OK, OK…finally we get to the fun part! If you’ve read Part I and Part II of Mixing Your Vocals, you’ll know that laying the musical foundation – a great mix on the instrumental tracks - will give you a ‘frame’ for your vocal track. The instrumentals need to enhance, showcase, support your vocal instrument, not distract or cover.

By the way, everything I’m describing in these posts occurs using ProTools recording/editing/mixing software. It’s the industry standard and it’s all I have ever used for my released projects. It works for me.

Start with a completely dry vocal track, that is, a track with no reverb or effects. As I stated in Part I, a good mic and a great room or recording booth will give you a clean, organic vocal slate to begin with.

(more…)

OK, OK, it’s not THAT bad! Mixing is actually quite fun. No, honest…really. It IS!

As I mention in Part I, you need to start with vocal tracks that are pristine, ‘dry’ (no effects), and of the very best performance quality. Think of the mixing procedure as the Recipe, and you are the Chef. You MUST have the freshest, highest quality ingredients before you begin putting it all together…the sum is only as good as the parts! So…let’s start mixing!

Generally speaking, I ask the engineer (my engineer is the fabulous Jamie Bridges, of “Room With a View Studio” in Petaluma, CA) to first mix the instrumental tracks separately from the vocal tracks. “But I thought we were going to start with mixing my VOICE!!” Well, “Patience, Grasshopper,” is my response to you, O Impatient One. You need to build the ‘frame’ for your fabulous vocals FIRST. THEN you mix your vocals….So, where was I? Oh yes… (more…)