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Two channels for processing and looping...
I looked for days to find a similar thread and I'm surprised I couldn't find anything.
I want to bring in a guitar and a mic into an iPad. I'd like to be able to use something like ToneStack for the guitar channel and possibly something else for the vocal/mic channel - I don't think ToneStack supports 2 channels of input like this for the vocal processing (I wish it did). The processed channels would then go into Loopy for live looping using Audiobus. All of this is for a live, stage performance setup.
I can find many hardware interfaces that provide the dual channel input capability. How do I do the rest? Isn't this a common need?
Comments
You'll just need to set up two separate audio lanes within audiobus. Set the input of lane 1 to the left input of your interface and lane 2 to the right input. Put ToneStack as an effect on one lane and any effect(s) you want on the vocal lane. Set the output of both lanes to Loopy. Loop on.
There are a ton of two channel interfaces. Search the iOS category on Sweetwater to see some.
Thanks for the quick reply. But is there a sound processor app that can handle both channels at the same time? Is there a featured vocal processing app with midi/fx support like ToneStack? I'm in love with ToneStack right now...
You want a AU-capable effects processing app (or apps). This allows you to use multiple instances of the same app inside your host. The host could be AUM, or a DAW. I don't think there is a way to use Tonestack the way you desire.
you don't want to handle vocals with any guitar fx processing app - unless you want crap.
I mean crap in the sense of the word, not some cool kind of trash sound.
Tbh I was really surprised to find how shitty it sounds when I tried it for curiosity.
Just keep the vocals on a separate line (as suggested above) and apply eq, dynamics and delay/reverb of the more 'studio-like' fx apps.
@telefunky. Or anyone else...
What iOS effects app would you suggest for vocals. I have VoiceRack. I have lots of individual effects, as well as DFX and Elastic FX. Is there anything other than VoiceRack on iOS that is aimed specifically at use on vocals?
And I agree about the guitar effects not being so great, but my experience was with using actual pedals back in the PortaStudio days.
You could route the vocal track through AUM and use any Audio Unit effects you like.
you already have some color on any recorded vocals by the microphone.
The individual way of adressing, distance and room also add to the sound.
So it's first of all about dynamics (the human voice has a wide range by nature, but we've become used to significant reduction in combination with heavy makeup gain)
For a natural and still 'powerful' response apps like Maxima and FabFilter's Pro-L work great... as long as you don't step into the squashing domain.
These apps aren't restricted to sheer loudness.
I don't know apps that feature typical 'compressor sounds' like LA-2A or 1176, but I'm shure they exist. I never looked because most of my own use is the 'smart limiting' method like Maxima/Pro-L and I already have several plugins for the other 2.
LA-2A is a slower reacting opto-comp, while the 1176 is a very fast FET-based type.
Which one may become your personal favourite depends on the individual voice.
A lot of modelled versions are based on one or the other - check out some YT videos about the hardware to get the idea.
Imho this is the most important part - of course you will tune the room (reverb) impression and may apply some eq correction.
The latter is rather the icing on the cake, not the essence - but it may become important if your room influences the sound too much (in an unpleasant way)
My personal IOS favourite would be the AD480, but admittedly I'm not a big fan of IOS reverbs for acoustic sounds.
But whatever you choose... do it carefully, it's really important.
Try to imagine what kind of ambience you're after - it's not just: 'now let's add some reverb to make the vocals more pleasing'. Usually less is more.
That's for the (more or less) raw aspect of vocal processing.
For the more heavily effected sounds you may use slight detuning (double-tracking like on reel-to-reel tape) or a more intense approach like Dischord.
I'm not a fan of Autotune (no idea about the IOS version) and don't like any of the vocoders.
For 'artificial' stuff I sometimes find Apesoft's Sparkle inspiring, but it's as hard to describe as to predict the result. But that's also the fun part in it.
Imho all apps advertized as 'vocal tools' are lifestyle gadgets with cash generation as their only purpose.
@Telefunky Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed response. I will be taking everything you have suggested here into consideration on future projects. I am only recently trying to record and process good vocal tracks, and the points you brought up are very helpful.
This was all really great help - thanks. I learned a lot today.
whatever you do - try to tape the raw voice as neat and detailed as possible.
All other stuff is postprocessing and may vary with taste - and can be altered anytime, but not the original performance.
Yeah, I can see if you're focused on looping an all in one processor would be a lot less to deal with. While not geared towards any one thing, MasterFX and Audio Effx are multi fx units with at least a preset system.. haven't spent enough time with either to compare sound quality, but AudioEffX has a "stomp box" type interface....