Recording Vocals (Part Four - Tracking and Mixing Vocals) by Breck Alan
Part Four of the series "Recording Vocals" by Breck Alan is a basic introduction to tracking vocals with the elements we've been discussing so far in this series (mics, preamps and compressors).
Recording Vocals (Part Four – Tracking and Mixing Vocals) download article here by Breck Alan
In Parts One, Two and Three of this series we talked about the “Room,” the “Mic,” and “Preamps and Compressors.” In Part Four we will discuss “Tracking and Mixing Vocals.”
There are of course several opinions, methods and situations surrounding the proper procedure when it comes to tracking and mixing vocals. If you only have one mic, one preamp and one compressor then your choice is pretty much made. If you have several to choose from and are recording into a digital workstation and mixing (in the box) using computer plug-ins then you have even greater flexibility. And lastly if you are working in a big studio with a console or have a fancy mix bus scenario then you can track vocals knowing that you are going to further alter them when mixing. Probably most reading this article are in one of the earlier described situations so I will address that mostly. In my humble opinion, if you get pretty close to a mixed sound on the recording side of things you can certainly get away with the finishing touches during mix down with digital plug-ins.
For tracking vocals that sound mostly mixed right to the track, first make your mic, preamp, compressor and possibly EQ choices. Play with the mic placement until you feel it’s right for the singer and the song. Adjust your preamp until you feel the color is right and then start working on your compression settings. Compression is without a doubt one of the biggest attributes to a great vocal sound. Start by setting the attack so that it’s slow enough to allow enough of the initial dynamic punch to come through but stops the transients from causing clipping and saturation. Then set the release so that it’s fast enough to drop in compression amount before the next word comes in. If the release time is too fast it might create an overly aggressive sound so as always, use your ear. While you are adjusting the attack and release keep playing with how much gain reduction you can get away that still sounds natural. Opinions vary on this and I feel that you should still have enough dynamic range in your vocal that you have to continue to adjust your levels during mixing. If you rely on a compressor to do all of your leveling for you your vocals with probably sound squashed and lifeless. That said it’s not uncommon to use upwards of 20db compression on a vocal track. The key generally is to do it in steps and not all at once. Very few compressors can compress more than 6-10db without sounding over-compressed. One exception to this is the magical Sta-Level compressor, which can genuinely compress up to around 20db without artifacts. But, as compressors all have their unique characters to impart that make some better than others for different applications, you don’t want to over-push most of them. One trick that is commonly used is run two compressors in series (one right after the other) to get the full amount of compression you need for a vocal mix. Probably the most common double compression technique for vocals is the 1176 followed by the LA-2A. If you don’t get your compression pretty close during tracking you’ll probably need to use plug-ins for the additional compression and although some can be pretty great for the right things they still won’t have the weight of great outboard gear.
As I mentioned before if you do use an eq to track vocals be gentle at first. Start with just rolling off 50-60 HZ with a shelf (which means it rolls everything off under that frequency). Next would be to ad a little air to the top if needed. Play around a few different spots from 10K to 16K. The mids are the trickiest to eq and if done badly can cause a very unsettling effect. Depending on the vocalist, mic, signal path, room and song, I will try many different spots to eq if it seems necessary. Most often it’s good to start with spots that need a bit of attenuation (negative volume). If something is a bit harsh (often around 3k, 5k or 7k) I’ll go looking for the most effective spot to roll back a bit to smooth that area out. If the vocal is a bit skinny I will go looking for the sweet spot to ad a touch of bottom sometimes around 125hz or lower mid often around 500hz. Remember you can always do a touch more at mix time, so be gentle. The only reason I would eq during tracking is the same reason I would try to get as much of the compression taken care of during tracking; to use more outboard gear than plug-ins. I love plug-ins when used judiciously but for heavy lifting, I still don’t feel there is any comparison from plug-ins to outboard gear. Probably the most loved EQs for vocals would be Neve, API, Pultec, GML, Siemens, Summit Audio and whatever you like.
Hopefully, if all goes well in tracking you’ll only need a few little touches during mixing to get the vocal perfect. Of course the style of music might certainly determine the types and amount of effects such as reverb, delay, chorusing, doubling etc you might use. Remember that reverb (and most other effects) will put a distance between the listener and the singer, so be gentle there. The three main types of reverb are Plate, Room and Hall. I use them all in varying degrees depending on the mix and the best I can say here is to experiment and see what works. Delays are often used to fatten up a vocal sound but be sure and spend time setting the delay to match the tempo of the song you’re mixing. Although I also feel that the best reverbs and delays are outboard (Lexicon and TC Electronics are my favs), there are some very good plug-in reverbs on the market and since I save this task for mixing I tend to go with those unless I’m mixing with a console. My favorite plug-in reverbs would have to be the IK-media Classic Studio Reverb and the TC Electronics Verbs.
Clean up can be a big job when mixing vocals and learning the right skills can make all the difference in the world. Learning how to use the pencil draw feature to clean up those nasty ticks and mouth noises that singers make (especially on the high end mics) will make your vocal ready to really turn up loud in the mix. As I mentioned earlier it is also important to go through the vocal and make those minute volume adjustments throughout the song. That’s largely what mixing is all about, levels. Especially if you did a great job tracking. Another thing to consider while mixing your vocals is pocketing them. This means to adjust the vocal lines with the rhythmic instruments in the track. For some singers, you wouldn’t want to mess with this too much or you might really affect their feel. Others can use a little help especially by just sitting their vocal a little later than they might have sung them. It is common for singers to be pretty early against the beat and “nudging” the vocal to sit a little better against the groove can make a huge difference. As always with that sort of thing, use your ears. If it’s already right, leave it alone.
Join us in Part Five of this series to discuss “Vocal Performance in the Studio.”
In Parts One, Two and Three of this series we talked about the “Room,” the “Mic,” and “Preamps and Compressors.” In Part Four we will discuss “Tracking and Mixing Vocals.”
There are of course several opinions, methods and situations surrounding the proper procedure when it comes to tracking and mixing vocals. If you only have one mic, one preamp and one compressor then your choice is pretty much made. If you have several to choose from and are recording into a digital workstation and mixing (in the box) using computer plug-ins then you have even greater flexibility. And lastly if you are working in a big studio with a console or have a fancy mix bus scenario then you can track vocals knowing that you are going to further alter them when mixing. Probably most reading this article are in one of the earlier described situations so I will address that mostly. In my humble opinion, if you get pretty close to a mixed sound on the recording side of things you can certainly get away with the finishing touches during mix down with digital plug-ins.
For tracking vocals that sound mostly mixed right to the track, first make your mic, preamp, compressor and possibly EQ choices. Play with the mic placement until you feel it’s right for the singer and the song. Adjust your preamp until you feel the color is right and then start working on your compression settings. Compression is without a doubt one of the biggest attributes to a great vocal sound. Start by setting the attack so that it’s slow enough to allow enough of the initial dynamic punch to come through but stops the transients from causing clipping and saturation. Then set the release so that it’s fast enough to drop in compression amount before the next word comes in. If the release time is too fast it might create an overly aggressive sound so as always, use your ear. While you are adjusting the attack and release keep playing with how much gain reduction you can get away that still sounds natural. Opinions vary on this and I feel that you should still have enough dynamic range in your vocal that you have to continue to adjust your levels during mixing. If you rely on a compressor to do all of your leveling for you your vocals with probably sound squashed and lifeless. That said it’s not uncommon to use upwards of 20db compression on a vocal track. The key generally is to do it in steps and not all at once. Very few compressors can compress more than 6-10db without sounding over-compressed. One exception to this is the magical Sta-Level compressor, which can genuinely compress up to around 20db without artifacts. But, as compressors all have their unique characters to impart that make some better than others for different applications, you don’t want to over-push most of them. One trick that is commonly used is run two compressors in series (one right after the other) to get the full amount of compression you need for a vocal mix. Probably the most common double compression technique for vocals is the 1176 followed by the LA-2A. If you don’t get your compression pretty close during tracking you’ll probably need to use plug-ins for the additional compression and although some can be pretty great for the right things they still won’t have the weight of great outboard gear.
As I mentioned before if you do use an eq to track vocals be gentle at first. Start with just rolling off 50-60 HZ with a shelf (which means it rolls everything off under that frequency). Next would be to ad a little air to the top if needed. Play around a few different spots from 10K to 16K. The mids are the trickiest to eq and if done badly can cause a very unsettling effect. Depending on the vocalist, mic, signal path, room and song, I will try many different spots to eq if it seems necessary. Most often it’s good to start with spots that need a bit of attenuation (negative volume). If something is a bit harsh (often around 3k, 5k or 7k) I’ll go looking for the most effective spot to roll back a bit to smooth that area out. If the vocal is a bit skinny I will go looking for the sweet spot to ad a touch of bottom sometimes around 125hz or lower mid often around 500hz. Remember you can always do a touch more at mix time, so be gentle. The only reason I would eq during tracking is the same reason I would try to get as much of the compression taken care of during tracking; to use more outboard gear than plug-ins. I love plug-ins when used judiciously but for heavy lifting, I still don’t feel there is any comparison from plug-ins to outboard gear. Probably the most loved EQs for vocals would be Neve, API, Pultec, GML, Siemens, Summit Audio and whatever you like.
Hopefully, if all goes well in tracking you’ll only need a few little touches during mixing to get the vocal perfect. Of course the style of music might certainly determine the types and amount of effects such as reverb, delay, chorusing, doubling etc you might use. Remember that reverb (and most other effects) will put a distance between the listener and the singer, so be gentle there. The three main types of reverb are Plate, Room and Hall. I use them all in varying degrees depending on the mix and the best I can say here is to experiment and see what works. Delays are often used to fatten up a vocal sound but be sure and spend time setting the delay to match the tempo of the song you’re mixing. Although I also feel that the best reverbs and delays are outboard (Lexicon and TC Electronics are my favs), there are some very good plug-in reverbs on the market and since I save this task for mixing I tend to go with those unless I’m mixing with a console. My favorite plug-in reverbs would have to be the IK-media Classic Studio Reverb and the TC Electronics Verbs.
Clean up can be a big job when mixing vocals and learning the right skills can make all the difference in the world. Learning how to use the pencil draw feature to clean up those nasty ticks and mouth noises that singers make (especially on the high end mics) will make your vocal ready to really turn up loud in the mix. As I mentioned earlier it is also important to go through the vocal and make those minute volume adjustments throughout the song. That’s largely what mixing is all about, levels. Especially if you did a great job tracking. Another thing to consider while mixing your vocals is pocketing them. This means to adjust the vocal lines with the rhythmic instruments in the track. For some singers, you wouldn’t want to mess with this too much or you might really affect their feel. Others can use a little help especially by just sitting their vocal a little later than they might have sung them. It is common for singers to be pretty early against the beat and “nudging” the vocal to sit a little better against the groove can make a huge difference. As always with that sort of thing, use your ears. If it’s already right, leave it alone.
Join us in Part Five of this series to discuss “Vocal Performance in the Studio.”
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Heath McConnell email - /www.voicecouncil.com/files/Voice_Instructors/Breck_Alan/Documents/Recording_Vocals__(Part_Four_–_Tracking_and_Mixing_Vocals).pdf
Your link to this article is broken and I would like a copy.
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