Any tips on harsh vocals?

[grimtraveller]

A couple of things I've learned

Use a de-esser on vocal tracks. Every vocal track I've ever recorded or have captured live, or have mixed live, absolutely needs a De-esser so that it sits nicely in the mix and doesn't kill either the audience or a mix.

I've never used a de-esser. With a pop shield doing the biz, I want singers on my songs to be pronouncing their S's.
STAND STILL, STRANGER !!

 

[RedStone]

I've never used a de-esser. With a pop shield doing the biz, I want singers on my songs to be pronouncing their S's.
STAND STILL, STRANGER !!

Pop shields don't de-ess. There might be some slight High frequency attenuation, but not enough to make much of a difference. You could turn the microphone sideways to tame esses as well.

De-essing is much less about the raw sound of the microphone or vocal track and more about how the vocal track sits in the mix. Having too loud of an ess sound in the vocals will mask the high end of the rest of the mix, which will lead to either dull mixes with crispy esses or overly brittle sounding mixes with smoking esses as you try to compensate. The goal is to use a De-esser to get the vocal's top end sitting just right in the mix. then if you need clarity, wide boost at 4-5khz, narrow cut at 3khz to tame some harshness, and boost or cut at 1khz to add or take away presence. Be careful in the low-mids. 600hz is a usual cut point, as is around 300hz. A lot depends on the vocalist. If you've got a dull sounding vocal track, as you cut low mids, you'll gain a bit headroom in the vocals so they can be turned up and will then sound a bit clearer in the mix. Using something like an SSL E channel or J channel is great for most vocals, but stock plugins can also do the trick with some finessing. Best of luck