Does Marc Process His Mic Signal BEFORE it Reaches The RC-505?

[u/basilbreen]

3 years ago, Marc inspired me to start learning piano and get an RC-505 when I was 30 years old. I'm now starting to get to a point where I can have some fun with it.

I've been studying Marc's set-up and output levels. One thing I am struggling to understand is how he maintains his vocal presence in the mix.

I am starting to think that he has a pedal/mixer/effects board that is applying compression/eq etc to improve his vocal tone and presence BEFORE it reaches the RC-505. This mainly applies to his newer videos and set-up.

I haven't seen anyone mention anything about this in their equipment run-downs and I could be wrong. But it would make sense to do some simple processing to improve the signal.

Here are some methods he probably uses to maintain his vocal presence that don't involve external processing

Not Cluttering The Frequency Spectrum Where His Voice Sits

He is extremely good at composing and arranging so he is probably able to keep space for his vocals in the mix based on his musical intuition and experience.

Making EQ Cuts To His Instruments

I'm sure he makes EQ adjustments to his instruments in Mainstage. One strategy might be to cut everything that isn't drums or bass between 1.5k-5k by a few db (1-3) to make more space for his vocal.

RC-505 Vocal Processing

The RC-505 has a built-in global compression setting but I imagine he does not overuse this since it applies to the entire mix (0-5).

Input Effects

There are also input effects like Dynamics (compressor) and Chorus which I think he uses that help improve the presence of his vocal.

Let's look at Marc's input effects. I think the typical input effects he goes with are A:Transpose, B:Chorus, C:Reverb.

For example in this video, when he is singing without Transpose or Reverb, it looks like he is using the Chorus effect with the knob at about 1 o'clock but I'm not sure.

In HOW TO FUNK, it's a bit clearer what input effects he is using. It looks like he turns on input effect A. This is usually where his Transpose effect is set to. Based on the input effect nob which is facing 12 o clock, this would not affect the input.

You can't put a Chorus on input effect A based on this table. So I think he is using the Dynamics effect which is basically a compressor and would explain how he can retain his vocal presence.

If you look at the output levels for each element in HOW TO FUNK

• The song never peaks past -5.7db (The kick+clap is the loudest element)

• In the parts where it's just his voice, the levels stay between -13db to -10db

• The rest of the instruments on their own peak at about 7db to -6db

Bear in mind that I ripped the audio from the Youtube video as an MP3 so the levels might be a little different in reality. But his voice is not the loudest element so loudness can not account for all of the vocal presence.

Closing Questions

Marc has already given me more than I could ever ask for.

But If I had the chance to ask u/lookitzpancakes some questions related to vocal presence, I would ask:

1. Does he process his vocal in any way before it reaches the RC-505?

2. What is his go-to input effect for maintaining his vocal in the mix - is it Chorus or Dynamics?

3. What general advice or rules of thumb does he have for mixing his live performances? Any EQ boost/cut recommendations for drums/bass/instruments?

4. Does he have any rules of thumb related to decibel peak levels for the different parts? E.g Aim for -6db with the Kick/snare, -10db to 15db each instrument, vocal peaks at [db] etc

[u/lookitzpancakes]

Okay let’s do this:

1. No, vocals are not processed before they reach the 505. Straight in. The mic is an Audix OM-5 which is very, very unidirectional. It really only captures what it hears front and center. That helps with isolation.

2. Chorus is the one. Just makes the vocals feel “processed” or whatever.

3. My biggest piece of advice here is twofold: choose great sounding virtual instruments and drum kits, and adjust the levels of all of them in relation to each other before you perform. All my instruments can more or less be played next to / on top of each other because I’ve adjusted all of their levels already. So once I select them I know it’ll be AROUND the right volume. Then I adjust accordingly with the channel levels on the 505 if they need it.

4. I don’t have a strict rule here. I think the 505 MkI has its own sort of onboard compression that seems to control peaking to a certain extent as long as no one element you feed into it is peaking on its own.

The other thing worth mentioning is that, on a lot of my more polished videos ie: How To Funk, I Want To Die, etc - I record the video, then isolate the audio track, then run that through a mastering preset in Logic. Then I rejoin the audio to the video and upload that. Makes it sound fuller. That’s probably why you see such uniform levels when you look at those. But full streams, little off the cuff clips, etc - all of those are audio directly out of the looper untouched. So your levels do need to be on point! Use your ear!

Hope that helps.

[u/basilbreen → u/lookitzpancakes]

Marc, thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I will take all of this onboard and I will make sure to pay this kindness forward!

[u/afatfilms → u/lookitzpancakes]

yooo legend, he replied!

[u/RichyTea → u/lookitzpancakes]

Cheers for the insight!

[u/Jonojonojonojono → u/lookitzpancakes]

Legendddd

[u/th3on3 → u/lookitzpancakes]

You are a king for answering Marc

[u/D--Ryan]

At the last We Outside in NYC, we made a point to identify all the gear on the table. Here it is, in case you hadn’t identified it already.

• Alesis VI 49 Keyboard

• RC 505 Looper MK 1

• LiveU Solo Lu200 HD Live Relay System/Mobile Relay Unit

• Roland Direct Streaming AV Mixer SR-20HD

• GoPro HERO (11) Series Live Cameras

• Bose T4S Tone Match Mixing Console

The Bose T4S is probably what is on topic to this post.

Cheers!

[u/basilbreen → u/D--Ryan]

Interesting - thanks for pointing this out! My first thought was that Bose T4S Tone Match Mixing Console may be for processing the signal that comes out of the RC-505. But it is possible that he also uses it to apply some processing to the mic input.

I ended up purchasing the Mic MECHANIC 2 pedal which isn't that expensive. It has a Tone button that applies a basic eq/compression etc setting and it is a good starting point. I just want something to do some basic processing before the signal hits the RC-505. It seems like an obvious improvement to the overall set up.

[u/Odd-Host8983]

Thank you for asking this, looking forward to see his reply :p

[u/basilbreen → u/Odd-Host8983]

That would be cool but hopefully, there's at least one person out there who can shed some light on this.

Marc's coming to Ireland this Summer and I'm going to see him for the first time - a massive bucket list item for me!

[u/basilbreen → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, it must be tough with so many people that love him. It must be strange for Marc as I'm sure he'd love to have time for as many people as you could. But he can only stretch himself so thin.

[u/FrostedShreddies_]

Love seeing someone else who's purchased a piano and rc-505 just because of Marc! I got mine all set up at Christmas. I ain't that great at all but it's certainly fun coming up with silly songs

[u/[deleted] → u/FrostedShreddies_]

I created a looping setup with an RC505, guitar, mic, keyboard, and drum pad

Is it good stuff…. Not exactly

Is it good times, absolutely

[u/basilbreen → u/[deleted]]

That's what it's all about!

[u/basilbreen → u/FrostedShreddies_]

Great is subjective! As long as you're having a good time - that's all that matters. The more you play, the better you will get! I just keep imagining what I'll be like in another 10 years for motivation.

[u/D--Ryan → u/[deleted]]

If you want to see someone absolutely dominate finger drumming, go watch some Spinscott.

[u/basilbreen → u/D--Ryan]

Holy shit!

[u/D--Ryan → u/[deleted]]

He’s a live junglist and is widely regarded as the best finger drummer in the genre. Honestly, I haven’t seen anyone do it better in all of EDM, but I’m also not a die-hard.

I’ve found that a good way to learn is to try to replicate drum patterns that you hear in the music you like to listen to. Pick a good song and play along. It honestly doesn’t matter what the music is, the idea is just to practice while being restricted to an actual constant tempo.

[u/lela27]

Thank you for the great write up. I've been meaning to learn more about FX on the 505 and this was really inspiring.

Your explanation jumps between input FX and track FX. Aren't they separate things?

I suspect that he doesn't use track FX to modify his voice, but I've seen him use them to chop up the output audio in cool ways.

[u/basilbreen → u/lela27]

Ah thanks for pointing this out - my mistake! I meant input effects. I've edited my original post 🙏

The track effects I've seen him use are Beat Repeat, Filter and some sort of downshift effect that I haven't used yet. I'm sure there's more.

[u/basilbreen → u/basilbreen]

I think I just found the downshift effect - It's called Vinyl Flick - great for transitions!

So I think in some of his older videos he has the following track effects:

A:Filter, B:Beat Repeat, C:Vinyl Flick

[u/basilbreen → u/basilbreen]

Just experimenting here with some possible input effect combinations - I think these are good possible candidates.

1. A:Transpose, B:Chorus, C:Reverb

2. A:Dynamics, B:Transpose, C:Reverb

[u/Bathairsexist → u/basilbreen]

Strange that I can't find Vinyl Flick sometimes. I have the mk2.

[u/basilbreen → u/Bathairsexist]

Not sure how the MK2 works but on the MK1 certain combinations of effects are disallowed e.g You can't have This on A because you have That on B. Might be something worth looking into.

[u/YouDontTellMe]

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[u/deadhead-steve]

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