Does anyone have tips to mix vocals?

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Does anyone have tips to mix vocals?

Postby Kenny Tweek » 18 Mar 2014 23:48

Hey... So, to the point. I recorded my vocals for a song this weekend, and it's not so bad (in the recording way) but when I slap some plugins and mess with stuff, well, I don't know, it just don't sound like... Something... :v
In case that's important, Most of it I used Parametric EQ 2 with the Vocal Presence preset and Maximus with Clear Master.
I use FL Studio, btw. And well, the problem is that the voice sounds weird... Do you know when the vocal start in a professional song, and you don't feel some strange frequences in it? It sounds much more natural, and that's what is missing... Does anyone can help me with tips and recomendations? (Plugins, softwares, etc)
I'm new in this stuff, btw, that's why you probably are confused 'cause a piece of paper can explain stuff better than me. :3
Last edited by Kenny Tweek on 19 Mar 2014 13:23, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Does anyone have tips to master vocals?

Postby S.P.P » 19 Mar 2014 03:07

Mix* Vocals. :3

Right then, first of all how is the original vocal recording sounding? You can't fix a broken recording with studio wizardry, so if the dry acapella sounds poor you'll have to either re-do the take or choose a better mic, depending on the problem. Remember; if you try to polish a turd you'll just end up spreading shit everywhere!

If the acapella is fine, you're going to want to decide how you want the vocals to sound. Is your song a pretty one? Set a slight high-pass or a low shelf on, and slightly boost the upper mids and highs as you like them. If it's a big mix and you want some boomy vocals, then be sure to boost the lower mids a bit. Also, make sure you completely cut the unused frequencies because vocals like to have a lot of room in a mix to settle in. This can go a little way to helping it sound "much more natural" even though it's unnatural in the sense that it's been processed.

You can also go a ways to cover it up a little as well. First and foremost; make sure it's sitting really nice and tight in the mix. If it's sitting ontop of the mix then it's very apparent when you hear blemishes in the sound so really nest it in amongst the rest.
Another neat trick that alot of people don't really think of is double-tracking. When you double-track a vocal take, the human ear hears both parts and makes a kind of averaged out version of them; a bit like taking the median average from a small set of numbers. If you can't be bothered to/can't get a second take down well (the two takes have to be really similar for this to work), then you could use a chorus effect. Choruses work by taking the sound, adding a tiny delay and a tiny detune to emulate double-tracks. Be careful with chorus as it could easily end up sounding like shit if you're not!

After all this is done, you should have a fairly decent sounding vocal. It's all about shaping the sound here. Also, be sure to compress!

If you have any other questions feel free to ask or PM me :)
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Re: Does anyone have tips to master vocals?

Postby Freewave » 19 Mar 2014 08:05

Nice job pyre. Also PLEASE check MLR's previous posts as you will likely see a lot of prior advice on vocal processing. Vocal processing is quite difficult but its also the most rewarding (people like words with their music) so i hope you take the time to do the m right. I will say make sure to you compression to your advantage so the words are consistently the same volume (unless you need those dynamics) and so they are the most prominant portion of the song. Don't forget to do vocal ducking (ie sidechaining other elements in the mid eq's to duck when the vocals are going) so you aren't just overlaying everything. When i do vocals i also make sure i do a noise removal thru audacity so any slight mic noise received is eliminated from the onset (and cut any pops in any empty sections). But one of the key things is never assume the first take is necessarily the one to keep if you're doing the vocal yourself (and do ample warmups and practice ones). Don't be afraid to re-record your attempts so you get a good one vs taking a mediocre vocal and settling with something thats a bit flawed from the start. I often have about 4 good takes and then cut them up if certain verses are better then others. And if you can't nail a particular vocal (because your voice isn't a good fit with the song) then collab and show them what you've got so far. I've had songs saved because i found much better vocalists to step in and do a whole lot better job then i could.
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