Joe Albano on Jun 13, 2016 in Mixing & Mastering 0 comments

When it comes to mixing vocals, the devil is in the details'"here are 5 mistakes to avoid when blending vocal tracks into an arrangement.  
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1The Goldilocks Rule 2Squeeze the Life 3Take My Breath Away 4Push the Vocals 5Go Wide

1. Don’t Ignore the Goldilocks Rule

Fig 1 Various songs and musical genres may treat the vocal a little differently, when it comes to level

2. Don’t Squeeze the Life out of the Singer

Fig 2 The right amount and type of compression is needed for vocals

3. Don’t Take their Breath Away

Fig 3 Breath sounds in a vocal recording

4. Don’t Push the Vocals to the Back

Fig 4 A judicious application of doubling and reverb effects works best

5. Don’t Mix the Vocals in Mono—Go Wide

Fig 5 Stereo micro-pitch-shifting is a popular technique for subtly widening vocal tracks

Every (Vocal) in its Place

Want to avoid more music making mishaps?! Check out Joe Albano's Audio Mistakes series here.
Prev 1/5 Next
1The Goldilocks Rule 2Squeeze the Life 3Take My Breath Away 4Push the Vocals 5Go Wide

Joe Albano

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Joe is a musician, engineer, and producer in NYC. Over the years, as a small studio operator and freelance engineer, he's made recordings of all types from music & album production to v/o & post. He's also taught all aspects of recording and music technology at several NY audio schools, and has been writing articles for Recording magaz... Read More

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