Best Reverb and Delay plugins for Lead Vocals

Discussion in 'Mixing and Mastering' started by james123, Aug 14, 2015.

  1. Bassmonsta

    Bassmonsta Ultrasonic

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2014
    Messages:
    157
    Likes Received:
    37
    Altverb
     
  2. ArticStorm

    ArticStorm Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2011
    Messages:
    8,076
    Likes Received:
    4,180
    Location:
    AudioSexPro
    yes thats why i use them since a few months only exclusive, why the interface is minimalistic, the sound can be minimalistic, but also huge with a few clicks. i deeply love the Grain delay, also the Frequency shifter, its all well integrated in ableton.

    the valhalla interfaces qualify for the same really good interface, the interface is easy to play with, you dont have to read the manual, its just does what you want.

    apart from LFO max4live device, ableton has everything i need. would like to have a real native ableton LFO, because opening takes some time of max4live devices, also the community wants it, it has the highest upvotes in the ableton beta forum.

    i dont really use any other 3rd party effects these days, why, because ableton has all with i need for the music genre i produce.

    Altiverb was to complicated for me, it sure does sound fantastic, but i dont want to invest hours in learning it, i just want to make music, be creative and finish something for me.
     
  3. kjfarrell

    kjfarrell Platinum Record

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2014
    Messages:
    248
    Likes Received:
    159
    Lexicon plugins use exactly the same routines as the hardware units, easily the best sounding digital reverb out there.

    For delay I like soundtoys echoboy but I have been playing alot with D16 Sigmund. Very nice delay unit, incredible in fact. A nice cheap alternative to echoboy.
     
  4. SharkBait O-reily

    SharkBait O-reily Kapellmeister

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2015
    Messages:
    43
    Likes Received:
    50
    Best Answer
    TL;DR: It depends! :wink:


    The best reverb and delay for vocal -- what kind of vocal? a voiceover? an acoustic song? an EDM song? a rock song? and define best, because there are many, many aspects of a reverb that make it good: sound, flexibility, UI, etc.

    as a preface, I had the chance to work briefly a few times at some wonderful studios with hardware like the lexicon 480L, PCM 96, and a few other hardware pieces - I still have yet to use the Bricasti :(

    I also get a hold of every software reverb I can to demo, because... I love to try out new things to try to figure out how to use them and learn.. and ..well.. because I enjoy watching progress :)

    **************************************************************************************************************************************************************
    but here are the best reverbs according to some sort of criteria imo:

    SOUND FIDELITY:
    anything by Acustica Audio.. i have the Analog in the BOX EAR reverbs, the Phonocompatica, Gene Lennon reverbs, etc, and all of them by far outshine every other class of software reverb i've used, algorithm or impulse response, as far as sound quality. It sounds so similar to hardware reverb in feel AND in use.. but the limitations in tweakability are a thing of concern..some of them you can't even tweak; they are just a dynamic impulse response..

    other notables: UAD EMT plates, 2C B2

    FLEXIBILITY:
    Valhahlla Vintage Verb and Vintage Room: These two reverbs have multitudes of sound palettes to start with, and beyond that, they also have tons of tonal controls. Vintage Room for real spaces, Vintage Verb for artificial spaces. The key here to getting a good sound with these are not so much the tonal controls though, it is the magic of the MIX/DRY ... Other reverbs have it.. but none of them work as well as with these when it comes to adding more depth to the original sound while wrapping the source sound in the wet sound. Still

    other notables: 2C B2, Artsacoustic Reverb< Waves Manny Reverb (a reverb with built in distortion and phaser? I'll take one please)


    QUICKEST RESULTS:
    Valhalla Vintage Verb and Vintage Room: Yes, it seems like a pattern doesn't it? But these really get me the quickest sound I want to get. I often will use one of these reverbs and then add an Acustica Audio samples preamp, like the Helios Lustraphone, after it to impart the hardware feel and drift of a hardware piece to close the gap in sound fidelity. The process is simple. Adjust predelay, adjust the tonal aspects and density, then modulation, and then finally a second filter for high and low pass..then finally wet/dry adjust


    CREATIVE REVERB:
    Valhalla Shimmer, Eventide Blackhole ... Oh wow.. especially for the eventide.. I only was able to demo them, but these can create very, very interesting spaces with their more interesting settings. Shimmer is more simplistic, but it is great for those huge spaces, Blackhole is similar but a tad bit more options, like tempo sync. and they sound cavernous .. love em

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Waves, Acon Digital, 112 db, stock plugins, etc. etc...they all can do in a pinch if you have good enough sound design capabilities.

    But if I may play devil's advocate, would we really know how to differentiate the best plugins in a side-by-side comparison? I can possibly listen to something and say for sure that is hardware or software at SOME reverb settings.. but you give me Truverb and then makes similar settings in the Lexicon PCM vst, in short decay settings where the reverb hugs the sound, it would be sooo difficult to tell in a complete mix..

    final note:
    These kind of questions can be self-defeating, and they almost invariably lead to answering not what the best plugins are available, but rather a race to name all the ones in existence by nameless people whose mixes you haven't even heard.

    When it comes to opinions on subjective tools, the more detailed the question, the better answer we can give.:mates:

    P.S. I didn't address delays because I only mostly use hardware delays .. can't get that same filthy sound as my Line6 Delay ITB quite yet...
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2015
    • Interesting Interesting x 1
    • Useful Useful x 1
    • List
  5. mild pump milk

    mild pump milk Russian Milk Drunkard

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2014
    Messages:
    2,817
    Likes Received:
    2,400
    Location:
    Russia
    Valhalla, WAVES, PSPaudioware, Voxengo, T-Racks stuff, and many more...all the excellent has been already mentioned in this thread))
     
  6. Yuri

    Yuri Rock Star

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2014
    Messages:
    491
    Likes Received:
    384
    Anybody mentioned Valhalla reverbs yet? :bleh: These are my goto reverbs for pretty much everything really, simple interfaces belie incredibly flexible and well-programmed pieces of software.
     
  7. Cav Emp

    Cav Emp Audiosexual

    Joined:
    Dec 7, 2014
    Messages:
    2,126
    Likes Received:
    1,765
    I should mention - I have always really liked Wizooverb. Great sounding convo. Great interface with the 'broad strokes' parameters right up front and lots of fine tuning stuff just past it.

    Wizoo is probably my favorite reverb besides Ableton's, but I rarely use it anymore because Jbridging does weird things to my CPU. Disproportionate processor use, CPU spikes while tweaking parameters, etc. Really stinks because two of my favorite plugs are Wizooverb and Oxford Dynamics.
     
  8. james123

    james123 Newbie

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2014
    Messages:
    103
    Likes Received:
    2
    Thanks a lot guys...so many options.....u guys are very helpful....thanku all...
     
  9. Grandy

    Grandy Member

    Joined:
    Jun 1, 2015
    Messages:
    97
    Likes Received:
    18
    guys, is there a delay plugin where you can apply different delay times to left and right channel (use dotted or triplet) and that delay times are displayed in milliseconds? waves mannydelay can do that but dont display delays in milliseconds :/
    mod delay II in protools can do all that but i'm on logic. thanks
     
  10. Hybridstudios

    Hybridstudios Kapellmeister

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2015
    Messages:
    84
    Likes Received:
    44
    my uad reverbs are my goto's when i dont have access to a bricasti.
    nectar 2 has a great emt verb
    exponential audio R2 is amazing.
    hofa iq reverb gets its use in my studio for convolution verb
     
  11. DieM

    DieM Rock Star

    Joined:
    Aug 15, 2015
    Messages:
    764
    Likes Received:
    456
    Location:
    Somewhere in Scotland
    I find Valhalla Room & Valhalla Vintage reverbs to be among the most
    transparent & great sounding reverbs in my collection.
    They also consume very little CPU power.
    2C Audio B2 is another great one to consider. It comes with a lot of great presets.

    My favorite delay has to be Boz Digital Labs Imperial Delay.
    Great presets and very versatile with ducking etc.
    I have used these plugins on many instruments as well as vocals and find them
    to be very versatile.
     
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2015
    • Like Like x 1
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • List
  12. dikkiedik

    dikkiedik Member

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2011
    Messages:
    16
    Likes Received:
    7
    VERBS: all Valhalla stuff (fast / versatile) all 2C Audio (in depth!), and the best plates are in Nebula (pure quality) imo.
    DELAYS: echoboy, h-delay and fabfilter timeless should have you covered.

    or reamp stuff in a room for natural room ambiences and space.

    have fun!
     
  13. ShadowOfTheZ

    ShadowOfTheZ Ultrasonic

    Joined:
    May 30, 2014
    Messages:
    133
    Likes Received:
    37
    so who's Jean-Michel Jarre among us? ArticStorm or Cav Emp ?


    CavEmp: To me the reason Ableton's plugins (and Ableton in general) are so superior is because they don't get in your way by making a big deal of themselves. Need a chorus? It's called... Chorus. And the only things that aren't part of the plain grey background are the parameters. I get my best results with them because they are easy to master.


    ArticStorm: i dont really use any other 3rd party effects these days, why, because ableton has all with i need for the music genre i produce.


     
Loading...
Similar Threads - Best Reverb Delay Forum Date
Best combination of reverb and delay plugins? Software Feb 2, 2024
which de-reverb is the best? Mixing and Mastering May 20, 2024
Best IR reverb loader..? some help! Working with Sound Dec 6, 2023
What are the best Dark Reverbs & Pianos Software May 12, 2023
Creating depth in a mix using realistic room reverbs (best plugins/methods?) Mixing and Mastering Aug 2, 2022
Loading...