at 4:20 you say the high harmony ha a doubling effect, but I only see one take. Do you mean you mix it like the double (meaning with the stereo widener). And then you mix the lower harmony without the stereo widener like the main?
Yes. Often times harmonies can be difficult for a vocalist. So we are having them do it only once and then using processing to make it sound like more.
the doubled takes are mono tracks with stereo widening summed to a stereo track. The background vocals are two mono takes panned then summed. If you listen closely on headphones you can tell which is which. You get a slightly different tone when widening vs double tracking.
@@AdamShepard Hey Adam! Thanks for the clarification on this, I too was wondering same thing. Could you please explain what you mean by "stereo widening summed to a stereo track" and "two mono takes panned then summed"? I was under the impression every vocal track on this video was centered and not hard panned L/R, with the overdubs/background vocals/harmonies having stereo widener plugins directly on those tracks. Thanks!
Joey and Team, If you see this, I was wondering what I could do to get some advice on a mixing/mastering issue I’m facing where the vocals get distorted at near max-max volume in car speakers. It happens in multiple sets of speakers in different cars. When I listen to a track in a similar Genre (Shout by Tears for Fears) there is no issue with this so I know it’s not the car speakers. In every other type of speaker we’ve used to test the mixes, which has to be an upward of 10 or so different headphones and speakers, this isn’t an issue at all. I’ve gainstaged a couple of the mixes so I have a good amount of headroom on the master bus. I’m using AR TG Mastering to master the track. I have a couple of different FX chains for the vocals in different songs. I have a main one I used and then one I used to try to fix the issue and both have the issue still. Let me know if there is anything I can do or pay in order to pick your brain on this issue. I really appreciate you taking the time to read this and I hope you have an amazing new year! Sincerely, Matthew
I have a question that I’m hoping you can answer. Maybe it’s in another video, and I’ll keep looking, but I’m interested in the tracking portion. Looking at that vocal stack, it seems like so overwhelming, and I have no clue what is just a copy/paste, and what is a completely separate take? And more importantly, what is allowed, and what is a big no-no when copying vocals tracks. With phasing concerns, I understand you can’t just double tracks, but with the sections where you’re adding distortion and throws, copying tracks, does phasing come into play? I guess my question is, how should I track/record vocals before I even make it to the mixing portion?
What are you doing JOEY ? are you going to put all the production channels in shame? they're poor people go easy on them... youve started a goddamn revoloution ... damn. OG fan here btw
I really wonder how screamed or shouted choruses layered with cleans are being mixed. Im a total beginner and really trying to make a chorus like this sound good.
Nice tips, very useful! Although regarding the doubles - I used to use two different tracks (instead of one) splited into the left and the right channel behind the main vox to create more wideness. But it depends on what exactly you want to achieve from the sound I think, so using only one doubletrack may be more convenient in some situations
That's some pretty awesome insight into your workflow. I've always been curious about how to make a stack NOT overpower any one vocal, or other instruments in the mix. As one adds vocals, let's say their 440hz area is really heavy during the verse. As I add layers, it just starts feeling thick and muddy, but EQ and volume cuts alone don't make it sound cohesive or give me the inpact I want, yet stereo spreading sometimes gets in the way of other instruments. I guess the main thing is, how do I keep the undesirable Fq bumps from peaking out, while keeping from over processing and compressing them? Compression is awesome, but it can suck away transients and life, quickly....and automation seems time consuming.
I’ve been getting more into doing vocals and thinking I’m not doing enough, it’s a breath of fresh air to come watch this and see a few of the things I’m already doing!!! Thanks for the video Joey 🔥🔥🔥
good stuff. im new to the world of multiple vocal layers. i just finished a song where i ended up doing two main takes for the chorus, one panned left, one panned right, then bussed back to a channel for eq/soothe2/delay/verb. i just opened that project back up and tried it your way, keeping one of those takes centered, and the other one artificially doubled nice and wide with slightly varied eq and effects. it sounds so much better, a lot fuller
why is that when i copy the part that i wanna do delay throw. its not sitting in the mix properly? i follow your instruction. i put it in the vocal clean bus. how to fix this?
Make sure the delay is set to 100% wet. If you don’t, it’s gonna double the volume of the vocal part. Also if your vocal clean bus has a compressor on it, then you’re gonna compress the delay tails which will not be the same effect as you hear on this video.
Off topic but Joey can you advise on what screen recording software you are using? I'm struggling to find one that actually picks up audio from Cubase..
hey joey! question for you as a cubase 10 user on your vocal all bus would you still send your reverb sends to it? so mono vocals to the vocal buss, and all sends keep them routed to the stereo out? or create a Stereo All vocal bus and have all the mono vocals and effects go to it?
Nice tutorial and greta effects! I prefer sends rather than copy media item section to be able to send post FX signal without using render. :) Insert FX VS Sends: I often end up with sends cause the mix knob will lower incoming signal volume (when use as insert), I prefer dry and wet volumes knobs... which which is what two tracks will be.
I have a very similar work flow... nice to know...I am also super picky about how tight the doubles are, makes a huge difference on the clarity and impact.
I only really record Hip-hop/Rap vocals now, and I mainly just process 5 vocal tracks 1 main, a double, ad libs, and backing vocals for extra emphasis, into a main and backing vocal bus with gain reduction and EQ, and some stereo widening. That gets sent to a delay and reverb bus and then all of those go into the parallel compression bus and bus glue. If I want to throw a delay/ reverb throw I do the Joey Sturgis Method of drag and drop on a track that's a folder under the main vocal track. I love that there is no rules to this, I'm definitely going to try this on the Prog/Djent mix I'm working on currently for a friend.
I think it's to make the chorus feel bigger. Whenever I use widening instead of doubling, it's bc a part is either too complicated and fast like a guitar solo, or bc I want a tighter and smaller tone that stereo tracking would give
I get confused right at around 4:05. I notice all the waveforms for the chorus vocals are stereo opposed to the vocals in the verse being mono. Can someone give a more detailed explanation of what is exactly happening here with the "v sing mains" and "v sing dubs" tracks?
Joey often bounces tracks to stereo, even from a mono source. So those the waveforms in both channels are identical, and the behavior excactly the same as a mono track. Just takes more hard drive space haha
I've seen Joey do the mono to stereo bounce thing that djentlover noted below before. Although "v sing main" looks wonky and gets confusing looking at a stereo bounce with differing waveform info for a main, it's likely a mono track, sitting on the center channel. I think the waveforms looking different are likely a result of the original session mono track being bounced with it's FX (delay throw/verb information included) which is why the L/R info on the waveforms look different.
