4 Golden Rules to Mixing Hip Hop Vocals | Lu Diaz (Jay-Z, Beyoncé)

Multi-platinum producer/mixing engineer Lu Diaz (Jay-Z, Beyoncé, DJ Khaled, Pitbull) shows his 4 steps for mixing professional sounding hip-hop vocal leads, ad-libs and vocal sweeteners. Download Lu's presets and learn more: www.waves.com/hiphop-vocals
0:45 #1: Remove harsh & problem frequencies
4:58 #2: Add color & shine
6:27 #3: Pan ad-libs & vocal sweeteners
8:25 #4: Add depth, character & vocal FX
Plugins used by Lu Diaz in this video:
Renaissance Vox: www.waves.com/rvox
C6 Multiband Compressor: www.waves.com/c6
eMo Q4 Equalizer: www.waves.com/q4
Manny Marroquin Triple D: www.waves.com/ddd
C1 Compressor: www.waves.com/c1
DeEsser: www.waves.com/deesser
API 550: www.waves.com/api550
Doubler: www.waves.com/doubler
H-Delay Hybrid Delay:www.waves.com/hdelay
Renaissance Equalizer:www.waves.com/reneq
Tune Real-Time: www.waves.com/tunert
Music: "Paradise" by Tony Mike
Get the latest updates from Lu Diaz:
Website: thebestmixengineer.com/
KZbin: / ludiazmusic
Instagram: / iamludiaz
Twitter: / iamludiaz
Facebook: / iamludiaz

[@adithyasathya2578]

The fact that this man gave a bunch of his audio engineering secrets is just really commendable. Thank you.

[@momoflows1923]

Adithya Sathya it’s not secret, the term ‘secret’ is just marketing

[@funinthesun9520]

instagram.com/justforvocals these guys give away hella gold too!

[@Manleyworld]

For real 🙏🏿

[@SocietateaAscendenta]

@@momoflows1923 It is still a secret (something unknown for some), until you find out what it is about, then you know...

[@momoflows1923]

@@SocietateaAscendenta lol u acc dont know what a secret is🤣

[@prodnothingtodo]

You know those dudes who dont look like theyre doing music are the best

[@dachopup55]

Factz

[@johnnybrix717]

How does someone look like they’re doing music?

[@xXavorx]

he's talking about the guy's style of dress lmfao, that he doesnt look like he listens to trap or hip hop haha

[@momoflows1923]

thats the point Pablo, hes saying the ones that look like the average joes are the ones that be mixing the hottest songs, lol it was a joke

[@aidancanoli]

lmao yea like pensado

[@ProdByPvssword]

This aint for clout.....this is for the ones who see sound

[@neverlessentertainment8192]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/faereqCupZ2dbK8

[@ProdByPvssword]

@Michael Lapite ....your mind registers color and shape with sound.....you have to be able to focus on your subconscious....you NEVER hear sound without seeing it in your head....its impossible....its the reason why we squint to higher thinner sounds and widen our eyes to broad ones....

[@priselessdonrio798]

ProdByPvssword EXTREMELY WELL PUT KING

[@BlakeAlexander12]

ProdByPvssword lol that’s when you’re on your first hard trip - seeing color/ colored shapes with sound

[@DrummaBoy202]

@Michael Laptite bruh, that is not the correct "their".

[@bastiani.3025]

waves is doing marketing right.

[@john.c.k912]

Bastiani. Yep and Waves are founded at mid. 90's in Israel / Tel Aviv !!!

[@MrTreezNW]

Facts 💯

[@staloutk3957]

What software he used

[@aidancanoli]

izotope for life!!

[@staloutk3957]

Are this plugins will work in fl studio !

[@koreanplayboy]

This is literally 4years of Music Production in College in 12 minutes 😝 trust me LOL

[@blisssenseripzyzz4evermiri176]

ikr, the thing is this guy is an expert in the field and schools could never afford to pay a teacher of this level, I too have learned a lot more from youtube than school. Althought mine was only 2 years not 4.

[@iOWNyouFOOLaskYOmama]

Welcome to KZbin University

[@Kuso319]

lmao true, i don't understand most of what he's saying s it'd still be helpful to get more education would be nice lmao

[@automotiveperformancemobil4030]

Yea I know all about that shit LOL. He took all the boring binary nonsense away and just brought the point to the front and dropped off the bullshit. I wish 20 years ago I knew this man, I'd sign up for an 8 year just to finish my 4 year and just scoop up nuggets the next 4 LOL.

[@BVNmusic]

@@Kuso319 keep researching and come back later.

[@Meekmillan]

Looking like a doctor doing surgery on the track

[@boothbuster]

Christian Mcmillan haha, when I read your comment, he was talking about the spine of the track! Talk about coincidence.

[@Meekmillan]

EDub spooky, must mean we need to work together 😂

[@rahulmurthy1763]

Even i was thinking on the same lines, "Surgical strike" was the word that popped out.... Our "Frequency waves" is correlating on youtube comments section. ☺😅😆

[@Meekmillan]

If y’all wanna find me and let me know how my work is my name is Christian O’Neal on All platforms. itunes.apple.com/us/album/faded-feat-wavy-cam/1451431061?i=1451431063 songwhip.com/song/christian-oneal/faded

[@linux4868]

Basically making untalented people going famous..

[@spacejack9344]

WOW, WTF??? THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, please more, most people doesn't understand how rare and epic this is

[@Sirchimez]

Space Jack right??! EPIC vid

[@spacejack9344]

True, wish i could find the whole session

[@zefxd7133]

There are people who will persue mixing and engineering and clout chasers who think torrenting these VSTs and trying to copy+paste will get them a platinum. Gtfo :L

[@spacejack9344]

There are people like Bruce Lee, who learns multiple amount of martial art styles to create their own, and there are people who wants to be "unique" right away ;D

[@eliwarren6358]

relatable my guy

[@mdpro2er954]

Maybe you didn’t realize. But this is a waves video on the waves channel.

[@migibeats104]

My thoughts exactly.

[@andivax]

I have double check this. And you are right!

[@mytbeats]

No didn't lol. I just browsing .. now I get it

[@oswalavila2835]

Tfff i was about to ask for the plugin list

[@neverlessentertainment8192]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/faereqCupZ2dbK8

[@necky_na]

As soon as I saw this man, I knew he's an expert😆

[@aidancanoli]

lmao

[@Klimexetixs]

I think that the title says much

[@necky_na]

Just the fact that he does not look like a producer also added to my trust..

[@theR0ck3tsumm3r]

It’s probably the collar, not many people wear collars anymore 🤨😂🤙🏼😂

[@jdlx4912music]

Realness 💯

[@somedutchkid7030]

Studying for an Audio Engineering bachelors, it feels pretty nice being able to relate personal mixing techniques with a multi-platinum mixing engineer! Appreciate the effort Waves puts into sharing this.

[@notzacmenton]

Everytime I watch one of these videos I found my own personal techniques are very similar except I can't carry out as efficiently considering I haven't had the same practice...it's crazy how much people who are really into sound have in common.

[@Jahstice_Lc2]

Same feeling bri

[@toddlertrain3359]

I like Lu. Some of the other mixing legends come across as pretty cryptic, like they're being careful to hide what they think are their secrets. Lu is very clear and methodical, and I actually feel like I can use what he's teaching. Thanks, Lu!

[@MacReviewzOnline]

he with the people. You can tell.

[@joeyf808]

Lu Diaz, one of the the best in the biz! Love to see more of his vids, especially in drum mixing.

[@GranDinero]

This was a great video for upcoming hip hop Engineers. I currently attend a institute for music an they are teaching me a lot but I tend to feel like most engineers are bias towards hip hop an only show you they’re steps of other genres such as rock an country. This was good info for me thanks a lot Lu Diaz an waves audio.

[@Bigricky06]

I agree with you......most of the videos focus on producing hiphop and not too much of other styles

[@diymusicbiz]

That's because most people who are instructors at school no longer work in field (very few due) and most people that do hiphop don't teach in classes, they're too busy working in the field. best way to learn is to shadow an engineer at a recording studio

[@GranDinero]

Diy Music Biz I literally just got one today now that you say that lol.

[@diymusicbiz]

Word if learning how to mix is your thing. Call up a pro studio pay the studio Fee and sit with the engineer bro. You'll spend less doing it that way than going to school. People coming out of school have it very hard landing jobs as 90% of them have no real world experience tracking or mixing.. Don't be that student.. the degree means nada in this field

[@GranDinero]

Diy Music Biz thanks a lot for that info.

[@Automationrehab]

i'm 53 years old and have been trying to understand the "talent" behind the new hip-hop. i listen and i just don't get it. now i get it. THANKS!

[@dirtycleansound]

I love this this guy explains stuff. This is probably the best tutorial I've ever heard because get gets to the point quickly and effectively. You can also tell he really enjoys teaching with helps to convey the info! FIRE

[@nii2thr3beatz91]

Ive watched alot of tutorials on yt but this is by far the best one ive seen.no nonsense talking and very easy to understand. He would be a great teacher.

[@peakingmantis5331]

I don't think I've heard anyone really say this but listening to the project with just the vocals solo'd is a good way to check for any inconsistencies, it's really useful when your dealing with multiple vocal tracks with harmonies, adlibs etc and you just want to hear how everything sits together.

[@jaytaalauncleared]

This video just taught me everything I spent a year learning at SAE in 12 minutes. 🤦🏽‍♂️🔥

[@stringwhore]

Im in sae rn!!! Mod 3

[@brandenicole7]

How is SAE

[@Serom]

@@brandenicole7 I’m at the SAE right now (in Paris) and fully disagree with this comment. This tutorial is just a really quick coverage of just one module. The SAE will teach you about sound engineering in DEPTH. You will learn sound theory and the physics behind sound, you will learn Signal Flow and how to use consoles (there is an SSL 4000 like the one in the video in Paris’ campus), you’ll learn about electronics, learn how microphones work, learn how to properly use metrics etc. The thing with sound engineering schools is that they can’t teach the most important thing to get good at mixing, which is having a good ear and quickly spot the issues. Only practice can do that. To help you with that, the SAE has a lot of computers with Pro Tools, Ableton and Logic Pro in them so you can train on any Apple-compatible DAW. You also have access to studios with professionnal material. The school will finally provide you something that tutorials won’t : people. The SAE network is pretty huge (in France at least), and you’ll get the opportunity to meet some extremely experienced people. These people will sometimes be your teachers. I’ve never felt so professionnal and never understood sound engineering better than now, and I can tell you that my scholarship at SAE (wich started 2 months ago), played a role in that. Please remember that I’m talking about my personnal experience in PARIS. It may be different in other campuses, and this school is really made for people who want to become confirmed sound engineers. Not for people willing to have a good mix for their home made songs. Hope it helped, I would advise you to check by yourself before you do anything.

[@brandenicole7]

@@Serom very detailed been thinking about enrolling now that my work schedule will permit me to do so. Dont know if I want to pay 30k for it though lol

[@Serom]

@@brandenicole7 You should try to visit, see how the mood is in the school, talk to students, see what material is available, etc. Try to visit ! It is pretty expensive so you have to be pretty wise.

[@Drake5002]

This is amazing. Im so thankful theres people out here like this that are willing to share their knowledge with people. its so valuable. truly amazing

[@isjulyok]

I come back and watch this every year. I mix my own songs (On my channel) and I'm nowhere near his level but I learn something new every time I watch this. Forever grateful.

[@TruthMusicStudios]

Thanks Lu, I'm self taught and have been mixing as a Pro for about 5 years or so now, but I was always questioning if I was putting to many tools on a single vocal just for subtractive vocal mixing but this was my confirmation that I'm on the right road. Blessing brother!!

This video is GOLD!

[@QwireBoi]

this helped me so much. you can actually hear what he is doing. some of these videos people are just moving knobs but we can't hear what is going on. this was great!!!

[@lamaestra1967]

2 years later this vid is super informational for ppl new to the scene !! Loved it. Can’t wait to go to the studio next week !!

[@odd_familiar]

RVox is the best vocal compressor of all time

[@zafmo9829]

Look up the free Modern Angel plugin. its an absolute god send

[@jonathanlevier2299]

I absolutely love this video. Once I've applied to techniques I can really tell the difference in my music. Making it sound more professional. For once. Yeah I will hear me soon.

[@crownboyzgetdabag4740]

I'm very greatful for this tutorial. This has been a problem area for me, as a new engineer. This shed alot of light on what to look for when mixing. Thank u guys immensely. I honestly can't put my gratitude into words right now!!

[@phlymur]

The feeling of coming back to this video 8 months later and it finally makes sense and you apply it and it works 🔥🔥🔥🔥 man finally!!!!!!

[@pearcaravel]

the word "welitty"

[@Kurrent.]

Came to the comments just for this lol

[@shaneellis8122]

Same 😂

[@aidancanoli]

HAHAH yep me three

[@dakusensei3466]

“Twotitties”

[@towoawawaboofficial]

i am still trying to understand what he said on that song. lol

[@dibmusictv2698]

Wow this really opened up my mind... I'm a fan of subtractive eq and Lu Diaz just showed me a new way of approaching it with compressing.

[@44gg37]

DIB you mean multi band compression lol

[@dibmusictv2698]

@@44gg37 mmmm yeah I guess... Compression is compression for me whether I'm using one band or multiple ones so I don't get caught up in the jargon so much but yeah that's what I meant. I prefer using a c4 though.

[@happyfoxybee915]

He's so direct to the point and so focused. I really like it. 👍🏼 💯

[@LOVEMRG]

I've come back to this video several times since I first watched it. I learn something new every time.

[@brandonfulton2648]

Where was this man when Nav recorded his verse 🤨

[@pabloventos3361]

BonBonLaFlare 615 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jmula1963]

on Yosemite?

[@contosreddit2845]

@@jmula1963 yeah prolly

[@jmula1963]

Contos Reddit he speaks on that in the new Genius FTR interview

[@brandonfulton2648]

jmoney 0d lol...

[@swiftmello123]

*AN ABSOLUTE MUST WATCH VIDEO WITH SOLID AND SOUND REASON FOR THE TECHNIQUE* THANK YOU

[@aidancanoli]

yeah true it really is good

[@AKSourGod]

Loved this breakdown video. Keep em coming Waves. Shouts to Lu Diaz 💯💪🏾‼️

[@djkoz1]

Dude your the best! You solved a major problem Ive had forever!!! My vocals sound so much more professional now. You're awesome! God bless you!!!

[@ciddax754]

WTF! I had no idea how much processing is going on in rap and hip hop. Thanks a lot for sharing!

[@Mr13allin]

Big Lu can’t wait to talk again! Great work.

[@Khaliqri]

Thank You Lu Diaz and Waves for the Tips

[@kemy6775]

Loved this tutorial. Cool to see that I do slot of the things he does when mixing. He’s calm. No fluff just great insight.

[@enxch]

Damn, sometimes it’s really eye opening to watch someone else mix. The simplicity of his chain is where the magic happens. He knows the problem areas before they arise and then uses exactly what the vocal calls for to make it pop. Genius. This type of video is literally priceless. Why attend full sail when I can watch these videos and learn for free? Thank you waves and thank you Lu Diaz. 💯

[@Marsellis]

I love this video thanks for the great tips!!!

[@lawrenzosongz4659]

He is doing it in a simple way,but so melodious,big up👌👏

[@el_padron_1795]

Respect to Lu Diaz for sharing his knowledge!

[@kingech_B15]

Thank you for all the tips...

[@OlesMusic]

Thank you Kyle Gass from Tenacious D.

[@pescadotranquilo]

hahahaha haha

[@herikdumba]

Same thought.

[@neverlessentertainment8192]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/faereqCupZ2dbK8

[@crazymonkey5608]

Hahaha

[@TG-wo1zp]

Hahahah this made my day, thank you

[@chriswellz5993]

His approach to mixing vocals is REALLY good.

[@georgemoore8577]

I love how he paints his picture thru his mix!!

[@Jazzlove148]

If Lu says “it’s super simple” one more time while speaking all the Greek, Im gonna scream and make him run it through all those filters he talked about...Dude knows his craft!! Good stuff

[@primetime0144]

This was so clutch I had to youtube to mp4 it incase it ever gets taken down lmao LETS GOOO thank u sir

[@rajpreetham9509]

5 years of working on waves and some other shitty free plugins and this is pretty much the best session I have ever seen learnt more than 50 times of what I would have learnt by watching something else.. big ups!!

[@bogi5390]

These are the tutorials i live for, definitely picked up the missing pieces of my vox fx chain, thank you Lu Diaz!!!

[@TeJaYY]

10:20 when he said "the word .. we litty" had me going 😅

[@cosmic1993]

when Lu said we litty i felt that

[@prodigymuzix4195]

WOW the amount of knowledge I just learned in 12 minutes is insane!!! Thank you for this!💙🙏

[@Fateofmusicstudio]

Lu Diaz, amazing,

[@albanyrebelion]

tons of good tips

[@johnt6408]

Wow I have to meet this guy !!! Great work

[@EuropeanEcstasy]

So glad I have all these plugins. Makes it so easier to work and mess around with.

[@atrhsdfl867]

Multi-platinum producer/mixing engineer Lu Diaz, thank you for your teachings! I hope everyone is buying those plugins, piracy is a crime kids.

[@justicechiemerieezeh5277]

😂😂😂

[@fadisako2753]

The best part is “ that’s how you do it “ in the end 🔥 thank you 🙏

[@ilandzmusic7848]

R vox is lit

[@damon4421]

Wow..... seems like complicated steps for novices like myself..but after watching..this is as simply put as I’ve ever seen..a true professional..excellent communication on the method to the madness

[@Sam-rz3rd]

Lu Diaz, what a concise and factual teacher. Amazing video Waves. Thanks to both of you.

[@AkilisMusic]

I usually compress, eq boost and then cut to tame frequencies. This was the way i learned but im curious to see how my vocals come out if i do it reversed like he did. Cool video 🔥

[@MacReviewzOnline]

they will come out better. his way is the way!

[@norakat]

What matters is the end product, not how you get there. Its just a matter of preference.

[@LuisCasstle]

@@norakat No, compressing before EQing will yield way different results than EQing before compressing. All the noise will be boosted if you don't get rid of it first.

[@LuisCasstle]

Level > Pan > EQ > Compression.

[@ykfinanzen]

Theres no rules, its all about what sound your going for

[@carmel-enzi]

the Wave C6 plugin is a good choice over the C4 for mixing rap vocals. Not because it has more bands, but because it seems to be more flat...

[@BjornFSE]

As a mix audio engineer I back this video, very true and very key points featured down to the subtractive eq and vocal treatment pre-compression etc. very good. I wish to see more like this ✊

[@cyrilletaillandier755]

Great video. Clear description of concepts and sonic choices. A master at work shares his process, awesome!

[@SalParadise]

nice tutorial, nice guy

[@musicoctavemotivation3720]

Really nice vocal mix. Amazing appreciate you sharing this video 💯🎹🎼🎶⚜️

[@goddyrichie4185]

This guy is a master so much experience and hes so relaxed about it damn

[@BradDollar]

Lu Diaz is such a beast. Going in my learning library for sure.

[@eddierosa98]

Do you have a video based on mixing hip hop beat stems? Thanks for this video btw, helped a lot 🙏🏽

[@MCCABEWORLD]

I will use these tipps for my next mix! Thanks ;) keep going with that good stuff

[@andersonthomas2012]

I second that

[@bellmeisterful]

How did it work out y'all?

[@Randshowz]

God bless this man, you are a legend. This Rules has really opened my eyes

[@eastboundkieb]

Best mixing video I have ever seen.. keep it up waves yall doing the most man!!!!

[@x-itproductions.598]

Would be interesting to see the routing behind that vocal chain :)

[@Simple_Math444]

Man this tutorial right here solidified my sound. I was ripping out my hair trying to find out what was wrong I prayed to God. I saw this tutorial I went to Waves and bought every plug-in mentioned here. They have a discount deal 40% off and if you get $100.00 dollars worth you get two free. I bought five discounted to$150.00 and got two free. I followed every step and I almost cried when I heard the results. Thank you Waves 🌊 this here was dope! Shid I didn’t almost cry 😭 I did 😭 😆

[@FreakGoat]

Nice promo

[@MaestroDotMusic]

Wow cant believe Im just now seeing this. Lu Diaz is a G.O.A.T!

[@Ston3808]

Super solid video. Thx a lot Lu! Straight forward and comprehensive.

[@alvynngoma4347]

Great video Thanks for this. Be Blessed

[@jermainesmith6315]

Nice!!

[@bobbiejohnson4607]

This was so helpful! Thank you so much for sharing your many years of Experience and Expertise!

[@SebastianPortilloMusic]

This video is awesome! Thanks for sharing that valuable experience.

[@BenChaverin]

This is my favorite commercial

[@jezmyrbernardo2665]

This is the first time I actually learned something that will stick around as a habit even on other genres

[@sergioguzmancanido3691]

Thanks for todo, saludos desde Bolivia

[@danquisjohnson]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise!!! I know I have a lot to learn and Im always going to start with this video.

[@siddhantpetkar9728]

thanks really helpfull

[@annilittlebeast1750]

*GREAT VIDEO! VERY NICE!* 👍👌👍👌

[@dachopup55]

So much sauce was giving in this vid its crazy

[@chiller9601]

Just great. Every time I watch this I learn new things.

[@Weaverbeats]

crucial!!

[@RajBeats]

Excellent tutorial. Shows you dont need much, you just need the RIGHT things done. I could barely notice some of those first changes he made. He didnt even make any EQ cuts!

[@caseymarshall1232]

Raj Beats yeah this was a great tutorial. I am in the Audio Production degree program at Full Sail University and they are preparing use how to mix and master on the go. With the right software because most of these artists don’t have the budget to lease out a major studio and keep the Engineer inside until he is finished.

[@ilikemyrealname]

Raj Beats Those “cuts” are being done by the multiband compressor. There still is “cuts” in frequency but only when said freq needs it. This way you don’t hear any cutting when it’s not necessary, possibly sucking the life out of the performance. Those first few changes that you barely noticed where some of the most important as it prepared the vocal for the busses comp (rvox). Had he shown the vocals with Rvox but without the multibands, the Rvox would have responded MUCH differently. But yeah, no EQ cutting except on the sub-lows, but I get what you’re saying. Multi band is where it’s at. *apologies if I’m stating the obvious for you..

[@JacobraRecords]

Except he was doing like 1db of compression on rvox lmao. He was sent an already mixed vocal and just barely put processing on it. That's why you didn't notice the first couple moves. For anyone with a raw recorded vocal with no processing, this mixing isn't going to get them anywhere close.

[@ilikemyrealname]

My guess is the processing you're hearing from the raw vocals is the outboard gear on the way in. What happens when you take care of all those little spikes of frequencies is you'll need significantly less compression on the buss. It's the same concept as stacking compressors so each one is only doing a little bit of work to sound more transparent. In this chain, many of these stacked compressors are just working on specific ranges. That Rvox is actually adding a lot to the vocal, even at a reduction of only several db because of how the vocal was processed leading up to it. As far as not hearing the initial moves, that just comes with time and experience. After a while, you'll be able to pick these out by ear and be in the ballpark when you go to process them. Good luck!

[@s3xinv3gas]

Been watching a lot of tutorials but this.... is the best

[@NCTmusic_]

REALLY good tutorial, thanks so much for sharing this chain my dude. Waves, u rock.

[@danlocs]

i wish dude mixed the vocals for this video. some frequencies really standing out.

[@PastorChelsey]

Daniel Navejas i thought i was he only one who noticed that. It’s sonically weird to hear the mix getting better and the talking to remain horrible.

[@danlocs]

@@PastorChelsey yea i was looking for my eq knobs the whole time lol

[@prodrt1]

Download the video from yt and do it yourself

[@terrorbeatz2220]

@esteve st ???????

[@franmaga28]

@esteve st Dfuck xD

[@christophicalify]

0:45 4:58 6:27 8:25

[@jorgiewtf]

I used to assist for Lu a while back in Miami. He is an amazing dude and engineer!

[@TheTENtv]

Great video guys. Lu, amazing job. Amazing knowledge on the subject as well