Four Tips For Mixing Vocals

Most genres today have vocals as the primary and focal part of the song. It's no wonder we spend so much time trying to get our vocals to sound good and even more time being frustrated when we can't get them to sound the way we want. Every couple of months I like to revisit some concepts for mixing vocals and keep myself reminded of the tips and techniques that we can use to get a great sounding vocal track. These tips aren't anything new, but they are helpful reminders and will get you a more up front, clear, and professional vocal track.

Recording Quality

This should be written in stone. If your recording quality sucks, it will sound awful in the mix. That's just all there is to it. There's no way to take a horribly recorded vocal track and make it sound good in the mix. You will just be polishing something that's already broken. Spend the time getting the right mic and the right placement until you think it sounds awesome with no effects or mixing. 

The Performance

Not only should the recording setup be good, but the performance needs to be good as well. If the singer isn't hitting it right, just come back later and try again. When you get a good performance it will dramatically help when you get to mixing stage. This always goes back to the idea of getting it right at the source. I know that sounds like beating a dead horse, but it's the truth and it's amazing how quickly we forget it. Get a good performance! 

Save Vocals for Last

One technique I've been using and implementing over the past few months is saving my vocals for last when I'm mixing. This means I'll mute them or turn them down and go ahead and get everything else set. Now, this won't work 100% of the time. And this might just not be a technique that works well for you. With that said, I've found it easier to get my vocals to sit on top of the mix when mix them in at the end. At this point, I know everything else is sounding good and I can essentially just pop my vocals right on top and focus on getting them to sound right from then on out. 

Frequency Space

When we are mixing a song, we need to always be thinking about balance and how we can give instruments their own space in the frequency spectrum. One way you can get vocals to sit nice and up front without competing with other instruments, is to use subtractive EQ on some of your mid range instruments. Try cutting around 2khz on tracks like keys, guitar, electric, etc., and you'll really start to hear the vocals cut through. This will give them that nice space to sit in by themselves and you'll be able to hear them better without trying to turn them up and have them fight with other tracks. 

These are four fairly easy tips that you can start implementing today. Each song is unique and your needs will change depending on certain factors, but these ideas will give you a good foundation for a great sounding vocal track.