►►Download my FREE Mixing Checklist and follow my 8 step process and receive sneak peeks and early access to my upcoming mixing course, "Mixing University" → www.MixingChecklist.com
1. Simple, strategic EQ (roll off below ~120 Hz; scoop out -3dB ~350 Hz chest; +3dB shelf boost at 6,000 Hz) to clean it up and lift it 2. Strategic compression to bring the quieter parts up to be more consistent & up-front 3. Short slap delay mixed in to take it out of the bedroom and give it a sense of real space Super helpful! Thank you so much. Notes for myself & others.
This video helped me understand what EQ and Compression really looks like and I can't thank you enough. Everyone just talks about it or tells you their suggestions, but don't really ever show you what they do and how they work. I feel grateful to have come across this.
Just wanted to drop a comment and say that this is my go-to channel when I need guidance with mixing/mastering. Graham always gives simple, yet sound, advice. And I love the fact that most of what he teaches can be done with stock plug-ins! Awesome work, man.
Simple and to the point. I already do these things but the way it was delivered is going to help those starting out. Love how you deliver the content. Good job!
I just want to take a moment to say thank you for all you do! I am cutting my first record and without your info I would have had the wool pulled over my eyes and lost a LOT of money and time with a studio who recently delivered me an extremely subpar product. If I had not been watching your videos I wouldn’t have known what to look for and would have assumed what was given back was as good as it was going to get. It would have been a terribly disappointing project and probably would have led to me quitting singing once and for all. Your wealth of information saved me that tragedy and has given me the strength to be politely honest and strict about what I want/need. Thank you for saving my tail!
Love this tip man. I like to warm up vocals before any EQ with something like the slate VMR (Revival + Console collection) - makes things sound a little less digital IMO :)
Once again great upload thanks! One thing I've found is were you record vocals helps alot and the tone of the voice. Because I have a nasally voice the best results I got was using a cheap dynamic mic in a untreated room that had natural reverb compared to a treated room using a condenser mic. That might be outside the norm but I've even had people notice the difference..
Was mixing vocals yesterday and wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing to get them to sound clear - got a new preamp (the Scarlet 2i2, it's great, thanks for the constent recommendations for it) so it's been a bit of a learning curve figuring out how to mix something new when I've mixed my old preamp for five years. Glad to see all the cuts and boosts I did were in this video, so I did the right thing :D always love your content, thanks for always giving us veteran mixers refresher courses on these concepts, always helps.
I have a suggestion. Can You make a video how one singer can record great home studio cover? Using for example instrumental that all can sound decent for YT or IG.:)
nice but I wouldn't say that the recording sounded particularly home studio. Sounded like a pretty clean recording, actually. No 60 cycle hum going on or high hiss noise, and no room echo that I could really perceive so these 3 steps are really just common to all vocal recordings. I'd do those same steps pretty much on any vocal, home or not. Also, do you ever add a de-esser to beat down the S sounds or do you just pull clips down to lower the volume manually? And what about multiband compression? Do you ever use that instead of eq? Maybe instead of limiting the volume statically around 350 Hz, use a compressor on that range to limit it instead of reducing it across the board? Same as how you adjust the overall volume with a compressor, you can adjust a range of freq so you don't lose them, just beat down the loud ones? Just wondering what you think. thx
MAN, this is nuts. Just the EQ part alone, I have to admit, I could barely tell a difference between the vocals with and without the EQ tweaks. Undeniably, though, there was something different when you would switch between EQ'd and not. I'm sure thats why I don't mix professionally haha! (Or at all for that matter) thank you for the valuable resource!
Excellent - subtle moves to my ears - except that slap delay seems too crispy in the upper high end for me. What about rolling off - EQ'ing - a bit of the highs in the delay as well?
I've studied your videos for the last month's and listen to what you said I'm starting new a studio but it starts with better songs better recording performance and then these three easy steps
Great video. Thanks for little tips. Appreciate what you do to show all of us home studio user how to master better. Your the man my friend looking forward to learning more from you. God bless
i have a vocal booth but i have a problem, my vocal sound terrible , like a vibration between 200 and 500hz, i ear it in this video but not on the vocal of the girl, but on YOUR voice when u talk. i dont know if u understand me... i need to put down frequences between 200and500hz at -6gain and it give me a bad cheap sound. i need your help :'( my vocal booth is 1meter x 1meter x 2,1 meter
How'd you get the vocal to sound so crisp? I have an Apollo and it doesn't even sound that good and an RME.... smh Is it my cpu or what? - I need crystal clear vocals like hers and I have a good closet space.. The "Listen to mic" option on windows sounds good when I hear its feedback...but.... when I use hear my vocals on Pro tools in a reg session it sounds nasty and thin., is it my pro tools or something im doing wrong......I also optimized everything in my cpu so I'm confused ughhhh vocals are performed good just poor vocal sound goin through the interface in pro tools Set up: Windows Alienware Interfaces : RME or Apollo twin Mic: TLM 103
In this video (and often in other tutorials throughout youtube) you demonstrate what you are doing in Solo. But I also know that many experienced mixers will say to avoid mixing in solo. So when you actually apply these tricks, do you do it in Solo? Are you only showing it in Solo here so that we can hear what these 3 tricks do? Or should I actually put my vocals in Solo when I do things like this?
Would you apply these principles regardless of the vocalists style/voice type? At the moment I’m predominantly working with a male vocalists with a powerful/rock voice.
I have a question if anyone can explain this to me please do. I see videos where they go out of there way to stop slap back echo in a room with expensive sound proofing then add slap back to give it space to sound like it's in a room lol. Just saying. A band from Europe recorded their drums in an empty swimming pool. Wouldnt it make more sense to find a space where ur vocals sound very pleasing to the ear to begin with, record with eq n compression n that's it. U have the natural rm vibe that is real. Unless recording with less echo reduces the sheer volume of the frequency feed back so u can bring gain up higher without clipping n get a louder more present vocal???
Big fan here Graham. Could've done without having to listen to that that awful chipmonk vibrato but, that said.....I agree with many others here, the slap back delay was not a great 3rd move here IMO. It did nothing to make the voice sound bigger (as the stated goal) it just made the voice sound like it had a cheesy slap back delay on it. I believe a much better tool here is to use a stereo delay on a bus in the same way this was done but set the left and right channels to slightly different super short delays about 5 - 10 ms apart with 0 feedback. Example ( L - 15ms / R - 10ms ) when mixed in correctly this will make the voice sound way bigger without hearing any audible delay. Adding a second delay buss using a longer (tempo driven) stereo delay (set to like L - 3/4 / R - 2/3) for an actual delay effect would be another (4th) move that will really put your vocals into the pro studio sounding level without ever going to a reverb. I would also add one other thing.....I recently switched from a Scarlett interface to the new Clarett 2Pre and with it's massively improved dynamic range as well as the new "Air" feature, It took my original (dry) vocal recordings to an entirely new "PRO" level before even implementing these great tips. It cost a good bit more but it was the best investment I've made so far! DI guitars and bass using the "Air" feature also sound 10x better!
Hello just watch the webinar that you are promoting.... you put a link to your website and it does not work trying to get ahold of you still would like to purchase
I think you just solved 3 problems for me LOL! I'm finding myself too heavy on the reverb never thought of using tje delay instead. And i always thought a compressor makes your music too quiet or something! Big misconception!
I have idea. Automate the compressor so the parts intended to be low in the mix stay low or automate the volume of the track that way. It's so much more exciting if none can tell there is compression. It's a lot of work but I think makes things so much more exiting.
I barely know anything about pro mixing. But I just wanted to ask something about that compression process. If the compressor is bringing up lower sounding parts... how do we respect the intentional dynamics in the singing?
How do you control the size of the reverb with just a delay? I use delay and then reverb to change the tails so they smoothen and fit along with the rest of the mix (decay and predelay)
►►Download my FREE Mixing Checklist and follow my 8 step process and receive sneak peeks and early access to my upcoming mixing course, "Mixing University" → www.MixingChecklist.com
also look up Paris Troopa !
1. Simple, strategic EQ (roll off below ~120 Hz; scoop out -3dB ~350 Hz chest; +3dB shelf boost at 6,000 Hz) to clean it up and lift it
2. Strategic compression to bring the quieter parts up to be more consistent & up-front
3. Short slap delay mixed in to take it out of the bedroom and give it a sense of real space
Super helpful! Thank you so much. Notes for myself & others.
Do you know if the EQ curve is the same for low male vocals? I don’t know if it’s makes a difference that he used a female vocal with these settings?
This video helped me understand what EQ and Compression really looks like and I can't thank you enough. Everyone just talks about it or tells you their suggestions, but don't really ever show you what they do and how they work. I feel grateful to have come across this.
Just remember everybody we all sound dry when singing, respect the engineer!
Exactly
@@JasperJames0912 kinda sus
@@JasperJames0912 I know I was just playin I’m bisexual myself lol. Fruit on my dude 🤝
Just wanted to drop a comment and say that this is my go-to channel when I need guidance with mixing/mastering. Graham always gives simple, yet sound, advice. And I love the fact that most of what he teaches can be done with stock plug-ins! Awesome work, man.
I’m a beginner at home recording and been tryna figure how to get this exact sound you did thanks for the help ! This video is gold 💯
Simple and to the point. I already do these things but the way it was delivered is going to help those starting out. Love how you deliver the content. Good job!
That delay sounded terrible solo, but when he played it with the mix, I was like "ooohhh" lol.
Yeah, it's pretty cool
Yeah that's why most of these pros suggest mixing the song as a whole (with the exception of super exact issues)
Exactly Sammmme!
It's Friday and Graham posts a video. A great way to start the weekend!
Excellent video,straight to the point.Thank you.
can u tell me name of this software plz?
reza wee its Pro Tools
3:09 EQ
5:11 Compression
8:20 Delay
Sounds so good, brother! I've always appreciated your simplicity.
I think I know you 😅😂🤣
This worked so damn well with my vocals for a song I did. Thank you!
I just want to take a moment to say thank you for all you do! I am cutting my first record and without your info I would have had the wool pulled over my eyes and lost a LOT of money and time with a studio who recently delivered me an extremely subpar product. If I had not been watching your videos I wouldn’t have known what to look for and would have assumed what was given back was as good as it was going to get. It would have been a terribly disappointing project and probably would have led to me quitting singing once and for all. Your wealth of information saved me that tragedy and has given me the strength to be politely honest and strict about what I want/need. Thank you for saving my tail!
whitney wickham maybe your product is crap though?
I want to hear that song from beginning to end. Mixing rules
Me too.
Love this tip man. I like to warm up vocals before any EQ with something like the slate VMR (Revival + Console collection) - makes things sound a little less digital IMO :)
I never thought of using delay in place of reverb... cool!!!!!
Closet singer here - thanks for this help!
I'm not a good singer but love recording as a hobby at home. Thanks for the advice.
Once again great upload thanks! One thing I've found is were you record vocals helps alot and the tone of the voice. Because I have a nasally voice the best results I got was using a cheap dynamic mic in a untreated room that had natural reverb compared to a treated room using a condenser mic.
That might be outside the norm but I've even had people notice the difference..
I'm glad you've found a combo that works for you! One size doesn't fit all for sure, and much of it is up to personal taste.
I really like that delay effect in place of reverb. I cant wait to try that out!
Dude. Thank you so much for this video. I can’t tell you how long I’ve been looking for that answer to get pro out of house.
Maaaan that guitar is panned so hard to the left, it’s gonna fall over 😂😂😂
Ye that's pretty far. I'm about to go through some of my own music and fix that too now lol
Hard left.lol
Great video! Would the the EQ curve be the same for low male rock vocals?! Thanks!🤘
Was mixing vocals yesterday and wasn't sure if I was doing the right thing to get them to sound clear - got a new preamp (the Scarlet 2i2, it's great, thanks for the constent recommendations for it) so it's been a bit of a learning curve figuring out how to mix something new when I've mixed my old preamp for five years. Glad to see all the cuts and boosts I did were in this video, so I did the right thing :D always love your content, thanks for always giving us veteran mixers refresher courses on these concepts, always helps.
I have a suggestion. Can You make a video how one singer can record great home studio cover? Using for example instrumental that all can sound decent for YT or IG.:)
nice but I wouldn't say that the recording sounded particularly home studio. Sounded like a pretty clean recording, actually. No 60 cycle hum going on or high hiss noise, and no room echo that I could really perceive so these 3 steps are really just common to all vocal recordings. I'd do those same steps pretty much on any vocal, home or not. Also, do you ever add a de-esser to beat down the S sounds or do you just pull clips down to lower the volume manually? And what about multiband compression? Do you ever use that instead of eq? Maybe instead of limiting the volume statically around 350 Hz, use a compressor on that range to limit it instead of reducing it across the board? Same as how you adjust the overall volume with a compressor, you can adjust a range of freq so you don't lose them, just beat down the loud ones? Just wondering what you think. thx
My dude! 💪
Use multi band compressor.
//:: Perfect video. As I record more music, I was looking for a little help with vocal mixes and this great advice.
So mixing is about adding your own style ,a lot of producers would say adding that delay to the vocals would be wrong! But that sounds great.
Of course it's about what sounds good it's music
MAN, this is nuts. Just the EQ part alone, I have to admit, I could barely tell a difference between the vocals with and without the EQ tweaks. Undeniably, though, there was something different when you would switch between EQ'd and not. I'm sure thats why I don't mix professionally haha! (Or at all for that matter) thank you for the valuable resource!
Great sound fam
came here for mixing knowledge.. but fell in love with that song...
Excellent - subtle moves to my ears - except that slap delay seems too crispy in the upper high end for me. What about rolling off - EQ'ing - a bit of the highs in the delay as well?
Totally
God bless, brother. This is great stuff, even for experienced writers/producers. Much appreciated!
thank u so much for those 3 steps that will improve my cover videos. thanks again
I've studied your videos for the last month's and listen to what you said I'm starting new a studio but it starts with better songs better recording performance and then these three easy steps
Great video. Thanks for little tips. Appreciate what you do to show all of us home studio user how to master better. Your the man my friend looking forward to learning more from you. God bless
I have learned so much from watching these videos. It has really taken my recordings to a better level. Thanks for the wealth of knowledge Graham!!!
Exactly what I needed. Thanks, Graham.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the world!
You rock
Great tips, and I wasn't sure about the slap delay until I heard it in the mix - then it really works (as is so often the case, solo can fool you).
i have a vocal booth but i have a problem, my vocal sound terrible , like a vibration between 200 and 500hz, i ear it in this video but not on the vocal of the girl, but on YOUR voice when u talk. i dont know if u understand me... i need to put down frequences between 200and500hz at -6gain and it give me a bad cheap sound. i need your help :'( my vocal booth is 1meter x 1meter x 2,1 meter
Great performance to work with!
Good stuff. Thanks for the simple steps. Like how you explained comp on vocals and why.
Brilliant video Graham !!!
Thank you very much! great work!
I like that slap delay technique. Really no need for a reverb in this scenario
Super nice bro! Thanks so much..
How'd you get the vocal to sound so crisp? I have an Apollo and it doesn't even sound that good and an RME.... smh Is it my cpu or what?
- I need crystal clear vocals like hers and I have a good closet space.. The "Listen to mic" option on windows sounds good when I hear its feedback...but....
when I use hear my vocals on Pro tools in a reg session it sounds nasty and thin., is it my pro tools or something im doing wrong......I also optimized everything in my cpu so I'm confused ughhhh vocals are performed good just poor vocal sound goin through the interface in pro tools
Set up: Windows Alienware
Interfaces : RME or Apollo twin
Mic: TLM 103
Is there a list of the 3 steps he did? Not familiar with this and what he is doing on the software I use.
Thanks Graham! You're videos are helping me so much. Keep up the great work.
Bro love your work
Love from India 😍
I gotta say..I'm kinda digging the raw version dry...maybe no delay...just eq and comp.
Andrew J Castaneda forsure I agree but it wouldn’t ever fly in industry radio.
Hey Graham... Please make a video about RMS vs peak compression techniques in different situations
Adarsh Shrivastav this is a great idea
It’s about time I find something that really helps thank you✊🏼
In this video (and often in other tutorials throughout youtube) you demonstrate what you are doing in Solo.
But I also know that many experienced mixers will say to avoid mixing in solo.
So when you actually apply these tricks, do you do it in Solo? Are you only showing it in Solo here so that we can hear what these 3 tricks do? Or should I actually put my vocals in Solo when I do things like this?
Thanks recording revolution!!! I found it extremely helpful:)
idk about the delay but all the advice is good thank you
Great basic techniques to get a clean vocal at home!
As a beginner it is hard to hear the differences with the EQ! Amazing insight nonetheless, really learned a thing or 2 from this video!
Hell yeah I felt that first part
what about level automation on the vocals before processing, especially compression? would this sound smoother, as it requires less compression?
Thank you! I've been looking for this info, and you nailed it
This steps are revealed by Graham years ago. and i learnt this on this page :)
Awesome vocal made more awesome!
Love your videos, recordingrevolution!
Very nice..hmmm the “k” on the word “back” ..?
Excellent and clear information. Thank U.
0:37
In my case, I am singing and the vocal performance IS an issue. lol
I'm not good at it. I'm good at the music part and just don't have a singer.
I'll sing for you.
Really great video! Thank you. Liked and subscribed!!!
Who is the band? Singer sounds awesome!
I could be wrong but it sounds like one of the singers from the Lack family
Soul Journer - Lack Family Band :)
Tarantino vibe ;)
I’m a SO on my way BAckUH
Awesome as usual! 👏 👏Thank you, Graham!
Nice, unique voice and freq shaping.
hey man, great video, and that song sounds amazing
thank you so much for sharing the Mixing Checklist!
Would you apply these principles regardless of the vocalists style/voice type? At the moment I’m predominantly working with a male vocalists with a powerful/rock voice.
I have a question if anyone can explain this to me please do. I see videos where they go out of there way to stop slap back echo in a room with expensive sound proofing then add slap back to give it space to sound like it's in a room lol. Just saying. A band from Europe recorded their drums in an empty swimming pool. Wouldnt it make more sense to find a space where ur vocals sound very pleasing to the ear to begin with, record with eq n compression n that's it. U have the natural rm vibe that is real. Unless recording with less echo reduces the sheer volume of the frequency feed back so u can bring gain up higher without clipping n get a louder more present vocal???
Big fan here Graham. Could've done without having to listen to that that awful chipmonk vibrato but, that said.....I agree with many others here, the slap back delay was not a great 3rd move here IMO. It did nothing to make the voice sound bigger (as the stated goal) it just made the voice sound like it had a cheesy slap back delay on it. I believe a much better tool here is to use a stereo delay on a bus in the same way this was done but set the left and right channels to slightly different super short delays about 5 - 10 ms apart with 0 feedback. Example ( L - 15ms / R - 10ms ) when mixed in correctly this will make the voice sound way bigger without hearing any audible delay. Adding a second delay buss using a longer (tempo driven) stereo delay (set to like L - 3/4 / R - 2/3) for an actual delay effect would be another (4th) move that will really put your vocals into the pro studio sounding level without ever going to a reverb. I would also add one other thing.....I recently switched from a Scarlett interface to the new Clarett 2Pre and with it's massively improved dynamic range as well as the new "Air" feature, It took my original (dry) vocal recordings to an entirely new "PRO" level before even implementing these great tips. It cost a good bit more but it was the best investment I've made so far! DI guitars and bass using the "Air" feature also sound 10x better!
Simple and effective makes perfect since.
Great Video man🤟🏻
Hello just watch the webinar that you are promoting.... you put a link to your website and it does not work trying to get ahold of you still would like to purchase
It's a yes for me...thank you..
Good stuff as always.
Love your videos. Thanks so much for posting!
where is the full mixing course you mentioned in end? please make a full mixing course i will buy everything.
Thanks for sharing your expertise
I think you just solved 3 problems for me LOL! I'm finding myself too heavy on the reverb never thought of using tje delay instead. And i always thought a compressor makes your music too quiet or something! Big misconception!
Disasta Da Villn it does at first, but that is what the make up gain is for.
I can't tell the difference between the normal version and EQ version at 4:10 ... Maybe my ear is just too untrained? D:
Great content, thanks Graham!
Super! Now, all I need now is to learn how to sing.
(Should be a doddle).
Is there an equivalent for this software in Pc instead of Mac?
Thank you for this!
muchas gracias! por más que no sepa inglés pude entender todo a la perfección.
I have idea. Automate the compressor so the parts intended to be low in the mix stay low or automate the volume of the track that way. It's so much more exciting if none can tell there is compression. It's a lot of work but I think makes things so much more exiting.
Great topic! Priceless! How do you compress a heavy vocals like growls/gutturals?
I barely know anything about pro mixing. But I just wanted to ask something about that compression process. If the compressor is bringing up lower sounding parts... how do we respect the intentional dynamics in the singing?
How do you control the size of the reverb with just a delay? I use delay and then reverb to change the tails so they smoothen and fit along with the rest of the mix (decay and predelay)
The Feedback. A slap delay by nature is going to be a small space anyways. If you want a larger space, then just use a plate or room verb.
Can anyone let me know what kind of DAW he uses in this video, please? Thankyou in advance.
Hes using pro tools im not 100% sure what version.
You are helping me ..... thank you so much
Love this! Thanks!
Is there a video of you explaining the plugins you use for the vocal mix bus?