Serban Ghenea Vocal Chain Revealed!

[@madsonit]

There is one very important detail you missed and it's essential. The vocal steadiness comes from the clip gain process before any compression/eq etc. If your vocal has a lot of level difference between words, using a 3db GR compression will do absolutely nothing. Always remember. You use clip gain to make your vocal sit well in the mix and compression to further enhance the character and vibe, not to make your vocal sit well. If you have to use compression just so that your vocal is leveled well in the mix, then you already 5 steps behind. And i'm 100% sure this is not his vocal chain, but probably a few plugins in it. There's a lot of other things going on, like saturation, parallel air & widening etc etc etc.

[@carlosdias1043]

Or does all the other processing come from the master buss...

[@madsonit]

@@carlosdias1043 master bus will never do more than just an extra 5%. The mix is done in the mix stage. Individual tracks. Master bus is just the cherry on top.

[@skykai7813]

I'm actually amazed how some of these people think this is actually Serban's vocal chain when John Hanes literally said on Gearspace it's only their "Starting point" and they don't always add those plugins if they get sessions with plugs already on the vocal. The main plugins that Serban uses come after that, clearly seen in a screenshot of a pro tools session John Hanes shared of a lead vocal track that had 6 extra plugins that were blurred out.

[@kemalcamuz6333]

@@skykai7813 Do you know where can I find this screenshot ?

[@QSoundStudioOfficial]

❤😊

[@martijn_nl]

I love the hunt on Serban's vocal chain! If you listen to his mixes they have similarities but are always tailored to the singers voice. He manages to bring vocal fundamentals upfront. Sounds like the fundamental harmonics are dynamically compressed.

[@Mixmytrackstoday]

I’ve got a template mixed by Serban and the way his mixing the kick and the bass is so simple, about the low end that everyone dreaming about is a simple process and it’s true that he will cut frequencies more then boost with the channelstrip3 and the plugins on his Master bus are very powerful to ear and catch bad frequencies from every track, he doesn’t do that much and he doesn’t even use compression if it’s not necessary! He’s vocal chain is very simple but the more powerful things are the reverbs that he’s using. The way he set up his session makes sense for a Radio result. A really smart guy 😊😊

[@mixedbymatty]

send it over! :)

[@belgradeboy1977]

If I can add, he probably deals with excellently recorded sessions so that's also the reason for some simplicity in the processing.

[@jasonschmidt9380]

Can you send me this session? Message me!

[@Neojaw]

The key is being able to adapt to each artist and having a good ear. Along with knowing what to do with each tool and how to properly use the tool while keeping the industry “standard” for levels etc in mind as well

[@fremadethis]

I think if you dig up more from that thread he mentions that he uses a low shelf -3db around 115 and that he uses the stock pro tools eq before compression to roll off the low end at 12 db octave.

[@seanemmettfullerton]

Thank you, Matty :) Ha! it's strangely comforting to see how little has changed with vocal recording / mixing over the last 50 years or so... a decent mic, compression, a bit of eq, and hours of wrestling with gnarly consonants :)

[@mixedbymatty]

Yah a good mix can only happen with a good performance and recording.

[@skykai7813]

Hey Matty, not hating but did you actually read the thread? This video is a little misleading. John Hanes stated clearly that those plugins are only their "starting point" and in a screenshot John Hanes provided there was 6 extra plugins blurred on a lead vocal track. John Hanes does the mix prep, but stated he would not reveal any of the other plugins used on the lead vocal as that's Serban's proprietary info. Just wish you pointed that out so people don't think that they can just slap a CLA-76 and Metric Halo and a De-Esser and they have vocals like Serban. Which is obviously not even close to a Serban vocal sound.

[@RealHomeRecording]

"he would not reveal any of the other plugins used on the lead vocal as that's Serban's proprietary info. " Hehe, good times! The people over on Gearspace gave me hell one time because I told them the big name mix engineers still had secrets. And that's smart....Coke doesn't spill its recipe and neither should anyone else wanting to "make it" in this industry, reveal all of their knowledge.

[@HappySubskriber-oe2hh]

@@RealHomeRecording also people are forgetting they arn't going to get the quality of production and mixes fricken MAX MARTIN sends, he probably uses all types of plugins to craft the sound, then ghenea tweaks those and adds his own, then it's probably off to a ME who adds some analog stages to the whole thing to make it more 3D or something.

[@konamipls]

@@HappySubskriber-oe2hhtrue

[@mevtherenegade]

Matty! I read that entire Gearspace thread w/ John & you recreated his notes spot on! You should offer a template w/ this chain for artists wanting this sound!

[@Dane_Riazer]

I will definitely say that was awesome for you to do this!

[@RegalNoise]

Love this thank you! I went on a research kick a while back and found similar things, but you were able to break it down in a very cohesive and understandable way. I ended up buying the metric halo channel strip, and I have been using it! Everything that I looked up, said that he uses it on every channel 🤷‍♂️

[@angrybuzzy]

Good stuff, Matty. That Garret vocal sounds like it was recorded with a good bit of compression to begin with.

[@antoniimusikk9510]

thanks for this! but they use RX in the beginning to fix all the clicks and pops and they get really nice recorded vocals to begin with

[@huberttorzewski]

From what I can hear it doesn't sound any close to Serban's vocal mixing. His vocals usually are more scooped in the mids (1-3k), they have more warm-sounding low mids and lows + airiness without too much sibilance. It's just a different balance. It doesn't matter which tools you use but what balance are you aiming for and the eq moves will be very different for each vocal recording to achieve exactly that sound.

[@skykai7813]

John Hanes provided a screenshot picture of their lead vocal track in Pro Tools and 6 other plugins were blurred. He also stated these 3 plugins are just their "starting point", so what comes after that they won't share understandably as that's how they make their bread lol.

[@huberttorzewski]

@@skykai7813 I think some more equalization is being used by Serban, maybe with dynamic eq/multiband compression also around "honky" and "sharp" regions of the spectrum. Actually his vocal sounds are more similar to CLA mixes than any other mixer but with a bit more scooped 1k-2k usually (So they seem a bit softer, smoother and a bit more hollow at times)

[@newesthaplugg]

@@skykai7813 show us the screenshot …

[@konamipls]

@@newesthapluggyeah show us pls

[@danielrelenschi9924]

Glad to hear about another successful Romanian 👏

[@precisionsoundworksstudio]

Dude, Garrett's vocals sound fantastic. Very nice.

[@KitchMusic]

Thanks for doing this Matty... I was going to dive down that rabbit hole myself. :-)

[@blueleafstudio]

Thanks for the video! However, I don't think that it's his vocal chain that is the secret to his vocal sound but how he mixes the rest of the track to support it so well, especially the sense of immersive space.

[@KordTaylor]

Wow Matty! You did a TON of research here. Thank you! 💥👏🏻🔥

[@Mixedbyjojo355]

Those are general settings they will start with ! But there is a lot more going in! He mentions they often start where the producer left! The good thing is that they use the same plugins we all can have so there’s no secret weapon! It’s just great recordings and years of experience!

[@godefxrecords]

Cool hair cut bro. Jus thought I comment on something diff. Lol. Stay blessed man

[@zafmo9829]

Now..apply this "simple" vocal chain to a Travis scott, or any bedroom/hotel room vocal, and see if this helps. The amount of room noise that appears on this sort of vocal requires really precise mixing. Pro vocals are so easy to mix because you don't really need to do anything other than compression and minimal eq.

[@nateskender626]

wrong

[@em8969]

Excellent video we appreciate you efforts brother👏🏾

[@xjaemusic]

The reason why it doesn't say Valhalla Vintage Verb in his project is because he uses blue cats patchwork.. I'm guessing this just gives him a lot more control over the reverb, also allows you to oversample.

[@Griuofficial]

Thanks for the video!

[@diegooliveirabenjamin]

This is Kurt Nilsen’s vox, just amazing!

[@tskolits]

Thanks for this research! Good stuff!

[@zyxyuv1650]

Hearing about "wood room" is great. I'm always curious what reverb presets people use. I wish someone would make a long video about it, compiling information about reverb presets from a bunch of different producers. I know that's a tall ask but it would be a rare video, nothing like it exists.

[@santibanks]

Well Wood Room is used a lot actually. I learned about this sound from drummer Gavin Harrison, who likes it on his kit and has it from an engineer who's name I cannot find. It's origins are from the Lexicon 480 family of reverbs where there are Small and Large wood room presets. You will find such a preset I think in most of the cheaper Lexicon boxes too (like the PCM series) but with varying degrees of accuracy. It just has nice frequency characteristics. Check out the videos from Chris Lord Alge. His reverbs and delays are very well documented and known, Waves stuck a few of them in a plugin. Bob Clearmountain loves actual reverbs. Apogee re-created some of those for his plugin. And the Bricasti is often mentioned. Gold Hall, Marble Foyer, Stone Room are a few presets I've heard being mentioned over the years

[@jin960909]

Thank you for every video that you uploaded! Those are always give me a huge tips for audio engineering!😊 I have a single favor, would you please upload that proper usaage of Acustica audio plugin's Pre button and Input trim??😮

[@Spencera224]

Echo farm is the Mr. Brightside vocal delay sound too lol

[@cekirdekci32]

Hi Matty, thank you. can you please explain the delay into the reverb and can you get into the details on it on a video ?

[@sunstreetstudios6475]

I love Serbans mixes and also waded through all the Q+A on Gearspace looking for some insight! The BF76 thing is interesting, have you compared that to the Waves 76? It has a very different sound, kind of slower and thicker... wonder whether that is a small part of it.

[@belgradeboy1977]

Even if you get his template with all the plugins you will never get the mix the same as his. Or anyone's for that matter. Everyone's ears are different, rooms are different, monitoring system is different. There is no secret sauce to mixing. Just recently, Mix With The Masters gave Jaycen Joshua's Pro Tools template with all the plugins and routing. EVERYTHING. Try and do a mix as his. No way of course. I appreciate more the engineer's advice on how to approach the mix or vocal or whathever than to see what is on his mixbus. And I bet that his chain for male and female vocal is different. Different chains for different genres as well.

[@gabrielfunes]

Thanks for the video! BTW, EchoFarm is AAX compatible on Silicon Macs with M chips?

[@athomesongwriting]

Can you do the same kind of video on his Mix Bus Chain?

[@theofficialraysr]

Do you have the link to his Q&A? All I see on GS is random threads of people talking about him.

[@paulallen6849]

It's not too dissimilar from the Billy decker vocal chain (billy adds in the rvox after the channel strip). Both use metric halo channel strip and line 6 echo farm. It's more of a throwback to the availability of tdm plugins.

[@midlifeadventures3138]

You forgot the oh so important 2 DeEssers :)

[@edbrecords6973]

Ok guys, then remember that Serban revives voices from c800g perfectly pretreated and recorded and pre builted, he’s one of a kind but, obviously it’s just not a rode into a bedroom…

[@TonyFuego]

Awesome!!

[@zxcvbnmmification]

So here begs the question.. whats the vocal chain for the recording process? - because its seems with that info as well as listening back to tracks the vocals all sound larger than life.. not just in the face. They still have perceived dynamics and space… so recording wise.. tubes? They’re warm as well.. so mics cant be too sibilant.. c12? -> dw fern pre and compressor?

[@zxcvbnmmification]

Even if its not that.. i think thats the setup that could get you right there..

[@SPsounds100]

Sidechain the reverb wirh the lead vocal?

[@critza]

If i use the same chain, i am betting my stuff wont sound as good 😢😊

[@user-mz3ni8yu4v]

a lot of the work is done before mixing so probably not

[@seanemmettfullerton]

Ouch :) hey, do yourself a huge favor and use the best voice talent you can find. Barter with them if you can't pay! OR recruit a serious newbie with awesome pipes. Two things will happen :) a good vocalist will choke on bad phrasing and will help you improve your stuff, PLUS you'll get a much sexier vocal track to mix :) best wishes, sf

[@RealHomeRecording]

I'm also betting that iHeart Radio won't be putting your stuff (nor my stuff) in heavy rotation across their huge network of pop music stations.

[@111calling]

where did you download the session...?

[@cvactika]

So "Serban's secret" is - "the most popular plugins in default settings"! Seriously?! 🙂 Cool! 👍 However, HUGE THANX! Subscribed to the channel.

[@andrewkamel235]

Thank U

[@LaGuilTV]

This chain is ancient and has evolved.

[@RealHomeRecording]

The 1176 is ancient. The LA-2A is more ancient. The Neumann U67 microphone? It debuted in 1960. Old chains aren't inherently bad...

[@LaGuilTV]

All i'm saying is the chain he uses has evolved. Old gear is great! I agree with you not saying its bad because its old. @@RealHomeRecording

[@RealHomeRecording]

@@LaGuilTV you ended up being correct because if you read through the other comments and on the gear space thread with Serban's assistant, the chain has more plugins than they are being public about.

[@francescococo9745]

When you say the delays are going to the reverb, are they sending to the reverb, or actually outputting to them? Thx for putting this together!!

[@ezrashanti]

Try both but I like to send them (aux post fad)

[@precisionsoundworksstudio]

Pretty sure he just uses a couple Waves plug-ins. Buys his plugs for 29.99 whenever he's lucky to catch them on sale.

[@AKASHPMP]

Nice

[@hubertusdahlem638]

🎉🎉🎉

[@mixedbymatty]

My guy!!!

[@deja0entendu]

How do you not mention Taylor Swift?

[@weedywet]

EMT 250 is NOT a plate reverb. It was the first digital reverb. very different.

[@mixedbymatty]

But what was it Designed to emulate? lol

[@weedywet]

@@mixedbymatty I’ve used the 250 since it first was released in the late 70’s and it’s been in virtually all of my records since (often two 250s), altjougj these days more often in emulation (TC and UAD make good ones). it has a unique sound. It sounds basically nothing at all like a plate. It’s also not clear to me that it was intended to ‘sound like a plate’ either. It certainly doesn’t say so in any EMT literature. One assumes he could choose any reverb he wanted. He chose a 250, one can a safely assume for its unique sound. He DIDN’t choose an EMT PLATE. But in any case “lol”.

[@johnjhonny646]

1176 all button,, yeah saturaion is fukin key

[@joshberrios3604]

Good starting point, but thats just the start of the black magic haha

[@skykai7813]

EXACTLY, very sad Matty didn't point that out. John Hanes literally provided a screenshot and 6 other plugins were blurred on the lead vocal track. There's a LOT more to a Serban vocal sound.

[@g.o.9513]

Ok now go get in the same position he's in to mix that level of clientele! Smfh.

[@okangon7100]

OMG you just became like Serban! This is just the usual vocal chain for most engineers.. he js old school, he is using his usual tools..(dated now!) What does this just tells us? you wont become Serban by using his toolset. What else??

[@RealHomeRecording]

You gotta know the big music producers and have the skills to get the gigs...that's what else!

[@paulmisty8998]

so it's the most basic processing

[@greganikin7003]

Useless to do it without a music. Delays - never solo, only going into the reverb, ALWAYS. Throw delays like 1/4 or 1/2 if the song is fast. And lots of needed coloration applicable to the song. What you showed here solo is useless without music. Mixing process is not copying someone’s chains. It’s having feeling of the track and what is proper and what is not.

[@athen33]

no jjp vox awww. just kidding😂