I am new to recording and mixing so please excuse me for my silly questions..!!!

I am recording vocals for my song and my mix sounds fine to me but the vocals! Ah! It sounds so thin and doesnt glue to my instrument mix.. When I turn down the volume fader it sounds lost in the mix and when I turn it up it sounds loud and not at all glued!
I know compression could help in this but I've seen people's mixes sounding glued at intial levels.
So I want suggestions on vocal recording techniques and mixing..!!!
and thank you for the knowledge I've gained here!

 

i mix a track while ago and i've had the same problems, i'm also interested

here some examples of what i'm looking for

@0.30
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yZqmarGShxg

@0.34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR_DFMUzX4E

thanks!

 

Heavy Compression, also try Waves Vocal Rider on the track and a Good Mic Excample Rode Nt1a or Mxl 770 low budget Pro Results Good Luck

 

Yeah vocals are always tough to mix so don't worry you're not alone. So basically as usual there's never only one way to do things, but I'll go ahead and tell you how I approach mixing vocals.

1) EQ - so many times a big reason vocals don't fit a track is EQ. You need to be rolling off the low end. Use a 24 dB/octave low and cut until you hear all that rumble go away. Then you need to treat the low mids (that 200-600 Hz region) since there can also be a lot of "wooliness" in that area. A 2-3 dB cut should do the track with a Q of 2-4, cut more if you need to. Play the vocal with the rest of the mix to see if you need to cut more. Then, you need to take care of the top end. Try a shelf at around 10K Hz, again a 2-3 boost should bring up some nice breath in that vocal and help it peak up in the mix. Be careful not to boost too much, especially if your "s" "t" and "p" are too strong. If they are too strong then you need to use a de-esser before boosting the top end.

2) Peak compression - Use a compressor after the EQ to catch really quick peaks only. So, a fast attack (~5ms) fast release (~20-30ms), a ratio of about 5-7 (medium to high) . Then listen to where there are quick, loud sections in the vocals and target them with the threshold. So the compressor should only be compressing those and it should be pretty transparent, you should try as much as possible not to hear the compressor work here.

3) Additional compression. You can use another compressor then to smooth out the overall dynamics of the vocals, it's kind of like riding the volume fader on the vocals. Use a medium slow attack (15-30) , medium/slow release (70-100) , a soft knee (if the compressor has that option) and a ratio of about 3-4. Listen to the vocals and pull the threshold down until you can hear the vocal kind of get glued together. It becomes more cohesive and smooths out.

4) Multiband Compression - this is optional and not always applicable. But sometimes for example there's one or two words or phrases where the 300Hz region really overpowers everything else for example and you want to target that with a multi-band compressor.

4) Saturation - use your favorite tape saturation or warming plugin to give the vocal some extra warmth and a touch of distortion.

5) Limiting - this is the final touch and it's only supposed to catch very quick peaks that were missed by the previous compressors. So the limiter's gain reduction should only be lighting up occasionally and not completely crush the vocals.

I really hope that helps. That's how I usually approach mixing vocals and it works probably 90% of the time. Unless the recording is poor or needs some extra work.

 

Record the basic track the best you can, best mic, best pre amp, best balance you can achieve, etc. An experienced vocalist helps. They have learned how use the subtle ways to move to get a smooth performance from the mic. I like VocalRider better than compression. Magic of digital. Or an automated mix where you push the levels up and down. Use level envelopes in the clip. Run the track through some tubes. Sometimes it's the things that are around or crowding the track that need fixed. Then if you still can't get it where you want it---compress. I have no love for compression. It has it's place, but******---------------------------------------------------------- I think it takes a lot out excitement out of the sound of an instrument most of the time. 5=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=25=252525252525252525252528686868686868686868686868686868686868686868686868686.00 I think people are too lazy or don't have enough knowledge and experience. Compression is a valuable tool, but I think it's a tool of last resort. I do use it to get certain effects. Sorry, cat walked on the keyboard. lol And beginner or expert, everybody can learn about most facets of mixing from this series. http://therecordingrevolution.com/5minutes/

 

Adding slapback delay and some room reverb with the highs and lows rolled off can also really make a vocal sound real and thick and present. I'm always amazed when I watch a tutorial how much delay and reverb tail you hear on the vocal when they stop the track. Also, double up a vocal, ideally with a real second take, but you can also get some nice effects with a Doubler plugin in you do it subtly. And every voice seems to have an almost magic frequency, where anywhere from a 3-6db boost can just bring out so much of the individual character. And an LA2A of course... ok, I'm done lol

 

Fuad wrote what I was going to say, except I would use parallel compression instead of multi-band compression.

Large diaphragm condenser (shock mounted), pop filter, good preamp, balanced cables, good audio interface, good singer.
Lowcut, body around 500-ish (for male vocals), nasality around 1kHz, presence around 3kHz, clarity around 6kHz, "air" around 10kHz, etc.

 

Yeah definately reverb and delay too..they are extremely important to help blend everything together

 

...and remember to manage the de-essing (I suggest you FabFilter Pro-DS)

 

I really love your tips man! Thank you so much for being so descriptive! (I was actually looking for the plugin chain also... You explained it perfectly! :dancing: )

 

if you have a good vocalist nothing beats doubling your vocals. it really is the best way for fat vocals. double or tripple your vocals (and do it the real way, don't fake it with doubling tools as this will just add crap), eq them to sit in the background and pan them. if you do it right it will blow you away.

compression on vocals is crucial since most vocalists are not good enough to deliver a perfomance that is stable enough to make it through your mix.
i dig algae's oppinion on compression, and i don't say you should compress in a way that kills all dynamics. but if you have a vocalist who has problems to keep the right distance to the mic (moving an inch away from the mic can easily mean losing a third of the level) or who has unclean intonation, you really have to make up for it. and that's what you use a compressor on vocals for.

see more hints for recording vocals here:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr05/articles/protoolsnotes.htm

 

One thing still missed here is the most important:
Parallel channels as many your system holds, at least 3 for the vocal.
Auxiliary channel must be frequência driven, always cut the lows and his, and make all different, more dirt more spacious and só one.
With só many fx, the original channel must be more cleaner.
Theres a lot of tutorials that focus about this and no one godo production do different. *yes*

 

Fuad Murad I love ya advice ON MIXING AND MASTERING ,could u send me ya email address.This is mine [email protected]

 

You can contact him by using our PM system which is just like mail. He offers some great courses built around your music and offers special deals to AudioSex members so check that out.

 

Also, sometimes (in crowded mixes) it's a good idea to buss all instruments, except the vocals, and cut out some 500-ish Hz (higher depending on the range and pitch of the vocalist) with P-EQ. That way you make room for the vocals, and they will not be "drowned out" as much.

 

Hi everyone,

I'll tell you something...This is important, in my opinion:

Often you must try to adapt the mix overall feel to the vocal's tonality, not the other way around.

As an example, if you try to force-fit a thin vocal into a fat instrumental mix, it will probably never work.

So, this is what I would do. First, make your vocal track (assuming it's reasonably well recorded in the first place) work with bass guitar, kick and snare. Cut as much low/low-mid frequencies as necessary. Once this sector of the mix is glued, introduce other instruments gradually.

Another very good trick is to work with chorus or another sort of stereo widener to spread the vocals. This is specially useful when the vocals sound too punctual, too "in your face". I recommend experimenting with Valhalla's Ubermod. There are a few useful stereo widening presets in it that you can use as a starting point. Make the effect as wide as possible and use it as a send, so you can fine tune how much of the original signal you want to be affected.

Of course, check if your instrumental track isn't overly compressed. An uncompressed vocal track will never fit into a highly compressed instrumental mix, and vice-versa. Compression levels should (relatively) match, so it can work as glue. The free Tokyo Down Lab's Compressor works beautifully with voice. Vladg's Molot compressor is awesome for voice as well.

Oh, another important thing. Reverb. If you're using a lot of sampled instruments, make sure to create an artificial environment with reverb, so they sound like they're all being played in the same room. If the instrumental mix is too dry, vocals wont fit. Reverb is a major gluing variable. Use a single reverb to start with, sending variable amounts of signal from each track to it, until it all starts to sound coherent. I often solo my reverb tracks and mix the tracks into them until they sound nice and smooth by themselves.

Remember that, in most cases, you're not supposed to actually listen to the reverb, just to feel it. Think subtle here.

I guess that's it for now...Good luck!

Raf.