I had a young girl (Her mom sang karaoke with me when I first started) tonight tell me to turn off the reverb completely while she sings. I asked why and she said her voice sounds better.....I told her every professional singer for the last 50 years has used some type of vocal effect on their voice.. she didn't care...
So she sings Evanescence, Bring Me to Life....well as she was singing 3 girls came in and the one girl looks at a guy sitting at the bar and I see her tell him...she sucks.
Now I told her it wouldn't sound as good without the reverb but she insisted...
After she was done she said it sounded much better...well let me tell you this...SHE SUCKED. I could her her flat a few times... the reverb would have covered some of her badness...for sure.... She is by no means a professional talent. She should have used all the reverb I could extract from the thing plus 2 more units...
For the life of me I can not understand why people think they sound better without effects...I never have and never will sing without effects...
Whenever someone comes up and demands that I not use reverb on them I see a red flag waving...It says to me, I really suck, but in my head I like the way my naked voice sounds so don't do anything to ruin it...I don't have a clue about the music business and I never have listened closely to professional recordings...and pay no attention to how the singers voices really sound. Basically..I'm an idiot that thinks I can sing and I'm tone deaf to my lack of talent.
First of all to sing anybody like Evanescence, you better be very good to begin with.. The slower the song the more talent you need, period. And reverb will only enhance your voice...it will never make you sound bad. Only you can make you sound bad...don't try to blame the reverb...LOL
Turn off the reverb....
Vocal effects should be matched to the song, period. Evanescence uses a lot of reverb and they also bring in some delay and phaser effects as well from time to time. Reverb can be a hugely effective component in helping control wild vocals as you point out here bigdog. However there are other ways you can help. Proper EQ adjustments (at minimum on the channel strip and if you have an external EQ on the vocals, that is huge) can also help ease the icepick in the eye feeling when vocalists go flat.
Personally I can't say I've ever had someone ask me to run a dry vocal signal. That would be very strange and I'm not sure I'd be willing to do it. My singers get a dry signal through the monitor and sometimes I have to point out to them that while they may thing it sounds rough, they aren't hearing what the audience is hearing. If they request it, I will run the effects through the monitor. However if a spectator told me to turn the effects off, especially on a song like something from evanescence, I think I'd react about the same way you have. The fact that I have multiple effects processors to make you sound like the original recording is one of the things I use as a selling point for my gigs. I'd be shocked if someone asked me to run it dry instead.
Personally I can't say I've ever had someone ask me to run a dry vocal signal. That would be very strange and I'm not sure I'd be willing to do it. My singers get a dry signal through the monitor and sometimes I have to point out to them that while they may thing it sounds rough, they aren't hearing what the audience is hearing. If they request it, I will run the effects through the monitor. However if a spectator told me to turn the effects off, especially on a song like something from evanescence, I think I'd react about the same way you have. The fact that I have multiple effects processors to make you sound like the original recording is one of the things I use as a selling point for my gigs. I'd be shocked if someone asked me to run it dry instead.
I can come pretty close to making you sound like the original artist...but how or why anyone can possibly think they sound better dry..is beyond me. They must be so hung up on the sound of their voice it blinds them to reality.
Unless you are a superb talent...I mean outstanding...everyone can use vocal enhancement...All of the singing stars since reverb was invented have used some type of effect....
To not want it, shows me how untalented you really are.
How good would the song "On The Darkside" sound without effects??? I don't care if you were World-Famous Tenor Luciano Pavarotti ...it wouldn't sound exactly right...
So don't tell me that you, who doesn't have a hit record, and never even made any type of a recording except for an answering machine greeting, that your voice sounds good enough without enhancment. You still suck and I'm trying to help you (and us) to sound better.
I may have some hearing lose from playing the loud music my mother warned me about for years, but I can still tell that you need vocal help...and lots of it to be exact.
You may be used to singing on a crap karaoke system all of your life, but you are moving up to play with the Bigdogs now and we use and can afford vocal effects like the other musical professionals....go sing at home without them...we don't want to hear you that way.
Unless you are a superb talent...I mean outstanding...everyone can use vocal enhancement...All of the singing stars since reverb was invented have used some type of effect....
To not want it, shows me how untalented you really are.
How good would the song "On The Darkside" sound without effects??? I don't care if you were World-Famous Tenor Luciano Pavarotti ...it wouldn't sound exactly right...
So don't tell me that you, who doesn't have a hit record, and never even made any type of a recording except for an answering machine greeting, that your voice sounds good enough without enhancment. You still suck and I'm trying to help you (and us) to sound better.
I may have some hearing lose from playing the loud music my mother warned me about for years, but I can still tell that you need vocal help...and lots of it to be exact.
You may be used to singing on a crap karaoke system all of your life, but you are moving up to play with the Bigdogs now and we use and can afford vocal effects like the other musical professionals....go sing at home without them...we don't want to hear you that way.
Saturday night I had an "EXPERT" singer tell me to turn down the reverb when he sings.
He has no clue about microphone control. Every note he sang was almost at the top of his lungs. He eat the microphone during the entire song. Took off the foam cover. And he cupped his mouth and the head of the microphone to make his voice even louder. The clip light was coming on and I couldn't turn down the gain enough to make it quit.
If he was any kind of an "EXPERT" singer, he would have heard the speakers crackling with distortion from his over driven voice. I heard it and I was behind the speakers.
He sang Shamless by Garth. If he would actually listen to the real recording he will see that there is indeed heavy effects used on the vocals in that song.
First time I have seen him and I hope it's the last.
He has no clue about microphone control. Every note he sang was almost at the top of his lungs. He eat the microphone during the entire song. Took off the foam cover. And he cupped his mouth and the head of the microphone to make his voice even louder. The clip light was coming on and I couldn't turn down the gain enough to make it quit.
If he was any kind of an "EXPERT" singer, he would have heard the speakers crackling with distortion from his over driven voice. I heard it and I was behind the speakers.
He sang Shamless by Garth. If he would actually listen to the real recording he will see that there is indeed heavy effects used on the vocals in that song.
First time I have seen him and I hope it's the last.
Echo I use very little. Reverb is mostly the effect I use for every singer. Some songs require more than others.
If any of these experts would actually listen very closely to the original songs they would hear the effects being used. I try to make every singer sound exactlly like the original recording.
I advertise as professional karaoke and if that doesn't interest you, then go sing with the screaming drunk crowds the loser KJs attract.
If any of these experts would actually listen very closely to the original songs they would hear the effects being used. I try to make every singer sound exactlly like the original recording.
I advertise as professional karaoke and if that doesn't interest you, then go sing with the screaming drunk crowds the loser KJs attract.
Okay on Friday, My night off-working on getting a show for the night, I visited a place I used to run Karaoke when I was discs. While the music sounded alright, The vocals were completely dry- no effects whatsoever. I run reverb for most singers, two of my singers have fantastic voices and don't need any effects to improve their vocals.
This is the misconception.
These singers that want to sing dry, think that effects are only for people that can not sing well.
Vocal effects have been used for 50 years. It enhances a persons natural ability.
If I use reverb it's not because I think you need it or that you are not good enough to sing without it. It's because of how it polishes everything off. How it helps to belnd in with the music. How it make some minor imperfections less noticable. I never sing without it. I can hear how good I sound with it.
People with big egos think they don't need it. In my experience. You need it. Trust me on this. Dry karaoke sounds very unprofessional. Most of these singers are so use to singing on crap dry systems they think it's normal. And they can't hear or never listen to the songs they sing on the radio. They would hear the vocal effects being used on their favorite songs.
Whenever someone says they want no effects, I see a red flag waving at me saying, I can't sing very good, but I think I'm great and I usually sing on a dry karaoke system.
I have very talented singers that sing professionally. Every one of them wants reverb when they sing. Not one professional has ever said turn it off. So what does that tell you?
Jerks want it off. People that sing well and/or want to sound good want it on.
These singers that want to sing dry, think that effects are only for people that can not sing well.
Vocal effects have been used for 50 years. It enhances a persons natural ability.
If I use reverb it's not because I think you need it or that you are not good enough to sing without it. It's because of how it polishes everything off. How it helps to belnd in with the music. How it make some minor imperfections less noticable. I never sing without it. I can hear how good I sound with it.
People with big egos think they don't need it. In my experience. You need it. Trust me on this. Dry karaoke sounds very unprofessional. Most of these singers are so use to singing on crap dry systems they think it's normal. And they can't hear or never listen to the songs they sing on the radio. They would hear the vocal effects being used on their favorite songs.
Whenever someone says they want no effects, I see a red flag waving at me saying, I can't sing very good, but I think I'm great and I usually sing on a dry karaoke system.
I have very talented singers that sing professionally. Every one of them wants reverb when they sing. Not one professional has ever said turn it off. So what does that tell you?
Jerks want it off. People that sing well and/or want to sound good want it on.
In the many years I've been performing karaoke there have been only a couple of times where someone has asked me to turn off the reverb. Many more times, and much more annoying to me, are the people who try to have me adjust everything differently just for them. Typically like "could you take the reverb to the max and add some bass and back off the high end of the mic", and so on. What makes them think they can adjust MY sound system better than I can? The response these people get is "you will sing with the way I have it set up or you can sing elsewhere".
LOL, that's the trick I use on stupid bar owners when they ask me to turn down the volume and it's obvious that the crowd likes it right where it is. I pretend to turn down the volume until they give me the thumbs up.Bigdog wrote:I get that too.
While they are singing I look directly at them and I pretend to make adjustments. Pretty soon they nod their head like I have it perfect.
Works everytime.
