10 GRAMMY-WINNING Mixing Secrets
Mastering․com2024-06-11
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💫 Short Summary
The video covers mixing tips from Grammy-winning engineers, including parallel compressing a kick drum, using multiband compression for vocal tone shaping, creating movement with delay, incorporating dissonance for variance, balancing sub-frequencies in mastering, layering bass tones strategically, balancing sonic characters, fixing vocals with dynamic resonance suppressors and EQ, enhancing vocals in dense mixes, finding the right balance in audio mixing, and using plate reverb for vocals. The importance of foundational knowledge in music production is emphasized, with tips and tricks shared for improving production skills.
✨ Highlights
📊 Transcript
✦
Mixing tips from Grammy-winning engineers for achieving professional sound quality.
00:29Tip number 10 involves parallel compressing a kick drum with a DBX 160 compressor and EQ boosting the lows while cutting the upper mids for warmth.
Emphasis on blending the processed sound into the mix for optimal results.
Importance of applying mixing techniques in context to complement the overall track.
Engineers have worked with top artists like Metallica, Taylor Swift, and Kanye West.
✦
Using a multiband compressor for vocal tone shaping instead of static EQ can allow certain mid-range frequencies to come through and be attenuated, offering a different sound dynamic.
06:12Both methods have their benefits depending on the desired vocal effect, with static EQ providing consistency and multiband compression accommodating vocal range fluctuations.
The choice between the two techniques ultimately depends on the specific goals for the vocal sound and the desired impact on the overall track quality.
✦
Using delay to create movement and widen panned instruments.
10:57Short delay on one side and long delay on the other adds depth and interest to the sound.
Pre-fader mode is crucial for mono instruments to maintain pan signal integrity.
Syncing delays to the song's tempo enhances the effect and engages the listener rhythmically.
The technique pulls the listener around rhythmically for a dynamic listening experience.
✦
Importance of creating variance in music through dissonance and imperfections.
13:36Introduction of variation in delays to prevent boredom and maintain interest in the music.
Utilization of plugins to enhance sub frequencies, with Rihanna's song 'Umbrella' as a specific example.
Adjustment of frequency sliders to emphasize specific frequency ranges for a fuller sound.
Emphasis on the impact of harmonics in filling out the low end and enhancing overall audio quality.
✦
Importance of balancing sub-frequencies in mastering to avoid overpowering compressors.
17:21Managing frequencies in the 5-8K and 10-12K ranges using two DSers is crucial.
DSers help address harsh S and T sounds, with the second DSer focusing on high-frequency T sounds.
Emphasis on using multiple DSers for different frequency ranges for effective audio processing.
✦
Layering multiple bass tones strategically enhances impact and power during the chorus.
22:33Using different processing on a second bass track activated during the chorus creates a down and dirty tone with mid-range and upper mids emphasis.
Adding dynamics processing and blending to taste gives the chorus extra body, weight, and punch.
Tools like amps, saturators, and distortion plugins can be used to layer tones effectively for a varied and impactful sound.
✦
Importance of balancing Sonic characters in creating cohesive sound.
27:43Splitting lead vocal regions into separate tracks for different EQ needs.
Automating adjustments in build-up areas for enhanced impact.
Visualizing vocal tracks for easier editing and workflow efficiency.
Demonstrating processing techniques on sustained notes in student track for teaching purposes.
✦
Vocal production techniques by Josh Goodwin and Andrew Sheps.
31:31Josh Goodwin uses dynamic resonance suppressors to smooth out vocals on sustained notes.
Andrew Sheps cuts the bottom, boosts the top with EQ, compresses with LA2A, boosts low end, and reduces harshness for vocals.
Experimenting with different gear and processing methods is recommended for achieving desired results in vocal production.
✦
Enhancing vocals in dense mixes with compression and EQ techniques.
36:45Adjusting upper mid-range and high-end frequencies allows vocals to cut through and engage listeners effectively.
Importance of maintaining vocal clarity and consistency to prevent it from getting lost in the mix.
Techniques shown help achieve a balanced sound and improve overall vocal presence in the mix.
✦
Importance of finding the right balance in audio mixing.
39:02Attenuating harshness and adjusting low-end frequencies can prevent a karaoke effect.
Careful adjustment of highs and upper mids is crucial for a polished and expensive sound.
Mid-side processing on the mix bus and boosting specific frequency ranges can enhance vocals and overall mix clarity.
The impact of these adjustments on audio quality is demonstrated in the segment.
✦
Importance of caution in mixing and mastering techniques.
44:36Emphasize the potential impact on frequencies and harshness when applying processing to the overall mix.
Focus on specific elements like guitars or vocals for better results.
Note that mastering engineers and mix engineers may have different approaches, with a focus on problem-solving and enhancing individual tracks.
Mention of Chris Lord-Alge's impressive credits in the music industry.
✦
Using plate reverb with long pre-delay and delay for vocals.
47:34Adjusting pre-delay to move vocal forward and delay back for separation.
Staggering delay times for width around the vocal in the stereo field.
Demonstration of impact on sound with straight quarter notes versus staggered delays.
Highlighting the difference in stereo field and overall mix clarity.
✦
Importance of Core Concepts in Music Production
52:37Foundational knowledge is essential for success in music production.
Tips and tricks are tools that can enhance music production.
Viewers are encouraged to share their favorite tips and suggest topics for future discussions.
Free resources are available to improve music production skills.
00:00in this video we're going to take a look
00:01at 10 mixing tips from Grammy winning
00:04Engineers who have worked with some of
00:06the biggest acts in the industry artists
00:08like Metallica Taylor Swift Rolling
00:11Stones dualipa Prince Kanye West and
00:14many more we've got a lot to cover today
00:16let's Jump Right In with number 10 and
00:20number 10 is Jason Joshua credits with
00:23seal Janet Jackson Maroon 5 Backstreet
00:26Boys Katy Perry Snoop Dogg and pretty
00:29straightforward tip send a kick to an ox
00:33and then parallel compress with a dbx
00:36160 compressor and then EQ boost the
00:39lows and cut the upper mids on the ax to
00:43give the kick a little bit more of that
00:47nice warmth in body let's see if it
00:49works yeah let's uh let's give this kick
00:51a little bit more oomph so first let's
00:53take a listen to the
00:55track I'm going to isolate just this
00:57verse section here we go
01:00I'm going to mute the the kick o for now
01:03so this is just without that that trick
01:05kind of
01:07[Music]
01:14implemented let's move into the chorus
01:16section I think we can probably get a
01:19nicer little chunk of the song
01:22[Music]
01:24here and I'm going to mute the vocals
01:34Okay so we've got our kick o here let's
01:38go ahead and turn that
01:39[Music]
01:50on okay let me show you what's going on
01:52here we've got the dbx 160 smashing this
01:56thing right so if we just solo the aux
01:59track can hear how much we're actually
02:02compressing
02:03[Music]
02:08this can you hear that all right clicky
02:11clicky yeah totally it's just it's just
02:14a click right you think there's anything
02:16left right so the the original kick drum
02:18sounds like
02:21this and then the the parallel compress
02:24track is
02:28this right it's it's just like tap tap
02:31tap tap tap right tap taparoo right
02:34there tap tap taparoo and then we've got
02:37a boost in the low end and the trick is
02:42to reduce the upper mids but I just went
02:45totally extreme with this thing I just
02:46shelf the lows and I shelf off the highs
02:51right so after we apply that EQ to the
02:55AUX sounds like this
03:01so it's just like that body it's just
03:03this area of the kick coming through and
03:06then you just blend that into taste so
03:09we'll just blend this into taste just in
03:11Solo so you can hear what's going
03:22on and really I think the most effective
03:25way to use a trick like this is to just
03:29do it in context
03:30right you can't do this kind of stuff in
03:32Solo otherwise it's you're just making
03:35this decision in isolation right in a
03:39vacuum without all the other pieces of
03:41the puzzle in play right so let's go
03:43ahead let's do it in context I'm just
03:45going to bring in the the kick ax here
03:49[Music]
04:05without
04:08with I really like it it does a thing
04:12it's giving it some more weight some
04:13more body and kicks don't always need
04:15that but if it did need that that's a
04:17great way to do it I wasn't expecting to
04:19get that much with the dbx 160 signing
04:22the way it did with you know just with
04:24the clickiness but the EQ did it it put
04:27it in there mixed it into taste I dig it
04:30yeah totally and we can take this a step
04:32further too right like if we wanted more
04:35click out of that kick drum maybe we
04:38release this filter a little bit more
04:41right you can kind of sculpt the
04:43parallel compressed sound in whichever
04:46way makes the most sense for the track
04:49right yeah that that dbx 160 is so great
04:52on anything with low end kicks bass
04:55guitar I I love it it just has a weight
04:58to it that uh very few compressors have
05:00I really love it real quick before we
05:02dive into the next tip we just updated
05:04our popular EQ cheat sheets and
05:06frequency chart and your understanding
05:08of EQ and the frequency spectrum is one
05:09of the largest factors if not the
05:11largest factor in reaching industry
05:14standard quality with your music and
05:16although there are a lot of different
05:17frequency charts you can find online
05:20this one is unique because it highlights
05:21each area of the frequency spectrum and
05:24identifies how they sound when you cut
05:26and when you boost and we've gone
05:28through a few different vers vers in
05:30this to make it super simple and easy to
05:32understand and then the frequency cheat
05:33sheet that goes with it gives you some
05:34practical advice on when you might want
05:36to cut or boost these different
05:37frequency ranges for certain instruments
05:39and situations so if you want to grab
05:40those PDFs for free just go to the link
05:42in the description or head to mastering
05:49docomo that and then we'll move on
05:51number nine Tony
05:54Mazerati credits with David Bowie James
05:56Brown Keith Urban Weezer Beyonce Ed Shan
06:00Ed Sheran Sheran shiron you
06:05Boomer e
06:08shiran turn your music down the tip is
06:12Broad tone shaping the vocal with a
06:15multiband compressor so instead of your
06:18static eqs or your static compression
06:22using multi-band compression let's see
06:24what that looks like yeah totally um
06:27let's see here I've got it set up on
06:29this verse vocal let's check it out so
06:34this is the EQ that we've applied to
06:37this verse vocal here it
06:41is
06:46C so just broad Scoops here you know
06:50just like pulling out this buildup that
06:52was happening in the 400 to 500 range
06:55and then pulling out the 1K range and
06:58again just just this kind of like broad
07:00scoop going on and I've went ahead and
07:04mimicked that with the multiband so I've
07:07got these two bands we've got this first
07:09one kind of focusing on the 200 to 500
07:11range kind of broadly kind of scooping
07:14that out and then one focusing around
07:15the 1K range right so let's go ahead and
07:19just kind of flip back and forth between
07:22these two
07:24processors and see what we can
07:27hear I'm going to start with the EQ and
07:29then we'll Bop over to the Multi
07:36Band songs make room for why all of this
07:41would come and all of this would go may
07:48we yeah so what I'm hearing here is like
07:52a little bit of that low end is actually
07:56or I shouldn't say low end but this
07:58mid-range is actually coming through for
08:00a moment and then being
08:03attenuated whereas with the static EQ it
08:08it's not letting through any any
08:10mid-range frequencies at all right
08:15and I don't think that one is
08:18necessarily um better than the other I
08:21think it's just kind of like uh depends
08:24on what you want to achieve with the
08:26vocal do you want a little bit of that
08:27mid-range to come through for a moment
08:29and then disappear or do you want it
08:31just statically cut throughout the track
08:34I think both are cool you know but to
08:37each their own if you know me you know I
08:40love static eqs I'm always going to rock
08:42the static EQ I love the intention of
08:44making a choice however there are
08:46moments that the multiband compressor
08:48can be nice especially a vocal that has
08:50a lot of range it's changing a lot from
08:52low to high sometimes when the higher
08:54faletto is in there uh you want that the
08:57lower range and then you want to take it
08:59out when it's in the lower register and
09:00if it's jumping around a lot not
09:02necessarily from like a verse to A
09:04Chorus but within a certain part it can
09:06be really nice to uh give you the best
09:08of both worlds give you the lowend back
09:10when it's on a on a faletto part uh take
09:14it away when it's on the lower register
09:16but I do like the intentionality of
09:17making choices with static EQ you got to
09:19be careful with those multiband
09:21compressors don't just throw them on
09:22there they are making choices for you so
09:25just be careful with that one dude you
09:26know what I would probably lean more
09:29towards a multiband EQ uh multiband
09:31compressor 4 would
09:34be um May not necessarily a track like
09:37this but maybe with a more exposed
09:40intimate kind of vocal where you want a
09:43little bit more that kind of natural
09:45kind of tonality like little hints of
09:47that mid-range or low end to kind of
09:49poke through maybe you've got kind of
09:51like a sparse Arrangement or something
09:53like that um to get really really
09:55nuanced with the sculpting I think
09:57that's probably a scenario where I would
09:59move more towards multiband compression
10:02um but in a dense mix like this you know
10:04I where the vocals competing with a
10:07bunch of guitars and and you know a lot
10:09of instrumentation I probably opt for a
10:11static move totally always try it as
10:14they say sounds good is good if it's
10:15working it's working I also like on a on
10:18a big gang vocal or group of backups to
10:21throw a multiband on there to clean out
10:23mid-range give it depth when it needs
10:25depth give it um you know take it away
10:28when it's starting to get muddy and
10:29stuff like that I I I like that move a
10:31lot so it's in a similar vein but uh
10:34yeah just be careful with those multi
10:36bands all right on to number eight Jakir
10:39King credits with Tom weights Kings of
10:42Leon Nora Jones Shania Twain even Shawn
10:47Mendes the tip here is using delay to
10:50widen and create movement on a panned
10:52instrument so an example of this would
10:55be doing a short delay on one side a
10:57long delay on the other side just give
10:59it a variance from side to side it could
11:01be really cool let's play with it so
11:03here's that guitar it's panned over to
11:06the left uh about 50% over to the left
11:08side take a
11:14listen now let's take a listening
11:21context just flat guitar just hanging
11:25out over to one side so jair's tip here
11:30is to add this delay
11:34track that kind of splits each side
11:38there's one timing on one side uh
11:40another timing on the other side so if
11:44you're going to do this trick with a
11:46mono instrument it's important that you
11:49set this up to be pref fader right so
11:53we're sending the signal pre fader
11:55otherwise the ox track is going to take
11:57the the pan signal
11:59into consideration and we don't want
12:01that we just want to send the aux track
12:03just a straight signal so make sure if
12:05you're going to use this trick you use
12:06preader mode um on the send right so
12:10then on the actual aux track we've got
12:13this delay set up and on the left side
12:17I've got a 16th note on the right side
12:19I've got a quarter note here's what it
12:22sounds
12:23like in Solo first without the delay and
12:25then with
12:30[Music]
12:36hear that I like that that's cool yeah
12:39just bouncing it bouncing it around and
12:41create some really cool motion um and
12:45pulls the listener around kind of makes
12:48it more interesting and it's still very
12:50rhythmic so I've got these kind of
12:52synced to the Temple of the song as well
12:55so I've got 16th note over here quarter
12:57note over there so it's still kind of in
12:59line with everything that's going on
13:01creating some nice bubbly bouncy kind of
13:03movement there pretty pretty playful of
13:06a part right pretty straight pretty
13:08straightforward I I I don't think people
13:11always understand how the ear likes uh
13:14variance it likes dissonance it likes
13:17things that aren't so perfect our ear
13:19gets really tired with stuff that's very
13:21static so if you have the same delay
13:22going the whole time the ear kind of
13:24subtly picks up on that it gets a little
13:26bit disinterested even if it can't tell
13:28what it's listening to too there's a
13:29just
13:31a it just gets uh let's see what's the
13:34word here I'm trying to say it gets
13:36bored it just gets bored just the ear
13:39gets bored just gets bored gets too
13:42familiar doesn't want to listen to to
13:46robots yeah it's like your buddy that
13:48comes over and just he's just like there
13:50too
13:52much there he's just lingers anyway it
13:56gives it some
13:57variance the delay stops becoming a
14:00lingerer and it creates some variance
14:02from side to side that that's important
14:04stuff it's the same reason why we like
14:06saturation and Imperfections in in
14:09harmonics and different things like that
14:10so don't be afraid to make things uneven
14:13left to right yeah yeah this is cool I
14:16want to listen one more time just kind
14:18of hear that delay kind of bouncing
14:20around reminds me of the edge
14:27[Music]
14:30we could play around with the timings on
14:31this
14:33[Music]
14:48too really kind of like that that half
14:50note that's going on here but you know
14:53just play around with stuff explore it
14:55yep simple thing but it does a lot it
14:57really does it's nice all right moving
15:00on number seven Manny amican credits
15:02with Elton John John Mayor Santana John
15:05Legend Kanye West Imagine Dragons pretty
15:09simple tip here more of a product review
15:13or something you should know about a
15:14product is a plugin you should know
15:16about because everyone's using it it's
15:18simply using our base to enhance the sub
15:22frequencies on a base our base will
15:25enhance a lot of different frequencies
15:27than this tip it's particular to the sub
15:29frequencies and you would most notably
15:32know this from Rihanna's umbrella so
15:34let's dive into this see what we can do
15:35with the sub frequencies using our base
15:38yeah yeah yeah let's check it out so
15:39here I've got our base and I'm just
15:41putting this directly on the base bus
15:43I'm going to go ahead and start low and
15:46then just kind of blend it in so here we
15:50[Music]
15:56go now that's a super exaggerated
15:59version of that effect right so we're
16:00just going to dial it
16:03[Music]
16:13in here the difference yes sir it just a
16:17it's doing a thing to the low end yeah
16:20yeah it's just kind of making it like
16:22bigger um it's introduced I believe this
16:25plugin introduces like a bunch of
16:26harmonics right to just kind of like
16:29fill out the lows and you can kind of
16:31focus it in on any frequency you want so
16:35if you did want to go for like the subs
16:37in like this really low kind of area you
16:40can pull this frequency slider back over
16:41here and kind of get that really
16:44thumping um in this particular mix I
16:47have it kind of focused around 80
16:49because the kick is sitting lower in the
16:52frequency spectrum it's sitting around
16:5450ish um so you know not really feeling
16:59like I need a whole bunch of sub
17:00information below that for this base so
17:03instead I'm focusing it up a little bit
17:05higher in the frequency
17:07spectrum and just kind of giving each
17:09one of those elements um their own space
17:13right room yeah absolutely you know and
17:15and just always be careful with the sub
17:17frequencies too there's a lot of
17:19information down there it carries a lot
17:21of Sonic weight and you'll learn if you
17:23ever got into mastering how much weight
17:26that that carries and how much it
17:28affects your you're mastering
17:29compressors and different things like
17:31that your compressors are going to pick
17:32up on those frequencies a lot more so if
17:34you have a ton of those frequencies you
17:36have to know that the ear doesn't hear a
17:38ton of that and it carries a lot of
17:40weight so sometimes you just need to be
17:41really careful and balance that out not
17:43having too much in there maybe cut them
17:45back a little bit so that you can make
17:46the whole track louder in mastering yep
17:50totally just be careful with that one
17:53all right number six Bob
17:57Horn credits with Kelly Clarkson let's
18:01see Usher Barry Manalo
18:04BTS and this is all about serial dsing
18:07so we're going to use two dsers here one
18:10at the 5 to 8K range and one at the 10
18:12to 12K range and dial them in a little
18:14different put them in cereal see how
18:17that that does compared to just using
18:19one yeah totally so I got that hooked up
18:22here on the verse vocal because there
18:26was a bunch of s's sh sounds that were
18:31super harsh and I'll turn off dsing to
18:33start we can kind of listen to
18:42that perfect vocal to demonstrate this
18:44on right lots of T sounds lots of sh sh
18:48sounds right so here's the idea we've
18:53got one dser
18:55here kind of targeting around 8K and I
18:59did filter solo this on to kind of like
19:03listen to where those S sounds were most
19:06prominent right and then I've got a
19:08second dser on taking care of the upper
19:12range like between 10 and 12 and it
19:15turned out that the like the harshest of
19:17the S sounds and T sounds were kind of
19:20living in this 10 to 12 right this um
19:2311k basically like right around this
19:25spot right so first first dser we're
19:30going to turn this one on and then we'll
19:31turn the second one on here it is
19:33without
19:37dsing C listen to those sh's now with
19:40the first
19:47yeser and second
19:57dser without the
20:02C with the
20:10second I think where I noticed it the
20:13most is on those t's te's yep right I I
20:16think this one the second dser is
20:19grabbing the t's that that that really
20:23high frequency right
20:31hear
20:32it that's without now
20:36with and you you know you'd have to
20:39blend this to taste maybe back off a
20:41little bit but the idea is I mean the
20:44the bottom line is this concept works
20:47right one dser for some things sh maybe
20:50sh sounds another d uh dser for the t's
20:54the harsher kind of upper frequency kind
20:56of stuff right if you can split them up
20:58like like that be interesting to see
21:00down in the comments you have a
21:02conversation about why would you do this
21:04in cereal as opposed to using something
21:06like Fab filters dser where you could
21:08put the range from like 8,500 to 10.8 or
21:12something like that and just have it
21:13cover that whole Spectrum like why would
21:15you use this as opposed to that if
21:18anyone has good Insight on that or if
21:20Jake you
21:22do yeah totally I know why I might
21:25consider doing something like that for
21:28me it's
21:29like um some dsers will actually
21:33activate based on a shelf right just
21:36like one single shelf and you'll say hey
21:39I want to start that shelf at 6K or I
21:41want to start that shelf at 5K and then
21:43it'll quickly um activate during those
21:47moments
21:49right but what that does is it could
21:54potentially dig into the tone of the
21:56vocal right i i in theory in theory like
22:03one argument is it goes so fast that who
22:06cares
22:07right but I don't know I I I would love
22:11to see a discussion around this in the
22:12comments as well just see what you guys
22:14think yeah very cool all right on to
22:18number five Mr Tom Lord algae credits
22:21with a Rolling Stones pet Peter Gabriel
22:24Blink 182 some 41 Dave Matthews Band
22:27many others and the tip here is layering
22:30multiple bass tones strategically
22:33throughout the arrangement so this
22:35should be interesting very cool let's
22:38dive into this yeah I use this all the
22:40time I use it all the time I love it uh
22:43Tom Lord algae uh he's one of my
22:45favorite mixers you know works on a lot
22:47of bands I'm really into so here's the
22:51idea
22:52is we've got this base here and then as
22:56soon as the chorus hits we've got a
22:58second base track so all I've done is
23:01literally chopped this section out this
23:03region out and dragged it down to a new
23:05track with some different processing on
23:07it and this particular processing is
23:12pushing That Base through uh just a um
23:16an amp a guitar amp sounds like
23:20[Music]
23:26this just d dirty right down and dirty
23:30tone um I'm also cutting out a lot of
23:35the low end here so that it doesn't just
23:38pile on and create a bunch of buildups
23:40so really I'm using the mid-range and
23:42some of the upper mids here uh for
23:45additional oomph just in this chorus
23:47section and listen to the kind of power
23:49it
23:51has just kind of helps to improve the
23:54the impact when that chorus actually
23:56comes in check it out first without
23:58we're going to roll into the chorus and
24:00then
24:03[Music]
24:16with okay now I'm going to introduce
24:18this Bas grit track take a listen
24:21[Music]
24:31[Music]
24:39cool check it out
24:42[Music]
24:59[Music]
25:04here and I've got some Dynamics
25:06processing on there let's take a listen
25:08uh I'm just going to exaggerate this
25:09effect check it out
25:12[Music]
25:30[Music]
25:36it's cool gives a little extra body a
25:38little extra weight a little extra punch
25:39just like right up the gut right up the
25:41center of the mix and you blend that to
25:44taste you know the blend on that's going
25:46to be different depending on what kind
25:47of processing you're using um I'm using
25:50this amp from THU which is uh part of
25:54the Slate digital pack here but you know
25:57you can put what ever you want on it you
25:59can drive it through amps you can drive
26:00it through different saturators
26:01Distortion plugins pedals things like
26:04that you know just to just to layer it
26:06in and give that chorus a little bit
26:08more impact yeah I think it does a few
26:10different things I think on a production
26:12level you're using it to elevate uh
26:14change tones give variance there's a lot
26:17of reasons why you could do that in a
26:18production session or as a mix engineer
26:20uh you can use it to elevate for those
26:22reasons but also you have to think of
26:24different parts as having different
26:25Sonic characters and if you mix it all
26:29static the whole time it may not work as
26:31well as as being very intentional about
26:34what is the Sonic balance between each
26:36individual part you don't want it to be
26:38noticeable like where there's a not
26:39noticeable Sonic change but there are
26:41little things you can do to just bring
26:43out the best of every section of the
26:45song by thinking of the tone and
26:47character of the different things that
26:48you're using yeah and it's a feel
26:52thing right it's about the feel uh for
26:55me anyway I'm paying attention to how
26:58this section feels does it feel bigger
27:00does it feel like it has more impact
27:04right felt felt more than heard 100% um
27:07in in many cases not always but in many
27:10cases for sure absolutely great tip all
27:14right on to number four Josh
27:17Goodwin credits with share du leipa
27:20Justin Bieber main skin 30 Seconds to
27:23Mars Jennifer Lopez Selen Deion and the
27:26tip is splitting the lead vocal regions
27:29into separate tracks based on the
27:31different EQ needs so this is somewhat
27:34similar to the last tip in in a way
27:36you're just thinking of the of the
27:37separate parts of the song and the needs
27:39in the separate parts of the song so
27:42let's see what that
27:43does in a context of a
27:46vocal yeah totally and I've got this set
27:50up actually in a different session so
27:52let's just play a little bit of this
27:53here and you can see where I've got all
27:55of these vocal Parts kind of broken up
27:58got a verse low and a verse High track
28:01here and originally this was just one
28:04track you know I've got some other
28:05examples down here we'll talk about in a
28:07minute so let's take a little bit of a
28:09listen here I'm going to go I don't know
28:11right around there part window loock the
28:15daylight that drove away the
28:19night you've seen this all
28:23before every day you drag your feet
28:30the and every night they back once more
28:36so these two vocals have slightly
28:40different EQ curves this one this verse
28:43low has got this and then verse
28:49High looks a little bit
28:52different right what have we added here
28:54there was a little bit of buildup as
28:56soon as he um started singing up in the
29:00slightly different register right in a
29:02higher register so the buildup areas
29:05were just in different spots you know
29:08500 to 800 here needed a little bit of
29:11an additional scoop so what you could do
29:14is automate that on and off on the same
29:16verse track if you wanted to but I just
29:19prefer a little bit more of kind of like
29:21a visual take on this kind of stuff you
29:25know I like to see it in a different
29:26track and especially if you're doing
29:28this a lot like splitting the vocal up a
29:31lot from like maybe phrase to phrase or
29:34word to word or note to note or
29:36something like that it's easier to just
29:38slice out the region and drag it down
29:41rather than programming all of these
29:43automation curves to happen you know
29:46just just my opinion and my personal
29:49workflow that's why I really like this
29:51trick right and we can see here at the
29:53the pre chorus I've got that going on on
29:56the sustained notes
30:01[Music]
30:06here so check this out we've
30:11got this processing going on in those
30:14sustained notes um this is actually a
30:17track by one of our students who we
30:20we've been using this track as a
30:21teaching demonstration in some of our
30:23free events our fix the mix events and
30:26we just recently we did this in a in a
30:28live session and you can see
30:34that we're combing this all
30:37out and adding some soothe up here which
30:41is a dynamic resonance suppressor just
30:44really just taming these really high
30:47frequencies just on those sustained
30:49notes just on those long notes here's
30:51what it sounds like what those long
30:53notes sound like without that kind of
30:54processing check it out
31:00hear that ouch yeah not good like going
31:04to the dentist totally totally so just
31:07those really long notes needed it these
31:09phrases are are pretty
31:12[Music]
31:14okay they're happening in moments right
31:17but nothing that's like really just like
31:19drilling into your back teeth or
31:21anything like that but these these are
31:24the ones these sustained notes those are
31:26the ones that need to be dragged down
31:27and just processed slightly differently
31:29so that it sounded a little bit smoother
31:31to the ear and this is what you know
31:34this is Josh Goodwin's method for taking
31:36care of or fixing vocals like that and
31:38you can see I've done that you know in
31:40the chorus too we've got some these long
31:42sustained notes same thing you know just
31:45doing different processing on those to
31:47fix a very particular problem right
31:51you're going through and you're being
31:52very intentional about every part um
31:55vocals are so important and it's worth
31:57the time to go in and just make sure
31:59every section is as good as you can make
32:00it without it sounding unnatural and uh
32:03I watched Jake do this live on our last
32:06fix the mix session if you want to go
32:07watch that you can go to the courses.
32:09ming.com and watch the replay but that
32:12vocals was it was a good vocal but it
32:14was actually really tricky it had
32:16moments that were really resonant and
32:17moments that were changing tones a lot
32:19and so to break it down and to treat
32:22each part the way he did we watched
32:24slowly as this uh vocal started to
32:26elevate to something that started to
32:28sound really expensive as we say so it
32:31was really great stuff all right number
32:33three Mr Andrew sheps credits with Bon
32:37Joi Beyonce Red Hot Chili Peppers
32:40Metallica Lincoln Park lad Del re many
32:43others and the tip here is for vocals as
32:46well and what he does is he uses an EQ
32:50to cut the bottom and boost the top like
32:53uses maybe like a ptech or something
32:55like that and then just compress restes
32:58the heck out of it with an
32:59la2a and then uses a second EQ to boost
33:03the low end and reintroduce the fullness
33:05and then cut the top end to re uh reduce
33:08harshness uh with the ptech again
33:11potentially and why it works is it
33:13allows a compressor to react to the high
33:15end of the vocal and Peg it into place
33:17and then reintroduce the lows as needed
33:20so let's watch this pretty cool
33:21technique from Andrew sheps let's break
33:23it down yeah totally and he actually
33:26uses I I think this has been confirmed I
33:29think he uses pte la2a ptech that's kind
33:33of like that's the actual chain from him
33:37um but you could use you know whatever
33:39you wanted you know take this concept
33:42and experiment with different gear
33:44experiment with uh different types of
33:46processing and things like
33:48that but here it is this is what it
33:51looks like I like to call this the
33:53sandwich uh we've got the ptech here and
33:56we are
33:59cutting 100 and Below we've got a shelf
34:03here at aund starting at 100 and then
34:05we're attenuating that we're cutting it
34:07right so we're cutting out we're soaking
34:09up all that low end and then we
34:12are uh we are boosting the highend at
34:195K okay the upper mids so check it out
34:23[Music]
34:27super gross right so what that does is
34:30we're we're taking out the low end so
34:32that the compressor really works really
34:35hard on that upper mid-range just kind
34:37of like pegging that in
34:40[Music]
34:43place so it's reacting to all that upper
34:46frequency content it's not being
34:48triggered by any of the lowend content
34:51so it's not being influenced by any of
34:54those super powerful strong low-end
34:56frequencies or anything like that so
34:58then once you get that signal nice and
35:01tight we can add this second EQ and then
35:04just sculpt it a little bit more we can
35:06reintroduce the low end we don't have to
35:08worry about the high-end dipping in and
35:10out of the arrangement we can just keep
35:11it nice and flat um so here on the ptech
35:15I'm
35:17reintroducing 100
35:18htz right I'm boosting it back in giving
35:23it more
35:25body and I am a 10
35:28ating 5K right so I'm cutting out all
35:32those harsh frequencies and just kind of
35:33rolling it all the way
35:37[Music]
35:41back going turn it off and then back
35:46[Music]
35:49ony so warming that vocal back up but
35:54that upper midrange and that high end is
35:57is just cutting through nice and
35:58consistently let's listen in
36:01context the rest of the mix here we
36:05[Music]
36:11go
36:12[Music]
36:18off turn it back
36:21[Music]
36:24on it down off again
36:29anything we can destroy with
36:34around so what I really like about this
36:37trick and this technique is that it
36:41helps that vocal cut through really
36:43dense mixes this is especially helpful
36:45with you know rock music where we have
36:48these really upper uh mid-range heavy
36:50elements uh and high-end elements like
36:54these smashing drums and these distorted
36:56guitars and things like that all living
36:57in that range um so getting the vocal to
37:00sit nice and consistently within all of
37:03that stuff is key and I think this is a
37:06great way to do it I've been using this
37:09uh in my mixes recently and I I really
37:13like the um the flexibility and the
37:16result that I've been getting out of
37:18this thing I I know uh all of you are
37:21watching this are at different levels if
37:22you can't hear that replay this video
37:26rewind it and replay it when he's going
37:28back and forth until you hear the
37:30difference it's really important uh you
37:33hear a lot of amateur mixing and the
37:35vocal is just washing in and out of the
37:37mix it's getting lost with everything
37:39that's going on and this is really
37:41helping it just stay really consistent
37:44all the way through and cut cut right
37:46through and that's how you got to have
37:47the vocals sounding if you want to
37:49engage The Listener the right way vocals
37:51again are so important you don't want
37:53them to get lost in the music at all
37:55yeah totally and I I do want to just
37:58kind of demonstrate how to dial this in
38:01just very quickly um on the back end
38:03with the high end because this is the
38:05part that's really kind of crucial is
38:08getting that highend right right so
38:11after you've compressed this thing
38:12you're going to get a sound that's like
38:15that's like
38:20this you know super thin right it's all
38:23upper mid-range focused and then you
38:25reintroduce the low end
38:30[Music]
38:34so we've got some more body in there but
38:36then we've still got that harshness
38:37happening in the upper mids uh so we
38:42attenuate until that harshness kind of
38:44goes away I'll go ahead and demonstrate
38:48[Music]
38:53that you attenuate too much you'll
38:55notice that the vocals sink back in the
38:57mix so there's a sweet spot to be had
39:00it's kind of like this delicate dance of
39:02finding okay where is it uh um where am
39:06I attenuating the harshness just enough
39:09so that it doesn't annoy my ears or
39:11drill into the back of my teeth and sits
39:13and cuts really nicely through those
39:15guitars or the other instrumentation in
39:17the
39:19[Music]
39:21mix let's burn it down
39:27[Music]
39:28we
39:32destroy I think that's probably pretty
39:34good right there but it's the point is
39:37you have to play with it you have to
39:39find that sweet spot if you're not sure
39:41check against your reference tracks to
39:43make sure you're in the ballpark and uh
39:46away we go yeah one little side note I
39:49I've seen a lot of amateur mixes do
39:51another thing that it just really uh
39:54makes that vocal sound what we call
39:56sometimes karaoke ish and it's too much
39:58low end so as you're bringing that low
40:00end have the right amount but too much
40:02it makes it sound almost like proximity
40:04effect on a on a handheld microphone
40:06that's why we call it a karaoke effect
40:08it's like someone singing in a karaoke
40:10bar and there's nothing that takes uh a
40:12polished production and makes it sound
40:15live and amateurish like too much low so
40:17just ease it into taste ease the highs
40:20down to taste or those upper mids down
40:21to taste and it will sit perfectly in
40:23the mix and sound nice and expensive
40:26yeah I love love this one it's a great
40:28tip that's a really great tip and worthy
40:30of its number three ranking now on to
40:33number two Ken Lewis credits with Taylor
40:36Swift Lady Gaga Bruno Mars Alicia Keys
40:40John Legend Lana Del Reay and the tip is
40:44midside processing on the mix bus stereo
40:48boost on 10K and above and then
40:51accentuate the mid presence of the
40:53vocals in just the middle like 2 to 5K
40:57yep totally so I've got that set up here
41:01on the stereo
41:03out so I've
41:05got this EQ set up for only processing
41:10the sides and I've got this boosted it's
41:13a shelf starting at
41:1610K I've also
41:19got another EQ here boosting the upper
41:23mids here and just in the middle of the
41:27mix right so the sides we're just
41:30boosting that high-end content and the
41:32center of the mix we're just boosting
41:35the um 2K to 5K range to bring those
41:39vocals forward bring draw a little bit
41:41more attention to the vocals right so
41:43let's kind of break these down and just
41:44do these one by one the first we'll do
41:49this kind of the sides bringing up the
41:51sides uh in terms of the high end let's
41:53check it out first without and then with
41:57of the
41:59world let's burn it
42:04down anything we can destroy with having
42:11around not
42:15[Applause]
42:19for just a nice little lift in the sides
42:23you know it's very subtle I mean we can
42:25exaggerate this a little bit more I
42:27think check it
42:29[Music]
42:34[Applause]
42:36[Music]
42:39[Applause]
42:40out I kind of like the sparkle that that
42:43gives to the guitars not not as crazy
42:47about what it's doing to like the
42:49symbols and things like that
42:52um but okay and then our Channel EQ
42:57this one is just the mids right so
42:59bringing the vocal forward uh first
43:02we're going to start with it off and
43:03then we're going to bring it
43:06[Music]
43:09in you know what maybe I'll start at the
43:11beginning of the chorus
43:13[Music]
43:16here it down now
43:20what anything we can destroy with having
43:25it around
43:28that's actually very effective I'm going
43:30to do that one more
43:32[Music]
43:35time let's bur it
43:41down
43:45[Music]
43:47we hear that yeah absolutely it's
43:49another one I'm going to caution to be
43:50careful with uh I'm not a huge fan of
43:53anything on the mix bus these are moves
43:56as a master engineer that I would do and
43:59I would do them with potentially better
44:01tools than someone in a mix session
44:02might do them with that being said Ken's
44:05a master so I'm not going to you know
44:09say that he did it wrong here by any
44:11means but these are moves that a
44:12mastering engineer would do and I again
44:15all I would really say is just be
44:16careful with these you're dealing with
44:17frequencies that can add a ton of
44:19harshness it can do too much and use
44:22your a of course with all these things
44:23there's no one tip that'll get you where
44:25you need to go but if you bring a little
44:27bit of that in it is doing a nice thing
44:28if you know what you're doing and you
44:30can impart some of that flavor then uh
44:33then I say go for it yeah my my two
44:36cents on that is that these moves are
44:38doing something very specific for me in
44:40this mix the first one bring up the
44:43sides I really like what that's doing to
44:45the guitars but I don't like what it's
44:47doing to the symbols right so for me why
44:50not just go to the guitars in the mix
44:54maybe the guitar bus and just shelf it
44:56up a a little bit to bring that Shimmer
44:59rather than do side
45:02processing on the stereo out or the mix
45:04bus right or with the vocals right if
45:09we're just processing the mids of the
45:12mix I mean that mostly has an impact on
45:16the vocals so why wouldn't I just go
45:19over to the vocals either the vocal boss
45:22or the lead vocal and just boost that
45:24area a little bit there instead right
45:27again like we're accomplishing we're
45:30accomplishing the same thing with both
45:32moves and I'm not saying one is right
45:34and one is wrong but that would be my
45:37workflow for something like that it's to
45:39get a little bit more granular with it
45:41rather than makes making um mix bus or
45:44mastering kind of moves on the mix but
45:47this is Ken Lewis we're talking about
45:49here so Ken can do whatever he wants you
45:52do what you there ain't no wrong way no
45:55there's no wrong but uh
45:57again I I love the mindset of a mix
45:59engineer who's going in and and working
46:02to solve problems and enhance things on
46:04the more local level that they can they
46:06have access to these the guitar track
46:08for instance that they can tweak and so
46:11uh just putting a Band-Aid on it on the
46:13on the stereo bus that's not going to
46:15work that's not what Ken's doing it's
46:17more of an enhancement piece but uh just
46:20be careful and realize that you can do a
46:21lot of these things on a more local
46:23level on maybe the mixed bus of the
46:25guitars or the drums or something like
46:27that and it's a lot more effective then
46:29the mastering engineer can do the
46:31rest yeah cool and that leads us to the
46:35last one number one Mr Chris Lord
46:41algae the best credits with Prince
46:44Stevie Nicks Peter Frampton Muse Madonna
46:47Nickelback all the rest CLA we know him
46:50and love him the tip here is blending
46:53wet effects for vocals a plate Reverb
46:56with a long pre- delay and a delay with
47:00slightly different timing on each
47:03Channel left to right let's break this
47:05down this one's a lot of fun yeah
47:08totally so we've got that set up here
47:09here's the verse
47:11vocal here it is
47:16dry C and then here it is with
47:23Reverb C here it is with Reverb and
47:34DeLay So let's break it down we got bus
47:3821 here here's our Reverb on that bus so
47:43what we've got is we've got a plate
47:46happening here um it's kind of a longer
47:50Decay you know second second and a half
47:53maybe more like a moderate Decay or
47:55medium decay time I would say right but
47:59here's what I've seen Chris do for a lot
48:05of his reverbs I know he uses the 480 um
48:09but I've seen you know him use pre-
48:12delayed times all the way up to like
48:14what 150 or something like that like
48:16really long pre- delayed times and the
48:18reason he gives is he likes to separate
48:21that Reverb from the vocal quite a bit
48:24so that the vocal sounds like it's nice
48:26and upfront
48:27in the mix and then the Reverb is more
48:30like set back in the mix right so
48:32there's some Dimension that's going on
48:35here so take a listen um I'll go ahead
48:38and just kind of mess with the pre-
48:39delay knob so you can hear what's going
48:41on maybe we
48:44should we should
48:49cry so that's with no pre- delay and
48:51notice how that vocal is just kind of
48:54like sunken back and feels kind of
48:57distant and then we'll increase the pre-
48:59delay you'll notice that it starts to
49:02move forward delay starts to move back
49:05maybe we should laugh we should cry
49:10mayong make
49:14[Music]
49:18for
49:20nice nice separation there
49:23right so that's number one number two is
49:27this delay trick right
49:32so this is kind of Staggering the delay
49:36times and a good way to kind of start
49:39this out is to sink it to the Temple of
49:42the track and then we've got you know
49:44we're starting with a quarter note here
49:46and
49:47then desync
49:50and
49:54just UI one side a little bit earlier or
49:59later than the other side so you're
50:01staggering the times and what this
50:04effect actually does is it gives the
50:07delay width and uses the stereo
50:11field uh instead of having that delay
50:14come right through the gut like right up
50:16the center and then just kind of
50:18fighting with the vocal and kind of
50:19cluttering things up right it's a nice
50:21way to just create width around the
50:23vocal it's really cool so first
50:27without we'll just do Straight quarter
50:29notes so what this sounds like and I'll
50:31turn off the Reverb so you can
50:41hear so here how that's all just kind of
50:44like coming directly from the center of
50:46the mix here
50:49now let's stagger these a little bit
50:52just like 20 milliseconds or so all
50:55right so somewhere in
51:00there if I can get it very touchy may we
51:04should laugh maybe we should cry maybe
51:09Tong make room for
51:11why right here how that's spread all the
51:14way across the stereo field now no
51:16longer coming from the center but it's
51:18using making use of the space um some
51:22plugins actually have a setting that
51:24will do this for you like this one
51:27repeater there's a spread option that'll
51:29actually automatically stagger the sides
51:32so that it's in like a stereo mode but
51:34if you don't have an option like that
51:35you can do it manually just grab a
51:37stereo delay slightly different uh
51:40timings between the sides and it'll
51:42widen things right
51:43up again we're dealing with creating
51:46some some Intrigue side to side some
51:48variant spreading that vocal out and
51:51then a beautiful Reaver with pre- delay
51:53answer this in the comments below if you
51:55have an opinion on pre- delay versus
51:57compressing your reverbs it's doing a
52:00similar thing why would you use one over
52:02the
52:03other pre- delay in terms of uh
52:05compressing your reverbs in terms of
52:07like side chain compressing mhm your
52:10Reverb to the vocal
52:12yep interesting yeah why would you use
52:16one over the other I'd love to hear
52:17people comment on that
52:19discuss tickle those keys in
52:23chat yep another great one from CLA a
52:27Timeless trick a Timeless tip and none
52:30of these tips and tricks will mean a
52:32whole lot unless you have a good
52:33foundation so make sure you always
52:34understand the Core Concepts beneath all
52:37this stuff these are all just for fun
52:39they're little weapons you can add to
52:41your tool belt and uh but make sure you
52:43have the foundation to know why you're
52:45doing what you're doing that's always
52:46going to get you a lot further comment
52:48below and let us know which ones of
52:49these you like what were your favorite
52:51tips are there any others we should uh
52:53talk about next time and if you want to
52:55learn more about this stuff and how to
52:57make music that sounds professional
52:59click the link in the description below
53:02download a bunch of our free
53:03resources that's all for now y'all until
53:06the next one have a great one keep
53:07making music we'll see you on the next
53:09one
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