Hello guys, I decided to drop this weekend tip today. Now today we'll be looking at mixing your lead vocals..
First question we should ask our selves is what is the role of the the lead vocal and what should it sound like?
A lead vocal ( LEAD VOCAL ) this simple tell us it's meant to lead every other vocal, making it special and differently from everyother vocal sample we have on a track. So now making it sound awesome is always our target in mixing. Now following the steps below would take your mix from sounding like an amateur to a professional lead vocal mix.
- Surgical EQ
A lot of people are unsure of whether to use EQ before or after compression.
Well, I say do both. Use EQ before compression to remove any nasty elements. Then, use EQ after compression to shape the tone of the vocal.
This way the compressor won’t exaggerate any of the ugly stuff (as it has already been removed), and it won’t mess with your tonal adjustments either.
- De’Essing (Optional)
Applying a de’esser at this point usually works best, but I also find that applying a de’esser at the very end of the plugin chain often works too.
Depending on how well the vocal was recorded, sibilance is a common issue that needs addressing. Even a light amount of de’essing will improve most vocals. You can reduce sibilance in the recording phase by placing the microphone slightly off axis, or by using a dynamic microphone.
In the mix phase, use a de’esser to reduce sibilance. This purpose built tool will compress the sibilant frequencies only when they appear. It’s a form of multiband compression.
- First Compressor
I prefer to apply compression in several stages. This is called ‘serial compression’. Rather than using a single compressor with aggressive settings, it’s better to use multiple compressors each adding a little compression. The end result is more musical and natural.
Your goal here (in most cases) is to make the compression unnoticeable. Sometimes, heavy compression sounds good (for example, in hardcore and heavy music) but most of the time you want the compression to be pretty transparent.
Your goal with this first compressor is to shape the tone.
- Tonal EQ
Now it’s time to adjust the tone of the vocal to taste.
Keep it subtle and start with boosts and cuts of around 3dB or less. We hear voices every day, so as soon as you start to apply heavy EQ moves the vocal will start to sound unnatural.
Top end boosts are the exception to this. When mixing pop and other mainstream genres it’s common to apply aggressive boosts to the top end of a vocal. This adds air and makes the vocal sound more expensive.
Use a high shelf for this rather than a bell curve, and use an analog modeling EQ if you have one.
- The Next Compressor
(Optional)
You can apply another round of compression after applying tonal EQ to add even more dynamic consistency to the vocal.
But for lighter and rawer genres (like jazz, acoustic and alternative rock) it might be best to avoid using too much compression.
This time you can use a slightly faster attack time to catch the peaks a bit more, but again avoid going too fast.
Aim for another 2-3dB of gain reduction, but this time adjust the threshold until the compressor only engages on the loudest syllables every few words (then adjust the ratio until you see 2-3dB of gain reduction).
Depending on the genre, you could opt for more gain reduction here.
Also, experiment with placing this compressor before EQ.
- Reverb ( you know it right 😘😘😘) It's simply giving your vocals presence and the ambience of a room to match the mix
- Delay ( you know this one too🌚🌚🌚) Making your vocals sound more full in the mix with slap backs, echos and delays..
- Chorus
Another subtle effect that can be used to add depth and shimmer to the vocal is chorusing.
If you have a chorus that has a dry/wet control, you can apply it directly to the vocal. If you don’t, put the chorus on a stereo aux channel instead.
Once again, bring up the volume until you notice the chorus, and then back it off.
Make sure it’s really subtle. When you mute it, you will notice that the vocal sounds thinner.
When you bring it back in, it will add depth and shimmer to the vocal.
- Lastly on today's tips
There are a number of other tools, plugins, and techniques that can be useful for vocal mixing.
You can use multiband compression to add more body and a consistent low end to a vocal or tame any ugly characteristics that only appear periodically.
Instead of applying compression directly to the vocal, you can also try using parallel compression. This is the process of duplicating the vocal and compressing the duplicate while leaving the dynamics of the original vocal intact.
When you have instruments competing with the vocal, you could use sidechain compression as well as frequency slotting to make more space for the vocals in the mix.
I mix, I master, DYI .. do it your self
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