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Flanged Vocals

dstill808dstill808 704 Posts
edited April 2009 in Strut Central
Listening to a track on the new Time And Space Machine that has the vocals flanged out, and thinking how this technique can be really cool.All time top for me would have to be "Planet Caravan." Hell, it even made "Believe" by Lenny Kravitz half listenable, and I hate that dude.What are your favorites?

  Comments

  • dstill808dstill808 704 Posts
    "Fly" by JK & Co. would be another example of nice execution on this.
  • MondeyanoMondeyano Reykjavik 863 Posts
    This is quite recent but I love how the flanger works with the vocal.
  • m_dejeanm_dejean Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. 2,946 Posts
    You're talking about routing the vocals through a Leslie amp, not a flanger effect, no? I'm pretty sure that's a Leslie on "Planet Caravan".

    I love that sound too. Next after fuzz it seems like the go-to "psychedelic" effect. Another good example would be "Stop The War Now" by The Temptations.
  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    Planet Caravan would be a Leslie, as I don't think the flanger had been invented yet.

    Brainticket "Cottonwood Hill" would be one of my all-time favorite Leslies, if that counts in this thread.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Planet Caravan would be a Leslie, as I don't think the flanger had been invented yet.

    Brainticket "Cottonwood Hill" would be one of my all-time favorite Leslies, if that counts in this thread.

    I think before the flanger was invented, they got that effect by having two tapes playing simultaneously (try it at home - two cassettes on the same deck get the same effect).
  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    Planet Caravan would be a Leslie, as I don't think the flanger had been invented yet.

    Brainticket "Cottonwood Hill" would be one of my all-time favorite Leslies, if that counts in this thread.

    I think before the flanger was invented, they got that effect by having two tapes playing simultaneously (try it at home - two cassettes on the same deck get the same effect).

    Hate to argue Pickwick, but it's well known that The Sab used a Leslie on that tune, and it's unlikely any band with any recording budget would have used that low-budget tape approximation, which can't replicate a lot of the things a Leslie can do.

    Leslies were, in fact, all the rage back then, and any half-decent studio would have had one.
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Planet Caravan would be a Leslie, as I don't think the flanger had been invented yet.

    Brainticket "Cottonwood Hill" would be one of my all-time favorite Leslies, if that counts in this thread.

    I think before the flanger was invented, they got that effect by having two tapes playing simultaneously (try it at home - two cassettes on the same deck get the same effect).

    Hate to argue Pickwick, but it's well known that The Sab used a Leslie on that tune, and it's unlikely any band with any recording budget would have used that low-budget tape approximation, which can't replicate a lot of the things a Leslie can do.

    Leslies were, in fact, all the rage back then, and any half-decent studio would have had one.

    I never said you were wrong, I just said that there was another way of doing it.

    Probably the earliest way, before the process got more sophisticated.

    And I should add - the two tapes would be playing THE SAME SONG simultaneously...

  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    I love that sound too. Next after fuzz it seems like the go-to "psychedelic" effect. Another good example would be "Stop The War Now" by The Temptations.

    Another good example is "The Letter" by the Arbors. The song is crammed with over-the-top psychedelic effects as it is, and the flanging effect enters the picture at 2:45---

  • 4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
    Actually there were lots of ways to do it that extend far beyond the imagination of any except the most esoteric producers and engineers from that time. Things like the Mu-Tron Bi-Phase, custom built time aligners and tape machine tricks were used more often than not. It wasn't even close to being only about running the vocals through a leslie speaker cabinet (which is a doppler type effect) as opposed to true flange. Not saying that wansn't what was used on the song in question but there were lots of ways to skin that cat in the 70's
  • funky16cornersfunky16corners 7,175 Posts
    "In Another Land' by the Rolling Stones
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    I seem to recall "Open My Eyes" by the Nazz having that effect as well
  • 4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
    Regarding "Thirteen" by Big Star -

    Hello guys,

    I will have to go back and listen to try to remember exactly what was done on "Thirteen."

    I did sing some BGV parts on it with Chris and Alex, but I don't remember right away what was done technically.

    It was definitely NOT an Eventide, as we had not even heard of those yet.

    It was one of three things (or a combination):

    *Real tape machine flange (we did this a lot then...I would grab the flange of one reel and slow it down, then release it so it would speed back up, sometimes even overshooting to a faster speed, then lather, rinse and repeat...you had to really work to develop a feel for it, whilst listening, of course, to get the right sound).

    *Leslie (we had a little black Fender Leslie unit that Isaac Hayes had brought over, and left for us, as well as the big one with the A-100...but I don't recall if we ever put a line input on the big one at that early a date).

    *Some little guitar "fake Leslie" box that Alex used on his guitars (as heard on Goodo).

    When I get a chance to listen carefully, maybe I can flash back on it...or I can ask JF if he recalls.

    Cheers.
  • johmbolayajohmbolaya 4,472 Posts
    The Beatles played with flange, and in Recording The Beatles[/b] they talk about Ken Townshend coming up with a concept of what is known as automatic double tracking, or ADT. However with some of the innovations being created in country music at the time (go back to that vocoder thread from awhile back), I wouldn't be surprised if there was a country king of flange.

    But yeah, the Black Sabbath song is run through a Leslie speaker, Pink Floyd often did this to achieve certain vocal effects pre-DSOTM. I know the Beastie Boys have, and of course Money Mark.
  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    Listening to a track on the new Time And Space Machine

    I was just listening to the clips on the Lab how is it. Volume 1 is kinda boring.

    - spidey
  • dstill808dstill808 704 Posts
    Interesting info on the recording process. It's always so easy to take that kind of thing for granted in the age of pre-sets and processors. See cut-n-paste thread on that as well.

    Thanks for the tunes too. That Arbors track is great.

    Was just listening to the below track in Good Records yesterday, which fits the bill.
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