Vocals in mix

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Lost for words with all to say.
Contributor Since: Sep 12, 2003

From listening to mainstream recordings to home recordings, there is one thing (besides it being mastered) I hear that really makes a difference in me as far as it sounding professional done or beginner level. It's how the vocals sound in the mix. It's something I have been messing with for a while now because if it sound too distantly, makes the whole mix sound cheap. Making the vocal stand out above the mix without it sounding like it's floating way above it can be hard.

I want to ask everyone here what their general rule of thumb when mixing vocals. How do you EQ them? What other instruments do you take some of the EQ out so the vocals can be heard over them? How about settings on compression? I have found some tricks that have helped but I wanting to get more ideas to see what is available I suppose.

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Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Apr 19, 2005 11:01 am

How I EQ totally depends on the song as a whole. I try to analyze the vocals and see where the strong points of that particular voice is that make is unique then try to sculpt the other instruments around it. So I have no real general rule really, it's all relative.

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Apr 19, 2005 11:24 am

agreed 100%

on that note, everyones voice (and song key) is different, so eq wise, i start by dooin' a smoothe rolloff of everything below 220 for a key of a male voice. then ya gotta make room in most backing tracks (drums relly arn't to bad usually) so i notch out anywhere between 1-4k. then for clarity i ROLLOFF erything above 10k ish. that allows me to boost overall level up without things getting harsh.

also program dependant is compression settings. if you got someone that's real percussive ya gotta use quicker attack and release times...but if it's an epic balad, you want slower....keeping them DEAD MONO and moving EVERYTHING else but bass, kick, and snare outta the way helps give definition and gives it a real good sense of "i can hear what he's sayin".

reverb is very important also....ya wanna push them back, but not too far....good way to set reverb times is headphones. crank them up every once and a while (whole mix) and that'll let ya know if you have enough reverb.

also eq the reverb so the lows don't muck anything up, and cut some highs to ease any sillabance...that'll make the verb alot less noticable.

but yeah it's all totaly relative, i couldn'ta summed it up better.

peace

wyd

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Apr 19, 2005 11:25 am

that was key of A male voice

The Quiet Minded
Member
Since: Jan 01, 2003


Apr 19, 2005 11:04 pm

What tricks have you found vdale? If you dont mind to share.

Lost for words with all to say.
Contributor
Since: Sep 12, 2003


Apr 20, 2005 08:41 am

The one that comes to mind, which isn't a trick, is to use the wind shield with your vocal mic. Boy, I tell ya, singers seem to like to spit when they sing. Without it, you get too much "hisp" that you end up cutting too much highs to get out. With it, you can draw up the highs to give that nice crispy sound that isn't harsh.

Use a narrow spike in the mid range to make the vocal warm if you need so. It can be aggravating. One day I think it's sweet, the next day it sounds bassy to me. Don't you just hate that?

Lately, with background vocals, I love using some sort of chorus effect. Actually, if I just have one other singer along with the lead I do this. Give it chorus that doesn't make the voice sound double and bring the volume of it up as much as the lead vocal. With this chorus, you can hear both voices with no problem, almost like the background is "surrounding" the lead instead of being with it. It really works the best I have found with a male lead and a nice female voice background.

That is all I can think of right now....

The Quiet Minded
Member
Since: Jan 01, 2003


Apr 20, 2005 10:11 am

How about compression, what setting are more likely to start with?

Dork
Member
Since: Jul 25, 2004


Apr 20, 2005 11:05 am

Getting the vocals to "pop" is always a little bit of a challenge. I think the most common error I hear is the over use of reverb. Getting a really wet vocal is often a bad thing to me. Use only enough that you can tell it's there when solong the track. Then dial it back a hair. (Unless the song calls for it being wet). Reverb is a good tool to smooth out a vocal, but be careful. Other than that, I make liberal use of panning. The vocal in the center, and then pan the guitars to the right and left so it sounds like they are embracing it . No set rules as to how far left and right. Compression and eq can really be your friends too. Figure out whar frequency the vocal is strongest, then cut that freq. on other instruments that are in that same area. Not by much though. Finally I like to add a little around 4 to 5k to add som air to the vocal. Eq is a big help in making it clear. I have found that if you have the eq's set just right, the vocal can sometimes be set lower than the rest of the mix and still stand out.
Long winded. I guess it is as much skill as art. But thats recording for ya.

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