Mixing Vocals

[Alkaline1]

Ok, I'm sure this has been asked, but I'm at work so I don't have a lot of time to dig around for old threads....but here is my question.

What is the right "process" when mixing/editing vocals??

here is what I do...Rap vocals BTW

I EQ the vocal track, and then compress it...followed by whatever afterwards, I basically play it by ear, trial and error, ya know?

I think it would be easier if I had some sort of foundation/understanding of the sound I want to achieve.

hopefully you guys can help me out!

Thanks!

[doulos24]

sighs here we go again

[Dogbreath]

Yo AlkyDude!

By ear is best, I think. "Trust your ears, Grasshoppa"

But,
I think it starts with the mic. Is it right for your voice?
Are you good at working a mic? Proximity effect etc.
How's your gain staging?
Do you high pass to make room for the vocals to sit?
How much compression do you use when tracking?
How's your monitoring? Are they telling you the truth about your mix?
Which leads to the room. Is it treated?

The point of my rambling is that alot of other things come into the picture when you're mixing. Vocals, bass... all of it.

Sure you can still get good stuff out of a not so good setup but it will mean wasting a bunch of CD's that you burn off, try in a shitload of other stereos (car, hi-fi boombox etc), take notes on what's foobarred, then apply those notes to the next mix. Getting to know how your current mixing/monitoring is translating.

Do some searches, alot of reading... then trial n error.
You'll get it.

Luck man....
Kel