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Given that you have the voices sounding as good as you can for EQ, dynamics control then FX are the next step.
reverb is generally not the answer for a fuller sound just a longer sound – a thin voice will still sound thin just hang around for longer.
ADT is a good idea, or Chorus or even a gentle flanger. Listening to things like top 40 mixes, they will often use combinations of engineering techniques to get a thicker sound some of which can be imitated live:
– multitracking – this can be mimicked with Chorus, ADT
– very controlled dynamics – some nice compressors in the iLive and you can group and compress again to make the vocals more blended if you want.
– time and frequency alignment including formant shifting to get the effect of different sounding voices (not available in iLive) – the best you can do is blur using short delays / ADT, chorus / flanging
– short reverbs (<1.0 s) like small plates can thicken the sound of a voice depending on diffusion settings etc.
Be wary that these techniques tend to make the vocals sit inside the mix more so you can start to lose them a bit in the mix if you’re not careful. you can use more for the backing vocals rather than leaders.
Have fun and try things, who knows what might work for you in your situation.
Fix the source – the voice technique or the microphone choice – is often the best technique for getting the most significant improvement.
Duncan Whitcombe
@Dnxmirrorsounds
Mirror Sounds & metrochurch
Perth, Australia
T112, iDR48x2
http://www.mirrorsounds.com.au
http://www.metrochurch.org.au
