Proper use of EQs on vocals

[cloudchamber]

I've heard talk of "giving each track its own little place in the mix" by using EQ to clear out sonic space. I was wondering how this relates to vocals. Extreme EQing would make a vocal sound unnatural, but a vocal tends to have a broad frequency response (different resonant frequencies, etc.), so I assume its probably not wise to tweak the vocal too much. Do any of you experienced guys out there have a tip for someone wanting to create space in their mix for vocals without making them sound unnatural? ie. what frequency ranges would you clear out to make an unaffected vocal track stand out with out being sonically crowded?

Thanks,

Matt

 

[sonusman]

This question has no "stock" answer. The only answer is, "it depends" as Bruce likes to say...

It is fairly common to use a little subtractive low shelf eq, or a high pass filter on instruments that don't have content below say 80Hz, like snare drums, guitars, cymbals, vocals sometimes, etc....

Really though, if you are tracking well, you will find yourself not using too much eq at all. Mostly just to notch out a certain frequency on something that is masking something else, or a frequency that is "jumping out" in the mix. These days, I don't do much more than about 3dB cut/boost on anything, because I really try to get the sound I want going to tape (HD, etc....).

Be carefull of guitars in a mix. It is very easy to mix them a lot louder than they need to be, and they will compete with the vocals a lot.

Ed

 

[dobro]

Well, what do you do with guitar and vocals together, then? Are there typical EQ things you can do to make sure they don't fight each other? Boost one and cut the other at the same frequency?

 

[Shailat]

The only answer is, "it depends" as Bruce likes to say...

There are so many ways to achieve seperation with out reaching for the EQ.
From a stereo (or pseudo stereo) guitar to panning to volume to
reverb placement to compression to mic choice to song arrangment.

Sometimes all it takes is a small touch of EQ but you have to listen to your vocalist.
Is it a thin voice? does it need a bit more presence? is the guitar to thin and NEEDS a boost at the low end to support the sound?
Does the Guitar need a bit more sparkle at 12k?
Is it annoying at aroud 3k? to boomy ?
etc...etc...

Equing a voice is one of the last things I tend to go for if the problem is carving space, as vocals are the most natural thing in music. To change the timbre of a vocal will make it stand out of a mix in a BAD way. Anybody can reconize an unnatural vocal even if they are tone deaf.

As Ed said before, many times all it takes is getting it down to tape sounding good and then let nature take it's place. Especialy in such a sparse mix of guitar and vocals alone.

 

[dobro]

I *thought* that was the answer I'd get, but I needed to check.

I'm close-miking acoustic guitar and voice on this project, and I roll off a bit of bottom end on each going to disk. Sometimes it's still a bit too muddy in the mix. Aside from the bottom end, I'm not sure what to listen for. Since both my voice and the guitar occupy a lot of the same frequencies, I thought there might be a typical approach in the mix to getting them to work together well. I think I'll just get each of them sounding as clear as possible, and stop worrying about it. Thanks, Shailat.

 

[The Green Hornet]

:Yo Matt & the "pros:"

To keep a vocal up front, cut the vocal on two tracks. Also, pan the guitar, if thats the problem, left or right and that will lessen its intensity.

As Shailat has said, don't overpush the reverb on the vocal; but, the better reverb box you have, the better the vocal.

Keep reverb mostly off for guitar. Add some reverb to strings if using them.

But, "it depends" as Bruce would say, upon your rig, your patience to take time to mix, and your creativity and, of course, a good mic.


Green Hornet
PS: Matt: did you know there is a scientific piece of gear called:

A Wilson CLOUDCHAMBER? gh