There’s a lot of confusion about dynamic equalization (EQ). Dynamic EQ is a great way to enhance the clarity, punch, and intelligibility of a vocal track.This post is the first in a series where I will be exploring different ways to use dynamic EQ on vocals.The equalization of vocals is one of the most important … Read more
Your mix is balanced. The kick and bass sit together, the vocal is clear, nothing is masking anything else. But it still sounds like a collection of separate tracks instead of one record. The pros call that missing quality “glue,” and you’ve probably spent an evening reaching for plugin after plugin trying to find it. … Read more
You are mid-mix, the vocal will not sit right, and you do not want a 3,000-word lecture. You want the number. Which frequency is the mud, where the harshness hides, what to boost for air. Fast. That is what this is. A vocal EQ cheat sheet you can scan in seconds and keep open next … Read more
You solo the vocal, and it sounds great. Then you drop it into the mix, and it vanishes. Boxy in the verse, harsh on the loud notes, somehow muddy and thin at the same time. So you start boosting and cutting at random, and 30 minutes later the vocal sounds worse than when you started. … Read more
You’ve got a decent vocal take, a compressor across it, and the ratio and threshold roughly where they should be. The gain reduction meter is moving. But the vocal still doesn’t sit right. It either sounds flat and choked, or it pumps and breathes in a way that pulls your ear. You spend 20 minutes … Read more
You’ve got a rap verse on the screen, the punch-ins are level-matched, and the vocal still doesn’t sit on the beat the way the reference track does. You pull a compressor in, set it to 4:1, drag the threshold down, and now the vocal sounds clamped but somehow still loose. Twenty minutes later, you’re considering … Read more
You’ve got a vocal up on the screen, the compressor’s open, and the only thing you know for sure is that “it depends on the genre.” That’s true. It’s also useless when you’re three hours into a mix and you need a starting point. The settings that make a Drake vocal sound like a Drake … Read more
You’ve spent forty minutes on a lead vocal. The verses sit fine. The chorus pokes through every time the singer leans in. You pull the threshold down, the chorus tames, the verses disappear under the bed. You pull it up, the chorus is back to peaking. The compressor isn’t broken. You’re using one tool to … Read more
Using reference tracks when mixing or making music is something that I wish I knew in the early days of my music career.Reference songs can help you improve the quality of your music at a much faster rate.When you are more advanced you’ll be able to get quality songs that will sound amazing on all … Read more
Your mix sounds flat. Everything is loud, everything is upfront, and it hits the listener as one wall of sound with no space behind it. You panned parts left and right, but it still feels two-dimensional, like a photo instead of a room. The records you love sound three-dimensional, with some elements right in your … Read more