Effects, Dynamics & EQ

Vocal effects are typically those that offer spatial awareness such as reverb, delay or chorus. In other words they are effects that alter the perceived sound of the vocals whilst adding atmosphere to the performance.

Distorting Vocals for Great Effects

Delay, Reverb and Chorus will all soften the vocal sound but need to be used tastefully and in the correct context otherwise they may start to degrade the desired effect.

Delay is a type of echo where the signal is delayed and then repeated at a signified point, Reverb is the effect that one hears in a large hall or Cathedral where the decay of the original signal lingers on for a pre-set amount of time. Chorus is a modulation effect that will thicken the original signal by emulating a secondary signal that is marginally out of key with the original - much like the effect of a 12 string guitar.

Harmonising Vocal Effects

In recent years multi-voice harmonisers have become popular as a tool to be used by vocalists. These units take the original signal and add additional copies of the singer's voices typically at 3rd and 5th musical intervals above the original vocal line. The harmony sequence can also be fed into some of the better harmonisers from a guitar or keyboard chord, whilst the vocalist can configure the harmony voices to be above or below the main vocal.