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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 16, 2023 14:15:23 GMT -6
Sometimes - especially after a day of mixing or something - I'll find myself mixing vocals a little too loud. Which I guess is better than not loud enough...but anyone have any hacks on a good way to tell?
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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 16, 2023 14:17:00 GMT -6
Come to think of it...it's one guy who's said the vox were too loud a couple of time...so maybe it's just him. But I did think they were a little loud.
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Post by paulcheeba on Jul 16, 2023 14:38:34 GMT -6
Personally I think loud vocals sell the song but I do one up, one in the middle and one down if I’m not sure. They are normally good though.
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Post by jmoose on Jul 16, 2023 14:48:11 GMT -6
Quick listen on an alternate set of speakers I haven't had ears on all day...
Sometimes before sending the mix I'll hit the iMac speakers or the little Sony rig on the office desk and think... umm... Not there yet. And I'll go back and tweak things before delivery. Not specifically vocals, anything that jumps out in translation.
Otherwise I kinda just let the artists feel things out & let me know. That's the 95% answer.
Truthfully the vocal usually gets shaped & placed right quickly at the top of the mix... some start with drums & add up. I tend to build around the vocal. If I start with the vocal its harder to bury...
Vocal first is easier to keep on top / in place because its had an adequate amount of space allowed from the beginning & everything else gets carved around it. If we go the other way, drums up and place vocals towards the end sometimes there isn't enough dynamic left. Harder to claim their spot.
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Post by theshea on Jul 16, 2023 15:11:13 GMT -6
i check vocal levels on my mono avantone mixcube speaker at low volume. like i would listen to a kitchen radio while talking to someone in the room.
or i check VU meter and check it against the snare or the lead guitar or whatever should be one of the loudest most important parts of the song.
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Post by jeremygillespie on Jul 16, 2023 15:17:38 GMT -6
On ns-10’s.
Usually I check against a Sheryl Crowe record honestly.
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Post by wiz on Jul 16, 2023 15:41:54 GMT -6
Turn it right down …..then listen and adjust at that level…then turn back up…..helps me with kick snare bass and vocal
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2023 18:10:13 GMT -6
Ride the fader to bury it to be barely audible on certain references. Different requested vocal levels get ridden on different references.
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Post by christophert on Jul 17, 2023 2:40:39 GMT -6
Walk into the next room with it playing on the studio monitors.
Works for me every time.
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Post by itzprime on Jul 17, 2023 3:08:04 GMT -6
I collapse the mix into mono and listen on crappy IEMs. Usually they boost the vocal range insanely, so if is nice there - it is good.
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Post by thirdeye on Jul 17, 2023 5:21:00 GMT -6
Lately I've been setting up a separate session to import all my working 2 track mixes for the project side by side with a reference mix, to compare levels between songs very quickly and make notes. This helps me focus quickly on differences between songs, ie. if the vocal is too loud/quiet on one song compared to another.
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Post by drbill on Jul 17, 2023 7:52:51 GMT -6
There was great personal freedom when I finally came to terms with the fact that there is no right or wrong level for a vocal. They are literally all over the map with super successful artists / songs. All you have is just how you feel at that particular moment in time. Within professional boundaries of course. The beauty of DAW's is that you can always go back and change things if someone else who matters wants it different.
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Post by mythundreamt on Jul 17, 2023 7:59:13 GMT -6
My favorite is to have it playing nice and loud in the car and then be outside of the car with the door open. You immediately know.
Skip this though if you sold your car to get an Unfairchild.
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Post by svart on Jul 17, 2023 9:39:45 GMT -6
Listen on your phone. If all you hear is the vocals, then it's too loud.
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Post by trakworxmastering on Jul 17, 2023 9:46:04 GMT -6
Walk into the next room with it playing on the studio monitors. Works for me every time. This. 'Works for overall mix element balances too. Standing outside the control room, when it's all sitting together right I feel the groove of the song come through in a way I can't from the mix position. |
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Post by the other mark williams on Jul 17, 2023 13:40:21 GMT -6
Walk into the next room with it playing on the studio monitors. Works for me every time. This. 'Works for overall mix element balances too. Standing outside the control room, when it's all sitting together right I feel the groove of the song come through in a way I can't from the mix position. I find that doing something in the next room over helps, too. A buddy of mine used to have a putter and some golf balls in the room next to the control room, and when the mix was just about done, we would go over there and putt while the mix was playing back. Just the small mind distraction helped us to judge whether it was all sitting right. |
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Post by brentbodrug on Jul 17, 2023 22:55:17 GMT -6
Listen to "Ribbons" by Ryan Beatty and you'll never think your vocals are too loud ever again!
Seriously though, this album "Calico" is one of the most stunning records I've ever heard. It's so broken and SO BEAUTIFUL 🙂
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Post by thehightenor on Jul 18, 2023 2:10:40 GMT -6
Personally I think loud vocals sell the song but I do one up, one in the middle and one down if I’m not sure. They are normally good though. +1 Exactly my approach. Three mixes - up, down, middle and live with it for a few days, play it on various systems and it always reveals itself. On the whole though, I'm with you, I like to get my vocals as loud as I dare go plus a touch more to just push it onto the side of loud, proud and confident. |
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Post by Mister Chase on Jul 18, 2023 7:57:08 GMT -6
I like Audified Mixchecker pro and checking in mono. I just try the different settings and make sure it isn't too much. On the mains it's almost always a little less than mono/cans/mixchecker "systems". But its the vocal so... better to be a little hot than buried in most instances, I would think. Revisions usually take care of it. Just drag the whole PT volume line down .2db or whatever and you're there.
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Post by drbill on Jul 18, 2023 8:47:23 GMT -6
All the "tricks" of up, down, middle only help you from having to "remix" again. After that, you're still left with the inevitable.....
Which mix, which vocal level to actually use.....
And there is the actual crux of the problem.
There is no right or wrong. Only what you (or whoever makes the final decision) are feeling at that particular moment.
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Post by Mister Chase on Jul 18, 2023 8:54:39 GMT -6
All the "tricks" of up, down, middle only help you from having to "remix" again. After that, you're still left with the inevitable..... Which mix, which vocal level to actually use..... And there is the actual crux of the problem. There is no right or wrong. Only what you (or whoever makes the final decision) are feeling at that particular moment. Which is one situation where I'm happy to defer to the client. Once it's in the ballpark, I'll move the fader a little up or down to their liking. Now when they want to tell me how many DB of each track for the entire process, it's an issue... |
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Jul 18, 2023 12:28:04 GMT -6
All the "tricks" of up, down, middle only help you from having to "remix" again. After that, you're still left with the inevitable..... Which mix, which vocal level to actually use..... And there is the actual crux of the problem. There is no right or wrong. Only what you (or whoever makes the final decision) are feeling at that particular moment. Which is one situation where I'm happy to defer to the client. Once it's in the ballpark, I'll move the fader a little up or down to their liking. Now when they want to tell me how many DB of each track for the entire process, it's an issue... 100%. This is a complete matter of taste and should be deferred to the client unless they're just outrageously wrong. I do have one rule of thumb though. The worse the singer the more I like to crank it. Bad singer loud is "character", burying a bad singer just draws attention to the poor performance. Then again, I also like mixing good singers loud too. Maybe I just like hot vocals? |
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Post by Mister Chase on Jul 18, 2023 12:31:37 GMT -6
Which is one situation where I'm happy to defer to the client. Once it's in the ballpark, I'll move the fader a little up or down to their liking. Now when they want to tell me how many DB of each track for the entire process, it's an issue... 100%. This is a complete matter of taste and should be deferred to the client unless they're just outrageously wrong. I do have one rule of thumb though. The worse the singer the more I like to crank it. Bad singer loud is "character", burying a bad singer just draws attention to the poor performance. Then again, I also like mixing good singers loud too. Maybe I just like hot vocals? That's an idea I can understand. No amount of technical engineering knowledge will tell you the psychological impacts of something like trying to hide a bad vocal. |
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