Using ReaXComp to tame vocal harshness

[Armistice]

I've had a bloody revelation, I tell you..

Up until now, multi-band compression was something I just didn't go near as it was too complicated for my tiny brain, but having watched a YouTube from someone on the topic I thought I'd better check it out.

I assumed it was "just me" - but when I go for a big, high (relatively... ) note, there's almost always a harshness to it that I always struggle to tame with notch EQs - usually in the wrong place... . I assumed it was either my voice, the mic, or the combination thereof and I'd just have to live with it and deal with it, but no...

I don't know how normal multi-band compressors work, but I think that's what ReaXcomp is, sort of. Anyway, this YouTuber was talking about this harshness being a common thing for even real, proper singers, on "big" notes in particular...and it's caused by "whistle tones" in the voice - hmmm... so fundamentally what you do is isolate the "whistle tone" frequency using the standard EQ sweep / narrow band / high boost / wince method, then put a compressor ONLY on that particular frequency neighbourhood - rather than try to notch it out with an EQ, which can result in an unnatural sounding voice, said YouTuber

So I gave it a try on a tune (Never Mind) that suffers from this issue that I was considering retracking and OMG... it works.

ReaXcomp has 4 bands, and it make it a really narrow band, I adjusted the "top frequency" slider on band 3 and band 2 below it, to have it work only between 5100 and 5400 which is where the wincing is greatest using the EQ sweep. Then I turned bands 1, 2 and 4 off, and went for about a 4:1 ratio with fast attack and release times, and set the threshold where it was not engaging much (top pic) in normal singing, but clamping down a fair bit (bottom pic) during a "big" note... it works, it works!

ReaXComp.png

You might have known this already, of course, but singing doesn't get too much focus here and no-one's mentioned the method to me, that I'm aware of, since I first stumbled across HR some 22 years ago, so maybe you don't. Anyway, it's worked so well on this vocal I've just been wandering around the house punching the air and going "Yes, yes, yes!!" loudly enough to make GF enquire as to WTF I think I'm doing.

Hope this was useful.

Can't know find the actual YouTube, but I'll look later and post it in this thread if I do. I'm back upstairs to work on another song.

[Greg_L]

I remember multiband compression being a taboo topic at HR so naturally all the mindless followers over there stayed away from it. Some people poo-poo'd it. I don't use it much but I think it's great if/when you need it.

I mean, I think most people know what a de-esser is. A de-esser is just a sibilant frequency targeting compressor. A multiband is the same thing but with more frequency options.

[Tadpui]

I shied away from multi-band compressors for a long time. I think that they got a bad name because people would abuse them as a quick way to "master" things. But yeah, in these kinds of fix-it situations they can be great. I still don't use them a lot, so I've got a lot to learn about them. But this seems exactly the kind of thing that they're great at, nice job getting what you were after.

One use I did find recently for XComp was to use the lowest band to smoosh the low end of a bass guitar while leaving the rest of it with normal dynamics. I didn't exactly nail the effect, but with some tweaking I bet I could get a solid low end that doesn't overpower the mix. It's such a fine line.

[rayc]

I use ReaX very occasionally...it freaks me out a little OR I go overboard.

[JD01]

Thanks Armi, this is useful. I get the wince inducing frequency all of the time.

[Lt. Bob]

If I ever get time to actually use my TadPro 5000 I'll want to know about this

[vomitHatSteve]

I shied away from multi-band compressors for a long time. I think that they got a bad name because people would abuse them as a quick way to "master" things.

Oh hey! That's exactly how I use MB compression! In my defense, I have no idea what I'm doing.

[Armistice]

Thanks Armi, this is useful. I get the wince inducing frequency all of the time.

Given we're in the same vocal register ballpark, you might find that tone up just over 5k - that's where mine is. I mean anything will make you wince if you turn it up enough, but that's particular wincy for me.

I dug through history and found the YouTube I watched - it's not too long and explains the concept well enough. He moves onto a specific plug in that is sort of a single band multiband compressor, so to speak, I didn't watch past that. ReaXcomp was simple enough to work out.

Noting what @Greg_L was saying above about what a de-esser actually is, a recent comment from @TripleM on my last tune about using the stock JS de-esser for similar purposes started me looking - I didn't have much luck with the de-esser bit, but this video was a bit of a light bulb moment...




I also discovered, when doing the frequency sweep thing in ReaEq, that you are not bound by the 12dB range of the slider - if you manually click and drag the band above the window you can go way higher - you can also just enter a larger number in the value window. Who knew!

[Armistice]

I shied away from multi-band compressors for a long time. I think that they got a bad name because people would abuse them as a quick way to "master" things. But yeah, in these kinds of fix-it situations they can be great. I still don't use them a lot, so I've got a lot to learn about them. But this seems exactly the kind of thing that they're great at, nice job getting what you were after.

One use I did find recently for XComp was to use the lowest band to smoosh the low end of a bass guitar while leaving the rest of it with normal dynamics. I didn't exactly nail the effect, but with some tweaking I bet I could get a solid low end that doesn't overpower the mix. It's such a fine line.

Doing exactly this was my immediate next thought... getting more cut through on notes that aren't on the bottom string can be done via volume automation but if you could just work out how high you play on the first string in any given song and compress from there down, that seems like another use for the technique. I spend days on volume automation as it is. If there's a way to NOT do it and get the same result, I'll be a happy chappy.