Hi guys!

I got a music project to do and it’s to produce a 80’s like track. I do like many of the 80’s sound, specially the good FM Synth. But, now I have to capture the voice character effect. I really appreciate if you guys listen to the sample bellow and let me know how you think I can reproduce this. I made a short mix of the famous “Modern Talking”. PLEASE listen carefully to the effects applied to Thomas Anders voice.

His front voice is dry, yet there’s a nice lush “blurred” / “wet” effect behind it!

Of course this is a combination of delay and reverb, it also sounds like a typical effect when you use a Reverb as an “Send”?? Also don’t forget that this music was done in the 80’s so only analog gear was use. Since I only use in the box Plug-Ins, it may be a bit different?

I’ve tried many variations with reverbs and delays… but still, I never got it to sound right.

My plug-ins include: Waves Complete, Wave Arts, Flux Bundle, Sound Toys Bundle, Sonnox plugins Collection, Blue Cat Audio and much more, but I think this is good for now.

So.. How and what would you use to replicate this effect???

Thank you so much!

 

Are you sure you want to make a track like that?

I hear nothing special there, just a lot of reverb, and probably delay.
You could try the Lexicon Random hall, or the Lexicon emulations on the Sonnox Reverb, or the Relab LX480.

Btw, I think these tracks were recorded digitally already. Digital recordings were already a common thing in the second half of the 80s.

 

Thanks for the reply!! No, i'm not producing something like this, i was just looking to replicate the voice sound Character of his voice to my project.

 

Puh :dancing:

Btw, what do you mean with typical effect if the reverb is used as an insert?

Soundwise, it should not make a difference if you use a reverb as an insert or a send effect.

(There might be exceptions in certain DAWs. In Cubase, if you want to have a stereo reverb on a mono track, you have to use it as a send effect, otherwise you get just a mono reverb.)

The Lexicon LX480 is THE reverb sound of the 80s, so I would experiment with that.

 

Apply a notch filter , tweak some freq parameters and there you go. Instant 80s :p

 

Sorry, I meant “Send”
At least in my experience with different plug ins, (using DP as a DAW by the way) that sometime you have an option to use the Reverb plug ins as an “insert” or as a “Send” and there’s a difference when you use the Reverb this way…. I noticed that when you use it as a “Send” the effect of it, is like the reverb goes” behind” the voice and it’s more wide and gentle, when with an “insert” it’s more dominant. Correct me if I’m wrong

 

That just depends on the wet/dry mix-setting in the plug-in.

If you use it as a send it should be on 100% wet, whereas if you put it on insert, you have to set it according to taste. Normally, it would be around 15-30 %, but it depends on the reverb, the type of music and instrument, and what you want to achieve, of course.

The default setting of the wet/dry mix in most reverb plug-ins is 100% wet, because normally you use reverb as a send effect.
So that's why it sounds so dominant, if you use it as an insert. If you roll it back, you should hear the same sound, as when used as a send effect.

You can generally use every reverb as a send, but also as an insert.

The most important reasons, why reverb is normally used as a send effect:
1.) You can add the same reverb to several tracks, in various amounts.
2.) You save CPU that way, because you have to load only one instance of the plug-in.

 

That’s true, thank you “Gulliver” for the tips!

 

You are welcome

Let us hear the result

 

For the best 80 Music Sound use this

http://www.uvisoundsource.com/emulation-ii/product_info.php/products_id/66

 

listen to the PRODUCTION structure (drum & bass).
THE Abbey Road 80's Drums And The Retro Machines Synth From Native Instruments ARE REALLY USEFUL.
AND DON'T FORGET: Synth Bass With 1176's Compressor.

Remember: at the end of the day its the ART & EARS that makes a difference.

 

Not an expert on vintage sounds but I do remember finding out about the Pultec EQs that were used in the 80s. There are some emulations available, I have tried the one from Nomad Factory and Pushtec 5+1A which is free. You can try using it for the signature sound, increase the high frequencies after cutting some mids.

The richest Hall reverb I have heard which I think will satisfy your needs is found in "Lexicon PCM Native Reverb" bundle. Haven't checked the "plus" bundle.

Lastly, you can study the target sound more closely using this http://sounddump.com/usd92ux62qlq . Its the Mid/Side of your audio file minus the center and presents the vocal reverb with greatly reduced dry vocal track.

Hope that helps.

 

Thank you all for the help! I really appreciate it

 

Hey "jayhind"
Really appreciate the sound file and the info!!

Thanks,

 

Hey “Jayhind”!!!


I think you nailed it man!!!! WOW! As for the Lexicon PCM Native Reverb!
But I must give a credit to “SoundPirate” as well!! I just placed the Lexicon with one of the Hall Notch presets on the vocal aux Chanel, plus a typical 80’s delay... and BOOM!!! A perfect Modern Talking/80’s vocal sound!! Amazing!) that’s exactly what I was talking about – that lush effect “behind” the voice!

Well... you see what happens when you have so much plug ins, can’t even find the right one:-P!

Thank you so much!!!

 

Thats great! I am sure we are all happy to help, brings great pleasure.