Vocal processors can be a valuable tool for adding a range of precisely controlled effects to your live performance. However if you’re not careful, there are a few pitfalls that singers often fall into that will detract from the sound of your show.
We tend to spend lots of time here at Killer Live Sound talking about the instruments on stage at your gig or show, and how to set them up in a way that gives you a great live sound. And talking about these things is very important, they’re usually the main culprit for having less than optimal sound. However, something that is often overlooked this discussion is the vocals.
But what is there to discuss I hear you ask? While they are often one of the most important parts of the song and should be a key part of the mix, there’s not much to really do here is there? The singer sings into the mic and it comes out the PA, job done.
Or is it?
The quality of your vocal sound can be the difference between your band sounding distinctly average and sounding slick and professional, and having a selection of effects and sounds that fit in with your music and that will vary the vocals throughout your set can, when done properly, lift you well above the norm.
Now the best place for these effects to be added is in the mixing desk, by the sound engineer mixing your show. He is (usually) standing out in the audience hearing what they hear, balancing the sound of all of the different instruments on stage, and is best placed to judge how much or how little of an effect should be added, how the vocals should be EQ’d and processed, and to mix them in with the other instruments to make your band sound great.
But at your typical small venue, it’s not so easy to do. The sound engineer who is taking care of your show is, I’m sure, perfectly competent at his job. They’ll put some reverb on the vocals, a bit of compression, maybe a touch of delay, but there’s a good chance that the venue doesn’t have a wide selection of effects units and equipment to really give your set any sort of unique sound. And to be honest, even if it does he/she simply doesn’t have time during a busy three or four band soundcheck to learn your songs and when you want this or that particular effect used.
So unless you or your band works with its own regular sound engineer who comes to your shows and operates the mixing desk for you, and who has taken the time to work with you and learn your set, then you’re either going to have to live with the more standard vocal sound and effects used. Or you’re going to have to find another way to do it.
And to this end, personal vocal processors are becoming more and more popular for singers and bands at live shows. Not a million miles away from the typical stomp box used by guitarists, these will be small multi-effects units that can be programmed with multiple patches and pages to give you a selection of different sounds for different songs. The singer can switch between these as and when needed, triggering them at just the right time for a particular chorus or verse, and really give the band a professional sound.
Well, that is the theory at least!
This article is not intended to give you advice on what particular effects to use for a song; how long to set the reverb time for or what chorus effect to use etc. These kinds of creative choices will vary wildly from one band to the next and from one genre of music to the next, and you as the musician are best placed to make them.
Instead the idea is to point out some common mistakes that are often made with these units that can make it extremely hard for your sound engineer to achieve the kind of great sound you’re looking for at your show. They are often set up in a way that means they cause just as many problems as they solve, and they need some careful attention if you’re really wanting to nail that killer live sound.
