Multiple backups vocals EQ

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mr. torture

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I have a song with quite a large backup vocal chorus.
Multiple tracks that I have bounced down to 2 tracks.
Is there a general rule of thumb when equing backups?
Are backups normally thinned out with EQ?
I never use EQ on the lead vocals, I get a good sound from mic placement and they drop into the mix without a problem.
Thank you
 
mr. torture said:
I have a song with quite a large backup vocal chorus.
Multiple tracks that I have bounced down to 2 tracks.
Is there a general rule of thumb when equing backups?
Are backups normally thinned out with EQ?
I never use EQ on the lead vocals, I get a good sound from mic placement and they drop into the mix without a problem.
Thank you
Click to expand...

I'm no expert but i dont eq background vocals at all. I pan hard left/right and bring the faders down to where they sound like they are "behind the lead vocalist" works pretty well for me give it a try.
 
Yes, I tend to thin the background vocals a bit to give the main vocal more of a sense of power.
 
Harvey Gerst said:
Yes, I tend to thin the background vocals a bit to give the main vocal more of a sense of power.
Click to expand...

Does it differ for differant types of music?
 
Of course, but the emphasis is always on the main vocal.
 
Without hearing the mix it is difficult to determine what is the "best" EQ setting. A good place to start would be to cut some @ 5KHz on the backup vocals. This will have a tendency to make the background vocals seem more distant.

The link below is to a handy Freq chart.

http://www.recordingeq.com/Subscribe/tip/tascam.htm
 
I'm with Simman. I usually end up boosting the 5k area on the main vox (though slightly) and then cut a whole lot of the 5k on the back ups. It makes the words less clear from them but behind the lead vocals they fit in better and seems to fill them up better. That's what I usually do anyways. They don't need to be clear as much as you just need to hear them. That's for layered back ups anyways.
 
Thanks guy's, I used the 5k cut and it dropped in the backups where they should.
 
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