How To Fix Muddy Vocals

[@ProMiLle9917]

That slight 3dB Multiband compression on the low end works wonders!

[@5piece]

Sure does! Subtle is always best - glad its working for you!

[@mixedbytrig9195]

This is very insightful, thank you 👏

[@5piece]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!

[@louiszaffino4071]

great vid man

[@5piece]

thank you!

[@teeaymusik9811]

Holy damn THANKS for the multiband tip THIS IS GOLD and saves time!

[@5piece]

Definitely one of the bigger game changers for me also. Glad I could help!

[@prodbyma1036]

nice toturial👌

[@5piece]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@TQ2beats]

Dope 👌🏾

[@5piece]

Thanks bro!

[@TheEncouragementKid]

how do you initially record the vocals so they aren't muddy to begin with?

[@5piece]

I'm not quite sure muddy vocals are completely unavoidable. No matter what I've mixed, whether its someone recording in a closet or someone recording in an expensive studio - treating muddiness is a part of the gig. Even if its just a little EQ to reduce lows and low-mids - there is still SOME surgery required on my end as a mixer more often than not. To answer your question more directly though: Ideally you would have a great mic that's perfect for your voice, with a great vocal chain (preamp + interface bare minimum, but EQ and compressor help), in a treated room that doesn't cause a build-up of low end frequencies. Smaller, more enclosed spaces can have this negative effect, but large untreated rooms will likely have reflections so you gotta pick your battles there. Also being mindful of proximity effect (usually being too close / present on a mic) can help reduce muddiness big time. I hope these tidbits help - I'll consider shooting a video around this in the future also!

[@TheEncouragementKid]

@@5piece Hell yeah dude that does help a lot! Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'd love a video on it, maybe with you showing the results from different treatments, like a small treated closet compared to a big untreated room etc.

[@joemfahey]

I record in a smaller portable booth with an mkh 416. For some reason when I put the but end of the mic in the corner it sounds muddy, and when I pick the mic up and angle it down towards me, it sounds cleaner...not sure why

[@5piece]

Positioning makes a big difference for mic placement, from the angle and position of the mic, to its relation to objects around it such as walls. This is because of reflections and frequency build up. I’m simplifying the explanation a lot here but it’s good to play around and find the “sweet spot” when recording from a position POV. I’ve been in sessions where we’re recording multiple mics (like on a drum kit) and we accidentally forgot to position a mic properly yet found it sounded better than mics we actually meticulously set up. We’ve called these “happy accidents” - sometimes there’s no logic to it, you just go with what sounds best.

[@joemfahey]

@@5piece Ahh makes a lot lf sense. Positioning does make all the difference, but still struggling to avoid some of that boxy sound. Are there particular microphones that would perform better in a smaller booth?

[@joemfahey]

Or possibly a better pre amp

[@RobRuffMusic]

Lol... I was tripping... I was tryin to close the EQ and forgot I was watching a YT video. hahaha lol

[@lortakeover2129]

My vocals are so so muddy when I do this I have lots of bands and find my self subtracting a lot

[@5piece]

What do you mean "when I do this"? Is there something that I mentioned in the video that you find causes muddiness for you? Or did you mean something else like you haven't had any success in reducing muddiness? Chances are you need to fix something in the recording stage as its better to fix it in PRE than fix it in post. Always better to not have the problem in the first place rather than have to somehow get rid of it later. No strategy is completely fool proof. Best of luck!

[@waydbloom]

eh 5 ! Can you do a tutorial on how to squeeze a vocal to make it Tight/Solid..? Bringing a vocal to a pro sound.

[@5piece]

Thanks for watching! Will see what I can do this year. You should also watch my tutorials on compression and gain-staging in the meantime, as those 2 combined will help you achieve what you're looking for. I'll drop the links here: How To Use A Compressor on Rap Vocals - kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKi0doKmYsahatk What Is Headroom? The importance of Headroom in Recording, Mixing & Mastering - kzbin.info/www/bejne/pWTEdZh-orSGqLs

[@waydbloom]

@@5piece Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it 100

[@truthhurts7493]

Oh man, just had a record session with 2 guys and my voice is sounding very nasal not sure if its muddy, ill try this.. If u have any other tips please reply! Thanks for the help, good video

[@5piece]

Nasal is a bit different from muddy but you may have just gave me an idea for a new video. You’ll likely want to focus on treating the mid range specifically that 900-2000 hz area with an dynamic EQ or multiband compressor. I’ll see what I can do to showcase this in upcoming videos 🙌🏼

[@truthhurts7493]

@@5piece I aprecciate the help! Ill try that, probably i need more train recording, i even rap widely and less nose but always sound kinda nasal, kinda muddy..cant rly notice what it is But it sounds a bit better when i rap lower

[@musicproductionvideos5019]

Most times I watch people do this, they are always dipping the root note fundamental of whatever key or chord/note is playing. They call them unwanted resonances but isn't it really just louder notes that you re-balancing? I see guys point out a peak in a mix... i check ... and it's the key of the song. Now the higher whistling frequncies are another story. Thanks!

[@5piece]

You're right about that - most people don't understand exactly how what they're doing is affecting things. This is a bad thing. Frequencies that are peaking are not necessarily bad, but harsh frequencies or resonances that don't ADD to the track, or that are not important to a track, should usually be addressed in some way. With that in mind, its not uncommon for me to use more dynamic EQ or even automating an EQ so that important fundamentals aren't getting affected during key changes. This usually comes with experience, time and training your ear to discern when something needs to be done vs. when it shouldn't. Hope this helps and thanks for watching!

[@jaykay__jaykay]

3:50

[@YouTw1tFace]

What are some tips to prevent the build up in the 200-400 range to begin with? I do voiceovers and am constantly battling this issue. I can eq it down but that takes away some of the natural tone. I'm using a $400 Baby blue bottle mic.

[@5piece]

Difficult to just blindly diagnose the issue but you could try a few things in pre rather than post. The size of room you're recording in will introduce problems - so if you're tracking in a small booth, maybe try tracking outside of the booth in a more open room, or bigger space in general since booths can cause a lot of build-up in that range if not designed properly. If you're using a condenser mic in the booth, try using a dynamic mic in the open room since that will help reduce external noise due to lack of sensitivity. Try standing further away from the mic to avoid proximity effect. And also use any built-in filters on the mic to help get rid of excess low end and rumble. These are just a few pointers but should help you figure out a better solution - it will greatly depend on your situation and not all are exactly the same.

[@noboyz4554]

what reverb sttings on the vocals

[@5piece]

Nothing too crazy - a standard RVerb with a vocal plate preset and some EQ adjustments to filter out the low end. For help with reverb, watch my other tutorial on the topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWGyq6SNl5mXj80

[@noboyz4554]

Ok great thanks for the reply I'm subscribed

[@madisonsprings]

breh i thought those vocals were gonna be muddy lol this chick just recorded some vocals for me off her iphone and they sound like an old telephone got highcut, like brutally poor quality. Can I use what you teach here to fix that flex-tape level of damage??

[@5piece]

I think youre misunderstanding the definition of muddy. Sounds like you’re dealing with THIN vocals more than anything. Here’s a video on that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHqsZpyOZp1_i9U Honestly though, having a good recording is critical to start. They will always have some blemishes, but it should be fixable. Chances are, it’ll be very difficult to “fix” vocals recorded on an iPhone because of how low quality that is. I’m never afraid to talk to clients and tell them the limitations of what I can do, and encourage them to re-record things properly with the right equipment/environment. Otherwise, your job as an engineer becomes borderline impossible and stressful - hard to make great music that way! Hope this helps.

[@brotherj22stops84]

How can you tell it's all autotune

[@5piece]

Sounds like you’re focused on the wrong detail. Muddiness is a FREQUENCY problem, not a TUNING problem. You can have AutoTune vocals that are still muddy - the examples should be indicative of that. If you don’t hear it, you’ll want to keep working and improving your ear so you know how to hear and identify problems like this. Best of luck.

[@Penguinz13989]

too much blabbing. I'm out

[@asmithhansda]

Can you please just turn off that auto tune and other effects so we can just focus on the EQ or compressor for what's it's doing.

[@5piece]

Thanks for this note. As you can probably imagine, there’s no changing this video to show that since it’s live and has been since last year. I also don’t think the Autotune itself affects this as it’s critical to the performance and staying in key. Many artists wouldn’t appreciate anyone showing off their raw/untuned vocals. The stuff after the tuning though is a valid complaint that I recognize. That being said, I’ve been more mindful of bypassing plugins on my more recent videos. You’ll notice if you check them out. All the best!

[@TheGlennGlennSound]

in the thumbnail you’re doing something different

[@rjjrdq]

those aren't muddy, they just needed a very minor tweak. c'mon man...

[@5piece]

Fortunately these weren’t as muddy as other tracks I’ve dealt with in the past, but something us KZbinrs struggle with (that you clearly aren’t aware of) is finding songs and sessions we can freely use to demonstrate techniques like these. That is not an easy task, as much as I wish it were. Sometimes I’m waiting months (or years) for a song to come out just to put out a tutorial because it’s a perfect example - other times I just create and put out the content because I know it will solve a problem for many, as this one has. Everything I showed here is applicable and viable. Could the vocals be muddier? Ideally for example sake, sure. Does that mean that what I taught you in this lesson is bogus? Absolutely not. Less judgement, more appreciation my friend. Thanks for watching.