Hey Illangelo, thank you so much for doing this Q&A! I’d have three questions on the vocal reverb in Alone Again:
I’d love to better understand the lead vocal reverb, but in your videos on the song, you don’t show the Pro-R settings. I can see you used the Huge Bright Vocal Space preset as a starting point and changed a number of parameters. Would you share those settings?
Which of the Pro-R parameters are automated and how? (I can see the distance increases over time, but there may be other parameters you automate).
There is also an instance of Pro-Q 3 at the first position of that fx 7 chain - what does it do?
I understand you want the exact settings, but it’s important to realize that this approach isn’t necessary. The settings I dialed in were specific to the song I was working on, and you need to do the same for your project. Using my exact settings won’t help you, and it won’t teach you to trust your instincts and find the right balance for yourself. It’s like the Bruce Lee quote of looking at the moon but you get caught looking at the finger.
So look its really simple: just adjust the knobs until it sounds right for the song you’re working on.
As for your second question, the response is similar. Automate whatever is necessary to make your song work. Personally speaking, there’s nothing off-limits when it comes to automation; it’s all about what serves the song best.
Regarding your third question, if I’m EQing before an effect, it’s likely to clean up the signal or shape the sound going into the effect. This can be really helpful. For example, you might want to reduce bass frequencies before adding reverb or smooth out high-end information to create a more Lo-Fi sound.
It’s all about shaping the sound beforehand to get the result you want.