Free Ableton Live Pack #85: Vocal Multi FX
I'd like to share my Vocal Multi FX Ableton Live Rack with you. It's a variation of the one I use in my live performances. I've designed it so that it could be the only thing on your vocal chain. It allows you to have some fun and interesting effects, but still lets you hear the vocal clearly. It can also solve common problems with live vocals.
Get Rid of Feedback on Vocal Microphones
Applying effects to vocals in a live setting is a tricky thing. There are some tough factors to contend with. The biggest enemy is often feedback. You are singing into the mic, while the music is playing, but your microphone is not just picking up your voice. It also hears the music, the music travels out of the speakers into the microphone, which goes back into the speakers, which comes back into your microphone. Next thing you know there's that high pitch screech of feedback and everyone is covering their ears. No good. The vocal FX rack I've created should help mitigate that problem. It has a gate, whose threshold should be set high enough to close out the background music, but low enough to still pick up your vocals. There's also an EQ which can also be a huge help in killing feedback.
Fun Vocal Multi FX for Ableton Live
There are some cool effects in this rack too. I've set up the most commonly needed knobs in the main rack, and within the rack there are more macro knobs to help you fine tune everything. It a nutshell, it has Delay, Chorus, a Reverb with a filter, Beat Repeat for some fun pitch mangling delays, a Radio voice, and a delay for single words. I make a lot of use of multiple chains on this effect rack. The delay, for instance is broken into two chains, one with the delay and one that lets the dry signal through. The delay also features a sidechained compressor, so it ducks down while you are singing and then rises up when you stop. This allows you to use heavy delays without washing out the voice and losing clarity. My favorite part of this rack is the One Word Delay. This will allow you to put delay on a single word or phrase, and turn it off on the other words, while the delayed words continue to ring out.
Check out the video below for the full run through. It's a pretty complicated rack, so the video is a little long, but I think it's worth it because there are a lot of cool tricks and techniques that make this rack possible. By the way, don't be afraid to use this rack on things other than vocals, there's a world of possibilities...
Free Download: Vocal Multi FX Free Ableton Live Pack 85
Share the Music You Make with AfroDJMac Ableton Packs!
There's now a SoundCloud group for music made with any AfroDJMac Ableton Packs. Listen below, join the group, and add your own tracks. There's a lot of amazing music being added all the time. I'm so happy to hear what you are doing with these sounds and effects. Join the group and share your tracks!