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    Vocal Mixing Cheatsheet

    Uploaded by

    Miss Jujuk
    This document outlines a 7 step process for mixing vocals: [1] Preparation including organizing tracks and labels; [2] EQing and removing unwanted frequencies; [3] Balancing volume levels; [4] Increasing high frequencies for crispiness; [5] Adding reverb to smooth vocals; [6] Pitch correction and autotune; [7] Adding effects like delay and reverb. It provides guidance at each step including questions to consider regarding sound quality. The overall goal is to produce radio ready vocals that sound professional.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Vocal Mixing Cheatsheet

    Uploaded by

    Miss Jujuk
    253 views5 pages
    This document outlines a 7 step process for mixing vocals: [1] Preparation including organizing tracks and labels; [2] EQing and removing unwanted frequencies; [3] Balancing volume levels; [4] Increasing high frequencies for crispiness; [5] Adding reverb to smooth vocals; [6] Pitch correction and autotune; [7] Adding effects like delay and reverb. It provides guidance at each step including questions to consider regarding sound quality. The overall goal is to produce radio ready vocals that sound professional.

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    © © All Rights Reserved

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    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

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    This document outlines a 7 step process for mixing vocals: [1] Preparation including organizing tracks and labels; [2] EQing and removing unwanted frequencies; [3] Balancing volume levels; [4] Increasing high frequencies for crispiness; [5] Adding reverb to smooth vocals; [6] Pitch correction and autotune; [7] Adding effects like delay and reverb. It provides guidance at each step including questions to consider regarding sound quality. The overall goal is to produce radio ready vocals that sound professional.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    253 views5 pages

    Vocal Mixing Cheatsheet

    Uploaded by

    Miss Jujuk
    This document outlines a 7 step process for mixing vocals: [1] Preparation including organizing tracks and labels; [2] EQing and removing unwanted frequencies; [3] Balancing volume levels; [4] Increasing high frequencies for crispiness; [5] Adding reverb to smooth vocals; [6] Pitch correction and autotune; [7] Adding effects like delay and reverb. It provides guidance at each step including questions to consider regarding sound quality. The overall goal is to produce radio ready vocals that sound professional.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 5

    STEP 1: ​MIX PREP

    1. Find ​BPM & Key​ of instrumental by dragging track to Tunebat.com


    (bookmark this website)
    2. Organize your project with easy-to-understand ​labels​ and ​colors
    3. Group together similar layers ​(Verse, Hooks, Dubs, Adlibs)
    4. This will allow you to simplify your mix, ease your mind, and enjoy the
    process.

    STEP 2: ​House Cleaning

    1. Low-cut (EQ) every vocal to ​at least 80 hz​ ​(floor noise is always there)
    2. Search & Destroy for bad frequencies and get rid of them.
    3. Try using Desser (if needed) to get rid of annoying high end sounds.
    Male = 3.5K
    4. Fade all beginnings and endings of vocal tracks so they come in smoothly.

    Questions to ask yourself before moving on to the next step:

    1. Does my vocals sound clean?


    i. If not, solo vocals, open EQ and get rid of bad Frequencies.
    2. Can I hear any background noise when I solo the vocal? If so , put a noise
    gate on the vocal track to get rid of low floor noise.
    3. Is it a good recording or could we do better? If so, take the time to re-record
    until it’s right.

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    STEP 3: ​Balance

    1. Make sure that you’re gain staging. Main Audio Files​ (Verse/Hook/Bridge)
    should be about the same size visually for consist
    2. Go to the main section of song (hook/chorus) and put a ​compressor​ on.
    3. Quick Vocals will always have Fast Attack/ Fast Release/ Higher Ratio. The
    slower the vocal the slower the attack & Release.
    4. Compress about ​5-10 DB
    5. Turn up or down the gain on compressor until vocals sits perfectly on the
    beat where you like it.
    6. Put gain knobs on adlibs and dubs to easily make them sound quieter than
    the main vocals.
    7. Next, turn up/down the volume of the instrumental to make it sit perfect!

    Questions to ask yourself regarding balance:

    1. Can I hear every word?


    i. If not, turn up gain or compress harder!
    2. Can I actually hear what the compressor is doing?
    i. If not, look up compressing vocals by baywood on youtube!
    3. Does the vocals still sound natural?
    i. If not, lower the ratio of the compressor.
    4. Does my overall mix sound tight or loose?
    i. If loose, use transient shapers and compress harder.

    STEP 4: ​Crispiness

    1. Add your favorite EQ and ​increase the highs above 9K​ until you hear the
    vocal be crisp.
    i. It’s okay if it sounds too crispy because on the next step we will
    smooth it out.
    2. Add an exciter for bright highs and crispiness.
    3. Focus on not being to high end heavy, remember balance.

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    Questions to ask yourself regarding crispiness:

    1. Have I compared my track to other professional tracks?


    i. If not, try it, can really help find a balance.
    2. Does it sound clean?
    i. If not, go back to step 1.

    STEP 5: ​Smoothing Vocals

    1. Add Small Reverb directly onto vocal with about ​0.2-0.5 decay​. Take out the
    highs and lows and have ​5-10% wet​ to smooth out crispy vocals.
    2. Play vocals with the beat to find correct levels. The Reverb should act as a
    tool to smooth out vocals not act as main reverb.
    3. Try Different Reverbs until it sounds like radio ready vocals (you’ll know
    when you hear it)

    Questions to ask yourself regarding compression:

    1. Can I hear the reverb?


    i. If so, turn it down! Shouldn’t be able to hear it.
    2. Does my overall mix sound tight or loose?
    i. If loose, make the decay smaller.

    Continued....

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    STEP 6: ​Pitch Correct/ Autotune

    1. Add Autotune after those plugins and play the track and while it’s playing go
    up and down with speed to find out what sounds best.
    2. To have good pitch correction but not sound like autotune use ​50% speed​.

    Questions to ask yourself regarding sidechaining:

    1. Is there too much autotune?


    i. If so, turn down the speed.
    2. Is the vocal too much out of key?
    i. If so, re record the vocals! Can’t polish a turd, well you can, but it’s
    still a turd.

    STEP 7: ​Ear Candy

    1. Add a ​⅛ - ¼ / ½ delay​ and try them until it goes with groove. Use ​5-10%
    wet.
    2. Add a larger reverb. Make sure to solo vocal (reverb decay shouldn’t go
    over other words, if it does shorten the decay)
    3. For vocal grit - add a distortion to a bus and cut the lows.
    4. Try adding saturation to get more color.
    5. Add ​5-10% chorus​ to hook to sound bigger.
    6. Make sure you’re happy by testing mix on different speakers. Take a
    notepad to write down any changes you’d like to make.

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    Questions to ask yourself regarding this step:

    1. Am I satisfied with the overall outcome of your song?


    i. If not, go back to step one! ​(This happens all the time)
    2. Can I hear every word throughout the whole song?
    3. Does reverb or any effects stand out too much?
    4. Does my song sound as close as possible to professional songs released by
    your favorite artists or
    labels? If not, why?
    5. Have I listened on speakers/headphones/car ?

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