Can I apply Control Room FX ONLY to vocals?

Cubase
1

Hi, I’d like to add some comfort reverb when tracking vocals. While I usually do it with an Insert or a Send on my vocal track, I notice that I can instead use a reverb effect in the Control Room setup. However, when I do so, it applies the reverb to the entire mix that I am hearing in my headphones. (I’m using the Phones 1 at the top of the Control Room)

Surely there must be a way to only apply the reverb to the vocals, otherwise this feature would seem useless…

Can anyone please assist? I think I’m missing something here…

2

Hi,

You can use any of your Cues, as a source of Headphones. So you can make own Reverb FX Channel, and send the wanted ratio of Reverb to the FX. Then you can mix this FX Reverb to the Cue > Phones.

3

Thanks Martin, I’ll try this out…but one question…

Given my other thread, about how the Main bus in the Control Room is the only one that works for the Media Bay preview, I may end up using that bus with my headphones instead of the PHONES bus at the top of the Control Room. Would what you’re suggesting still be possible if I use the MAIN output (I do notice the Main bus also has effect slots), or would I need to setup a 2nd pair of headphones to specifically use the PHONES bus at the top of the Control Room in order to apply your solution?

4

FYI, in preferences, you can set ‘Use Phones Channel as Preview Channel’.

You shouldn’t use the insert slots in Control Room to apply reverb. Instead, set up your reverb on an FX track in the normal way and then use the cue send on your FX track to send it to one of the Cue Mixes (and of course you must also send the dry vocal signal too). You can then select any of the Cue Mixes in the Phones tab so you can hear them in your headphones.

5

Thanks, in that case what would be a sample application where you would want to use an insert slot in the Control Room? I’m not sure I understand why they exist in the Control Room (outside the MixConsole)…

6

I’ll often use the insert slots for analysis type plugins. e.g. Ozone Insight. Also, Brainwork Control, which can be useful for listening to what stereo content you have in your mix. Basically plugins that aren’t used to process your actually mix. If you insert them in Control Room, then you can use the analysers on anything that you are monitoring (e.g. Cue Mixes), not just your main Cubase mix.

If you were using a room correction plugin or EQ (e.g. Sonarworks) you would insert it in Control Room.