vocal.. using the simple vocal transformer, i shifted the transformed layer down an octave, and then set the mix of IT and my vocal to make it not so apparent, but.... mildly wonderfully pleasing and kinda not so perfect.

[az85]

Have you tried this?

 

 

yeah i tried the guitar pro amp thing on vocals. its more of an effect i would say, not one i'd put on every single time. as to how.. just set it as an insert and ur done. now.. its time for me to go shopping. where's that link?

[litesnsirens]

Well actually when i use GAP on vocals its not for an effect its to use the tube simulation... you can in fact leave it to a setting where you are using a cabinet simulator but you really have to tweak it... set the cabinet to direct and you can just use the tube emulation and the guitar eq's. I also find you can do lots with plugs...I'm really happy with the channel strip setting Male Ambient Lead Vocal ... start there and try messing with some of the parameters etc... maybe put the GAP on the insert along with the other plugs ... I would mess with the plug ins before I started spending money on outboard gear unless the stuff your using now is crap but if you are getting a decent quality signal into your computer you should be able to dial in some good vocal tones with the plugs that come with logic

Alot really depends on the voice of the singer too ... hard to imagine an instrument that is more diverse than the human voice... and when you think about how you would process a start differently than a les paul... it's not to hard to see why one persons settings wont work for another given human voices are far more diverse than strats and les pauls...

[1pauper1]

"warmth" by definition is the heating up of a tube.

so without a real tube preamp you ain't gonna get it warm.

 

but there are digital tricks that come close.

 

eq and chorus. and a little delay. not reverb,reverb is mud

always delay instead of reverb.

[Holger Lagerfeldt]

You can get warmth by other means than tubes, be it solid state or even digital if you know what you're doing.

 

Warm simply means pleasant and full.

 

I agree that a high quality tube preamp or vari mu compressor can be an easier way but lots of medium and low quality tube equipment won't get you anywhere.

 

And you can still get sharp, thin and nasty sound using tubes and lots of hardware.

 

I don't think wamth has anything to do with chorus or delay. Warmth is about having a rich sound to begin with, full of overtones. Then use EQ to bring out the best and remove the worst bits.

 

I have a very fat sounding vocal chain with the se Titan, Great River ME-1NV and G 1176 LN compressor - all solid state. I do have a Gyratec X vari mu (tube) compressor but it's more for coloration in mastering.

 

The OP asked about using Logic plug-ins and I don't think there are any shortcuts for obtaining a "warm" sound except to start with the source sound and take it from there using good EQ and comp.

[1pauper1]

yes lagerfeldt, you are correct.....but

 

neither the op or myself are sound engineers such as you are,

and i know you are because i have read many of your posts and

it is obvious that you are a pro. and i would yield to your judgement in

most cases.

 

but he was talking about using distortion and overdrive

i was just trying to point out that if you don't have the

good hardware to get that "warm " or as you call it 'rich" sound

then chorus and delay are much more suited to that purpose

than distortion or overdrive.

 

i personally roll with MXL tube and TC-HELICON and as you point

out, no software plugs can touch good boxes.

[Holger Lagerfeldt]

Yeah, I suppose you can try to obtain warmth by putting on various plug-ins but like you say it won't really work though.

[beatntrack]

Use a ribbon mic. End of story. The Cascade Fat Head 11 is $199 and sounds awesome on voice.

[marcel72]

I agree with Lagerfeldt, tubes not necessary.

 

Recently, I use:

 

Bock Audio 251>Great River MP2-NV>Empirical Labs EL-8X>Great River EQ2-NV>Apogee Rosetta...

 

No tubes except the mic. Rich harmonics, which is what people mean when they say 'warm'.