Some really bad techniques here mate. May work for a live stream but certainly will encounter many issues in the live realm, boosting and sweeping vocal channels is a no no. Massive mid cuts in vocal channels like that WILL make it sound nasally, so then you end up cutting more around that frequency to try and balance it out. Let the microphone do the work, HPF and shallower cuts. Keep EQ smooth and broad on vocals. Vocal Compressor settings are proportional to the singers dynamic range, just whacking them into -6dB compression ay 4:1 isnt the way to do it. You need to listen to the vocal and where and if the compression is needed.
Once compression is done, you should have headroom to increase gain if you need to give vocals more presence, to bring the vocals to the front of the band.
Not following the "boost wide, cut narrow" principle, I see. Which is fine, more than one way to handle EQ. Just hear boost wide, cut narrow a lot. All of the cut on the EQ is essentially turning the gain down, of course. But, again, more than one way to get to the final result. Always good to see how other people handle different situations and what processing they use. What matters is it sounded great in the end! Thanks for sharing.
That's really interesting. I actually find myself tending towards boosting more narrow to find what I don't like, then cutting and widening it. Like you said, more than one way to get to the final result and all that matters is if it sounds good in the end!
I’m sure I’ll make a video on this at some point, but the short answer is basically that I’m not afraid to make pretty dramatic EQ moves to make things fit together. You have to intentionally make space and sacrifice sometimes for things to fit together well.
You shouldn't just boost to find annoying frequencies because most frequencies can sound annoying if you boost them enough. You should boost to hone in on the frequency if you do hear something annoying first.
I just recently posted a video on how to do bass, so go check it out! Also, EQ, gating, and compression are general tools, so the manufacturer of the console shouldn't change the way you use them pretty much at all. In fact, everything I show in any of these videos could also be used in a DAW with essentially the same results.
Great tutorial and I think the vocals sound good but the rest of the band was so compressed it felt like it was pumping. I’d never compress that much on something like this.
Gracias por tu trabajo, he conseguido el sonido deseado. Lo que me pregunto es ¿por qué agregas tanta MakeUp Gain? y lo otro es ¿ecualizas el sonido en general o solo los micrófonos?
what about the makeup gain of the compressor? if you compress 6db don't you have to add 4-6 db of makeup gain to the compressor to compensate the volume drop?
Yes, I would typically use the makeup gain to compensate. You don’t technically have to if you prefer where the fader sits after compressing though. I typically adjust it so the fader sits near unity (-0)
Honestly, I typically just set the output gain of the compressor so that the fader can be around -0 most of the time. Sometimes that means adding back some output gain to the compressor, sometimes it doesn't.
Sir im still in the technologies that you are using. We have a very simple church set up in the phil. How can i determine if the sound im having is muddy... I still dont understand what muddy means and how it sounds. Youre answer will be useful for usin thechurch sir.. thank u.
Agreed! I've recently been incorporating more dynamic EQ into the chain and I've been loving it. I've been starting with an F6 doing normal EQ, then dynamic EQ all in one and it's been pretty great. I'll probably do a video about using dynamic EQ on vocals. It's an odd one because sometimes you don't need it at all, and sometimes IMO there is literally no way to get the vocal to sound correct without it.
I find that dynamic EQ has a much smoother reponse than compression which is nice for lady singers. Compression tends to leave a harshness behind. That might work for some vocalist but not others. However dynamic EQ i found i don’t need as many plugins in the chain and if i want to add bit if of gritty compression sound ill go for good ol’ RVox on the end.
Ehhh, not really. For EQ I do the same system of boosting to find stuff I don’t like and then cutting that. The overall EQ will probably end up looking differently, but the system to get there is the same. I compress them both exactly the same way though.
Not convinced that boosting that wide and that much to find "annoying frequencies" is a good strategy - Nearly everything you boost to that degree will sound annoying!
No disrespect to Andrew, as I am a complete amateur. I also realize that demonstration was the purpose of the video, and I understand EQ sweep, but this amount of freq boost seems like looking for a problem that isn't there, or wouldn't be noticeable.
@@pswim62 Spot on, a much better approach is to listen carefully and thoughtfully to the source and just analyse it. Think about what you'd like it to sound like and how it could sound better. Is it too nasal? Too harsh? Too boomy? Then take out what you don't like with minimal necessary force. A wild 12db 1.1q sweep is a bad/misleading idea (imo) for the reasons you mentioned.
This was a really great video and will help a lot with the compression. I has a speaker recently with a lot of dynamic range and I could not seem get his compression right where it was attacking the audience. Any tips for live speaking?
Typically with a speaker I will just use one compressor, set the attack to either 7 or 13ms and then the release will vary a lot depending on how "far" away I want the voice to sound. I typically go between 50-200ms release, but I've gone as fast a 5ms and as slow as 400ms. A slower release can sometimes also help with feedback if that's an issue you're running into, and a really fast one can make the speaker feel really in your face. Hope that helps!
I dont understand your thinking. You’re boosting Freq’s to make them sound horrible, and then cutting them. But before you boosted them they didnt seem to be a problem. Surely you would lower the problem freqs when set flat first?
On big PA it’s a lot easier to hear the frequencies that are less pleasant. With headphones or smaller speakers I intentionally boosted to try to make it more obvious what needed adjustment. On big PA I rarely need to boost to be able to tell where problematic frequencies are and just go right to cutting.
Yes, definitely use common sense and don't do an 18db boost if it's in a loud PA. You will almost certainly create feedback if you do that. I exaggerated the process in this video so that you might be able to hear what I'm looking for even through a phone speaker or some other non-ideal listening source. When it comes to mixing on PA in a room things should respond a lot more dramatically and will make things much more obvious with much smaller EQ moves.
Yes, I do and it's awesome! This was just the simple version of how I process vocals, I'll do an "advanced" version of my vocal chain at some point and I'll show the compressors I like to stack for the best results. I also do a parallel compressed vocal and it makes a HUGE difference in bringing the vocal to the front!
Hola hermano Dios te bendiga sigue adelante con los videos que haces son de mucha ayuda al menos para mi son de mucha ayuda soy Luis de ecuador quería pedir un gran favor si puedes hacer videos sobre como tratar la batería acústica con el gate y compresor y tambien como aplicar el gate en voces actualmente tengo una mixer studiolive 32 de presonus y estoy aprendiendo en este campo del sonido y me apasiona ....muchas gracias saludos y bendiciones.
Hello! I just recently posted a full video explaining how I gate, compress, eq, and even parallel process a snare drum so that might be helpful! I will eventually do the full drum kit, but snare is the hardest one by far. For vocals, I do a fast attack, slow release, and then only let it close like 5-10db. I also prefer expanders over gates for vocals.
Hola !!!.......Muchas gracias hermano Dios bendiga su vida., familia y ministerio por favor siga adelante con más vídeos instructivos son de mucha bendicion....
Assuming, of course, that you have a digital mixer. And, if she has pitch correction on, it's not working! These videos are nothing more than an opportunity to preach to people.
Most people watching these videos want knowledge, a good deal do have access to a digital console and want to learn. You can still do this with an analog console it is just a little different. Take it as it is.
Do you mean it seems too low? You often get away with a higher HPF for women since their voices are generally higher. If anything 140 is considered low for the live music industry. I have friends who are very successful audio engineers who will high pass vocals at 200-250. It seems a bit extreme to me, but it's clearly working fine for them.
@@andrewlepard no, it seems high, exactly how I said it. Because it is high. And 200hz must be a joke, you're joking right? Because (in general) a woman produces less bass, and a man more, you can afford to roll off more low end from the male, and less from the female. There's a reason that toggle-able HPFs are preset to 80-100hz on mixing desks. The C3 note, a commonly sung note, is 131hz. How the heck couod you, unless you're mixing children, ever possibly high pass above that, and especially above 200hz? That's insanity, unless you're mixing mickey mouse or children. Hell, G3 is 200hz. Anyway, totally insane to me to see a 140hz HPF on a human voice. I mean, I get it. But it's lazy.
@@dighawaii1 I'm definitely not joking... I watched a video of the main engineer for Red Rocks church just yesterday where he said he had the HPF of their lead female vocal at 250. I've also talked with the engineers for Bethel, Elevation, Bayside, and Hillsong and they all like their HPF for vocals to be around 200. Again, I don't necessarily agree with a HPF that high, but it's VERY much common practice to HPF a live vocal mic much higher than 80-100 and I really don't think it has anything to do with laziness.
@@dighawaii1 140 roll off is actually low to me, I typically roll off 153 or higher for females. I wouldn’t cut that much on the other frequency bands, but a female vocal doesn’t even resonate in those lower frequencies. If you have an RTA meter you can see where every vocal sits. Unless you’re mixing Barry white, this is a typical roll off point. I would suggest on the higher bands narrowing the Q a bit because that is pulling a lot of surrounding frequencies that make a vocal clear and warm, your frequency points are spot on but in my opinion you’re definitely taking too much out. I would give some back and narrow the bands a bit to make the vocal a little more clear instead of quiet and hollow.
That’s a ton of frequency cuts.
Cut just a little. Less compression.
It's basically a high end boost.
@@upnorthhomesteader.
@@upnorthhomesteader7,😊
@@upnorthhomesteaderIIIIII9LK job that. 😅8k4i😅7 2:52
Some really bad techniques here mate. May work for a live stream but certainly will encounter many issues in the live realm, boosting and sweeping vocal channels is a no no. Massive mid cuts in vocal channels like that WILL make it sound nasally, so then you end up cutting more around that frequency to try and balance it out. Let the microphone do the work, HPF and shallower cuts. Keep EQ smooth and broad on vocals.
Vocal Compressor settings are proportional to the singers dynamic range, just whacking them into -6dB compression ay 4:1 isnt the way to do it. You need to listen to the vocal and where and if the compression is needed.
that is the best explanation of compression I've ever heard - thanks!
finally, clear understanding how to mix live vocals in order of operations. Thank you.
It's so clear that, although I'm not using the same mix board-si impact, I ccan still apply these principles into my setup. Thaks Andrew!
AWESOME VIDEO! This will be so useful! Thank you!
Good enough, I’ll fix it in post.
The Way you teach is so 'Godly' AMAZING !!! Thanks brother. God bless you
Once compression is done, you should have headroom to increase gain if you need to give vocals more presence, to bring the vocals to the front of the band.
Great video bro this is really nice not just the technique, the final product was phenomenal.
Very well explained.
Not following the "boost wide, cut narrow" principle, I see. Which is fine, more than one way to handle EQ. Just hear boost wide, cut narrow a lot. All of the cut on the EQ is essentially turning the gain down, of course. But, again, more than one way to get to the final result. Always good to see how other people handle different situations and what processing they use. What matters is it sounded great in the end! Thanks for sharing.
That's really interesting. I actually find myself tending towards boosting more narrow to find what I don't like, then cutting and widening it. Like you said, more than one way to get to the final result and all that matters is if it sounds good in the end!
Would love to see how you place all instruments and vocals in the mix to keep it from being muddy.
I’m sure I’ll make a video on this at some point, but the short answer is basically that I’m not afraid to make pretty dramatic EQ moves to make things fit together. You have to intentionally make space and sacrifice sometimes for things to fit together well.
Really its vry useful.plz make more videos😍
Wow....always very brief but very intuitive, thanks Sir
Love this bro
Good Explanation! Thank you!
Nice. Like to see this using x32
That’s the SD I believe or the quantum
Thanks so much. Im curious on how you do pitch correction and reverb and delay. Im new to all this. Thanx!
I would also love to see how you accomplish that. I’m using the X-32.
You shouldn't just boost to find annoying frequencies because most frequencies can sound annoying if you boost them enough. You should boost to hone in on the frequency if you do hear something annoying first.
Thanks so much. I would like you do some videos on voice EQ and gating, Bass EQ using x32 mixer.
I just recently posted a video on how to do bass, so go check it out! Also, EQ, gating, and compression are general tools, so the manufacturer of the console shouldn't change the way you use them pretty much at all. In fact, everything I show in any of these videos could also be used in a DAW with essentially the same results.
Great tutorial and I think the vocals sound good but the rest of the band was so compressed it felt like it was pumping. I’d never compress that much on something like this.
Zounds great ❤
Really enjoyed this video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
This is great!
do you turn on the make up gain once you've compressed?
Gracias por tu trabajo, he conseguido el sonido deseado. Lo que me pregunto es ¿por qué agregas tanta MakeUp Gain? y lo otro es ¿ecualizas el sonido en general o solo los micrófonos?
Did you use noise gate?
Thank you Andrew! It helped me a lot.
Wow great tutorial!
I’m looking forward to a bass EQ & compression tutorial. 😀
I think that will be next. Plus a have a few extra tricks I do that really help out, so keep an eye out for it!
@@andrewlepard 🙌 🔥
Can you do a video on eq live vocals on x32?
Amazing bro!! Love to see Advance compressing!!
Great, the best so far 👌
what about the makeup gain of the compressor? if you compress 6db don't you have to add 4-6 db of makeup gain to the compressor to compensate the volume drop?
Yes, I would typically use the makeup gain to compensate. You don’t technically have to if you prefer where the fader sits after compressing though. I typically adjust it so the fader sits near unity (-0)
Sounds great dude
THANK YOU ANDREW!
Great video man!
So this would work for a song mix to ?
Ok. You cut a lot, what about gain structure now, did you rematch gain (to get back volume)?
Honestly, I typically just set the output gain of the compressor so that the fader can be around -0 most of the time. Sometimes that means adding back some output gain to the compressor, sometimes it doesn't.
Sir im still in the technologies that you are using. We have a very simple church set up in the phil. How can i determine if the sound im having is muddy... I still dont understand what muddy means and how it sounds. Youre answer will be useful for usin thechurch sir.. thank u.
Muddy would be just not very clear and kind of muffled sounding with too much low end
Where do I get the tracks to play with the EQ?
Please what's the name of this church?? I'd really love to listen the whole song! It sounds amazing
Mission Hills Church in Colorado
Very helpful. Thank u..bro
Please how do we get the video of the song you worked on?
I want to the name of the Church.
Mission Hills Church in Colorado
Nice video thanks man!
I’d like to see a shoot out between this method and using a dynamic EQ👍
Agreed! I've recently been incorporating more dynamic EQ into the chain and I've been loving it. I've been starting with an F6 doing normal EQ, then dynamic EQ all in one and it's been pretty great.
I'll probably do a video about using dynamic EQ on vocals. It's an odd one because sometimes you don't need it at all, and sometimes IMO there is literally no way to get the vocal to sound correct without it.
I find that dynamic EQ has a much smoother reponse than compression which is nice for lady singers. Compression tends to leave a harshness behind. That might work for some vocalist but not others.
However dynamic EQ i found i don’t need as many plugins in the chain and if i want to add bit if of gritty compression sound ill go for good ol’ RVox on the end.
Hi Andrew, what are your thoughts about using a De-esser ?
I just released a new video a couple days ago with a full vocal chain including thoughts on De-essing!
please can you share the church livestream link
If you search Mission Hills Church Colorado it should show up right away!
Anything you'd do differently with a male vocal?
Ehhh, not really. For EQ I do the same system of boosting to find stuff I don’t like and then cutting that. The overall EQ will probably end up looking differently, but the system to get there is the same. I compress them both exactly the same way though.
Not convinced that boosting that wide and that much to find "annoying frequencies" is a good strategy - Nearly everything you boost to that degree will sound annoying!
No disrespect to Andrew, as I am a complete amateur. I also realize that demonstration was the purpose of the video, and I understand EQ sweep, but this amount of freq boost seems like looking for a problem that isn't there, or wouldn't be noticeable.
@@pswim62 Spot on, a much better approach is to listen carefully and thoughtfully to the source and just analyse it. Think about what you'd like it to sound like and how it could sound better. Is it too nasal? Too harsh? Too boomy? Then take out what you don't like with minimal necessary force. A wild 12db 1.1q sweep is a bad/misleading idea (imo) for the reasons you mentioned.
We don't have an numeric mixeur😭😭😭
Good Morning Sir, please can this process be applied while using Midas M32 Live?
Yes! This process works on any console
@@andrewlepard Thank you Sir
clean. wow..
This was a really great video and will help a lot with the compression. I has a speaker recently with a lot of dynamic range and I could not seem get his compression right where it was attacking the audience. Any tips for live speaking?
Typically with a speaker I will just use one compressor, set the attack to either 7 or 13ms and then the release will vary a lot depending on how "far" away I want the voice to sound. I typically go between 50-200ms release, but I've gone as fast a 5ms and as slow as 400ms. A slower release can sometimes also help with feedback if that's an issue you're running into, and a really fast one can make the speaker feel really in your face.
Hope that helps!
@@andrewlepard I will give these tips a try. Thanks for the great explanations of the slow and fast release times.
what freq u were adjusting????
Exactly!
I dont understand your thinking. You’re boosting Freq’s to make them sound horrible, and then cutting them. But before you boosted them they didnt seem to be a problem. Surely you would lower the problem freqs when set flat first?
On big PA it’s a lot easier to hear the frequencies that are less pleasant. With headphones or smaller speakers I intentionally boosted to try to make it more obvious what needed adjustment. On big PA I rarely need to boost to be able to tell where problematic frequencies are and just go right to cutting.
@@andrewlepard ah ok. Yes, that makes sense i guess.
Hello, can I get the title of the song?
Run to the Father
Surely an 18db boost in the high mids and highs, through a loud PA system, is gonna hurt your ears badly
Yes, definitely use common sense and don't do an 18db boost if it's in a loud PA. You will almost certainly create feedback if you do that. I exaggerated the process in this video so that you might be able to hear what I'm looking for even through a phone speaker or some other non-ideal listening source. When it comes to mixing on PA in a room things should respond a lot more dramatically and will make things much more obvious with much smaller EQ moves.
Great tutorial so you ever stack compressors on your lead vocal? Been experimenting with that and love how it brings the vocal to the front.
Yes, I do and it's awesome! This was just the simple version of how I process vocals, I'll do an "advanced" version of my vocal chain at some point and I'll show the compressors I like to stack for the best results. I also do a parallel compressed vocal and it makes a HUGE difference in bringing the vocal to the front!
Hi. Did you ever do the advanced compression stack and if so, could you please post the link? Thank you.
thank you
Hola hermano Dios te bendiga sigue adelante con los videos que haces son de mucha ayuda al menos para mi son de mucha ayuda soy Luis de ecuador quería pedir un gran favor si puedes hacer videos sobre como tratar la batería acústica con el gate y compresor y tambien como aplicar el gate en voces actualmente tengo una mixer studiolive 32 de presonus y estoy aprendiendo en este campo del sonido y me apasiona ....muchas gracias saludos y bendiciones.
Hello! I just recently posted a full video explaining how I gate, compress, eq, and even parallel process a snare drum so that might be helpful! I will eventually do the full drum kit, but snare is the hardest one by far. For vocals, I do a fast attack, slow release, and then only let it close like 5-10db. I also prefer expanders over gates for vocals.
Hola !!!.......Muchas gracias hermano Dios bendiga su vida., familia y ministerio por favor siga adelante con más vídeos instructivos son de mucha bendicion....
El gate o expansor como se lo aplica a las voces.
Assuming, of course, that you have a digital mixer. And, if she has pitch correction on, it's not working! These videos are nothing more than an opportunity to preach to people.
Most people watching these videos want knowledge, a good deal do have access to a digital console and want to learn. You can still do this with an analog console it is just a little different. Take it as it is.
no good
140hz HPF seems a tad high, especially for women, but ok.
Do you mean it seems too low? You often get away with a higher HPF for women since their voices are generally higher. If anything 140 is considered low for the live music industry. I have friends who are very successful audio engineers who will high pass vocals at 200-250. It seems a bit extreme to me, but it's clearly working fine for them.
@@andrewlepard no, it seems high, exactly how I said it. Because it is high. And 200hz must be a joke, you're joking right? Because (in general) a woman produces less bass, and a man more, you can afford to roll off more low end from the male, and less from the female.
There's a reason that toggle-able HPFs are preset to 80-100hz on mixing desks. The C3 note, a commonly sung note, is 131hz. How the heck couod you, unless you're mixing children, ever possibly high pass above that, and especially above 200hz? That's insanity, unless you're mixing mickey mouse or children. Hell, G3 is 200hz.
Anyway, totally insane to me to see a 140hz HPF on a human voice. I mean, I get it. But it's lazy.
@@dighawaii1 I'm definitely not joking... I watched a video of the main engineer for Red Rocks church just yesterday where he said he had the HPF of their lead female vocal at 250. I've also talked with the engineers for Bethel, Elevation, Bayside, and Hillsong and they all like their HPF for vocals to be around 200. Again, I don't necessarily agree with a HPF that high, but it's VERY much common practice to HPF a live vocal mic much higher than 80-100 and I really don't think it has anything to do with laziness.
@@dighawaii1 140 roll off is actually low to me, I typically roll off 153 or higher for females. I wouldn’t cut that much on the other frequency bands, but a female vocal doesn’t even resonate in those lower frequencies. If you have an RTA meter you can see where every vocal sits. Unless you’re mixing Barry white, this is a typical roll off point. I would suggest on the higher bands narrowing the Q a bit because that is pulling a lot of surrounding frequencies that make a vocal clear and warm, your frequency points are spot on but in my opinion you’re definitely taking too much out. I would give some back and narrow the bands a bit to make the vocal a little more clear instead of quiet and hollow.
I thought the vocal sounded decent without the eq.
Pitch correction on a live vocal!! Rather find a singer who can sing in tune. And as for that EQ You cannot be serious.
Boooooo! Booooo!