Hello, and welcome to the Sound On Sound Recording and Mixing Podcast channel. I am Eddie Bazil.
As a young and upcoming pod racer on Tatooine, I often dreamt of doing something in sound. And those days sitting idly whilst the Jedi were charging their 'sabres, I would often ponder on how best to structure serial effects from the viewpoint of a sound designer. Most of my pod racer colleagues wanted to dabble in EQ in the hope that they would get that snare just right.
I believe they're still applying that two to four kilohertz boost for the snap. Me, I just wanted to reshape and colour sounds. Almost on a serious tangent, effects are the fairy dust we apply to most sounds and almost all mixes. They're used to texturally shape compositions and productions. Effects are to sound what colour is to shapes.
They both serve to add texture, mood, and dimension to a foundational structure. To recite the history of all effects would be an epic undertaking, so a dip into the creative pool of the evolution of a couple of notable effects might be a little bit more manageable and less blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Effects originated with mechanical and acoustical experimentation. The earliest studio effects were born out of manipulating tape, the recording medium of the day, and creating and recording spaces. These two disciplines alone gave rise to all manner of effects. For example, engineers realized that the physical distance between the record and play heads of a tape machine would result in a delay.
This became the famous tape delay. Artificial reverb and echo chambers were designed to mimic both spaces and create ambient textures with the use of re-recording in these spaces. These two simple examples express how some clever engineers manipulated the technology of the day to give us the limitless array of effects we have today.
Okay, let's move on to the juicy and fun stuff. I'm going to stay away from explaining how effects work, as I've covered almost all the usual effects like reverb, delay, chorus, phaser, vocoder, harmonic distortion, bit crushing, and sample rate conversion in other podcasts. So if you have a minute, head on over to Sound On Sound's website and hit the podcast tab, or search for my name.
However, I will use a few of these effects to demonstrate some of the more advanced and creative techniques we poor, poor sound designers and engineers use to color and enhance sounds and mixes. Let's begin with the trusted old workhorse, delay, and in this instance, not just any delay, but Eventide's mighty UltraTap delay.
Have a listen to the two versions of the same beat and using the same multi-tap delay effect, but with varying parameter settings. First, the dry version.
And now the two processed versions
You can hear how much the multi-tap delay has affected the beat. It has transformed it from a plain, meh beat into a driving industrial beat, and with two distinct flavours. Let's run through each version's delay settings. But first, Eventide's UltraTap is described by Eventide as, "UltraTap is a unique multi-tap effect capable of rhythmic delays, glitchy reverbs, huge pad-like volume swells, and extraordinary modulation.
It's the perfect tool for creating drum fills, vocal choruses, swelling guitar chords, and other evolving effects. Everything from reversed reverbs to a massed church choir singing a Gregorian chant in the Notre Dame Cathedral." To be honest, they're right. The more you play with this beast, the more you fall in love with it.
I'll run through the settings in the event you fancy trying this example for yourself. First, the industrial UltraTap settings. The plug-in is set to sync mode, so it marries nicely with the project's tempo. Mix, which is the wet/dry, is set to 29%, but play with this as you wish. Tap length is set to dotted eighths, which gives it that nice rhythmic response.
Taps numbers are set to 49. Pre-delay is at 1/32nds. Spread, which delays the spacing of the taps, is set to 27. Taper, which controls the fade of the taps, is set to -18. Width is at maximum. Tone is set to a negative value, which denotes a darker response. Slurm, which deals with modulation and detuning, is set to 26, and chop, which acts as a tremolo, is off The result is a dark and heavy rhythmic texture which lends itself nicely to this type of beat.
In the ensuing example, I only altered the following parameters: Mix at 48, Length at 7/16, and Chop at Swell 0.7. This results in a shadow effect whereby the delay sounds like a rhythmic reverb, but hanging behind the beat as opposed to dominating it. In the next example, I'm going to affect the vocal line using Soundtoys Crystallizer, a granular echo synthesiser.
Yes, you heard it right. However, it is not a synthesiser in the traditional sense, but an effect that uses granular resynthesis. It does this by using a combination of pitch shifting and reversed echo, and is based on the Eventide H3000's innovative reverse shift algorithm. If you've ever been fortunate enough to use an H3000, you'll recognise the famous Crystal Echoes preset, which forms the basis of this particular effect.
Here is the dry vocal line. Couldn't deal with all this pain, pain, pain, yeah. Couldn't deal with all this pain, pain, pain, yeah. And now with Crystallizer. Couldn't deal with all this pain, pain, pain, yeah. Couldn't deal with all this pain, pain, pain, yeah. I'll run through some of the settings I've dialled in.
I've synced the effect to the DAW's tempo and flipped it into reverse. Reverse determines whether the effect is played forward or backward. Mix, which is the dry/wet, is set to around a third of the way. Obviously, blend this to taste. Pitch allows you to adjust the pitch of the effect signal up or down.
I've set this to -18 cents. Splice, which controls the length of the section of audio that is captured and played back, is set to a 16th. Delay handles the time delay from dry signal to affected signal and is set to one 32nd. Recycle is essentially a feedback control, allowing you to send the output of the effect signal back into the input at varying amounts.
You can use this to create upward or downward spiralling pitch effects. Very cool. And this is set to about halfway. I've also edited using the tweak menu option to allow for a slightly late pitch and delay offset. The result is a vibrating reverb delay kind of effect that replicates traditional delays into reverb chains, which although good, do not offer this level of dynamic motion.
It almost sounds like vibrato output into tremolo, but much better. In example three, I'm going to share with you an ancient technique I've been using since lederhosen were in fashion. It is called wrapping reverbs. It entails chaining two reverbs in series. In essence, one reverb feeds into another. There is nothing new about this technique, and although engineers have been experimenting with feeding one type of reverb into another for decades, it was the big hair, bell-bottoms, and acne era that saw this technique being exhausted to death, as labels wanted ever bigger reverbs to complement their artists' hair.
Okay, first off, the dry version of the vocals. It's funny sometimes how they were your best friend, now so far away. And now with the wrapped reverbs. It's funny sometimes how they were your best friend, now so far away. This technique has no strict rules about which reverbs to use. However, I find that feeding a plate reverb into a room or a hall reverb works best.
The reason is simple, at least to me. A plate reverb is energetic but controlled, as there are no reflections and therefore no smearing to negotiate. Plate reverbs impart a dense, bright, diffuse texture and afford a controlled decay, thanks to the characteristics of wave dispersion across a metal sheet.
In this example, I'm using IK Multimedia's classic plate reverb fed into Acustica Audio's sublime RICE reverb. Let me run through some of the basic settings I've dialled in for both reverbs. As I'm using these reverbs in series, the wet/dry mix plays an important role in managing the output and behaviour of one reverb into the other.
You could, of course, create an auxiliary and place both reverbs in series, and then manage the overall mix amount via the vocal send, but you will still need to structure the output of the plate that feeds into the room or hall reverb. You could also use two auxiliaries and feed one auxiliary into the other using two sets of sends.
Fun, huh? Back to the settings. The plate has a wet/dry mix set to 15%, and the RICE has the mix set to 43%. Of course, these will change if you're using auxiliary send returns. The plate's diffusion is set at 91% to afford a more spacious texture. Reverb time is at .425 seconds, with the crossover set to 12.2 kilohertz low time, which controls the length of the reverb for low frequencies, which is determined by the crossover control, of the reverb time. This is set to 0.2 times. Reverb size is 28.4 meters, with 54% build, a halfway setting which allows for a gentle build of reverb, and 100% dispersion. I've slightly altered the left and right delay values to allow for a bigger stereo sound.
The RICE has the following settings. The reverb type is a chamber, with a pre-delay of 26.73 milliseconds. Size is set to 80%, i.e. a big chamber. Yay. Stereo Aliver, which determines spatial width, is set to 28%. Selectivity, which adjusts spectral resolution and is set to a humble 9%. Spectral shaper, which controls resonance and density, is set to 52%, and the mix is set to 43%.
I've also used the integrated EQ to cut out some of the low frequencies The combined reverbs have resulted in a denser, yet intimate texture. The vocals come across as detailed and airy, but without sounding thin. IK Multimedia's Classic Plate is a must-have plug-in, as it covers all plate needs beautifully.
Acustica's RICE, well, what can I say? It simply sounds gorgeous, and I expect nothing less from Acustica. In the next example, I'm going to add an extra dimension to a chord progression by using Eventide's 949 Dual Harmonizer. I believe there's a parable in the Bible about this. Here is the unprocessed version
And now the processed version
Eventide always churn out wonderful processors that lend themselves for all manner of sound design and production projects, and the 949 Harmonizer is no exception. This beast takes harmonizing to a whole new level, and although the plug-in looks deep and complex, it is surprisingly easy to navigate, and achieving interesting and outwardly textures is simple if you're willing to take the time to master all the powerful features on offer.
To list the features of this processor would take a few pages, and I genuinely feel this is one of those plug-ins that you need to spend time with to get to know how it works and what it can achieve. And briefly, and using Eventide's own description, in the '70s, where shag pile carpets and fleck wallpaper made the human race unpopular, Eventide created an iconic piece of hardware.
I quote, "The Eventide Clockworks H949, which debuted shortly after the 910, was the world's first de-glitched harmonizer product. It not only offered three octaves of pitch change, but also featured micro and random pitch, delay only flanging, and unique reverse modes. When used with a tape recorder, it also made time expansion and compression possible for the first time ever.
It was also one of, if not, the first multi effects unit to grace our studios." Although people often pigeonhole harmonizers in the vocal processing category, they're equally effective when processing any sound, and Eventide saw this early on and cleverly incorporated other features that help to construct all manner of subtle to manic effects.
It's always helpful to find the preset that is in the ballpark of what you're aiming for, and to tweak it until you achieve the desired result. I did just that here by using the instrument preset Don't Drop It, but did tweak it a touch to get that depth and floating random frequency tail effect. The magic takes place in the feedback, pitch ratio, and delay line sections.
I've set one engine to a pitch value of 1.005 and the other engine at one, but with a slightly boosted high end using the feedback high EQ. This pitch disparity accounts for the pitch movement you hear. Mix is set to 19%. Of course, all the parameters have summed to give this response. But as I stated earlier, it would take too long to cover every setting.
So go and grab this gorgeous plug-in and be in awe at what it can do. The result is a beautifully controlled, deep, and evolving texture that takes an already decent sound and turns it into a citizen of Asgard. The wavering pitch tail and front to back depth make this progression sound evocative and interesting.
A great bed to build a song on. In the next example, I'm going to use a simple yet powerful flanger effect made by Blue Cat Audio. I've used Blue Cat products before, as not only are they free, but very useful. But before I start, let's have a look at what a flanger is and how it works. A flanger is a modulation effect whereby the delayed signal, which is added back to an equal amount of the dry signal, is modulated by using an LFO.
If you add the output back into the input, feedback, you get resonance with the comb filter effect. Comb filtering occurs when the delayed signal is combined with the dry direct signal. The comb filter creates peaks and troughs in the frequency response. If the polarity of the dry signal is the same as the delayed signal, we call this positive flanging, and if the polarity of the delayed signal is opposite to the polarity of the dry signal, we call this negative flanging.
If the feedback is greater, then you get what we call resonant flanging. The more feedback applied, the more resonant the effect. This is a bit like increasing the resonance on an analog filter. Feedback also has phase. If the feedback is in phase, then it's called positive feedback. If the feedback is out of phase, it is called negative feedback.
Negative feedback has odd harmonics, whereas positive feedback has even harmonics. Some flangers will have a phase parameter to control the negative and positive phase, and this has quite a dramatic effect on the overall effect. Additionally, the phase controls can also alter the degree rates and therefore have a dramatic impact on the way the effect is output.
The best way to explain this is by using examples. I'm going to continue with the previous example and add the flanger to the equation to allow for some three-dimensional drift. I suggest you wear headphones for this example as the motion or drift, although subtle, comes into its own when auditioned through headphones.
First, the harmonised version.
And now with the flanger
Cat's flanger provides all the necessary parameters to help create the standard jet whooshing sounds that spandex-wearing guitar thrashers love, all the way to subtle 3D motion effects that more sensible and reserved folk, like us producers, like to dabble with. I'm using it to add a three-dimensional effect that works nicely for this particular sound.
I'll run through the settings in the event you want a starting template to work from. Delay is set to 1.9 milliseconds. Depth is at 41%. Rate is at 0.66 hertz, with the modulator shape set to a sine. Spread is at 100%. Dry is at 20%. Feed forward is at 100% positive, and feedback is at 45%. Adjust these settings to taste, but keep an eye or ear on the pan motion and make sure it isn't too extreme, otherwise the effect will sound lopsided.
Adjusting feed forward from positive to negative yields some interesting results, so have some fun with this parameter. I love the result. The sound is alive, deep, and gently drifting from side to side without losing center cohesion. Hearing the gently detuned modulator effect fading into the distance gives the sound an extra layer of depth and interest.
The flanger has historically, and unfairly, been demoted to extreme and whooshy type of effects, or pigeonholed as a guitar effect. But if used with a little planning and a different mindset, it becomes an incredibly powerful weapon for adding depth, width, and motion to a sound and a mix. In the final example, I'm going to use a beat I created and add the flanger to the base for some motion, a phaser on a choir to make it sound both evolving and less, um, choir-y, and finally, a reverb to smear the movement of the phaser and also provide the bed depth.
I've extended the eight-bar sequence to 16 bars so you can hear how the combined phaser and reverb effects evolve over time. First, the dry version
Now with all the effects in place.
The best approach is to detail each process individually. That way you can hear exactly what is being done to each sound. Okay, let's start with the bass. First, the bass unprocessed.
And now with the flanger.
I am using Initial Audio's 808 Studio 2 to generate the bass tone. It's a great VSTI for crafting big basses, and it took me seconds to shape the sub-bass. I'm again using Blue Cat's Flanger and the settings are as follows: delay at 1.6 milliseconds, depth at 56%, rate at 0.34 hertz, spread at 50%, dry at 42%, feedforward at 100% positive, and feedback at 43% with the LFO set to a sine.
You can hear how the bass moves around the center axis without straying too far to either side. Additionally, the reinforcing of certain frequencies results in a deeper and more rounded tone. And now the choir. First, the choir without any processing.
And now with the phaser
I'm using Soundtoys Phase Mistress, my favourite phaser plug-in, as it not only sounds wonderful, but also comes supplied with a ton of tweaking tools. I've covered this plug-in in my podcast on the phaser, so if you want to know how it works, check the podcast out. I'll run briefly through the main settings.
I'm using only four stages for the phaser. Mix is at 75%, frequency is around 10 o'clock, resonance is close to zero, modulation is set to max, and I'm using the sine wave LFO with its rate set to around 15 hertz. The result is a slow and deep phaser motion, which adds a three-dimensional like quality to the choir's pan behaviour.
This phaser is fed serially into the next effect, which is a reverb. And now with only the reverb.
I'm using GForce's M-tron Pro IV for the choir sound using a preset called Dominant Male Soloist. This is a wonderful plug-in and beautifully captures the Mellotron M400's finer attributes, and comes with acres of powerful editing tools to shape ambience heaven. I'm using Eventide's Blackhole reverb, which I've covered in other podcasts.
I'm a fan of Eventide product, as I'm sure you've gathered by now, and Blackhole is more than a reverb that deals with textures from the abyss. I've used it here to smear the distinct and pronounced movement of the phaser effect to afford a more fluid and deeper texture. The settings I'm using are pretty straightforward with no modulation in place.
Mix is at 42%, gravity is set to -35%, size is at maximum, there's no pre-delay, low EQ has a boost at 31%, and high EQ has an 11% boost. And now with both the phaser and reverb in series.
The reverb not only smears the phaser so it sounds more fluid, but it also affords a wispy high end to the whole choir sound. The reverb acts as a deep bed that the phaser can move in and has lifted the choir sound into the realms of good God. Very cool and gorgeous sounding. Finally, the combination of the moving bass and deep floaty choir has changed this, eh, beat into something a tad more tolerable.
In conclusion, it doesn't matter whether you're trying to denote the space a mix resides in or impress folk with your multi-delay guitar riffs, effects have always been at the forefront of, well, anything to do with audio. The evolution of effects will continue, and thank God for that, because music without effects is a bit like a world without colour.
I've barely touched on the power of effects. I've simply indulged myself in sharing some of the techniques I use to add colour and motion to not so exciting music. I'll leave by playing the final beat for you so that you have a memory of what can be achieved with a little knowledge and some very cool plug-ins.
That's it for now. Thanks for listening. This has been Eddie Bazil for Sound On Sound. Thank-you for listening. And be sure to check out the show notes page for this episode where you'll find further information along with web links and details of all the other episodes. Oh, and just before you go, let me point you to the soundonsound.com/podcast website page where you can explore what's playing on our other channels.
