Vocal Reverb | Live Vocal Mixing | Live Vocal Effects Tutorial

Get your free guide on How To Lead Your Church Sound Team: bit.ly/leadyour...
Vocal reverb can really make the singers on your worship team happy. Today, you're going to learn how to simplify the options , so you can take your reverb to the next level... without drowning your vocals.
More Vocal Mixing Tutorials here: • Vocal Mixing Tutorials
Music in this episode is "For I Was Far" by Anna Blanc. Check out the full song!
KZbin: • For I Was Far (Live)
Spotify: open.spotify.c...
In this tutorial, I'll show you how to mix live vocals with reverb. Vocal reverb is a big part of getting a polished mix, but with so many options with using vocal effects live, the range of parameters can get overwhelming. I'll demonstrate how to use live vocal effects in a way that enhances your vocal mix, without drawing attention to the reverb, and making it feel like your vocals are part of the band, not just layered on top.
I'll show you how I set up my reverb for live sound, how I pick my reverb time, what pre-delay does, how to set your reverb levels to avoid drowning your vocals, and how you can add EQ to your reverb send to get a super-clean reverb that adds just the right amount of space to your live vocals.
Intro and bumper music composed by Judah Earl. Check out his latest album on Spotify: open.spotify.c...

[@AttawayAudio]

What was your favorite reverb tip? Comment below to let me know!

[@ryanmccann2539]

I find that using a pre-delay of about 1/32nd based on the BPM gets me about where I need to be.

[@AttawayAudio]

@@ryanmccann2539 Ok, now we're officially friends. Timing pre-delay is ultra-ninja, but oh-so-fun. Especially if you subtract that from your overall reverb time to keep it lining up with the measure. #nerdzone

[@ryanmccann2539]

@@AttawayAudio I might obsess a little on these things. My tech director says, "... you're the only one that maths the effects instead of tapping." I'm proud of that 😁

[@warhadedecorationarmori6897]

Hindi language

[@kentwyngaard8803]

Favorite tip was EQ'ing the reverb

[@ataylortca]

I work with sound in multiple contexts: live sound for church, for church live stream, live sound for a cover band (while playing keys/singing), and for recording/production with my own songs. Your methodology/approach in your videos has made things clear which I've wondered about for years. I've certainly seen people apply them, but rather than just giving narrow tips, you give clear and simple explanations/rationale for why you do them, which removes the arbitrary nature of so much advice and helps it "stick." You clearly have a depth of experience and expertise along with a gift for teaching to make complicated concepts simple. Of course, your sense of humor rocks. Thank you, James!

[@AttawayAudio]

thanks for your kind words Andrew! always happy to help

[@JulianKish]

i love how focused he is and how hes always singing along with his mouth

[@AttawayAudio]

lol caught me

[@wendallbrown2496]

Just wanted to say I really appreciate the time and humor you put into your teaching and video presentation. I’ve been in live sound for about 25 years and had become jaded to the process. I made a change in my thought process and you have really helped me in that journey. Looking forward to more videos to come. Thanks for serving the Kingdom

[@AttawayAudio]

Wendall - thanks for this comment. I'm really glad I could help with the jaded-ness and help you reset. I'm definitely doing this for the Kingdom of Heaven... and I'll definitely come back to your comment when the trolls come out.

[@andyxprophet]

Man, what a great vocal. She has some range.

[@AttawayAudio]

Isn’t she great? I’ve gotten to work with her a bunch over the years. Phenomenal songwriter too.

[@evandickinson1675]

Trim on the sends is so smart! Thanks for the tip that will help me out a lot

[@AttawayAudio]

Happy to help!

[@camelvictor]

Me too, thank you very much

[@donthomasmusic]

Great job on this video! I have been in studios for 40 years and never seen anyone explain so much correctly in such a short time!

[@AttawayAudio]

thank you Don! That means a lot to me!

[@vinnyvinhud4408]

Great tutorials... the complicated - made simple - by the wise. Thank you!

[@stephenabrock]

Graphics game is strong.

[@Parking_lot_review]

This video has been really helpful I started mixing at my church fairly recently and just got into messing around with our reverb settings I don’t know too much about reverb for vocals because most of my mixing experiences from football broadcasts where he won basically zero on everything and you’ve really helped me bring our services to the next level

[@AttawayAudio]

so glad I could help! great audio comes in baby steps... keep up the good work!

[@TheAhmedAlshamy]

Great format and tips. As a live vocalist who has to tweak everything, I am loving these ♥️

[@AttawayAudio]

Thanks Ahmed! So glad it’s helpful for your reverb addiction 😂

[@franbert6218]

I love that you are practical. Thanks for the great tips.

[@Cfurlan777]

SOOOOO HELPFUL! Just what I need to share with my sound engineer. Thanks!

[@AttawayAudio]

Great to hear!

[@victoriaclarke]

just subbed. best video on youtube for live vocal mixing with reverb. trust me i searched.

[@AttawayAudio]

Wow, thanks! That means a lot Victoria!

[@christophelabedan5696]

I use similar EQ on reverb... but always put it after the reverb plugin... 🙄 Dying to try it the other way round :) Thanks !

[@bcalenda2609]

Very helpful with the settings you show to have a starting space

[@crayfish3629]

I’m learning alot from you bro being that I’m a church sound engineer....🙏🏾

[@davidwalker9462]

My new favorite channel. Thanks.

[@xumr.7509]

Thank you for watching your video and learning a lot👏

[@AttawayAudio]

So glad it was helpful for you!

[@justinpate8578]

Love this quick and crisp video editing.

[@AttawayAudio]

Thanks 😊 I’m an audio guy learning video

[@Mamajoute]

This is my favourite channel on youtube..thnks attaway audio...

[@AttawayAudio]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@homhuk3]

Thank you so much for sharing this information with us. I greatly appreciated.

[@fidepetthewonderman]

Do you have a social media platform where you mentor people in Sound Engineering or at least a group where Sound Engineers can apply what they learn from you, post their works for people to listen and help to analyse? I think that would also help a lot too you know. 😎

[@lamkasoundreinforcements2853]

I should have found this sooner thank you so much for the video 🤭🤭🤭😇😇

[@EmmanuelGandham]

Thank you! This is so helpful! Liked and subscribed! 💙

[@titov7823]

This is GOLD!!!!

[@PanRider939]

This was an especially great tutorial, thank you.

[@mark12.31]

Hmm...hadn't thought about EQ'ing the FX send...I've EQ'd the return for a long time but never thought about the send...I'll have to play with that. Thanks for the idea! Good stuff here.

[@AttawayAudio]

Yeah it’s fun! Thanks Mark!

[@FilipeFlorido]

same here

[@faruqstma015]

Excellent tips, with midas MR 18, good job sir

[@DhanjitMr]

I wish I could be your student.. so much detail in your explanation.. Sir..

[@AttawayAudio]

There are courses available! Https://www.attawayaudio.com/WSWU

[@paulieataboy]

EQ for sure!! Thank you sir!

[@jamieshorter7093]

I know from experience that you know what you're talking about....Good job....

[@AttawayAudio]

Thank you!

[@mogglie]

Amazing content again. Seriously. So well put together. I will have to come back and study this again. And EQ. I will low pass and high pass my fx send.

[@AttawayAudio]

Thanks Mikael! That means a lot!

[@mogglie]

I went down and checked my plugin in the Allen Heath sq5. And it had LPF and HPF in the reverb plug-in. So. The presets had already taken care of it. :). But I learned why it’s there. So thanks again.

[@kentwyngaard8803]

Excellent tips!! Just subscribed and hit the bell icon. Definitely making this channel a regular thing. Currently using the Behringer X32 at my church.

[@AttawayAudio]

Awesome, thanks Kent! The X32 is a great board. Hard to go wrong with it! Thanks for serving Jesus there on the sound team!

[@kentwyngaard8803]

Attaway Audio literally watching another one of your videos as you responded to my comment haha. Such a powerful resource honestly

[@johnmcquay82]

EQ for sure. I use EQ a lot; one of the venues I mix at is very reverberant and rings like a bell, so I cut out a lot of the frequencies that won't be missed from the mix.

[@minicaxotinho]

This is very interesting, nice video. I was wondering about Metallica's Seattle 89 concert, and how that reverb is so powerful. Would be cool to see a video breaking that down!

[@AttawayAudio]

I'm glad you liked it! Definitely would be a cool video - that's a good idea!

[@marcotabacchi4601]

the little cut at 2khz to unclutter is boss

[@AttawayAudio]

Seriously Marco! When I first tried that, I was like "where have you been all my mixing life???"

[@KingFlame]

This is brilliant !

[@cdrchrrs]

EQ! This is needed and appreciated!

[@AttawayAudio]

So glad it was helpful for you!

[@jairsmithmarquezmartin9755]

thanks! great video!. I started to put reverb from a guitar pedal☺; after cut the high end, it still sounded bright, i will try to remove about 2KHZ!

[@AttawayAudio]

Let me know how it goes!

[@alanphan8476]

Hi sir, I like your video training, and I am looking for a way to setup a harmony effect for my XR18, so that I can turn it on every time the singer sings the chorus. Do you have that training, or can you make one for us? Thanks in advance!

[@247SIMULATION]

What reverb should fit in my case as I had a one house sized studio. Hall, Room, Studio, Live, types of reverb.

[@freemandiaz5123]

No one leaves church humming plate reverb. Lol. Thanks for your great vids!

[@AttawayAudio]

lol can you try for me?

[@Daniel-1-1-1]

Perfect explanation. Thank you.

[@AttawayAudio]

Hey thanks!

[@MrNeisonpromise]

Can you suggest a economically affordable device to add delay and reverb to live singing. I'm not looking for a high end device although something decent

[@jimgeneva2464]

Thank you for the great tips and guidance. I noticed a printout at about 4:58. Do you use notes for the podcast, and/or for the live recording ? Anything we would find valuable there, which you may share? Looking for as much wisdom as possible James, thanks!

[@ringnecks]

Hello for live vocals ? Hall , Plate of Room ?

[@itownmusicians]

I love this song, can you do a reverb tutorial on your studiolive mixer?

[@AttawayAudio]

coming soon!

[@rogercook8277]

Great video and a Great teacher. I run the soundboard at my church. We are using the Allen and Heath GLD 112. It is new to me. How do I put reverb on my vocals? I found the manuel online, but it doesn't cover very much at all. Thanks in advance.

[@NathanBrown-dk5wh]

Greatest reverb tip I have every seen gonna use in my productions. What would you say it's the order to set reverb decay first or pre delay first?

[@AttawayAudio]

Thank you! I always set decay first, pre-delay is more for fine-tuning after the decay feels right. You can even time your pre-delay to a 16th or 32nd note to get it to be a little more musical. Try it and let me know how it goes!

[@NathanBrown-dk5wh]

@@AttawayAudio will do thanks you. What do you think of slap delay and reverb together.? Is it advisable to use them together?

[@AttawayAudio]

Absolutely! Slap delay was the original way recording engineers got pre-delay by using analog tape machines. You can send to both independently, in series (delay > verb w/mix %), or run each on a separate aux and then send the delay return to the reverb as well

[@micahmuth4256]

Gld can't eq fx send only return. Thats the console my church has. Great tip I never knew the 240\tempo. Thanks. Gonna try it tomorrow 😁

[@AttawayAudio]

Bummer! Yeah a bunch of consoles in that price range don’t have EQ on the send either.

[@medovasar2072]

Hello, great videos! Keep up, we're all learning here! Let me ask a question! I have two people in our church that give speech or in mosque we have two reciters, one with low voice and one with high voice. What feature and/or what setup in mixer can we use to have equal sound output when both persons speak, one with low and other with high voice, basically same loudness? Thanks!

[@AttawayAudio]

If your console has an automixer, that can be handy.

[@medovasar2072]

@@AttawayAudio QU16 mixer does not but the DBX processor has Auto EQ and Advanced Feedback Suppression. Maybe instead of using mixer channel EQ, use DBX processor features to ring out complete room, but since mixer L/R output is hooked up as inputs to DBX and from DBX outputs to the amplifier, than I may kill those frequencies that are needed and that may cause bad voice sound, boxy or something. I think if I completely ring out room by mixer channel EQ, then use DBX EQ to get frequencies that are needed would make best approach. Your thoughts! Thanks again.

[@kellymccormack4850]

EQ....thanks for great explanations!

[@AttawayAudio]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching Kelly!

[@hangphuchienhien9078]

Yes Big Brother Attaway Audio it's really hard for me setting Reverb and Delay together for the Vocal Correction I really need Help Big Time Brother Thanks again for Help

[@jasoncote7671]

outstanding demo. outstanding! EQ

[@AttawayAudio]

Thank you, Jason!

[@JamesPCdoctor]

What’s console you guy use? Very interesting it 🤩🤩🤩

[@AttawayAudio]

It's the SSL L200... very nice desk. Thanks for watching James!

[@Newfoundmike]

Yup, and have a on off foot switch so you can talk to the crowd with out sounding cheesy

[@alboumcinen5623]

What do you recommend? We have a pretty big hall in our church. Should I just let The hall do its work or should I add more reverb? I'll try in the soundcheck today!

[@AttawayAudio]

Let your mix reverb add texture and sustain in a way that the hall doesn't. Think of it as adding depth rather than the actual space you're in

[@alboumcinen5623]

@@AttawayAudio thanks Ill try that!

[@matheusPMAVieira]

In my mixing console there is a "High Ratio" and "Density" parameters on reverb send. Could you tell me what they mean, please? I'm watching your videos at least 3 times to absorve all the knowledge kkkkkk

[@AttawayAudio]

I really don't know! You'll have to listen and find out. Or read the manual. There's usually good info in there.

[@theruachencounter7420]

Hello Sir. I found you because I am looking for this sound. How can I get a personal Tutorial with you?

[@frudrew1]

Great tips! Thanks mate! "Filthy Stains"...um who wrote that line lol

[@AttawayAudio]

Ha! Context is everything 😂 it’s talking about Jesus cleansing Christians from all unrighteousness, the filth of sin and shame. Glad you’re liking the tips!

[@alfaomega8185]

I love Hall Barfoot 😊 for some instrumen and vocal female

[@melodyneville1169]

Can you reccomend a good starter mixer for beginners? Main focus being vocals, reverb, echo, etc. I just bought a great mixer but very limited with vocals. Returning it.

[@AttawayAudio]

Depends a lot on your budget, what you need for monitoring, and how portable you need it to be.

[@leogutti3353]

You are the 👌 best

[@albertopalos9093]

I need help! I have an allen and heath SQ-7 and I haven't found a good effect for vocals and instruments, for example I really like the plate reverb effect of the Yamaha M7CL consoles, I have been trying different effects on the SQ-7 and I haven't found any of them to my liking. I would be very grateful if you could help me

[@AttawayAudio]

I'm assuming you've tried different patches from the library. Have you gone into the expert settings and played around with those? Many more controls than on first glance

[@damariparker6711]

Awesome

[@АлександрАртамонов-ф7ц]

Thank you bro fro your help

[@AttawayAudio]

Happy to help!

[@MiguelLSilva-ef5is]

I discovered your channel a couple of months ago. Great videos! Thanks for sharing! Q: are there reverbs that can be synced to tempo just like delays?

[@AttawayAudio]

Only with presets... but some will let you sync the pre-delay to the host tempo

[@udaykumarmacan6371]

I have Midas M32 you have done eq on reverb cab which reverb is best for vocal ?

[@nowzen4240]

Great video thank you. I’m on a time crunch trying to get oh holy night recorded tomorrow ( Xmas Eve ) I’m struggling to get the right reverb whilst recording in my home vocal studio. ( headphone mix ) the version is high and my voice is very similar to the few samples of the female you played here . ( lyric soprano) any helpful hints) I just want a damp , wet verb that makes it easier to sing.

[@AttawayAudio]

It's tricky to get reverb dialed in for a monitor mix. If you use too much, it can mess with your ability to perceive your pitch right NOW vs. what it was a second ago.

[@nowzen4240]

@@AttawayAudio yes, exactly but also having the nice “ comfy “ to sing mix is what I’m finding challenging especially with a wide range and dynamic song. The pop stuff I have zero problems with . Oh well, live and learn. Thx for the response.

[@stephancordell697]

We don't have time for sound checks between church's changing out. They get done 10:15 we start at 11:00. Should we all come in when building empty and set gains and just put them in a scene?

[@AttawayAudio]

Yes - a great base scene for everyone to start from would definitely improve your first song :)

[@michaela1460]

Hello, can you explain to me how to add reverb using an EPM12 mixer in a church?

[@technikd4444]

Can you provide further information on the difference between EQing the FX Send or the FX Return? I kinda feel like it should be the same thing

[@AttawayAudio]

The difference is from the harmonic overtones that come from the reverb itself. If you cut 100 Hz before it excites the overtones that hang out at 200, 300, 400, etc., you’ll get a cleaner signal than if you send it to the reverb and then try and cut 100 Hz after the fact.

[@toniocavalari6936]

If anyone knows ' what did singer "Frank Sinatra" use when singing in his live concerts ? Also when recording his songs for his records ?

[@ph-hienhang2549]

Thanks for the great Tips Brother Attaway Audio I has hard time with control the TC-Electric M3000 Effect And Yamaha SPX-2000 i never get them correctly Reverb would You help

[@AttawayAudio]

I don't have those available to show you but they are good fx units.

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

Hey James I have a question. If you’re in a room with an uncaged drummer and vocal mics not super far away from the drum kit, would you avoid delays altogether? Because I have a killer vocal reverb-delay on my vocalists but sometimes when they step away from the mic (singer/guitarist jamming chords between vocal phrases) the hi-hats and snare drum can sometimes bleed and get delayed and cause issues. Just curious to know your philosophy about vocal effects in that context.

[@AttawayAudio]

That's a tough one. You definitely don't want to add distractions from drums coming through the vocal delay. Have you considered an optical gate to put on the vocal mic? That would automatically "close" the mic when the singer backs up and open it again when they're in front of the mic.

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

@@AttawayAudio No, because I didn’t know an optical gate was a thing until this very moment. You learn something every day! Thanks! Yeah as you know, it’s fine when the singer is in front of the mic their body blocks the high frequencies big time and it’s not an issue. I deal with rock music mostly where the singers play guitar and the band moved around a lot.

[@BYGProject]

nice info...big thanks

[@AttawayAudio]

You bet! Keep making music!

[@ratedepth]

Thanks for the vid. Are you running the reverbs in stereo?

[@AttawayAudio]

Yes 👍

[@BarnabY07]

Hey, thanks for sharing. I still have difficulty adjusting the reverb level. Let me explain: To adjust the level of a reverb I have three faders: the sent of the channel, the overall Fx Send and the Fx Return. I understand what each fader does but I don't know how to adjust the reverb level properly. I suppose I have to leave some faders at the unit level and touch only one level but I don't know which ones. Would it be possible to help me understand this ? Thanks in advance.

[@AttawayAudio]

I keep the send of the channel and the overall FX send at 0, and I adjust the level of the FX return to my starting place, usually -12. Or if I'm feeling froggy and want more fine control over my return level, I'll put the aux master at -12, but the nerdy part of me wants to get all the "bits" I can into the reverb's algorithm, so I'll either trim my return fader, or just roll with it. That's probably nerdier than you bargained for, but hey, it's my channel and I can nerd overload if I want to 🤣😀

[@BarnabY07]

I'm so grateful for the time you spend on answering us 👍. I really like the nerd part and I'm probably going nerd pretty soon I think 😜. The trim of the return fader is so fun and freaking genius. Sometimes, you should film yourself while mixing 😃😉.

[@AttawayAudio]

@@BarnabY07 That'd be fun! Except then I'd have to get licensing permission from all the songwriters of the songs that I mixed to put it on a video, and that gets expensive and time-consuming. If only I could convince a worship leader to lead all songs in the Public Domain! Old hymns FTW!

[@MarkJoel1960]

Noob question here: How are you doing Vocal + Verb? Do you have the reverbed vocal on one channel, and you mix it with the pure vocal from another one? Is this possible on a strictly analog mixer like the Allen & Heath ZED-12FX 12-Channel Mixer -- or would we need a digital board? With analog, would we have to split the audio signal and bring it in on two channels?

[@AttawayAudio]

Yes- you have to send to the reverb via an Aux send and then return it on a pair of channels- either an aux return or (my fav) a pair of input channels.

[@dooft11]

[@michaelbasseyworld25]

Lovely

[@greglangford1840]

EQ for sure!

[@shansyiem4862]

I love that👍👍

[@AttawayAudio]

It's fun when you can master it, right?

[@marcos-od6xg]

Please if you have some great music links for P.A alignment

[@Bobby_Uterus]

James, Is there a way to trim the outputs of the FX returns on a M32? In order to keep the FX return faders around 0, like you talked about in the video? Would you just bring down the faders on the FX sends and then bring the faders of the FX returns to 0? Like, bring down the fader for the FX sends to -12dB and then bring the FX return fader up to 0?

[@AttawayAudio]

There's no way to trim the FX return input, so you're exactly right on the process for that.

[@Bobby_Uterus]

Thank you for the guidance James much appreciated.

[@joeydealbuquerq]

YOur gutterly, thanks. P.S i dont know what gutterly means, just liked the sound. Pure sound is puresound. thanks

[@AttawayAudio]

Ok then 😀

[@nishatinazir1217]

God bless u

[@AttawayAudio]

God bless you too nishati!

[@josephdixonwarnakulasuriya2318]

If we don’t have LPF in the mixer,what would be the solution,

[@GabeSanchez]

Any advice on types of reverb? Were using a vintage reverb but should I be using more of a plate reverb?

[@AttawayAudio]

They have different textures and early reflection times, but try turning off your "thinking brain" and turning on your "feeling brain" while you're playing with the parameters. That way you'll learn the feeling and get better at articulating what you're after.

[@Peterkmuthui]

Who is the singer of that song that you are putting reverb?

[@vikaassharma201984]

Excuse me sir in ur intro there is music cn you tell please how to make that kich so sweet is it bass mix with kick or smtng else 808smthng please tell

[@AttawayAudio]

Probably an 808... Judah Earl made it.

[@Harrysound]

When you say whole note do you mean a whole bar?

[@AttawayAudio]

yes sir

[@onzkicg]

I have a problem with using effects.. I’m still low in the faders, I don’t hear a lot in the house mix (auditorium), but the live stream channel mix aux out is so obvious/loud already. Any suggestions? There’s only one sound tech in our church doing in house mix and live stream simultaneously. Thanks 🙏

[@AttawayAudio]

Can you change the relative level of the return between FOH and the stream? Are you sending the FOH mix straight to the stream, or is it coming off another output?

[@onzkicg]

For what I know, from the mixer it goes to the PC then a program called OBS that handles live streaming. Thanks for checking!

[@praneethdhanushka207]

Dear Sir, I need to know l that when we use AUX sends to stage monitors, should we use TS (mono) or TRS ( stereo) quarter inch jack? Is AUX send is a mono or stereo output??

[@AttawayAudio]

Aux sends are mono, but it's a balanced connection, so you'll want to use a TRS cable from the console to the amplifier, and then whatever speaker cable you have (TS, Neutrik Speakon, whatever) from the amp to the monitor wedge

[@praneethdhanushka207]

@@AttawayAudio Thanks

[@austinmumba1803]

Do you think there would would be differences for someone mixing a capella music?

[@AttawayAudio]

there's more space available in a capella, so you may be able to get away with making the reverb its own instrument, so-to-speak.

[@carlosbelloso1908]

Just curious, but you mention to divide the tempo of the song by 240 to get the whole note. The song you are doing has a tempo of 146 so the whole note would be 1.6. Later on you mention the whole note is 3.3. Just wanting to get some clarification on that please.

[@AttawayAudio]

You may be tapping the 8th note instead of the quarter note.

[@carlosbelloso1908]

@@AttawayAudio I was referring to the song; 'For I Was Far', that is used in this video. It has a tempo of 146. When you divide 240 by the tempo of the song 146, it comes out to 1.6 seconds as the whole note. At about 2:36 you mention that the whole note is 3.3. So I was confused on whether 1.6 seconds is the whole note or 3.3 seconds for this song?

[@YTOnceAgain]

Thank you, Ray Romano. But I still think you can't time a non-gated reverb. That's a placebo thing.

[@prasadalbert1498]

"EQ" it sounds great

[@AttawayAudio]

What did I ever do without it???

[@Vasco.inthemix]

Are you putting the backing vocals on the same reverb categories as the lead?

[@AttawayAudio]

Yup. Partially because a BV can be a lead vocal in the same worship set, and I'd rather use my FX sends for different delays than different reverbs.