Mixing voices is an important part of making a track sound polished and professional. Follow these steps to make a voice mix that is clean, balanced, and full of life.
- “Get your vocals ready”
Why It Matters: Doing things the right way makes sure that the mixture starts out clean.
Steps to Follow: – Edit: Get rid of any noises, clicks, or pops that you don’t want. To clean up the parts of the track that are quiet, use tools like a noise gate.
- Comping: Take the best parts of different takes and put them together to make a single performance that flows well.
Timing and Pitch Correction: To fix timing and pitch problems, use tools like Auto-Tune or Melodyne.
Number 2: Get Staging
Why It Matters: If you stage your gains correctly, your voice will be at the right level for further processing.
Steps to Follow: Set Levels: Change the input gain so the voice peaks are between -6dB and -3dB.
- NOTE: To make the vocal performance more consistent, use clip gain to level out the sound before adding any effects.
Number 3: EQ (Equalization)
EQ helps get rid of unwanted frequencies and improves the tone of the voice.
Steps: – High-Pass Filter: To get rid of low-end rumble, use a high-pass filter around 80 to 100Hz.
- Subtractive EQ: Find and cut frequencies that are giving you trouble, like mud between 200 and 400Hz and roughness between 2 and 4kHz.
- Additive EQ: Boost frequencies that make the voice sound better, like presence around 4-5kHz and air around 10-15kHz.
Number 4: “Compression”
What It Means: Compression lowers the dynamic range, which brings out the voice and makes it sound more consistent in the mix.
How to Do It: – Set Threshold: Lower the threshold until the compressor starts to work on the louder parts.
- Ratio: Use a ratio that is in the middle, like 3:1 to 6:1.
- Attack and Release: Set a medium attack to let short-term things happen and a medium release to let things break down naturally.
Loss of Gain: Aim for a loss of gain of about 3 to 6 dB.
- Getting rid of accents
Why it’s Important: De-essing gets rid of harsh sibilance sounds like “s” and “sh” that can be annoying.
Steps to Follow: – Find Sibilance: Use a de-esser to target the exact frequency range (5–10kHz) where sibilance is present.
- Adjust Sensitivity: Change the sensitivity to lower the sibilance without changing the tone of the voice as a whole.
6. The words “reverb and delay”
It’s important because reverb and delay give the vocals more room and depth, which makes them sound more natural and interesting.
Steps to Follow: – Reverb: Pick a type of reverb (like plate or hall) and set the fade time to match the speed and mood of the song. To keep the sound of your voice, use pre-delay.
Use a light delay, like slapback or timing delay, to give the sound more depth. Match the wait time to the speed of the track.
No. 7: “Automation”
Why It Matters: Automation makes sure that the voice stays at the right level and is heard throughout the whole track.
Steps to Take: Automated Volume: Set the volume to a steady level so the voice stays clear.
It’s possible to automate reverb, delay, and other effects to add dynamic interest (for example, more reverb on the chorus and less on the lines).
Number 8: Final Improvements
Reasons Why It Matters: Final tweaks make sure the voice fits well in the mix and sounds smooth.
Steps to Take: color: Add a little color to make the image warmer and more present. Plug-ins like Waves J37 or Soundtoys Decapitator can help.
Use parallel compression or EQ to give the sound more punch and clarity without changing the way it naturally flows.
— Stereo Imaging: If you need to, use techniques like doubling or subtle chorus effects to make the voices sit better in the mix as a whole.
Final Thoughts
Getting your voices ready, gain staging, EQ, compression, de-essing, adding reverb and delay, automation, and final enhancements are the eight steps you need to take to make your vocal mix sound professional and stand out in your track. Armus Digital gives artists and producers the materials and tools they need to improve their music production skills and make great music.
This is about Armus Digital:
Armus Digital is a platform for distributing music that helps artists get their songs heard all over the world. It lets you quickly distribute your music to more than 150 platforms, get paid every month, protect your content, earn performance royalties, and use label services. The platform lets artists upload their music, choose which stores to distribute it in, give collaborators, and make UPC and ISRC codes. Armus Digital makes sure that music can be heard all over the world and is properly made money by forming agreements with many digital service providers.