I had just loaded a new plugin into the virtual plugin rack and, as the graphic representation of this classic unit appeared on the display of my Avid VENUE desk, 1970s memories of Val Garay, Record One and great-sounding vocals were instantly triggered.
The original tube-powered Aural Exciter was a groundbreaking product that put Aphex on the audio map and subsequently led to the creation of industry workhorses like the Compellor, Expressor and Dominator. The Aphex 9651 Expressor and 661 Tube Expressor were "must haves" in my outboard racks for many years before I made the shift to digital.
My experience with Waves emulations of vintage tube equipment has been extremely positive (later columns will explore some of those units), and I was eager to test-drive this plugin. I was especially intrigued to read that Val Garay had himself commented on the accuracy of the sound and the faithful-to-the-original performance achieved by this product. Not surprisingly, the capabilities of the Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter immediately exceeded my expectations.
This recently-released software has aided me in better executing one of the more difficult challenges I face when mixing live shows for James Taylor. There are four extremely talented singers in this band who provide the lush vocal enhancement that supports and enriches the arrangements. Yes, I know, it's difficult to use the word "challenge" when the vocalists are the amazingly talented Andrea Zonn, Arnold McCuller, David Lasley and Kate Markowitz.
The Proper Balance
In my case, the challenge is to be sure that each of these four remarkable voices is heard in proper balance and that the various parts are presented with the color and nuance that best fit the song being performed. David Lasley often sings in falsetto and therefore has an inherent softness to his vocal. Kate Markowitz also has a more gentle quality to her singing than either Andrea or Arnold, whose incredibly strong voices may dominate certain arrangements. Needless to say, the vocal blend requires my constant attention.
The first part of the solution is choosing the right microphone. The Shure KSM9, with its ability to capture complex vocal subtleties and dynamics, has been working well for us since I came onto the tour seven years ago. We started with the wired version but for the last couple of years have moved to wireless to increase freedom of movement. We choose the hypercardioid option for best isolation. All four singers use in-ear monitoring, and stage volume at their position is negligible.
Not one to shy away from experimentation, it occurred to me that employing the Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter on both David Lasley's and Kate Markowitz's vocal channels would help maintain definition and intelligibility within the background vocal blend. So, after set up was completed one show day, I grabbed Kate's mic and donned my headphones at FOH. I set the control knobs for unity in and out and then began to experiment.
The first choice is the MODE control that determines how the unit operates. For me, the optimum choice was MIX1, which recreates the original hardware unit's AX mode send/return sound. In that mode, the AX MIX control determines percentage of return from the AX process. The default is 7.87, but I found that level introduced far more effect than was necessary for my desired result. I tried starting at 0 and turning the AX MIX control up to where the effect was definitely there and the turning it back a bit toward 0 to maintain subtlety.
The final parameter is the switch at the top right that allows the user to select including characteristics that resulted from plugging the unit into 50Hz or 60Hz power source. A third choice is "Off." I liked the sound best in the 50Hz position. Waves has selected this choice as the default.
Adding Sparkle
I then switched the VENUE D-Show console into virtual sound check mode and played back the previous night's Pro Tools HD recording. I concentrated on the blend of the background parts by soloing the B/G vocal group DCA using the post fader listen function. I started with the settings I had dialed up and punched the plugin "in" on both David's and Kate's channels. The effect was not overly apparent, but at the same time was incredibly beneficial. It only took a couple of minor adjustments to cause each of the two vocals to become clearer with added sparkle, and to bring each vocal more forward in the mix without increasing fader volume. I actually ended up with the AX MIX control closer to 4 than the default setting of nearly 8. The extremely pleasing results during that night's show reinforced my decision to retain this plugin in the audio chain on these particular inputs.
It is incredibly gratifying when a tool works in exactly the way one hopes. The Waves Vintage Aural Exciter is just that kind of tool. I had a specific goal in mind when I auditioned the plugin and that goal was both easily and effectively achieved. Congratulations to Waves for so successfully bringing back this valuable unit in digital emulation. One should never believe that a familiar show couldn't be improved. My mixing world just got a little bigger and better, and that what it's really all about.
