how to make the Lead Vocals be more in the FRONT and BG Vocals be more in the back?

U

UmbraVilla

New member
Hey guys.

I just want to know how you mix the Lead Vocals and BG Vocals.
Any Tips and Tricks on how to make the Lead Vocals be more in the FRONT and BG Vocals be more in the back?
Is it how you Compress the Vocals?
or the Reverb applied to it?

Any reply is much appreciated.
Thanks.

-miztahflow
 
There is no correct answer for this.
What I usually do is I keep the lead vocal in the center with some delay-reverb maybe; with bg vocals I like to pan them little bit to left and right to give some wideness (?) add maybe reverb, chorus and keep them quieter than main vocals.
 
Hi Seidy,
Thanks for replying.
So the Compression has nothing to do with it?
It's all about applying reverb/delay, panning and volume?
 
If you want the bg vocals to sound further back, sing them further from the mic (a well-treated room is always recommended).
 
Of course you can experiment with compressor, but you can end up with even more muddy vocals than before if used wrong.
 
As said, there are no strict rules.

There are a lot of things you can try though.
Singing further back was a good one. That's the acoustic equivalent of using a heavier reverb in your daw.
Stereo panning of harmony double takes can help to take a bit of focus away.

I do use pretty heavy compression on harmonies a lot of the time. For prominent parts I use volume automation before compression but with harmonies, I just squash em within reason.

Unless it's nice smooth oooohs and aaaahs, this can help to flatten out peaks and prevent the harmonies from jumping out front.
I find it doesn't sound unnatural because the lead vocal is the focal point.
 
You can always try turning up the lead vocal, and turning down the back vocals.




True story.

:eek:
 
Sometimes, having the backing or harmony vocal as the slightly louder can be effective if used sparingly and not all the way through the song.
 
Just a comment from my amateur point of view. Using panning and volume mainly.

I close my eyes with the lead and background vocals playing and centered - reverb already applied. You'll hear the singers coming at you from the center where your monitor is. Eye's still closed, I'll then turn down the bckgrd vocals until I can still hear them, but I begin getting the sensation that the lead singer is closer and the bckgrd vocals are moving back. Then pan the bcgrd vocals a little to the sides - normally I'll reduce volume of bckgrd a little bit more even then. For some reason just closing my eyes lets me do this better than with my eyes open - it lets me hear how the components are moving around in the sonic space.
 
HA! Check this out Push the fader for the Lead Vocal UP!! and the BGV fader DOWN!!!!! YEAAA!!! Bet ya didnt know that

(Eat Dirt RAMI!!!)
:eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top