Members 144dB Posted December 23, 2017 Members Share Posted December 23, 2017 Hey all, I was reading about how distortion is used by producers in small amounts to give certain elements more presence. It might be a vocal, a drum, etc. Any thoughts on how you have done this with your own tracks? Any suggestions on plugins? I have my eye on Fabfilter Saturn and perhaps AudioThing's Vinyl Strip (which does more than just distortion). I do a decent amount of electronic music, and the overdrive and distortion plugins with Cubase 6.5 are not fantastic. Thanks in advance. Todd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 It's a very common technique. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that a good percentage of what people "like" about the sound of analog tape is the slight distortion it can add. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted December 23, 2017 Members Share Posted December 23, 2017 Distortion sounds great with bass. Makes it stand out, and "toughens" it up. Also works great with kick drums and some synth sounds. My favorite type is multiband distortion, the sound is more nuanced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mark L Posted December 23, 2017 Members Share Posted December 23, 2017 It definitely works well with bass guitars. Geddy Lee and Chris Squire, anyone? I've used it on my vocals in the past. Not sure it entirely worked, but that's more a comment on my stupidity... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlamoJoe Posted December 24, 2017 Members Share Posted December 24, 2017 As in a Quadrafuzz? ;( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AlamoJoe Posted December 24, 2017 Members Share Posted December 24, 2017 Didn't the Aphex Aural Exciter do that to a degree? I've still got one...All I know is it makes most things stand out a bit more.I seem to remember David Torn being an advocate of the use of distortion on vocal tracks.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philboking Posted December 24, 2017 Members Share Posted December 24, 2017 I've used a touch of distortion during live performances on piano and sax leads (from running my guitar synth thru the guitar amp dirty channel). Very effective at cutting through the mix, but must be used sparingly to avoid listener fatigue. I often blend these with the guitar pickup sound to get a sort of hybrid sound, but just for a lead break. Definitely not continuously... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mats Nermark Posted December 24, 2017 Members Share Posted December 24, 2017 When I was using Cubase, I used Quadrafuzz all the time. SInce leaving Cubase I have not found a suitable substitute. Does anyone have a suggestion? Cheers, Mats N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author MikeRivers Posted December 24, 2017 CMS Author Share Posted December 24, 2017 Didn't the Aphex Aural Exciter do that to a degree? I've still got one...All I know is it makes most things stand out a bit more. I seem to remember David Torn being an advocate of the use of distortion on vocal tracks.. The Aural Exciter added 2nd harmonic distortion. In its day, it was used on just about every pop record released, just like AutoTune, in its day. Acoustic instruments are designed to blend with other acoustic instruments and - if they're good instruments, arranged and played well - they blend well together and there's no reason to make one artificially stand out. Same with singers. But the sound of James Brown is the sound of Scotch 111 tape being driven into saturation (the tape and the transformers, NOT the toobs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted December 24, 2017 Members Share Posted December 24, 2017 I like hitting a hardware unit such as a tube mic preamp (I use the Peavey VMP-2) Another VMP-2 fan! Yeah, that was a cool little box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltan Posted December 29, 2017 Members Share Posted December 29, 2017 i like adding a touch to my flute now and then... and ive found an auto wah and some delay on a mic’ed up hang will allow a convincing illusion of the mellotron in zeps, no quarter... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ernest Buckley Posted December 29, 2017 Members Share Posted December 29, 2017 Hey all, I was reading about how distortion is used by producers in small amounts to give certain elements more presence. It might be a vocal, a drum, etc. Any thoughts on how you have done this with your own tracks? Any suggestions on plugins? I have my eye on Fabfilter Saturn and perhaps AudioThing's Vinyl Strip (which does more than just distortion). I do a decent amount of electronic music, and the overdrive and distortion plugins with Cubase 6.5 are not fantastic. Thanks in advance. Todd These are my top 3 when I need saturation/distortion: 1) Soundtoys Decapitator (The decapitator is probably the tastiest of the bunch. Sounds great on bass, drums, and lead vocals.) 2) Klanghelm IVGI (This one is FREE so its the best bang for the buck... works nicely on bass, drums, and vocals as well.) 3) Preamp-1 (This is a Digital Performer stock plug in which I love. It really can sound nasty, as in, "That`s too much distortion!" but if you put it in the subtle setting, it really sounds good on vocals. I use this a lot on my own vocals. I have a pretty clean voice so to add a little dirt to it, this is my go to.) There are a bunch of other plugs I use as well but those are my first 3 choices. If I`m looking to add some saturation to drums or the mix, I turn to the Waves J37 or the UAD Studer A800. Back in the day, to get some bite on my bass tracks, the ART Tube MP was my go to... the best sounding $50 box I`ve ever used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Anderton Posted December 29, 2017 Members Share Posted December 29, 2017 Back in the day, to get some bite on my bass tracks, the ART Tube MP was my go to... the best sounding $50 box I`ve ever used. Wasn't that the unit that won a shootout in Sound on Sound when blind-tested against preamps costing much more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Notes_Norton Posted December 30, 2017 Members Share Posted December 30, 2017 Not quite related to recording, but when playing the sax, I'll use my larynx to create distortion. It's controllable (with practice) and it's somewhere between a hum and clearing of the throat. Heaver distortion is done with 'flutter tongue' and both can be combined. I'm more of a live performer than a recorder. I let the guys in the fish tank worry about that. (they think I'm in the fish tank). Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueGreene Posted December 31, 2017 Members Share Posted December 31, 2017 Sausage fattener. It works on pretty much anything. Cheap, sounds good. Includes tough sausage face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ernest Buckley Posted January 12, 2018 Members Share Posted January 12, 2018 Wasn't that the unit that won a shootout in Sound on Sound when blind-tested against preamps costing much more? I would not be surprised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.