Radio-ready vocal effects with Kuk Harrell
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 พ.ย. 2024
- Full video available exclusively on mwtm.org/itt51
In this sneak peek, vocal producer Kuk Harrell demonstrates his processing techniques for vocals as well as the effects he uses to create a ‘dreamscape’.
We're thrilled to release our first ever series with the prestigious vocal producer, songwriter, arranger, and engineer Kuk Harrell! Hosted at Sphere Studios in Hollywood, this installment dives deep into the art and science of evoking, capturing, and embellishing a vocal performance. Referencing the multi-track vocal session of 'For You' by Why Don't We, Harrell auditions the demo recording, gives his opinion, then shares how he tracked and produced the material. He takes you through the various parts of the intricate pop vocal, comprising five male leads, octave doubles, harmonies, and ad-libs. He comments on the project from both a musical and technical standpoint - melodies, structure, stacking, tuning, tracking chains, plug-ins, and much more. Aside from teaching the key elements of his workflow, Kuk imparts his wisdom on the social and psychological aspects of coaxing the best possible take out of an artist in the studio.
Full video available exclusively on mwtm.org/kh_foryou
Can you mix an master some records for me
In a world where people are throwing technical jargons and numbers around to describe what they did to the mix, i find this very refreshing and inspiring to hear someone describe things as “purple” and describing a feeling. Thank you for this
It's nice to see a pro who keeps it simple and doesn't drown the song with FX
With a simple 10k dollar mic
Simple, yet standard. I like it. I do believe to a certain extent having technical knowledge will make it easier to create the sound you want to create, but there's nothing wrong with feeling the mix. I also found that I like the Waves Doubler plugin which I didn't even know they had until now. Sounded great on this example. Mic choices were great too!
love this voc fx sound!
This is not overprocessed like so many vocal tracks in these days...
I like the direction you provide in tracking vocals. I do agree, too many producers, especially, on TH-cam go overboard with their effects. I appreciate your approach. Mad respect 🙏.
He knows frequencies, he may not know them by the exact number position on a graph but he knows where to to boost or reduce to get the sound/vibe/feeling he wants, that is knowing frequencies.
i just love his approach to mixing
When he starting talking about "feeling" the mix, I caught myself saying "Preach it, brotha!"
Easy to forget sometimes!
this is how producers should give a session to a mix engineers, they don't realize that when a Producer give a clean, nice and organize session, she looks professional and set him apart from the rest
You should roll off the low end of a male vox at about 100 hz, there's nothing below that you need. All producers should get a frequency chart so you know where the fundamental frequencies start, anything below the fundamental you can roll off to taste. Female vox is even higher.
This is beautiful. I always get nervous about not using enough this or that, I realize I'm good. 👍
Kuk Harrell is one of my favorites! Because of his time with Justin Bieber! Hope he gets more videos!
Basically you gotta have a good voice already😂... He's working with some good vocals🔥🔥🔥 and on top of his great mixing skills!
same here I always use those plugins first. There great been using them since 04'
what's crazy to me is the people who make it in the mixing/producing world all say similar things, basically on the lines of "its not about the technicalities, its about if it not only sounds good but feels good." If a song doesn't feel good, It doesn't matter if it sounds good if it doesn't feel good like he was talking about! I love seeing videos of people thinking they know how stuff should sound or how they process vocals or this or that. I can tell just by them talking or playing one their first tracks if it lives up to studio standard quality audio or not. And these are the same people who focus to much on the TECHNICALITIES!!! Needless to say I'm not near what these guys can do but I love these videos because I know they know what their doing...
simply excellent content here 👌
u see guys its simple ! its not about how u do it its about how it's sounds at the end !
God it’s so refreshing to hear an engineer say don’t get bogged down in the technical side of things. Bring too analytical in music sucks out the art
This is how making music should be...
I love tech stuff but nothing beats 'ear's on experience'
Very helpful and inspiring.
I hear him & agree cuz it sounded great......but i still have to call foul. That vocal was already "helped" & by that i mean great mic placement in a very dry room or both to get a good proximity effect that isnt too harsh, looked like it was cut up & thus likely was clip gained to remove some of the siblance & get a more steady performance before it hits the compressor to fine-tune it all. Keep in mind errthing i just meantioned is the 20% of work that does 80% of the result youre looking for.
It’s not a “foul” it’s literally how things are suppose to go when you’re a professional
@@jeremiahmaryland i called foul on him showing that slapping that simple eq, 2 compressors, & a verb on the vocal is how he got it to sound like that.
He even mentioned using the same exact preset eq on every vocal but by all means doing those 3 things is NOT how you get the vocal sound he just got but the steps i shared which are a bit more laboring & not so obvious to the average person. Nobody who even mixes for a hobby needed to see nor learned anything from the 3 steps he shared, but indeed the result sounded nice & i simply pointed out why because he obviously didnt so yeah, foul, & strike 1 for you not appreciating me making this obvious to the average beginner.
Took me years of crappy mixes to realize eq, compression, & reverb couldnt save my vocals if i dont first gain stage level them & surgically fix my siblance & brightness issues after first getting a warmer recording by backing away from the mic(which sounds horrible mind you to most home studio guys because you get more ambiance hence me pointing out the importance of making sure you get a dry recording by using things like blankets to block the ceiling which is often a bedroom's worst offender unknowingly to most, not the walls). If you know you know.
@@jamarwashington6419 He literally pointed out which mics he uses and why. Sure, he could go one step further and say “and if you can’t afford those, warm audio makes decent clones...” but most anyone watching these videos knows that. I think this video simply represents KISS (keep it simple, stupid) which I think a lot of new engineers need to hear. Trust your ears, don’t over think it, and focus on the emotion of the song. There are too many TH-cam channels slinging gear/plugins and over complicating the f#ck out of mixing
@@hazelelcamino7453 this is the extreme opposite of overly complex teachings bro(as in overly simplified to the point of pointlessness). Slap his eq preset on 90% of home studio vocals recorded on MUCH CHEAPER mics than the 2 he named(he literally named the most coveted mic in modern studios which averages $9k).
Then use those 2 stock compressors on it & slap a reverb directly on the bus w/o using a send.....not only will you not get the end result sound he got but you wont get a decent sound neither. If you dont know why, thats why i explained it. Most people dont know why & their mixes show it & the LACK of people explaining it shows why as well. If i make a gourmet cake from scratch but only show you the part where i add the frosting, you might think the frosting is why the cake tasted gourmet.
I simply rightly divided the issue bro & my explanations are getting more complex than the simple factual point i pointed out which is mic placement from the vocalist in a very dry room is key for most home studio people wanting to get a good sound. I later threw in the fact that most people treat their walls to stop ambiance when in fact the greatest reflections are bouncing off the ceiling(& blankets rigged up help for that). I also shared how clip gain editing is essential to having a level & pre de-essed vocal as he appears to have.
Saying most people know this is a freaking lie & anybody who does know this surely doesn't need to see a guy slap an eq preset on a vocal using 2 stock compressors & a reverb ON THE BUS & not a send as though that helps in any freakin way lol. Just let motherly wisdom speak her case bro. He said what he said in the video & i pointed out how its not helpful information by actually providing helpful information.
Anybody who learned anything by watching this video is clearly a beginner & is better off for having read my comments including this long final thorough reply to you so that anyone thinking w/ their emotions & listening w/ their eyes might actually not waste their time objecting or interjecting to my contribution of mixing insight FOR BEGINNERS. I think ive been thorough enough to drive the point well enough to help thinkers think again.
Anybody still confused or oddly obtuse to my contribution of insight clearly is willfully blind to the entire point of this video(to HELP PEOPLE)....thats what my now 3 comments are for as i found just showing what was shown in the video to be misleading to anyone who found this BASIC tutorial insightful as to how he got that sound when the bulk of that sound comes from the helpful points i offered. As a former noob, ive found jillions of videos like this on the web & theyve misled me for nearly a decade.
My points come having once been foolish enough not to know what ive just made crystal clear that i not need repeat myself. Salute to errbody who reads this & levels up. Errbody dont want you to win, but i do & my contribution speaks for itself.
@@jamarwashington6419 Except you completely missed the point of the video. This video illustrates that a simple approach is often the best. This video has more benefit to folks losing their minds over what gear to use/vocal chain to lose sleep over. Mix with the masters is simply showing some of the best pros use stock plugins and don’t overthink it. Yet, here you are with a novel and the message has been lost on you.
i looooovvvveeeeee this chanel thank you
I wish he played the end result with the beat together at the end
Really like established engineers
Who simplify Mixing...Thanks.
The simplicity of the mix is the special part ik I've had plug-in paralysis 🤷🏾♂️🖲
gr8 advice!
Great video thanks
I got logic, are those all pro tools stock plugins? if so , is their similar plugins I can purchase and use and practice these simple techniques?
Most if not all of those plugins are by Waves, they are most likely included in the Waves Gold or Platinum bundle. You can purchase that from their site.
magic!
gems ty 🙏
Really cool to hear what’s going through his head in terms of creating a path for the song. Great stuff
great point
I DO HIGH END/ULTRA HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO MASTERING CAN I MASTER SOME SONGS FOR YOU SIR.
So crazy
KEEP IT SIMPLE 💯
I would shit my panties if I got all my client uploads sent to me this way.
Can I ask a question. I have a Rode NT1A. If I buy a more expensive mic, will I see a big difference?
a massive difference
You should invest in a pre amp before a more expensive microphone. 🤷🏽♂️
I highly recommend switching out the capsule. I've been using the NT1-A for 4 years and by default, that mic has crazy sibilance and is too bright. But if you switch the capsule, it solves the sibilance issue. Only issue is the mic gets a little darker, but it's way better than the alternative.
No. That’s a decent mic. Don’t believe the hype. Concentrate first on a good performance into that mic. Then compress/eq. 99.9% of people couldn’t tell the difference. General public don’t care what mic you used.
@@samxday this is true, but it still doesn't change the fact that the sibilance is really bad on it with the stock capsule.
This is basic Waves promotion, beginner mode tutorial .. The pros are keeping the secret formula, they show only what they are paid to!
If you really want to learn don't try that at TH-cam ...Greets!
Legend ✅
Why do people refer one track as a "record". A colloquialism I suppose? Cool to hear from Kuk either way!
It stems from a track being a recording.
I often call something a record…might not be a great song, but could still be a great record.
It’s wrong. He doesn’t know that it’s wrong though. Hopefully he will see the comment and realise he means ‘song’ or ‘track’.
Its a word game people in the industry have been playing for a long time...humans are just built weird like that. Today a recording is a record, a song is a record, an EP is a record, an album is a record, & its another word for vinyl....all because people like to play w/ words. Smh lol.
Record is just short for Recording. It doesn't mean vinyl record. This is normal for people in the industry, might seem weird to noobs or outsiders, but it's a common term.
Compression while tracking? Singers, that know what they are doing, would hate it. Their monitoring of their dynamics is a blur.
Same gods for wet effects (reverb, delay,) that will make the singers intonation more sloppy. A bit of reverb can be added to add confidence for the singer, if they are having a hard time laying into it, but if it can be avoided, avoid it. Once you are not tracking, you can play it back with effects to hear the potential in the mixing stage.
Knowing your frequencies helps you to add or subtract without hunting for the right spot. Our ear memory is short - even if you have trained it, and are using discipline to “hold on to it” - so the faster you get to the spot you heard needing work, the more likely you are to do what you actually set out to do.
To me, what he is doing is boosting here and there, without premeditated purpose, keeping boosts where he likes it, and cutting where he don’t. Sure, you can get lucky, but more likely you will have a very incoherent mix with parts that sound fine in solo, after having listened in solo for a fem minutes.
Expensive mics are NOT needed for this type of vocal. You need Autotune, stock plugins, and a sub-evolved sence of music. “Great singer”, come on..
Love when dorks on the internet say a #1 record, Grammy winning producer is doing it all wrong. News flash: there’s no right way to make records. It begins and ends with having good ears and from there it’s all taste. He’s just saying what works for him and sorry Nick Nayme (who?), he’s made more hit records than you.
Wow, as someone who has been engineering for over 20 years. You sound like a terrible engineer who has no high-end gear and doesn't know what they are talking about, but you think you know everything. I'm guessing you've been doing this for maybe 2 years. And I think you didn't realise he is the tracking engineer and record producer, not the mix engineer. He sends this session off to be mixed by a professional as stated in the video.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
That singer may have a good voice but that delay an reverb make it sound so more than nice and wet so far from thin ..keep it simple is the best..doing it over processing its like drowing a vocal
4:29 me, when my wife says she is going out.
This is a bit deceiving for home studio engineers because most of us use a Neumann to Apollo sound chain. You are using a $10,000 that I’m sure is tracking into rack gear before processing into pro tools. Just something to think about with this “simple” mixing chain
A U T O T U U U U N E
Must be nice to be able to start with a $20,000 ELAM251! 😝
Lol... I thought this was the final mix
100%
The video needs a de-esser, lot of unwanted high.
and also a cutoff filter(i hear "B"s) but maybe the next engineer will do that..?
First step. Spend 20k on microphones.
Wouldn't a master know the technical aspect of their craft?
Basically hes doing nothing lmao
Hold on! So this dude isn’t even mixing? What’s he playing at? 😂
He wants to sell cheap methods, he promotes Waves :) even do the children knows what is the benefit of R-Vox and Rcomp etc...
TH-cam and general the net is full of such sponsored guys ... The pros are keeping the secret formula, they show only what they are paid to! Greets!
yeah...what is he talking about?
Tracking. vocal production. Making a great sounding demo
@@cowlegoblonski tracking was done by someone else. He added compressor/eq/delay then said he was going to send it off to the mixing guy. So I don’t see what value he’s adding 😝 in any other business, he’d be a victim of downsizing. 😂
Ok. So I looked at his resumé. He’s a vocal producer with incredible pedigree. I guess the title of the video is deceptive and we’re seeing a disguised waves advert 😝 what I’d really like to see is the vocal production session.
Who the hell is listening to that crap? Big ados to his production skills, but song sucks regardless...