Comments on: Vocal EQ Tips

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:37:17 +0000

Great blog Definitely going to try this EQ with my vocals…….

By: andre

andre — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:38:36 +0000

this is useful tutorial .how we can find best space for the vocal track between other tracks?

By: scilf

scilf — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 02:32:23 +0000

Any advice for eq’ing a crappy mic? I have a sm57 which i use to record my vox, which is a great mic for recording guitars, but doesnt seem to do my voice justice. I sound boxy and cant seem to get it to sit right in the mix.
Thanks

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:13:06 +0000

Getting the vocals to sit in the mix right is one of the most important parts to get spot on as it is what generally holds the melody and what most people listen to.

If mixing in different vocals, mix them in mono and cut (boost in extreme moderation if needed) EQ around each one to give them proper separation. By doing it in mono you can hear the separation better as it is coming from one plane. Then pan to suit the mix.

A lot of Lennon and McCartney vocals were recorded together either side of a figure of 8 mic. Their voices naturally suited each other (which was nice).

http://www.carbon-studios.com

By: Josh Lewis

Josh Lewis — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:24:31 +0000

I find that generally (and only generally) that the rolloff for men is 120 and below, and that for females it is closer to 180.
Also, more often then not, the character and polish of my vocals has everything to do with how I treat the “weightiness” band of 400-800hz. Instead of high end boost (for polish) I seem to get the same effect by dipping this area out to taste.

http://www.littlefishaudio.com

By: gabriel Garcia

gabriel Garcia — Wed, 19 May 2010 05:20:21 +0000

thank you!!!! You are so right! boost the frequencies specified!!!!!

By: Chidden Billows

Chidden Billows — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:33:24 +0000

I totally agree with using a high pass to lift the vocals up in the mix. Any advice on how to mix a male and female vocal together? at the moment I'm just going with the Lennon/McCartney slight left to righ pan. Check my Vocal Microphoneblog just got it up and running.

By: Rich

Rich — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:01:57 +0000

I kind of like a little high-shelf from 5khz and up, by a couple db as well, and a db of 3khz (about one octave width, on the lead singer only), in addition to what Des mentions. Not as a general rule, mind you, just something to try.

The high shelf seems to bring out the “air” a bit, but is dangerous with regard to making the S’s sound louder and such.

By: Vic Stathopoulos

Vic Stathopoulos — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:37:34 +0000

I have tried your hi-pass filter advice and using the bypass button, it definetely makes the vocals sound clear and I also feel it makes it fit in better with the music. I have also tried the filter on other instruments and I have noticed that the mix in general is more clear. Thanks for the interersting above article.

By: Josef Motley

Josef Motley — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:12:34 +0000

i record fairly fast rapping-based sort of music and i really really need good plugins for de-essing. i’m going to try the spitfish as recommended here. at the moment i have fairly shit mics / ports / leads or maybe only one of those, but either way i have to run at bare minimum a compressor, a de-esser, and noise reduction on every vocal track i record. as i’m pretty short of cash for new equipment i have found some primitive methods such as singing down into the mic have done wonders for getting better raw takes without so much siblance. i find as well subtly tweaking the EQ on small patches of siblance can be helpful too.