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How to achieve this vocal effect?


Syyle

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIJAfbiRX7s

 

The main effect I am curious about is the saturated-distortion/overdrive over the vocals through the start of the song and then occurring any times throughout. I've been to a few live Tool shows and he definitely utilizes this effect on stage, so it's not just a studio trick.

 

Is he using a gain-cranked preamp in his signal before it hits the front of house? Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated :)

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I dunno the exact FX, but there are Presets on Izotope Nectar that sound like that.


It's basically a telephone/Megaphone FX + delay.

 

 

I know it's not that simpe. I own a TC Helicon Voicelive which has a telephone effect + delay + multiple voice harmony and I cannot achieve that effect. The actual sound of the signal sounds like it breaks up in a "tube-saturated" way when the volume input is increased, much like the way a guitar tube amp starts to break up and distort (in a good way) when it gets cranked.

 

I appreciate the reply; it could possibly be a megaphone effect I s'pose...

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well you can't reproduce that live exactly like that. besides it sounds like there are 2 vocal parts anyway, each with its own delay.

 

you can emulate it closely with a FX chain of plugins incl massive compression, EQ, gain, delay. it would take tweaking if you can't find a preset.

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hmm, that's an interesting thought...i have a guitar loop pedal that i could just load up with some pre-recorded stuff...

 

But still, there is definitely some pre-amp tube distortion going on here, and I would love to know how that is done with microphones...

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I own an Ibanez ts7 tubescreamer as well...perhaps that may work. Question, would you put it before my TC Helicon VL or after? Should compression play any part here?

 

 

I'd put it in after the TC Helicon. That way you way at least you have a clean signal going in, and the processed signal going to the tubescreamer.

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well mics are usually low Z and guitars are high Z, so i dont know that the loads would match for the two pedals. you can match em, but i don't know how

 

 

Actually I think the VL has high and low Z ins and outs...so maybe the low impedance XLR in, and run the 1/4 inch line level signal out to the other pedal? Idk...when it gets into {censored} like this it confuses me

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Adding my 2 cents, which is mostly echoing a lot of what has been said :-)

 

If I were duplicating this on a vocal pedal, I would start with compression, then overdrive or flange (which is more readily available on vox pedals than overdrive), add delay then run through it through a transducer effect (i.e. megaphone)...

 

It is a cool sound :)

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