Mixing Stereo Rythm Distortion/Overdrive

[jerberson12]

Hi guys,

Usually a vocal needs to sound in front. How do you usually make a distortion/overdrive sounds like at the back of the mix? If you lower the volume, you cant hear it, if your increase, they sound like in front and will fight with the vocal. assuming also that they are already panned L and R. Like the "THree days grace" mix. There's a lot of distortion going on at the back but you can still here the vocals in front.

 

[noisewreck]

Play with EQ. Maybe take out a bit of the top end from the distorted parts to push them to the back. You might also want to take out the bottom end from them. A bit of short reverb with some predelay would also help. Also, check other tracks in the mix and see if you can take out some of the mids from them to make room for the distorted parts to come through at lower levels.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Hi guys,

Usually a vocal needs to sound in front. How do you usually make a distortion/overdrive sounds like at the back of the mix? If you lower the volume, you cant hear it, if your increase, they sound like in front and will fight with the vocal. assuming also that they are already panned L and R. Like the "THree days grace" mix. There's a lot of distortion going on at the back but you can still here the vocals in front.

As noisewreck points out, with some careful EQing and the right tones to start with, it's usually not that hard to find a happy medium. Go easy on the gain and don't scoop out too much of your midrange, and you ought to find a good balance.

That said... While this is more of a "special effect" solution than something I'd do across the board, I've noticed a chorus can make guitars sound way less forward in a mix. I almost never use chorus while mixing for this very reason, but maybe it's worth a try...