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Vocal Reverb & Delay into Modulation? Waves Kaleidoscopes Tip

Sep 23, 2020 | 15,063 Views

Are there times when you feel your lead vocal tracks come across sounding a bit dull and dreary? Do you struggle to find that special vocal embellishment or inspirational texture you know will make your mix sound more interesting?

Let's face it, it's far too easy to throw a reverb and delay across a vocal. How about next time you mix a vocal you challenge yourself? Step outside your comfort zone and experiment with running your favourite reverbs and delays into modulation effects. You may find the results an excellent source of vibe.

In this video, songwriter, mix engineer Nick Brophy (The Rolling Stones, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift ) shares a creative vocal mixing solution in which he feeds mono reverbs and delays into stereo Kaleidoscopes effects.

"I like using modulation to give a little bit of spread to the stereo mix. Kaleidoscopes can be used for intense effects, but I also like to use it in more subtle ways."

"For me, feeding mono reverbs and delays into Kaleidoscopes is a super cool thing as it provides that vibe that I'm often looking for while adding interesting width. It also makes vocals move around a little too, which is really nice.”

In this video Nick presents the following lead vocal examples on a single stereo effects return channel:

  • Unprocessed
  • Short mono filtered delay from H-Delay
  • Short filtered delay from H-Delay into two parallel chorus effects in Kaleidoscopes
  • Short mono reverb from H-Reverb
  • Short mono reverb from H-Reverb into two parallel chorus effects in Kaleidoscopes
  • Gentle saturation from the PRS Supermodels amp sim
  • Saturation into two parallel chorus effects in Kaleidoscopes
  • Saturation and reverb into two parallel chorus effects in Kaleidoscopes
  • Short filtered delay from H-Delay into two parallel flanger effects in Kaleidoscopes

What Is Waves Kaleidocopes?

Kaleidoscopes is the cumulative result of over half a century of recorded music. We handpicked all-time favorite analog effects from legendary eras including ‘60s phasing and tape flanging, ‘70s stadium tremolo-guitar vibes, ‘80s chorus – instilling the most authentic analog tones into Kaleidoscopes’ DNA.

Kaleidoscopes is a secret effects weapon. Try Nick Brophy's techniques not only on your vocals but also your beats, acoustic drums, synths and guitars that you feel could also do with some excitement, movement or ear candy.

Get started using Waves Kaleidoscopes to bring depth, color and movement to your mixes.

Music: “Living With Your Ghost”
Written by Bryan Brophy
Produced by Nick Brophy
Photo by @kelseyfilms

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