Jump to content

making the vocal track fit in with the music..


Headbanger

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Ethan had a good idea.

 

Other ideas:

 

sidechain ducking - feed the vocal to the sidechain input of a stereo comp, then use it to lower the music level ever so slightly when the vocal comes in. This can also be combined with EQing, if you are clever and creative, to do various things (like, for example, only duck the music level when the singer hits a certain pitch register).

 

common ambience - feed both the vocal and the music to a single stereo reverb, to put them into the same 'acoustic space' and make it sound like they were performed together instead of dubbed.

 

panning - pan music and vocals with similar frequency ranges to different spots in the stereo field so they don't walk on each other as much.

 

Mix automation - listen carefully to the mix, and anytime there is something burying the vocal, find out what it is and lower it, or raise the level of the vocal, for just that instant. This can get very time consuming, but some mixes really require it if the performance dynamics were not well controlled. Lather rinse & repeat till the mix is clean... :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My usual approach is to apply some compression (a little bit - not a ton; unless the "sound" of a ton of compression - as an effect - is what you're after) and then manually ride the heck out of the lead vocal fader(s), recording my "moves" in automation, and editing / adjusting / re-doing sections of that until I'm satisfied with the results.

 

Another thing you may find useful is the reverse approach. Instead of starting your mix with the foundational tracks (drums / bass, etc), start it with the lead vocal, and build the mix around that. Some people prefer that approach.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I've found it has more to do with the actual song structure. It's tough to write and record rythym tracks and leave appropriate space for vocals. My latest project has taught all of us to not be selfish with space. Thats tough to do when you are a player as well as the guy wearing the recording hat! Otherwise I seem to be getting good results with slight comp and a bit of verb. Comp'ing is cool but it won't fix a singers bad mic technique. I agree with Philbo about common ambience too. If you have some bizzare slappy echo on vocals and different ambience on other parts, it sticks out more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Another thing to try is to EQ instruments while listening to the vocals, say you might be EQing the rhythm guitar or piano or whatever while listening to the vocals you can hear what sort of effect that has on the vocals and vice versa, but yes bringing up frequencies that help increase the intelligiblity and lower the vocals in the mix without them being drowned out helps sink them and make them sound like a part of the music and not too karoke.

 

A good singer also helps, being out of tune and/or out of time will make them sound more separated from the music.

 

Also, remember that 'tighter' Q's or bandwidths will give more clarity/accuracy, while a wider bandwidth or lower Q will give a more rounded/warm sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Originally posted by Ethan Winer

Send all the music to one output buss and send the vocal to another. Then cut 800 Hz to 1 KHz 1 or 2 dB on the music buss, and boost the same frequency the same amount on the vocal bus. Voila - instant vocal clarity.


--Ethan

 

I like to add a bit of compression (maybe a miniscule amount of verb) on the vocal bus, also...in addition to Ethan's eq suggestions.

 

It seems (at least to me), that just the act of putting the vocals on a seperate bus makes a big difference. Probably more of that ITB voodoo summing math coming into play. :D-~

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Originally posted by the stranger

I like to add a bit of compression (maybe a miniscule amount of verb) on the vocal bus, also...in addition to Ethan's eq suggestions.

 

 

Sure, and I should have also mentioned that this EQ trick works with all instruments, not just vocals. I routinely send the electric or acoustic bass to its own bus and boost a little with a low Q around 300 Hz, then cut the same amount and Q on the main bus.

 

Just thinking out loud: Someone should make a dual-EQ that lets you adjust a single frequency and Q, and it applies symmetrical boost and cut on two stages you can patch into the two buses. As it is now, to experiment with different frequencies and Qs requires adjusting four knobs at once. It would be easier and much faster to adjust only one set of parameters to zero in on the best clarity frequencies.

 

--Ethan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Originally posted by Ethan Winer

Just thinking out loud: Someone should make a dual-EQ that lets you adjust a single frequency and Q, and it applies symmetrical boost and cut on two stages you can patch into the two buses. As it is now, to experiment with different frequencies and Qs requires adjusting four knobs at once. It would be easier and much faster to adjust only one set of parameters to zero in on the best clarity frequencies.


--Ethan

 

 

That seems like it would be a pretty simple thing to code for a plug in - great idea!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...