Vocals Distorting at High Volume?

[scarboro78]

Wsup Fellas,

I been recording/mixing my songs using these basic rules of thumb:

-Track with peaks at -6db
-Bring Vocals up to about -2db peaks (with compression & effects)
-Bring Entire Song up to about -.5 peak (w/ light comp to control peaks)

Now this formula pretty much has been working great for me. However one thing I notice is that my songs are sounding pretty good on most systems at average volumes. However when I blast them (like I do most music).. the vocals start to sound distorted, like too high.. almost hurting your ears. This bugs me cus when I blast other cd's in my car for instance, the music will be loud, however the vocals will still be clear and undistorted.
I lowered the vocals to the point where if I go any lower they'll begin to get lost in the mix. I DeEss'd a touch and that helped a bit but it still happens.
Would doing some subtractive EQ'ing to the high end of the vocals help? Or maybe even the entire mix??
Is this what you guys are talking about when you say, "rolling off" certain frequencies??

[Farview]

Find the frequency range in your vocals that gives you the most clarity. This is normally somewhere in the 2k to 3k range. Once you have found that frequency, cut that frequency by 3db to 6db out of the MUSIC BED. Now you will be able to bring the vocal volume back into the mix without it getting lost.

[scarboro78]

Originally Posted by Farview

Find the frequency range in your vocals that gives you the most clarity. This is normally somewhere in the 2k to 3k range. Once you have found that frequency, cut that frequency by 3db to 6db out of the MUSIC BED. Now you will be able to bring the vocal volume back into the mix without it getting lost.

Ok, So let me try and translate.. let me know if I'm right or not...
Around the 2k to 3k range (Highs on the EQ?).. I want to decrease the db by 3db - 6db. Ok that sounds easy enough. Now when I do this I'm assuming I'll lose overall volume so I'll just have to up the volume to compensate?
Now for an even stupid(er) question... when you say "find the frequency... ", how exactly do I do this? Do I ride the EQ a particular way until it sounds best to my ears?

[Farview]

2k-3k is the upper midrange, you will need a parametric EQ to do this. set the frequency to 2.5k a medium bandwidth (Q) and -3db on the gain for the music bed. Do the same thing to the vocals only ADD 3db. Bring the vocals back into the mix. Don't worry about the overall volume, that is a mastering thing. Your job right now is to get the mix right. Once you have done that, then you can concentrate on getting the volume. You will always screw yourself if you are worried about overall volume while you are mixing.