Vocal Ideas/Tricks in the Mix

  • Thread starter Thread starter makeasound
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TerraMortim said:
There's nothing wrong with eqing vocals...as long as it's very subtle, and not used as the primary tool for any purpose... but I usually add a slight EQ curve to my vocals. But yah...EQ is simply overused.
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I dissagree, I have never EQ'd vocals. Most of my mixes have less than 4db in EQ bumps total. I do use cuts quite a bit as they sound natural in most cases. If you find you have to EQ vocals it's because you didn't track them correctly or you just plain didn't use the right mic. That is of course my opinion.To be honest I've never worked with an engineer that EQ's vocals either.
 
Micter said:
I dissagree, I have never EQ'd vocals. Most of my mixes have less than 4db in EQ bumps total. I do use cuts quite a bit as they sound natural in most cases. If you find you have to EQ vocals it's because you didn't track them correctly or you just plain didn't use the right mic. That is of course my opinion.To be honest I've never worked with an engineer that EQ's vocals either.
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didn't use the right mic is probably right, i'm pretty poor, i'm stuck with 1 mic the MXL 990, i' getting the CAD M177 but that's only 2 mic, studio have like a kabillion they can choose from. case and point? if you're doing home recording you're most likely gonna have to touch the EQ on vocal, little or alot it's better to touch it.
 
Micter said:
Vocals and EQ shouldn't be in the same sentence.
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I disagree, that's too much of a generalisation.

In my case if I don't low cut savagely, the vocals are just horrible. Cutting everything below 300 reduces the horribleness slightly
 
Micter said:
I dissagree, I have never EQ'd vocals. Most of my mixes have less than 4db in EQ bumps total. I do use cuts quite a bit as they sound natural in most cases. If you find you have to EQ vocals it's because you didn't track them correctly or you just plain didn't use the right mic. That is of course my opinion.To be honest I've never worked with an engineer that EQ's vocals either.
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I have always eq'd vocals slightly. You are correct about mic placement and quality. I myself have some pretty nice mics along with a great setup. However we arent in a studio and sound out of a bathroom or walkin closet or living room wont be the same as a vocal booth or great room in a studio. Eq-ing the vocals is not against the law or rediculous in my opinion and many studio engineers do eq vocals. Recording Magazine Vocals in the Mix issue if you get a chance to read it... Its a good one.
 
i think its ok to eq vocals when the result sounds good

i dont have the luxury of expensive mics or even a $500 mic nor do i have years of experience but i always try to get the best out of what i have when tracking and after however many takes if im still not happy i will take the best take and experiment with the eq, i have played around with eq and made notes so if i feel that by boosting or cutting a little to get the vocal to sound how i want and to sit well then i do it. if im happy with the way it was tracked i wont touch the eq
 
raven46 said:
i think its ok to eq vocals when the result sounds good

i dont have the luxury of expensive mics or even a $500 mic nor do i have years of experience but i always try to get the best out of what i have when tracking and after however many takes if im still not happy i will take the best take and experiment with the eq, i have played around with eq and made notes so if i feel that by boosting or cutting a little to get the vocal to sound how i want and to sit well then i do it. if im happy with the way it was tracked i wont touch the eq
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Amen to that, Brother!
 

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Micter said:
I dissagree, I have never EQ'd vocals. Most of my mixes have less than 4db in EQ bumps total. I do use cuts quite a bit as they sound natural in most cases. If you find you have to EQ vocals it's because you didn't track them correctly or you just plain didn't use the right mic. That is of course my opinion.To be honest I've never worked with an engineer that EQ's vocals either.
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so what you're really saying is that you never mix other people's material?

you never do a low cut on vocal tracks? The only track that i don't low cut are the bass and kick (and occasionally the low conga drum in a 'no drums' acoustic song).

you've never had to take the meat out of back vocals with EQ to make them light and airy because a particular song called for it?

you've never had to add a little bottom to a lead vocal because the singer wants more bass in his voice but isn't a naturally 'black' sounding singer?

i find that hard to believe. not impossible mind you, just difficult.
 
IronFlippy said:
I usually try to get the vocals in as early as I can, and then add everything else after it. This way you're working around them, making them the focal point of the song. That is, assuming that the vocals ARE the focal point.
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I love doing this! It's fun building the mix around the vocals. Sounds better in my opinion.
 
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