I’m not the highest grade of weed in the dispensary BUT, boosting frequencies actually does increase the volume of that frequency...i promise you I’m not lying
You’re suppose to level match the gain AFTER BOOSTING EQ💎 When you do that, it’s no longer louder, only the tonal balance (difference in volume btwn frequencies has changed)
This was amazing, my man. I've recently been experimenting with adding vocals to my own stuff, and it always sounded like things didnt "fit" properly. I'm definitely gonna be giving all these a shot! Thanks for putting this together, Dylan! Shoutouts to ya =D
This is amazing. I was confused why my beats sounded so bad when I added vocals on top. I used this method and boom it sounds magical. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!
Really excellent video. The section on masking was great; I never thought to go through the mix and just mute a track at a time while being tuned into the vocals
i found this video to be very helpful. here is this video simplified: step 1: eq vocals (add brightness/character) 2:35 step 2: compress vocals (consistency) 3:59 step 3: make sure your vocal sounds good with the rest of the song (masking) 7:03 step 4: do not let your vocal be too loud (bonus tip) 12:25
1) Load a favourite track from the same genre - compare loudness/clarity or whatever you're looking for! 2)Use Wavesfactory Trackspacer vst plugin, send an instrument that is not the main one that you wanna hear, EQ cuts will sound worse than Trackspacer has and more importantly far less work! 3) Control Stereo width within the mix.4) Nothing will be too loud!
I'm sorry, but the repeated comments about not increasing the volume are blatantly incorrect. At 2:10 we can see the wet vocal meters are floating around -12 with peaks at -9. The dry vocal meters float around -18 with peaks at -12. Similar changes occur for the other two vocal tracks. That isn't "the illusion of loudness". That's just loudness. If we simplify the wet-dry difference to 4db, then the sound intensity of the wet signal is 251% of the dry signal. Which translates to a 32% increase in perceived loudness. Which is not resultant from your processing but simply from the increase in volume that you repeatedly pretend isn't happening. You have a position as an educator, and thus a responsibility not to perpetuate misinformation. Level match your processing. The techniques in this video are otherwise strong. Thanks.
My mixing "guru" told me the vocals are too loud on a track I sent, and somehow the link to this video popped up on my phone ;-) Very clear and helpful as always! Thanks, Dylan and MOAM!
I really love this video! Here’s my two cents: Pro Q3 has a tool where it can show which frequencies are clashing the most between two tracks. Knowing this I would probably use that tool (for the masking portion of this video) and then apply a dynamic eq to the frequencies of the instrument that’s clashing with the vocals (I use TDR NOVA because it’s a free dynamic eq where u can have multiple eq bands sidechaining in different ways) so that the instrument doesn’t have to always have that eq dip. When the vocals go away the instrument can return to its normal state. Just a thought 🙏
An undetectable amount yes, but his point is legit, you don't have to turn up the vox in the mix if you can clean up some masking frequencies from other instruments
6:50 i would really appreciate a tutorial on this!! using compression to kind of glue lead vocals and doubles together. i always struggle with mixing in doubles/harmonies so they don't stand out too much
It’s not essentially mixing them together. Just mixing them in a way that they blend together well. I make main vocals loud enough to be the main presence and apply reverb and parallel compression on busses then I try to get all three to blend together to give me a good sound.
Very informative video, I find sidechain compression helps a lot as well, by sidechaining the masking instruments with the vocals, so the vocals are always front and centre
You are correct. You are boosting frequencies which increases gain or cutting them which reduces gain.That's why most eq's have a gain knob or fader so you can gain stage after.
Also, a decent EQ like Fab Filter has an auto button that levels the volume so each time you boost or cut, the volume stays balanced. Means you aren't just tricking yourself with loudness, your EQ moves are totally exposed and forced you to make better EQ decisions.
Your 10-hour compressor class really-really helped me hear the differences a compressor makes, because of the level-matching. Now it was obvious how the vocals were either too loud or too meek before the compression. Thanks a lot!
Using a basically monotone rap vocal with such a small amount of volume variation is just short of useless for those of us that actually sing, or work with singers.
Bro how u gonna make a video titled "your vocals are too loud" and then unironically have your voiceover WAY louder than the song you're mixing. I have to turn my volume up and down just to listen to your mix differences only to have your voiceover blast my ears
Not sure I agree about the premise, alot of music have an obviously loud vocal, and I found this example to have a quiet vocal for my taste even after the adjustments. The unmasking technique is a good general tip though 👍
That was super interesting! I've been for years not wondering how so many songs I listen to manage to make the vocals so loud and clear without having to pull all the instruments down to make it fit, and now I get how!
ok but can u teach me how to make my overall song louder?? my song sounds so good on logic but when i download it and send it to my phone the volume is much lower
From your experience, how dependent is the EQ on the type of microphone and vocals? I struggled with this on my latest release but ended up with EQ almost opposite to yours - boosting around 1k really helped add "power" to the vocals without stifling the instruments, while I really struggled with that "presence" area sounding too harsh (having used a condenser). Funny thing is that was more of a mellow prog rock music, while mixing vocals on top of metal had felt much easier despite having to pop through heavy guitars. Either way, great video!
It’s entirely dependent on the microphone and vocal. All mics and vocalists sound different, you have to eq them differently depending on the song. There isn’t really a one size fits all.
Thank you for this video. As a beginner doing my own mixing/mastering this helped a lot. I’m good with the music but my vocals always lacking something. This made them pop. Thanks 🙏🏻
that point on brightness ive experienced with stuff like hi-hats and percussion, never knew that! should i compensate on that with lowered volume or remove some high-end? i think for separate headphones itll be a different volume, im guessing EQ would help with that?
Enjoyed your content but I'll have to disagree on one thing. When you are raising the higher frequencies you are actually increasing gain in those frequencies, therefore it means it's getting louder. But as far as sound as sounding closer, The frequencies may make it sound more intelegable and may be perceived as wider with the boost in the 10k and up range. Great stuff man. I enjoy your content. Keep it coming!
He said he gain staged each plugin as it was adjusted, so that means if it was louder after the eqing, he brought the gain down to match what it was when started... so, no, it wouldn't have an increase in volume
@@greghill5480 I must have missed it when watched it the first time. I went back through and listened again and I stand corrected. He did say that he gain staged inside the plugin.
This was incredibly helpful to a beginner! Thanks for sharing your knowledge, it makes perfect sense when laid out like this
2 года назад
I was actually thinking about this yesterday after I was listening to a song with really high pitched vocals, and although it was 100% clear in the mix, it felt soft and nice to hear. Now I know how to do it. Thank you so much!
Great video and clear and to the point with easy to follow A/B examples. I use to record local artist 20 years ago. Although I was able to get my EQ sounding clean there was still more room for improvement to get them sounding perfect. Wish I knew these steps back then. But hey you never stop learning. Great video 👍🏾
Interesting video, I'm new to audio design and while I've noticed "frequency jamming", I did not clue in before that brighter sounds appear to be closer -- thx for sharing these tips, I learned a lot!
Helpful if you want to make some kid talking over a backing track sound in some way interesting. Why didn't you demonstrate how this technique works with a proper singer, someone with a real dynamic range?
I really love you take on masking. Question: what if the frequency I need to cut for an instrument is the bread-and-butter tone center for the instrument?
Great video but what about working with a 2 track? As a studio engineer 99.9% of my clients don’t have the stems to instrumentals but sometimes I see the beat is just so loud in so many parts but what can I do besides raise the vocal? It’s hard to do eq cuts cause then you cut the whole beat.
dude holy shekels... that last tip was the One to Rule Them All. very Pro Tip. you are the Boss. I bet you hve one vid on groups. i am liking your grouping from what i can see
Good tips, they also help to reduce muddiness in the vocal tracks. Sometimes it goes the other way too, the VOX sound lower when you add reverb or delay.
U gotta send your reverb and delays and eq them some come with an eq built in as u may or may not know as well as eq the plugin on the saw mixer as well this will brighten the effects and make them fit to vocals better..I hope this helps and makes senese
Finally a hip hop vocal tutorial 🙌🙌 I would love to watch a tutorial on how to mix hiphop/rap beats 🙏🙏 how to balance it or just anything related to hip hop 😄 It would be very helpful
The trouble I've had in my Cakewalk recordings for a couple of years, is that when I export to MP3 or Wave files, the volume is significantly LOWER than MP3s I buy for instance. Just a few days ago I realized the problem: while recording (I have used an EVO 8 recently, and before that, a Mackie ProFX6v3) my headphone volume was set too high. Consequently, as far as listening via headphones, I had great volume. But in reality the recording volume was too low. So I've learned to turn down the headphone volume just enough to get a good sized waveform on the track. Also, in Cakewalk I can click on a track, then click on Process, and go to Normalize. This makes for "just right" volume. So bottom line, we need to have a REALISTIC VOLUME ON THE HEADPHONES that reflects the volume actually being recorded...
Just recorded a track and really wanted a different perspective and different PAIR OF EARS ON MI MIX so yuh just actually did that for mi whether yuh realized that or not. Big ups 🤜🏾🤛🏾 Question- mi lived in Brazil now 🇧🇷 but when mi lived in Philadelphia, mi Engineer use to only use a brightness and some just a little bit a reverb. Never hardly any whole eep of effects on mi voice. Mi asked about tis and him said because mi voice from is a gifted NATURAL STRONG VOICE THAT PROJECTS SO EASILY also, mi a SHAKESPERIAN TRAINED ACTOR, he told mi, MI VOICE DOES NOT NEED MUCH EFFECTS OR COLORING. Him tell mi some artists voice do while others don’t naturally. He also, said after coming to see mi perform, mi voice sounds exactly di same performing LIVE dat is does in di STUDIO....Whutz yuh take on tis COLORING OR NO COLORING EFFECTS FOR VOICE? Awesome vid bredda. Definitely needed this at di right tyme. 💯🇯🇲🇧🇷🤟🏾
hello！I have a question about the logic pro.The problem is that if I drag a midi clip to the front end of a track, "semitone mapping and optimized mapping" will be displayed below the track header. So I want to ask what do these two mean?
This is a great summary for dealing with the vocal loudness problem. I think the very last tip ie turn down your vocal before initiating the cut through techniques is very sensible. Thanks again...
This video would be much more helpful if it showed you fixing someone’s mix who didn’t do these things so we could here the difference between amateurish and professional ways to get vocals to pop.
