Vocal Chain
My vocal takes get routed to one of 4 sub-groups:
- Lead Vocals Verse
- Lead Vocals Chorus
- Backing Vocals Verse
- Backing Vocals Chorus
I was hoping that would give me enough flexibility between applying the same treatment across 30 vocal tracks, just in case they needed independent wibbling ... vs applying the same thing on the top level Vocal Group. I can see I'd want to treat these four sections differently. Probably. Applying plug-ins consistently across every individual vocal track wasn't really an option, especially after I'd spliced them so they flowed nicely in the Project window.
So the sub-groups have the vocal chain applied. I did think about moving some treatments to the "Gp. Vocal" that they all get routed to ... but I haven't worked out which ones would be appropriate for this. I've stuck with the flexibility at the risk of duplication whilst I'm still in the early days of vocal mixing.
n.b. This Vocal Chain is saved as an FX Chain Preset: I like this level of templating. I can see a "mellow vocal chain" and "rock vocal chain" being set up, that kind of thing. Maybe not "rock".
Here's what I ended up with: based on the Cubase Vocal Chain plug-in but allowing more control of the individual elements, e.g. no pitch control, as I butcher off-colour notes using VariAudio.
| EQ Fundamental | StudioEQ | For EQ (1) I've used Studio EQ just to remove low frequencies. Might switch this to Cubase EQ-P1A (or EQ-M5) for simpler high-pass duties; |
| De-esser Fundamental | deesser | De-esser (1) is a stock plug-in to remove obvious sibillance; |
| EQ (2) is a Frequency2 removing some wonky tones; | ||
| The Compressor (1) is an Optical variety, smoother for vocals. I've used a UAD plug-in in this list, but Cubase has "voxcomp". [Both based on LA-2A style from yesteryear.]; | ||
| Magneto is a saturation alternative (see Quadrafuzz and Da Tube); | ||
| Compressor (2) is an "1176" FET style, "Vintage Compressor" in Cubase, it's a faster-acting compressor for a bit of punch now the previous steps have controlled things; | ||
| EQ (3) is for tone rather than corrective. I've used UAD version of Cubase stock EQ-M5; | ||
| De-esser (2) is stock in case the subsequent processing has re-introduced harshness; | ||
| Imager is a stock plug-in to add some width. It's not in the BV chains. I think I switched it for something else on the Lead Chorus chain; | ||
| Reverb: despite all the other reverbs being applied everywhere, I slapped more here. | ||
I haven't settled on a Reverb approach: I like the little-and-often but it's not easy to keep track. I have instances on the vocal sub-groups, Mix Matrix, Room Tone, plus Effect tracks for Vocal Ping Pong delay, Vocal Tape Echo delay, Vocal High reverb. I think the vocal sub-groups instances need to move to a dedicated Vocal reverb, so I can apply varying amounts via a send. Probably. I just need to be clear what's doing what (space placement vs sheen vs glue) and stick with it.