Lets talk about mixing...

[Rukas]

Ok, this is mixing not mastering, and this is something a lot of people confuse as mastering.

How do you mix your vocals?

The first thing I do is make sure I am getting a clean and pure signal in, check cables, etc.

Once I have my vocals rapped the way I want them, I compress them pretty heavily, I over compress. I squash the shit out of them.

I usually run two RComps over them actually. Then I DeEss and then I EQ.

I dont have any EQ settings I stick to, I like to do it by ear.

I run a reverb at the very end.

Peep In The Hood on my myspace or 100 Bars (Hustlers Rules was recorded at somebody elses place in Logic and I didnt touch that mix).

What do you guys do?

 

[Rukas]

Bump.

Id like to hear about what other people do? Ive been doing a lot of mixing for others lately for demos and stuff and some of my own work to take the load off of Bleezy, Im trying to get a really quality platinum sound so doing a lot of experimenting.

Vocal mixing, advice? DP? Mili?

 

[Preach]

My advice probably won't mean much to you but I do everything by ear, I have NO standard procedures.

 

[Rukas]

Yeah I do it all by ear setting wise. But I have a standard chain I use, I just have the settings by ear.

I do this..

DeEss the track, output to a bus, on the bus I will do this Compress > Compress > Limiter > EQ > Reverb.

 

[jflballer]

Verses:
1. EQ it, reduce a lot of lows and some mids.
2. Compress once, get it to spit out of that compressor around -7db.
3. Take that -7db signal and recompress to spit out around -3db.
4. Slight reverb, cut out lows.

...this gets sent to another channel

5. Compress the -3b signal to spit out according to the beat. (A lot of instrumentation means I might have the final verse come out at -.5; less instrumentation I might have it come out at -2db.
(6. Sometimes I will add another slight reverb here. But I do not re-EQ)

...other things...

-Depending on the beat, I may add surround to the vocals.
-The layered ad-libs I almost always add surround.
-Hooks are an entirely different story. Go to my page, www.ltmdmusic.com (I haven't updated the actual website in a while, but I just added a new rap), and you can listen to a recent rap I did. The hook has a good surround feel to it.

 

[Rukas]

Verses:
1. EQ it, reduce a lot of lows and some mids.
2. Compress once, get it to spit out of that compressor around -7db.
3. Take that -7db signal and recompress to spit out around -3db.
4. Slight reverb, cut out lows.

...this gets sent to another channel

5. Compress the -3b signal to spit out according to the beat. (A lot of instrumentation means I might have the final verse come out at -.5; less instrumentation I might have it come out at -2db.
(6. Sometimes I will add another slight reverb here. But I do not re-EQ)

...other things...

-Depending on the beat, I may add surround to the vocals.
-The layered ad-libs I almost always add surround.
-Hooks are an entirely different story. Go to my page, www.ltmdmusic.com (I haven't updated the actual website in a while, but I just added a new rap), and you can listen to a recent rap I did. The hook has a good surround feel to it.

I have a couple of questions.

Firstly, why do you EQ before compression? I usually compress, recompress like you, and then EQ. I cut everything below 80 and then EQ rest to fit track. Also, what is surround?

 

[Rukas]

Oh, and do you have Vocalign 2.9?

 

[Casey]

Eh, I don't have any set formula. It all depends on the style of the vocal.

DeEsser > Compression > Vocal Punch > Throat Plugin for Clarity > Autotune (only on more melodic flows) > Reverb > EQ

I use a really good EQ plugin that can take the EQ from anything you give it - so say I had a acapella that I really liked the sound of, I could apply that same EQ to my own vocal. I tend to use it on the overall mix though mostly.

Every time I do a vocal I seem to do something differently though. Then every now and then I'll discover something I really like and then spend an hour going through other demo's and doing that same thing to them, lol.

The throat plugin is awesome tho as it gives you an image of the inside of a throat and as you play with the different settings, the line's inside the throat change to reflect that - you can set according to your vocal tone, etc.

 

[jflballer]

I have a couple of questions.

Firstly, why do you EQ before compression? I usually compress, recompress like you, and then EQ. I cut everything below 80 and then EQ rest to fit track. Also, what is surround?

I don't think it EQs before compression...it's Sonar (cracked version), and the EQ is set on the channel.

The surround plugin is a plugin that lets you play w/how the sound comes out. Even though it's regular stereo (2.1), it still gives the feel that it's 4.1, or greater, because you can make it sound more "forward" or "backward" or surrounding you. I think it's a Nexicon (?) plugin.

(I don't have vocalign - like I said, it's Sonar...). My suggestion/advice to you is to create some standard profiles/settings for your voice, and then tweak them slightly (if even necessary at all) depending on the beat. Otherwise, if you go f/scratch every time, yeah it takes more expertise, but you'll get sick of making music because it will feel like a chore and you will get producers' ear.

 

[jflballer]

...but most importantly...make sure it sounds good on REGULAR, standard, stock speakers.

 

[Rukas]

...but most importantly...make sure it sounds good on REGULAR, standard, stock speakers.

Totally agreed.

We test all our mixes on everything from our monitors to laptop speakers to head phones to a car stereo to a Bose home stereo before getting it out.

Ive had engineers that are so called professionals sit there and work with only head phones and then when I play it on anything else it sounds awful.

I'll look into the surround plug in.

Fuck Vocalign 2.9 seems impossible to find cracked. Ill give anyone who finds it free VIP for life!

 

[jflballer]

Totally agreed.

We test all our mixes on everything from our monitors to laptop speakers to head phones to a car stereo to a Bose home stereo before getting it out.

Ive had engineers that are so called professionals sit there and work with only head phones and then when I play it on anything else it sounds awful.

I'll look into the surround plug in.

Fuck Vocalign 2.9 seems impossible to find cracked. Ill give anyone who finds it free VIP for life!

Haha I've never heard of that program...

as long as you have your stereo in check, anything will sound great in headphones - mix up the percussion...congas sound so great when you play w/the stereo on them. It's just whatever's natural, start tapping like you are tapping on congas, right right left right left right left...you get the picture I'm sure. (So does Timbaland, he built a career off of his panning techniques...)

Same thing goes w/vocals...if you are adlibbing like you are shouting in someone's ear f/the left side, then play w/that pan envelope...

It's like designing websites...you don't design for the people who have maxed-out gaming machines, you design for the people who are going to enjoy the website that just have a regular computer...

(It's such a catch-22, because I always say I do music for ME and nobody else, I do it to express MYSELF, so who cares who else listens to it...but at the same time, it's unique because you can share it, and people appreciate it when you share it with them...)