AKARSH SHEKHAR
STEPS TO MIX VOCALS LIKE A BOSS
Edit silences and remove noises
If we want a professional sound , we have to act like it . We could think that those silences where there is no voice or those small noises are not heard later . And it ’ s partly true , but if we take that predisposition for the 100 tracks that make up our project , everything will end up dirtier and less welldefined .
Do not forget that when you process the voice with the following plugins , they are not smart . You will also be affecting the noises , the compressor will lift this residue , the effects will magnify it .
Gain staging and volume automation
For the voice to be perfectly seated and the plugins to work at full capacity , a good gain staging is essential . We also recommend doing clip gain or volume automation . That is , pick up some words that are too loose . A compressor will work better if the track has good consistency .
Pitch and timing correction
Between one thing and another we still haven ’ t started mixing . Preparations are important .
Tune your voice by hand or with a plugin . The aggressiveness of this process is usually marked by the musical genre . But don ’ t forget the timing settings . It is not only important that the words enter on tempo , but that the queues end up in their place . At this point we can listen to the raw voice and enjoy
a great vocal take .
Subtractive equalization
Now we are going to make some necessary cuts in our frequency spectrum . Room problems , with the microphone or with the voice itself .
The equalizer is one of the tools that all good mixers need to completely master .
De-essing
The “ esses ” are enhanced by the microphone capsules and sound very irritating , this cuts the enjoyment from the experience .
The de-esser is a type of compressor which reduces the impact of these annoying “ esses ”.
Compression
In this section , we are going to give
packaging to the voice , always in favour of pleasant listening and in favour of the voice not being buried among the other instruments . As a mixer , you must spend a lot of time and effort to gain expertise with the compressor . Not familiarizing yourself with the compressor is going to make the entire mixing
process more difficult .
Additive equalization
We have the voice under control , we can now take out an equalizer and perform some “ boost ” or enhancements .
The Score
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