EVERY MAJOR RAPPER USES THIS VOCAL CHAIN
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
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In todays video I wil go over the legendary tube tech cl1b and neve 1073 combo. This combo is the most used tracking / vocal chain in rap today. This vocal chain is used by kanye west, travis scott, drake and every major rapper
What all those guys have in common are bomb ass engineers that know what their doing .
And a group of songs that sound exactly the same. I look at this as what NOT to do.
@@coringrey2143 ye, dr dre, bieber, and drake do NOT sound the same. You are literally braindead lmaoo
Mike Dean IS the engineer, not just the producer.
@Vic LTD fr dude, money is a big factor. What they don't tell you is famous studios have custom mods on their La 2a ect... and an old ssl bus sounds different than a modern one. Access to specific pieces of gear comes with inclusivity at a price.
Exactly!!! All the major rappers work of course with major mixing mastering engineers who could deliver to notch sound with a $300 mic and interface setup. (If its well recorded of course).
$10k mic, $2k compressor. Simple, affordable.
... or $400 mic and $300 plugin with similar results. 🤷♂️
@@Skrenja you’re not wrong. I’m just making a joke about all these “check out this legacy artist vocal chain” and it’s usually a fucking $10k Sony mic 🤣🤣
10k for a mic is absurd
@@koolkdI mean not if ur Drake or something 😂
@@Skrenjanah tbh plugins jus won’t ever match analog
It’s always good to know how other people work and the equipment they use. But in the ending it’s about understanding the fundamentals of audio, then you create your own rule.
It’s art, It’s like painting.
Thats the best advice
true
thought i was going mad, but u just echoed my thoughts. mazza
i buy this''
true...i use a sm7b and a quite simple vocal chain using mainly cheap plugins and fl stock plugins and it sounds perfectly fine
Kanye, Drake & Kendick us this chain with a Pultec added. Kendrick also used this chain with a Sony C100 on some of his latest album (they have a picture of him and Pharrell in the studio using it). I’ve personally tracked Wayne, Birdman, Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, Benny The Butcher & sooo many more with the C100, 1073, CL1B, Pultec chain. My C800 is in the case mostly♠️
one thing that im not so sure about is the gain staging of it all, at what level should i hit the preamp;
@@dr.strawberry5773 target -24 lufs, if i understand your question correctly.
Oh yah
@@dr.strawberry5773 I set the output on the 1073 all the way, set the input set at about 8 o’clock. And don’t hit the compressor more than -3 or -4 db.♠️
@@acelota thank you for the reply. appreciate you
You don’t need a 1073, cl1b or c800g
It’s based on the tone and character or the vocalist and the style the have. Pre amps--> transparently saturation. If vocalist voice has is not lacking in low end you can get by with a more transparent preamp(just amplifying signal and not imparting anything on to it) if the vocalist is lacking bottom or low end use one that gives the vocal a bit of warmth like a neve of shadow hills, chandler etc...this also depends on the mic your pairing it with . You wouldn’t want a u47+1073 because that’s a lot of low end added information that you’ll end up taking out. If the vocal is really bright then you might want a darker mic and warmer preamp to balance it out. As far as compressors there 3 types vca, optical, and vari mu. You’ll probably use either opt or vca most of the time but why..,,, vca compressors are the fastest and best to use when your trying to control things that are very dynamic of has quick peaks you need to knock down. Think twister Migos, triplet rappers. Then you have optical compressors. Great for vocalist who sing legato or very consistent, both in dynamics and pace. Think common Kanye, jayz, nas....soul singers etc... or you can you both in series use the vca to tame peaks and the optical for character and to smooth out whatever’s left
I love dis whole comment
WELL PUT.. I BE TRYNA TELL THESE PPL. EVERY SETUP DOESN'T FIT WELL WITH EVERY ARTIST
THE BEST VOCAL CHAIN IS: the one with a great artist on the mic, the actually chain means very little. Then the gifted engineers and or producers who track and mix. Through their own chains ..
This is extremely accurate. We'll said my g. 💯❤️🙏 #Casketondabeat
Also the way the CL1B is being used here as a compressor, doesn't actually impart a whole lot to the sound. You might get a bit of "tube-ness" from the circuity but in the way of compression characterstics it's just being used as light dynamic control. It's not being hit hard enough to really get any character out of the unit. Infact I really don't like having a C800g which is a tube mic go again through antoher tube before having had a chance to control the vocal sound depending on the whole record.
George: What do Travis Scott, Drake, and Kanye West have in common?
Then goes ahead to show a picture of Amber Rose.
100% countless rap sessions every single one wanted the c800 into the cl-1b into the 1073. Wether the 73 was an original, a bae, or the 500 series neve. Now its a great combo.. on 50% of people. If the person sounds sibilant switch to an 87 or darker sounding pre. Also side note Justin timberlake was using an vintage U87 to the cl-1b to a john hardy m-1. Which is an equally great sounding very fast articulate mic pre. Also you could grab a brauner mic to cl-1b to 1073 or grace designs mic pre.. for pop clean warm articulate. Chris brown used the c800 to the avalon 737. Which i find still quite sibilant and harsh. Opting for the Avalon 2044/2055 instead of the 737. The La2a also sounds fantastic as a replacement for the cl-1b though less articulate, it sounds warmer with more harmonics and also richness though can color more than the other compressors, does not have the flexibilty of the cl-1b. Most of the classic favorite songs since the 90’s - 2000-2018 are vocals and sessions are mixed on the ssl 9000j or K additional outboard class A discrete or tube compressions and eq on the inserts (pre eq).
Thats a wealth of insight. Thanks
Bro thanks for the info! In your opinion for a Nas it was written, Raekwon purple tape vibe, do you think the la2a or the clb1 would be a better fit? Using a U87? Also what do you think about the Rupert Neve design shelford channel strip as a mic pre?
@@anidea5646 either could work.. i may go with the cl-1b because it allow manual attack and release times.. if you want to rap slower or faster.. you can adjust to allow for it.. la-2a is a fixed attack and release time. Shelford channel is great but is a lot of money and your stuck with the neve sound for everything, other brands have gear that is really complimentary to the neve sound that improves it but if your working with a semi fixed budget… never really seen or heard of people using neve compressors successfully as a vocal recording compressor. But truly the secret is more in the components than the brand. I dont know your budget or if were just being hypothetical, however: If i wanted a killer setup i would look try to modernize my setup where possible.. potentially going with the Hazelrigg VNE compressor instead of cl-1b. Honestly i would get their pre-amp/eq as well - knowing that there isnt much better than that on the market.. you could run an sm57 through that and it would come out sounding great. Not sure where your located but you should go to sweet water or one of the vintage kings and see if they can help you trial a couple setups for your own voice and style.
@@zxcvbnmmification thanks for the advice bro!! Yea I’m getting ready to upgrade. I live in Syracuse, NY. Those units you just mentioned sound awesome. So there’s no Sweetwater around here. That would have been great. I like the idea of getting newer technology. I only worry about losing the flavor. I love those older hiphop vibes and that’s what I’m going for. I wonder what the Griselda team uses
We get it… yall know its a unique case to anyone. BUT… its a starting point. Thats the point. Because A LOT of people dont know these pieces of equipment as much as professionals. Learn. This is for LEARNING, not judgement calls on who should do what according to YOUR perspective.
Important note is that a good preamp is needed but compression isn’t. Compression during recording is like salt during cooking. You can always add more later but you can’t take it out.
Yeah but if you just touch it a little then you’re ok :)
I think you are forgetting that what the artist hears in their headphones will alter their performance. Getting a good compressed sound in tracking is more for the artist than the engineer.
Also you could track the dry signal and the wet signal with a half normalized patch bay. I'm thinking of doing that for a while once I get my first hardware compressor, so I don't fuck it up 😂
@@NoQualmsTheArtist exactly
Tracking comp settings
What about independent UA-cam rappers who record at home but still sound really good. What are they using?
ask them
Stop copying people’s customized chains. 1, because y’all aren’t seeing the real setup. 2, “every major rapper” in this case means less than 10% 3, you don’t share the same voice as these people. 4, a majority of these come from people that use two heads to make a song. These guys have engineers, assistants, and people around just to co-sign things. This means that they have multitudes of music masters around to double check any and all work. When you can handle the process on your own, these videos are ridiculous. Presets are cool until you learn exactly how trashy they are to a fully customized piece. Best advice you can give to new musicians is to stop seeking out advice. Make something, make it sound good, pay real money to push it out into the world. Experience + exposure = a learning curve in development. The more you do, the more you learn. Clicking and dragging presets is not learning, only a tease to what you could be doing with your time in the studio. After all, some people pay for their studio time and they don’t have the time to play around with someone else’s preset lol. No preset builds skill, only a false understanding of how these plugins work. If you understand enough to break down the chain then you should try having enough patience to build your own. Using preset chains and calling people that do so “producers” just doesn’t translate
Why compress before pro tools? Why not just record straight to pro tools and then do all the processing there?
This. You can run the unprocessed mic (preamped) signal into the DAW and compress after that.
We've got a 1073 at work and it really does sound great, especially compared Audient 8024 desk pre's. For any artists or wanna be artists reading this, don't get hung up on gear and just work on your craft with what you have already.
Its so funny that a video about vocal compression has some of the most inconsistent voice-over levels I've ever heard. Your voice goes from "almost too quiet to hear" to "loud enough that I need to turn my monitors down."
Like jfc if you're going to make a video about vocal compression, idk, *maybe compress your vocals????*
ITS ALL HARDWARE then the plugins for fine adujustments FACTS
Congrats on the Tube Tech purchase, would you be willing to make a vid on general differences between hardware vs software compression?
Yes!
Yes I plan on doing this with a bunch of hardware compressors vs plugins. It will come a month or so
@@georgetmusic yes I would love to see this too
@@georgetmusic sounds very cool, I'm looking forward to it! Do you have a time estimated?
@@georgetmusic Does anybody know what that is on top of the rack, just above the UAD interface?? Is that a power conditioner? 0:12
Lol I wouldn’t care what they use
Room treatment is more important in my opinion if yk what you’re doing
Dont need phantom with a higher end mic.. ?
He means a tube mic with its own power supply...
Fun aside, I bought a CL1b for $1400 off a used table at the local chain music store..
They didnt know what it was and didn't stock it.. I flipped it a year later for $3000
(I wasn't compressing anything on the way in... and did all my vocals with a Neumann D1 which you can't clip..
I mean you can physically pin the capsole, but it wont clip on the internal conversion... so I could apply all the comp in mixing)
This is bloated, bullshit. Compressing while recording in digital is not needed. It can be done after. You can get stuck with too much like he said, or not enough. It's pointless. Back in the day with tape you had to worry about S/N ratio to avoid hiss or distortion. Leveling and EQing on the way in helped avoid those problems when you got to the mix stage. Also, some artists hate compression while tracking because it messes with their natural dynamics on their monitoring. This guy made a career out of doing something that is not even necessary. How many times did a singer get a good take but his levels were off because they did something unplanned? Probably a lot. Renting this unit and using it in the mix would be cheaper than paying him....but OOOHHH ANALOG GEAR AND A GUY, I'M IMPRESSED!!! LMAO.
Dude this is what I was thinking. Why compress on the way in, when you can record at healthy levels and then do the processing afterwards, this way you can test what actually sounds better on that specific voice within that specific mix. I understand dynamics might vary a lot within sections of the song, but in reality unless the singer absolutely needs to do the vocal in one take, having a compressor on the way in is unnecesary in most situations.
@@deuxnatura Exactly. Doing the compression after, while mixing the track, makes sense and allows more creative mixing. On occasion I've gotten tracks to mix that were already very compressed on the way in and that meant I had no control over how the vocals and the other tracks get along. I had to "mix to the vocal" instead of just mixing. It's all around dumb.
My guess is they are taking advantage of the artist's ignorance and dipping into that budget. Sure it sounds "better", so they are fooled into thinking it's better in the long run and worth paying for.
one more thing haha..if an artist really wants compression on the way in (I've never encountered that), send them a compressed signal to the headphones and just record the flat signal. Slap on an R-comp for play back and they won't notice shit. 😄
I can name 20 mics, 20 pre amps, 20 compressors, whatever that can sound just like that. Its the engineer for the most part.
The problem with most of these comments is that most of you guys do not have trained ears! THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWWEEN HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE VERSIONS!! Now whether you can hear it or not is your bad. My La2a kills any plugin, my Distressors kill any plugin version, my 4 1176'2 destroys any olugin version and so on and so forth. ITS NOT EVEN CLOSE!
🔥
best video ever on vocal tracking, also because I was already using this tips and it made me feel like Dean you knooow
If you spend five minutes in this comment section, you will learn one thing; engineers/producers can't spell.
What do you want too mean
Why are they adding compression before sending it into the DAW? Why not record the vocals dry then add the compression after?
This is greatly informative! I'm curious to know: can the outboard gear be simulated via plugins modeling the same functionality? I ask because it seems that the producer examples cover the actual gear; however, it appears in the video that the presentation is simulated via plugins. Please let me know. Thanks!!!
He said the TubeTech has a fast attack. it dosaen't No tube compressor have fast attacks in general. They are tubes. Fast attacks are Opto & VCA
TubeTech CL1B is an Opto.
Omg stop lieing to people that is not true rappers dont even know what half this stuff is or how it works the vocal chain depends on the engineer how he records and what is needed for that song. Seriously all you beginers stop listening to these idiots telling u this is the only way. I have 25 years in this industry and the best thing i can tell u is use ur ears learn your tools and find "your" sound there os no magic settings for everything and just cuz u have this gear dosnt mean u will get the same results. There are too many factors involved for you to think 1 setting or specific gear will solve ur problems. Fist problem is not every studio is built the same and no 2 studios will ever sound the same so think about that this guy is leading u the wrong way
Dr. Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent, etc. use Sony C800G, Neve 1073, DBX 160 and a Tape Machine...
Hahahahaha..."Artist",
Never .singer... truthfully they do in a flat medium...
Also why are there never any Live albums in RAP ?
Wat!? No Sound Evidence or Audio Demo after the facts were laid down? .....Foul!!!
Claiming originality as a rapper? Todays sound, everyone copies it. How many "songs" use that same snare sound and a kick, every song, lame beat. Autotune with very slow tracking, everyone uses it STILL. Rip Cher off to sound like T-Lame
Hi boss I want a favor if you can help me mater a song of mine for free it a hoh hop song please 🙏🥺
I keep it all simple midi keyboard ho laptop 😂 im st8 with that ..
There are better options for rap vocals than the tube tech…..it’s just ok, Kanye really only had one good album anyways. He was really a beat maker. Through trial and error I learned that the tube tech isn’t the choice I should be making to pocket my vocals
How does the plugin compare to the hardware, In your opinion?
I just use the tube tech cl1b vocal chain plugins and mimic my favorite songs editing. This gives me a similar sound to my favorite artist songs! Like Gucci mane you a dr^g song has extreme quality!
I’ll just use the WA8000 get closer to the results without the mic portion. But that tube tech analog is needed so is the preamp.
Now we know why everyone sounds the same. Art is about originality not recreation... it's simple to copy.
The Blue Robbie valve pre amp is a super silky wonder. Looks like shit but sounds good. I use a Rode NTK which, runs/tracks into a UBK tuned Empirical Labs Fatso.
Pillowy set-up
I wouldn't call it a vocal chain. More like a track of talking and shouting loudly. Voice chain at best. 🤔
I've recorded through a 10k mic and a 1k mic and cheaper
and cant tell the difference after its mixed.
Kanye is typically recorded on a "251" style mic.
300 bucks for the UA CL1B plugin in criminal.
tell me I’m not tweakin that thumbnail of Kanye lookin crazy
Sheesh, there are so many "experts" in the comments that don't know what the hell they're talking about and I'm going to assume have never used real analog gear before.
Has Behringer ripped off these two pieces of equipment yet?
Low effort video. And no mention of a 737 or U67? Tsk tsk.
Mike Dean shows you his compressor strings for one song.. but he is not your savior.
Honestly, having really expensive gear helps a hell of alot.
I had to sub after watching this.
They print these effects or they Just monitor with it for giving vibe to the Singer?
Great video man! Took me years to find all this info on my own years ago looking in to 10+ year old threads and podcasts and even reaching out to the tracking engineers myself. This video would have saved me alot of time back then. Right now im Rocking a Lauten Eden in to a 1073 Neve Spx and CL1b compressor. The hardware really gives you that last 10%
no one cares what you are rocking.. just rock..
@@djachilies They care if you light
I love Cubase and a compression for vocals is a must. I hate when people don't use a compressor for vocals... Good to see what others are using
hum! how to don’t want to learn how a compressor works! use those presets
Maybe that’s why they all sound like crap
Came here to doubt such a generalization, but yeah, the info as far as I know is accurate. C800G into a Neve 1073 preamp.
Exellent good parameters, it has helped me a lot but is This all they use? Or do they just explain a bit??
title is the best advice to not do it like that ....who wants to sound like these tools?
Which u87? Vintage or Ai?
I must have a good ear cause i been tellin all my buddies about the cl1b for the past year.
How would you go about adjusting the output volume
Yes, it may be that everyone uses the chain, but who or how many have this analog device with them? and digitally you don't get this character flash, for example you have halogen headlights on your car but you want xenon you only think because the bulb (digital intervention) lights up white it's just as good as the original no it's not.
the whole rapper thing is played out and boring
Dre uses the 1073 into the Avalon compressor more than anything.
Who is the engineer speaking? With whom does he work?
As someone who uses a hybridized setup that records on a dp32 and then uses the DAWs minimally af for the final copy and mp3 conversion...uon need to do any of this just bc other ppl do.
If u spose to do this u'll know what sounds good. The in-depth compressor explanation is the only thing to get from this if uon understand how compressors work. I mean all them nice rack mount compressors is cool, plugins is cool, but if u know what ur doing, and have at least the basics like i do with the dp32 that tends to me work horse, which has a compressor and all that built in, uon really need to go out n get no specific type of compressor, u can if u want as sum specific compressors are held in a certain regard, n tonally might be different or better, and having a rack mount comp does add a visual meter that a lot of built in comps either dont have or that arent as useful or readable as the actual needle meters is, especially in real-time recording. But its not like u NEED a specific compressor, it might be nice to have or have a specific tone or such, but theres also ways around having to use a compressor at all. Not to mention a lot of the built-in compressors do the same job just maybe not as well in a visual manner without having the needle meter in real time. But if ur murzikally inclined enough to where u know u supposed to be doin this, u can find some type of work around of either not having to use a compressor or using one thats built into a DAW or multi track recorder.
I almost puked every time i heard him say 'protools'...protools is the lamest thing to happen to the murzik industry since Tommy Motolla was the devil
I WANTED HIM TO EXPLAIN WHY HE USES A SLOWER RELEASE
Gonzalez John Smith Betty Jones Anthony
FYI thst 2:1 is actually 3:1 on the plug-in
My chain be like : twist it till it sound less trash then the last time & never drop
Absolute Legend.
Thank you George.
so this is with recording vocals or mixing them? do they have those comps on while recording?
Wth is a vocal chain? A grouping of effects 🤣
I think all of this is overkill for mediocre music. You don’t need all of that equipment to sound good. Get a good Mic, a couple of good plugins on a UADx4 and you can get studio quality with the right vision and mind
That is a UA plugin preamp right? What audio interface is it? Does it have inserts? Are you connecting the mic to the UA Interface then inserting the CL1B in an insert of the interface? OHHHHHH Do you actually have the hardware but someone else is using the plug in to show what you are doing on the hardware?
He said complete stupidity with that sidechain knob. It has completly different function and has nothing to do with sidechaining bass. Point where i stoped see him as authority. Because every even like begginer sound engineer should know that
Wait, we're missing the rest
Who cares about what these mediocre rappers average talented fools use for their vocal chain it’s becoming a joke. It’s the same old same old cliché every company old this person used it that person used it so if you use it you’re gonna be super successful blah blah blah it’s beyond corny.
I got all the sauce templates. 88camino, post Malone, The Weeknd, hit me up for a sample
You know who doesn't use this chain? Kanye LOL Videos like this are ridiculous
I swear channels like yours who really cut the bullshit and reveal the real game behind shit is the new wave
love the vids
So he spends 5 grand on one compressor and then says he doesn’t want to commit and maybe mess it up and instead do most of it in the box….? Sounds like he doesn’t really know what he’s doing in the first place.
This is pre production… not Post fyi
Invest in getting your room treated first!!! You want your nice mic and pre amp to pick up your "voice exclusively". These mics and preamps are magical and they pick up everything!! If your walls aren't treated with acoustic panels your vocal chain will not mean shit.
You just need the skills and the right combination, you'll use the fraction of the budget for all that expensive stuff
What you think about Arturia Tube Sta? Please to do comparison with Softube Tube Tech cl 1 b
If you're going to use any compressor with a 1073 ( or any pre amp or channel strip with an insert button) make sure you use the compressor as an insert on the 1073. It'll be processed as one signal chain instead of having the signal go from one unit to another & then into your interface.The signal will be much cleaner & less noise floor. Make sure to use unbalanced ts cables from the 1073 insert send/return to your compressor.....
what about when using it on the uad console?
Why unbalanced?
@@festuswilliams654because you're interconnecting 2 audio units at a much shorter distance,. unbalanced ts cables are meant for interconnecting 2 unit at a much shorter distance, unlike the output of your preamp going to you're interface. The distance will be longer & ithe signal is leaving the unit processed which you will want to use a balanced trs cable to reduce chances of having unwanted noise.
@@festuswilliams654 I hope that helps
@@nickgarciacrawford I was referring to recording with analog gear only, uad console is just an application for your uad plugins, routing & monitoring audio
are those analog machine are the same with the plugins that downloadble? could it work the same atleast a lil bit on vocals? it is too expensive to buy those analog machines :(
Are they tracking with the 1073 EQ flat before sending it into the DAW and boost the mids after? WOudl you boost the mid range on the unit?
And that's why the first Fat Boys record sounds so much better than all of them.
Hi George Thank you so Much man, How close is the Soft tube Cl 1B to the real thing?
And what La 2A plugin in your opinion is the Closest to the Hardware?
i love how these hig class engineers often dont know what they are talking about. especially with gear that they are using daily
i never print effects because i dont want a bad day of listening to print. I can do all that stuff later during mixing.
do yall think some people just use the cl1b as a cloudlifter as the gain is super clean but also adds a nice sound to it ?
The females, they be mad quite.
Plugins and modelled Mic just get closer to the real deal. If you really want that quality you really need to use that kind of equipment. and the prices .... sooo expensive. if you have the posibility ... Rent an studio for couple hours to do your recordings and you can feel free to do the post production in home!
Obviously you could put an EQ on the sidechain and use it like a de-esser on vocals, how does a pro not know this?
This was the most help ever can you help me
I love and hate videos like this. Although your information is accurate and correct, unless you have a $5k + microphone, none of these techniques can be applied. It's the sad truth that people don't realise, then wonder why they're angry because they can't achieve the results they want.
If I use a microphone under $100 then none of these techniques will work. If I use a microphone over $5k, then all of these techniques will work. It's a shame.
@PROD. LVNDO209 the lewitt lct 440 pure is also a banger for the price
@@botbot3698 rode mic ?