VOCAL EQ (and mixing)

Posted on

Member Since: Apr 10, 2006

I'm clinically braindead when it comes to mixing vocals. I'm currently trying to mix a song of mine with a friend singing and a couple with me singing, and I can never find a good place to put the vocals. I've read some EQ articles and none of them really address vocals, which is weird, because generally that's what people listen to most. So what do y'all generally do when it's time to tackle the vocal tracks?

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Frisco's Most Underrated
Member
Since: Jan 28, 2003


Sep 27, 2007 09:48 pm

cut a couple db below 80 Hz, add a slight boost around 1200-2000Hz (sometimes as low as 1000Hz). compress. slight reverb (depending on how close the singer was to the mic when recorded and how much room reverb was picked up). The main key though is to eq all your other instruments and give the vocals space from that 1000Hz to 2000Hz range.

Hold 'Em Czar
Member
Since: Dec 30, 2004


Sep 28, 2007 05:36 am

yep...

what he said^^^^

compression (to tame levels) eq (to create tonal space) and reverb/delay (to give depth) keep it in mono (except for special effect) and you're good...

try putting the reverb on an aux buss instead of inline.....also compression.

edit0r
Member
Since: Aug 17, 2004


Sep 28, 2007 06:05 am

I've been reading that 'behind the glass' book for several months and a lot of the engineers point to cutting between 2 and 4 khz and let the gats etc. fill it instead. Sounds pretty good and it does help the vocals sit better.

Frisco's Most Underrated
Member
Since: Jan 28, 2003


Sep 28, 2007 02:06 pm

you mean cut the vocals around 2-4Khz?

and by gats do you mean hats?

edit0r
Member
Since: Aug 17, 2004


Sep 28, 2007 05:36 pm

Yup, and by gats I mean guitars. Most of the people I read about are producing rock, pop and metal coolo.

No rules though eh, but something nice to try.

Ne'er ate 'er
Member
Since: Apr 05, 2006


Sep 28, 2007 05:44 pm

Gats? Cool. I just picked me up another Aussie colloquialism. Bleak taught me fair dinkum a couple weeks ago. I think I'll start a collection.

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Sep 28, 2007 05:50 pm

Seriously, they recommend cutting the vocals between 2K-4K? Wow, that's totally backwards to what I've always heard. I thought that the range of intelligible human speech was somewhere between 1K and 4K, and that anything sitting in that range tended to mask the vocals. I've always notched all my other instruments between 1K and 4K to make room for the vocals...am I misinformed?

Ne'er ate 'er
Member
Since: Apr 05, 2006


Sep 28, 2007 05:58 pm

Yeah Tad, that does seem backwards. Much of the cutting presence is in the 2 to 4K range. But a lot of it would depend on the vocalist, the gat tone, and even the song, I suppose.

A lot of gat players could benefit from the masking effect, but so could a lot of vocalists.

edit0r
Member
Since: Aug 17, 2004


Sep 28, 2007 07:14 pm

For the record I'm a New Zealander. Being as it IS world cup time it is very important you do not make that mistake again.

Whatever works for you tad, I know what you mean and some of the big guns said they do it to help the vox sit, not do it all the time.

Ne'er ate 'er
Member
Since: Apr 05, 2006


Sep 28, 2007 07:41 pm

Quote:
For the record I'm a New Zealander. Being as it IS world cup time it is very important you do not make that mistake again.


Pardon the faux pas, Colonel. I forgot the rivalry there...sorry.

I also have to be careful to not refer to or think of BeerHunter as an American. Few things will piss off a Canadian more...

Too many things to remember. ****.

edit0r
Member
Since: Aug 17, 2004


Sep 28, 2007 07:47 pm

No worries. Tell bleak that his country will get **** on by the all blacks and we're even.

Ne'er ate 'er
Member
Since: Apr 05, 2006


Sep 28, 2007 07:53 pm

Wow. I guess I need to do some more research on this cultural rift between your two nations.

Or not.

edit0r
Member
Since: Aug 17, 2004


Sep 28, 2007 09:26 pm

heh, i'll summarise it for you:

Rugby

They stole Crowded House, split endz, phar-lap and the pavlova.

and Rugby.

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Sep 28, 2007 10:25 pm

Well thats the thing col...I'm just a hobbyist with recording and if the fellas that get paid the big bucks say they do this, then its a revelation to me...I'm just so surprised. I'll have to try it and see what happens. I just feel like with my sub-par equipment, I need all the room I can get for my vocals :)

Czar of Midi
Administrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002


Sep 29, 2007 06:15 pm

I will kind of back CS up here on what he read. There have been a few occasion's were that was the needed fix to get a vocal to sit in the mix. As odd as I thought it was, it did indeed work.

Mind you though as he stated it is not the fix every time though. It all depends on the vocalist's tone to be sure as well as the range they are singing in. I personally have only found it needed here once for a very oddly toned girl with a big voice. It ended up with a slight cut in that area, but also a slight boosting around it.

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