How to professionally mix my vocals?
Recently I’ve gotten quite a few DMs asking me about vocal treatment. Before I jump into it I need to put out a disclaimer mentioning that the settings in the screenshot only apply to that particular session. Each vocalist and recording are different, that’s why it’s never a one stop shop for settings. However I hope my mindset behind these settings give you an insight that helps improve your vocal sound.
- @waves CLA-76 Blacky to tame vocal peaks, not exceeding 3dB of gain reduction. Usually I receive vocals that already have gone to compression during recording as well as post production compression. Some additional control can help keep the vocal steady in the final mix.
- Waves @solidstatelogic EV2 with the gate engaged to remove the empty passages between vocal takes. Some low-end roll off to make place for the bass and low-end of the kick so the master limiter won’t get triggered with a build up of too much low-end. Some clean-up for the proximity effect from 450Hz down on the lowest band of the EQ section. To further increase clarity on the vocals I removed some low-mids followed by a little notch to keep the sharp notes in the mid-high range under control and finishing of with some brilliance from 5k and up (these vocals in particular sounded a bit dark).
- Waves C1-sc (sidechain) using @davepensado’s “2K Remover” preset which I adjusted to fit to the vocals I’m working with. Around 4.5k the singer gets very sharp when sustaining notes and using a static EQ would kill the intelligibility of the vocals therefore I opt for a dynamic EQ so the frequency range only gets affected when singers notes go above the set threshold for a smooth controlled overall vocal sound without killing the performance.
- Waves RDeEsser to tame some of the added brilliance so the vocals don’t become to overbearing at times of sibilance.
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Professional Mixing Mindset
Vocal mixing rewards order: tune and edit first, balance second, character last. That's how professional mixing rooms work whether it's a famous recording studio or a bedroom — sound engineering discipline first, then audio effects and sound design taste. In modern music production the vocal is the record; mix it like the lead instrument it is.