Korg Forums

[Muz_akb]

Does anyone know any good vocal effects with nice reverb and echo for korg pa3x?

[karmathanever]

Not quite sure what you are asking for - the PA3X has many FX for you to choose from, combine and configure
These should already be on your keyboard…

Pete
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PA4X-76, Karma, WaveDrum GE, Fantom 8 EX
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[nikola81]

I use Smooth Plate with Decay 2.3s, Hi Color +9, Lo Color -11, Duck Amt -13dB. Combined with Delay 1/4 Note Tape. Level -3dB, Source -Time,
Time L and R 275ms, Feedback 35%.

Adjust level from the panel knob.

Hope it helps.
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Nikola
Korg pa-800, Korg TR61, Roland g-800
Korg Kronos 61, Korg PA3X

[karmathanever]

Great response nikola81 - thanks

Must try this..

Pete
_________________
PA4X-76, Karma, WaveDrum GE, Fantom 8 EX
------------------------------------------------------------------
## Please stay safe ##
...and play lots of music
------------------------------------------------------------------

[Reuben]

Thanks Nikola. I have avoided the delay settings in the past because I really had no idea where to start. I've tried your settings in combination with my preferred reverb (smooth hall) and am really happy with the result. It improves the vocals a lot. Great tip. Many, many thanks!
John

[jimsweb]

thank you! this sound setting sounds great!
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Life's music - www.myoozic.com

[Dikikeys]

Can you set vocal delay to be a function of the tempo? So that, no matter what tempo you use for a song, the delay is always related to it?

That's a very common studio trick...

It's amazing how much delay you can slather onto a vocal, as long as the repeats are not fighting the groove of the piece! The delay timing can also be important... For slow pieces, a half note value can work, but as the tempo gets faster, quarter to eighth note values start to work. And, if you find it getting jumbled, with the echo obscuring the current note, try triplet values... Triplet quarter or eighth note echoes will not occur on beat, but off, so won't clash with the line.

The icing on the cake, if the Korg can do it, is to task the vocal echo depth to either a slider or pedal. That way, you can vary it depending on the needs of the song. But the real trick is to always have it tempo-synced. That way, the one preset covers a multitude of bases...

Hope this helps.

[Dikikeys]

BTW, when posting your settings about vocal setups, it helps to post what mike model you are using it on. What works for a big cardioid mike may not be as good on a headset condenser, etc..

[Reuben]

I've now tried the delay setting set to Midi rather than Time and I can confirm that its works very nicely - in perfect sync to style or midi.
Not sure which way I will go for default setting - both sound great.

[nikola81]

I am using AKG headset C520 with B29L power supply. It is a condenser mic.
You are very correct that MIDI setting of delay time is far better, but for the kind of gigs i do it doesn't make a huge difference. These are some general values that i found work for my taste. I also use chord triggered back vocals that add three voices along with the lead and the vocals follow the chords i play. It beefs up the lead and makes singing more powerful.
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Nikola
Korg pa-800, Korg TR61, Roland g-800
Korg Kronos 61, Korg PA3X

[Dikikeys]

Both sound good (tempo and time based echo) until a bad time setting destroys the groove of a piece.

For me, tempo based settings are always better... Just get used to quickly navigating to the page where the timebase can be altered. Some songs want duplet settings, some like triplet...

No ONE setting works for everything, no matter how much you'd LIKE that!

[Reuben]

Thanks Dikikeys. I now have both on board.
Just before this topic disappears I thought I'd update the settings I "settled" on.
I'm using a Shure SM58 mic and these settings.
Voice Prcessor Set up, Mic Tone, EQ Low(151Hz) -6, Mid(1076/1.8 )+3, High(1612)+6.
Compress Adaptive 50%, DeEss 47%.
Gate, Adaptive. Atten -3db, Harm Atten-5.
Voice Processor Preset, Reverb, Soft Hall, level -8, Decay 3.8s, Predelay 20ms,
HiColor +3, Low Color -8, Duct 0, Lead 0.
Above is my standard setting but I also have a Delay setting available as follows.
1/4 Note Tape at -15db, Source Midi, L & R 1/4,
Feedback L & R 25%, Hi Cut EQ 1107, Low Cut 201, Duct Amt -13db
This works well with some Midis and Styles.
Just tried an early Elton song with these settings (midi file but Delay is off)
You can hear it here
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uei1qokhs9jwf89/TheGreatestDiscovery.MP3?dl=0
I'm using the Bright 3 version of the free Steinway (thanks Antony).
At the risk of sounding like an old fuddy duddy I still think they don't write songs like this anymore.
(And many might shout just as well!)
If you have a good pair on earphones or speakers I'm open to suggestions on how to improve this - thanks.
Cheers,
John

[DonM]

Good sound! Seems you have it figured out.
DonM

[BillyHank]

John,

Nice job on this one - really good listen.

Thanks!

Bill G

[Dikikeys]

Nice tune, nice performance.

I might have ridden the accompaniment with a swell pedal just a hair, or written some stronger dynamics into the track (SMF's of stuff like this have notoriously little dynamics) to match your vocal dynamics a hair more. There are some points where you sit well out front of the track, some where you are nicely inside, and others where you kind of get a tad swamped...

It's either that or perhaps lower the threshold for vocal compression just a bit more, so it catches your stronger sections better, then bump up the whole lot.

But the tonality using the SM58 is nice, the EQ seems about right, and you can still vary it quite a bit by working it some, too (getting closer for quiet passages, moving a couple of inches out as you get stronger).

Lastly, try listening to the track alone, and try to balance the reverb used on the track with that on your voice. Piano and orchestral arrangements like this, it helps to place everything in roughly the same acoustic 'space', as if singer and piano and strings were all on the same soundstage together. Some kinds of songs, it helps to maintain a separate ambiance for the lead vocal, but most things like this, you want about the same for you and the strings...

Very nice though. Put me down as a huge Elton fan!