Get Great Sounding Vocals from Tracking to Mixing - UA Office Hours

Join the UA Office Hours Crew as they show you a variety of techniques to get amazing sounding lead and background vocals.
Timestamps:
00:00 Countdown
08:32 Ben’s Intro
10:20 Top Comments from Last Week
14:04 What Makes For a Great Vocal?
18:00 Recording Vocals
29:01 Chat question - Using Console when tracking?
30:32 Vocal Tracking summary
36:17 Vocal Plug-in Chain Example #1
52:46 Chat question: UAD DIstressor settings
53:45 Chat question: What is developing “air” in vocals
59:08 Vocal Plug-in Chain Example #2: EQ before or after compression?
01:11:45 Chat question: Can we download these sessions?
01:12:30 Vocal Plug-in Chain Example #3
01:22:01 Verse to Chorus Transition
01:28:35 Background Vocal Example #1
01:32:45 Chat question: Why add texture effects to vocals?
01:34:50 Background Vocal Example #2
01:44:10 Chat Question: DSP usage?
01:47:10 Summary
01:47:50 Studio showdown
01:56:00 Outro

[@Genolexis]

'Winds much colder on the top floor' Real sh*t spoken right there ✊🏾 Definitely one of my favorite mixing tutorials for UAD. So many options to create great vocal chains.

[@208visions3]

The impeccable trickery & sorcery done on the choruses . Wow

[@jjtweed-music]

Oh Yeah, we're inspired. Thanks Ben Matt and Drew. Just wonderful, informative, and liked seeing ole' Ben getting stoked on Matt's reverb tricks.

[@UniversalAudio]

Thanks Steve!!! We have an absolute blast doing these shows and we all learn from each other every time!! 👍🏻

[@Professor_Pat]

This was an awesome show. I learned a lot today. Thanks!

[@UniversalAudio]

Our pleasure!!! Glad to hear it!

[@qlyde]

No matter how much you know or how solid your workflow is, you can always learn more, one thing I took away from this is to not put on wet effects to early. Leave it dry and get the song where it needs to be and then add your space afterwards. I even thought I would like Drew’s mix on the vocal to stay dry after the first little bit of space he put in, it felt intimate that way, and then bring the rest in for the chorus with backgrounds to make it powerful. It’s easy to throw on effects early because it kind of fixes sounds to a certain extent but if you can make it great dry, then it’ll be amazing with effects. Plus you’ll avoid too much effects build up which can make your mix muddy and soft. Thanks for this guys! Always something to take away from these

[@UniversalAudio]

👍🏻

[@user-ux1vj9vx7s]

Did you start doing this yesterday?

[@GregVasquez777]

Thanks guys! Awesome and super informative. ty ty

[@SouthPhilly28th]

I learned so much from this Office Hours! Thank you!!!!

[@UniversalAudio]

Our pleasure!!! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kcsounds]

I been beating myself up thinking I'm using too many plugins, and my vocals sound "over processed" - thanks for putting my mind at ease lol. Great video, I appreciate you guys.

[@UniversalAudio]

Whatever it takes!!! 💪🏻

[@MrArtVein]

This might sound crazy but for me what changed mixing vocals was printing my compression and effects. To my ears a 16bit mp3 has that finished sound. People say you can't hear the difference but I can. Also that float point crap makes things too out there for a lack of better words the plugins are outputting infinite possibilities. When I print my compression and fx those 0s and 1s become finite meaning if I play a section from 1:23 to 1:25 it's always going to be the same, it's not going to change because some plugin is trying to emulate real gear response randomness. And that for me was a game changer. Print your compression once you like it. I do the same for beats especially on bass/808

[@okiefilms]

Thank you so much for this in-depth look at vocal options. I learned a lot. MacBook Pro M1 Max, Apollo x4, Octo Satelite. 2 Townsend L22s.

[@UniversalAudio]

Our pleasure Branden!!

[@ZanyPro]

Great insight 💯🔥

[@MuSiCPrOdUcEr777]

Great Show, & tips. 3great production & mix engineers. Thanks UA

[@UniversalAudio]

You're welcome!! Glad you enjoyed it. 👍🏻

[@Arterium]

Brilliant video. Learned a tonne. Thanks guys.

[@UniversalAudio]

You're welcome!! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@aviatedviewssound4798]

love the tips man.

[@UniversalAudio]

Glad to hear it!!

[@victoriaclarke]

Awesome content. Really did help

[@UniversalAudio]

Glad to hear it!! Thanks for letting us know. 🥂

[@AO-xt9kg]

Every time I watch this video I get new good nuggets!

[@UniversalAudio]

Sweet!!! We aim to please and help! 🥂

[@afrobeatsreview9460]

Thank you

[@PicoPanesa]

great content 🙏

[@UniversalAudio]

🥂

[@bregn]

Thank you so much for all the great tips on vocals. Love your Office Hours!

[@UniversalAudio]

Our pleasure!!!! So glad you're enjoying them!! More to come!

[@SoulburninRecords]

Amazing...I keep learning so much from your videos and teachings...beyond grateful....thank you for all you bring to the community ....You all are just awesome !!!....🙏Question..lol..Ben what delay did you use on the verse delay?🙏 Please keep doing these videos with you 3 ...How about a Mastering session???🙏🙏💛

[@UniversalAudio]

The coolest thing is, Ben was using a LUNA session, so you can download and play with it yourself! Check out the Discover Page inside LUNA!

[@SoulburninRecords]

@@UniversalAudio what??? Awesomeness!!!!! Thank you!!!!🔥🔥🔥🙏🏻🥂

[@UniversalAudio]

😍

[@lanquage_2733]

Wow. Today was nothing but devine. Thank you for the content! 🔥✊🏾

[@UniversalAudio]

Nice!! So glad you enjoyed it!

[@KennyLauderdale]

That's why folks get in shows and sound totally different

[@swagonmax]

WOW🔥🔥🔥

[@benpowell8875]

Cool!

[@paulheumiller2028]

Just thanks!!!

[@UniversalAudio]

🥂

[@Canatend]

Barry Johns convinced me to back out of the UAD ecosystem. i'm going to miss Ben s content the most. Thanks for everything UAD and good luck!

[@oldtreefarm]

Barry Johns 👎

[@PaulIsbell]

This is a fantastic series. I miss the Luna content!

[@johnchitambo]

This was undoubtedly a fantastic session! Thank you guys for sharing this. I will also be interested in violin/saxophone mixing. I normally deal with violin and saxophone. Which pluggins would you suggest? Thank you really for taking time to share this.I am really enjoying my apollo x4.

[@PapiCee]

Really liked this, vocals seem be to the hardest to mix wished they would of bypassed each plugin individually so we could hear what was doing what ... regardless going to try some of these things out, Thanks for the info 🙏

[@justinrayluis]

Anything prominent ?

[@aleksvukicevic8837]

Very good videos guys and thanks for the content! Can you guys shed light on mic pre stuff? Preamps, consoles, channel strips... all the good stuff that happens before going into your channel strip processing. When you guys bypass the plugins, the vocals still sound solid... would like to know what's happening to the signal at that stage of the chain. Thanks!

[@UniversalAudio]

Cool, we'll add it to our notes Aleks.

[@mariokoppatz3294]

I will start soon with a UAD PCie Card and the classic bundle at first..Thanks a lot for your Videos about the fantastic plug ins I really learn a lot of these...Best Regards Mario Koppatz Zauberbaum Studio Germany...

[@eldhaww8326]

I love the comercial 😂😂😂😂😂😂 better than everything right now out there

[@UniversalAudio]

😍

[@2dboo11]

The 251 mic pluggin is what giving it the air sound. That mic has that top air sound

[@UniversalAudio]

Def a part of it.

[@GoodxJ]

✌🏼🎤👍🏼

[@johnhansenbristow2900]

vocals sounded so much nicer without processing :( hehe thanks for the great video tho

[@createlovehappy]

Any specific tips for recording my own vocals without an engineer to listen and adjust in real time? The obvious is to set it up, record a test, listen, adjust and repeat. Jumping off points? I do singer songwriter rootsy, bluesy, and sometimes country-ish, sometimes rock and roll, etc. my vocal mic is a Rode Tube K2 with it's own power supply and variable pattern into "the ribbon pre" preamp into an interface.

[@thelostandfoundworkshop]

What was the vocal chain when tracking? Did you track the vocal with any processing? Cheers

[@Johnwilkinsonofficial]

nice have you guys taken a close look at the vertigo vsc2 anywheres ? im learning this powerhouse compressor now!

[@UniversalAudio]

Not yet!!

[@Johnwilkinsonofficial]

@@UniversalAudio hopefully soon, it is stunning!

[@michaeldb3507]

Nice session ! Ii miss some treble on Matts lead. Is that on purpose ? It's def less clear than Drew's and Bens leads different styles of course but more clarity on Matts lead is something I would have on that track. What do you say Matt? /Best Michael db

[@billymack4258]

Great info guys' Tracking vocals ; What is your DAW mic input level -16 -18 -12 etc...? Thanks

[@blvkqmusicgroup]

I believe -18 is optimal. But anywhere from -18 to -12 you’ll be fine. Peaks no louder than -6.

[@stevebryce6071]

For transparency, it'd be useful to know how much it costs to run the setups you're using. Between the plugins and the hardware required to run them all, I suspect it would a minimum of $5k. I love the UA stuff, but the cost is a big issue for most of us.

[@onstandard]

well i guess now it would be way cheaper

[@Mohammed-1s]

Hello please change tempo in the same session to another tempo

[@Advents]

Next time try to use audio made in bad home recording it is easy mixing when you have perfect recording vocals :D

[@SybrenRoefs]

Mixing engineers be like: 'My low end boost is bigger' lol

[@boseyhad2doit2em]

Hey, quick question! I love the tricks for stereo widening and reverb ducking and all - I generally like to track through luna then mix in logic. In terms of what You would bounce down dry to mix in logic, would that just be what is applied to the vocal chain minus reverbs and delays and sends then replicate them in daw?

[@UniversalAudio]

Sure, that makes sense if you're mixing in Logic. You might want your inserts and tape processing in LUNA to be in the export, then add the finishing touches in Logic. Or you could export raw wavs and do it all there, up to you.

[@boseyhad2doit2em]

@@UniversalAudio thank you for your time! can’t wait for the next live!

[@UniversalAudio]

👍🏻

[@tb80038]

What headphones is Ben using in these streams? Sennheiser of some sort? I like how thin they are/flush to the head.

[@UniversalAudio]

HD 600s

[@gatlinproduction]

I have a question. Ok im using MPCX Drum machine. I wanna route out into LUNA / Protools etc. How do create me a Digital Mixing All State Mixing Console within Apollo. Like you would do using a real console in recording studio. Like if I wanted the state art of a flagship recording desk. How would I set this up. I wanna send audio thru the plug in to be recorded into the daw. Like ones to use and which ones to stay away from. Please do a video on this.

[@justinswayne]

Just because it's the most important doesn't necessarily mean it needs the most attention. Most of the time in my experience the way of caring for the vocal above all the others is making sure that the relationship between the vocals and the other sounds are cohesive and balanced. Nine times out of 10 I find myself attending 2 + attenuating the other sounds more so than the vocal.

[@justinswayne]

If I hear a song and the vocals sound pristine but everything else is completely off his entire song is ruined no one is going to like it

[@garyclement2888]

I am working Logic in Sonoma 14.1.2 and the settings appear to be different that what you show in your sets, General- audio and I/O. That is not showing up so I'm find it hard to configure to add the virtual channels. Please help.

[@soulinspiration1]

Spark needs a Soothe-like plugin.

[@floretsports5910]

Import sample sounds and kindly attach some loops data just like logic looops give and now Luna in perfect daw just update it just few work on this daw

[@xaevyxae9624]

Is there a reason yall done use console in Luna?

[@AnthonyCarrier]

I am an inexperienced studio artist and am wondering if, "Tracking", is just another word for recording a tract...consider this question part of my social media marketing!

[@UniversalAudio]

basically... tracking means to record.

[@bartes101]

That a Sphere LX Drew ?

[@ameriglow6787]

Can anyone direct me to a video that explains how to manually, in real time, record plug in manipulation? I looked through side chain, but I'm looking to express things like a tape delay live during playback and have it stay the way I manipulated it in the final track. - on tracks that have already been recorded, Like the way you would do it in a real rack if you sent the dry track back onto tape? Thank you if anyone can help

[@UniversalAudio]

Put the channel in Touch mode and record the moves into LUNA's automation system.

[@Professor_Pat]

Can someone please ask Drew what was the name of the song he demonstrated the vocal plugin chain with?

[@UniversalAudio]

hey Pat, her name is Ryan Wright, see here for more: open.spotify.com/artist/27zmUjQFgOyAfNtp48I9ZT

[@Axeyard]

"I'll tea-bag you, honey" by Kari Lake.

[@ClayHurst]

Can you automate the Townsend Mic Plugin?

[@UniversalAudio]

Yes!

[@floretsports5910]

Release Dolby mix update soon I think no daw beat Luna then

[@bdunn315]

once I hit the record button on a track in Luna and it lights up, I can't hit it again and have it go off. This is new. What's up?? what did I miss. Need to un arm the track but can't. I'm in console tracking mode.

[@UniversalAudio]

Hey Bryan, get in touch with Customer Support, they'll walk you through some detailed troubleshooting steps. help.uaudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/210253543-Contact-Support

[@Cyrusthevirusmusic]

who was the singer from Drews song plz?

[@UniversalAudio]

Ryan Wright. instagram.com/ryanwrightmusic/

[@Axeyard]

Kari Lake

[@MuSiCPrOdUcEr777]

7

[@UtwoBed]

Not having a Windows version of LUNA sucks!

[@UniversalAudio]

We’d love to do LUNA for Windows at some point in the future, but there’s nothing to announce at this time.

[@3rdGen-Media]

I swear this guy is borderline. I don't understand how he is employable. I may use UA interfaces but I am actively disgusted by the echelon of non-engineering employees they pay to live comfortably with job security to market their products. These are the kinds of people I went to high school with that didn't perform academically and should not enjoy the benefits of a higher salary than someone who did. It's like UPS employees getting $170K/year salaries for blue collar labor.

[@KennyLauderdale]

Shouldn't the vocal remain as natural as possible

[@UniversalAudio]

Not always.

[@GloveBunniesVideos]

Actually I would watch that reality show, and I hate reality shows.

[@aeiplanner]

I got nothing out of the video. This was a 2 hr ad for all the plugins you should buy.

[@Axeyard]

The bearded guy is incomprehensible. Just mumbling on and on. These videos are useless, unless you are unemployed and have endless hours to plough through the crap. And they keep the dead time at the start!

[@GaryJohnson1958]

Un black Friday? WTF is that! No thanks