Hi everyone,

I've got a pretty simple question for you, in what order do you usually place your effects for vocals?

I'm in the process of building a little effects chain for live vocals. Our band plays rock/prog/electro/etc., it's a somewhat ethereal blend of genres, so I like to play with some effects for the vocals. Right now I've got a Boss DD-20 and a Line 6 Verbzilla, looking to add a compressor too (maybe the TC-Helicon Voicetone Correct?).

In what order should I place those effects? I'm pretty sure the compressor/de-esser should be at the beginning, but should I put the reverb before the delay? or after?

Thanks for your help!

Compress-delay-reverb...would me my first choice.

Thanks!

While I'm at it, does anyone have any impressions to give about the TC Helicon Voicetone Correct? I'd like to use it for the compressor, de-esser, "Shape" EQ, pre-amp with warmth for live vocals. Thanks!

Before you get too crazy processing the vocals...see how they are dry.

A good mic and preamp goes a long way, and will do more than a string of FX/processing.
IOW...I would not always apply all the same processing every time you do vocals.
Wait and see how the vocals fit in with the rest of the mix.
I always leave the vocals for last when it comes to processing/FX....

It is a matter of preference of the engineer.

I probably would not compress individual vocal channels unless there was a reason to do so. I would run verbs from an effects send. I'd never use pitch correction, but that is just me. Likely, I'd never engineer for a band that used pitch correction.

More shit in your chain results in a shittier sound. Less shit=closer to reality. Expensive shit can at times equal a neat sound, but cheap shit almost always results in a cheap, shitty sound.

Everything needs to be considered within its context. If you are playing venues that do not support the purchase of expensive shit, I'd consider carefully weither I wanted to spend any money on cheap shit. If so, then do your due dilligence to try to find the products that will do the least damage to the final output. So many effects just mud up the sound today, it is really disheartening to attend live club shows... formerly the only place a guy could go to see real musicians playing real music in real time.

In the order they work best for the song, there is no one right answer to this. Start with nothing, and build from there using only what you need.

i will suggest for the vocal music delay-Compress--reverb is more important....

Why would you put a delay in front of a compressor?

Completely screws with your decay.

In a live situation, compressor/gate/eq would go in the chain via the channel insert. Delay/Reverb would be via the Aux Sends, preferably individual sends, but if only one, then Delay>Reverb. So in essence, the compressor/gate/eq is in series adn the delay/reverb is parallel.

In a lot of cases, in a live situation, the compressor is used to try to make up for a singer who uses poor mic dynamics. With a good singer, you shouldn't need one. Also, compression will increase the possibility of feedback, and possibly increase bleed from the stage volume.

Also, any eq and dynamics processing will be dependant on the microphones, the sound system, the venue - so unless you're going to use the same gear at the same venue through the same system all the time, you will need to tweak it for every show.

I'm just saying, putting a delay in front of a compressor in series, no matter what the situation, is foolhardy, because you're screwing with your decay.

Live, it's even worse, because you're likely to cause a massive feedback loop, worse than the comp by itself.

Gate, then compressor. Otherwise compressor will effect gate input triggering. However I wold HIGHLY recommend against gating vocals live, except in the most pro touring situations, where there is little to no stage volume, and everyone is on IEM's.