How To EQ Vocals In 3 Steps - TheRecordingRevolution.com

►► Overwhelmed by all of the EQ techniques? Just download my FREE EQ Checklist → www.EQChecklist.com

[@recordingrevolution]

►► Overwhelmed by all of the EQ techniques? Just download my FREE EQ Checklist → www.EQChecklist.com

[@maxreaper25]

“Mud” is preconceived as a bad thing. Mud is offensive frequencies. Otherwise the “mud” that people talk about is actually the body of the vocal. People cut to 200hz w a high pass filter/ low cut and think they are taking the mud out when in reality the body and resonance and power of the vocal lies in the 150-350 hz range. You just have to etch out what part you want and don’t want in the mixing process. It’s trial and error. Good luck to everybody who is learning! You can do it. Keep up the good work and stay curious.

[@dcore64]

Yep. You need more than basic terminology to produce a quality product.

[@KyleWilliams-it7de]

Nailed it

[@DocHollidayGames]

It’s more about the context of the mix. The lower freqs may sound good on a set of vocals on the track itself, but could conflict with the prominent freqs of instruments such as bass guitar and kick drums which lead to the bad type of muddiness. The high pass is to leave room in the spectrum to let instruments in the low end stand out and give each part enough space for the entire mix to achieve clarity and cohesiveness.

[@officialWWM]

It sure is a steep learning curve. Listening to some of my mixes from a few months ago makes me cringe 😂😂

[@x1plus1x]

Globin, are you not still learning?

[@CalebNathanaelNettles]

I'm apart of the recording connection and I payed a $8,800 tuition. Your free videos are way more helpful than any of theirs.

[@BobbyWashingtonMusic]

CNettlesMusic wow... That's insane to know

[@jeremyjamesmusic]

CNettlesMusic *Paid

[@ElBosquee]

wow yeah really useful comment man great job. just keep watching videos dude your name is Vizore....Vizore.... you cant say anything

[@l.harrison9725]

ouch! Sorry to hear that Buddy, don't give up on Graham, but I would ponder a refund request from the scam outfit

[@woabeatz9717]

CNettlesMusic -but you get a certificate.....

[@TheDilligan]

I really appreciate how varied the music styles are in your tutorials. You're not just doing a ton of rap, electronic, or edm using almost exclusively midi instruments. A lot of people do and when I am at home recording real instruments and doing blues music, It doesn't feel like their tricks apply to what I'm doing. But it's nice seeing you use your tips and tricks on music of all sorts.

[@emmgeevideo]

I was following this pretty well but was wishing you had done it with a graphical EQ so I could visualize it - and then you read my mind! Hugely helpful and clear. Thank you.

[@rayrivera1830]

love how subtle it is. guess this is why one need a good mixing headset.

[@markstafford6119]

Great tutorial Graham. Makes equalization of vocals easy to understand. Your other tutorials on mixing and mastering are excellent as well.

[@KM336]

Recently applied these methods to some songs i've been doing. INSTANT improvement. I do rap vocals and these methods have brought so much clarity to my vocals.

[@DreErdna]

That Guy on his pages

[@CtPsalmist]

Thank you vocals always seem the hardest for me even the well recorded ones

[@mejustbeingme1207]

I have tried learning from others. Patience and more research will help you find awesome teachers that really wants you to learn. They break it down to where your brain is not hurting to understand something so important but yet basic. I am loving everything I'm learning.

[@benaaronmusic]

Fantastic video. You do a great job explaining your methods of gently boosting the vocals. Many, many thanks.

[@wesleyhendricks153]

Hey Graham...thanks for this tutorial and the nice song you chose for this tutorial. Nowadays one don't really find free valuable info like this everywhere unless you pay for it. I'm new to your video's but so far I just love every bit of it. Fairly simple to understand but very powerful end results. A million thumbs up for your tutorials. God bless your heart.

[@JBauerProject]

Right on Graham! Thanks for making this so clear and easy to understand. Very appreciated!

[@SoundShockAudio]

I agree! Very clear and easy to understand! I have just released a short little practical video on EQing vocals that I know you will find useful Jesse. You can check it out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3-Wi2xvq7Cdb9k

[@johnchristopher32]

Good tips! another good tip too is to level the signal out with the makeup gain after you've made EQ adjustments. EQ of course is a volume tool and when turning up and down different frequencies, your overall signal is affected, so it's good to get a static mix of your whole track, and then when you make changes with EQ and compression, attenuate the levels with the makeup gain. 😄

[@AMan-xy3lx]

thank for the free 7 step EQ checklist man.

[@ErickT_MX]

Great... Simple... EFFECTIVE!!!! Thank you!!!

[@SamBrev]

2:34 "i just love being able to grab a knob" i'm so sorry

[@StotheAV]

😂 I also looked at the comments

[@sightseerproductions]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@WillieMCruz]

Virtually 😬

[@officialWWM]

That's what she said...

[@santiagovalenciamusic]

Thank you so much! Much clarity for understanding this EQ stuff.

[@Alejandro60835]

Oh my gosh! The way you explained this was amazing and consise.

[@officialWWM]

Alejandro Ortega he's a natural teacher.

[@daduragbandit8023]

this was great... as always you are appreciated Graham thank you

simple, practical, subtle, great!

[@joeym4090]

This was very helpul. Do you have a video to EQ muddy voice like for podcast, interview etc - non sing vocals? Thank you!

[@cyrillambert76]

Love your Tutorials...

[@henryraymond8676]

10-4 Graham - you da man. I have been writing these guides etc. down on a sheet of paper so that I can print them out in one "guide" to look at when mixing. Later I may make this a sort of cheat sheet - color coded, who knows, to follow all the info you have provided. Thanks again.

[@neytcev]

Basically simple, but important! Thank you!

[@blankspace0000]

You have a fantastic voice!

[@promiseclub8810]

This is helpful, because your very clear, but I can see how this may be difficult for many people to find useful. I don’t think you know how complex even the simplest things your saying are, a few weeks ago this would have gone right over my head. Don’t get me wrong I’m so thankful for your videos, they are educated and concise. I think there should be music elementary music school where there is ONE equalizer ONE compressor, only one of all main processors in the vocal chain etc. and they are big and colorful and easy haha where we learn the most basic fundamentals first before vids like this. I feel bad for all the overwhelmed souls out there who have to start out with nothing. Luckily there are awesome folks like you to pass on this rare knowledge.

[@seamusbreathnach527]

notice how he started with a great source, thats the most important thing !!

[@Bluzian74]

Really great stuff here. Thank you so much for the information and inspiration. Namaste everyone.

[@ergophonic]

Great video, thank you for sharing your knowledge. Your channel should have one of those ticks next to it to affirm its quality.

[@1htimsgiark]

THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH MAN SERIOUSLY MAY THE LORD BLESS YOUR HOUSE DURING THIS TIME!

[@Consolous]

Awesome Graham thanks my vocals sound better after twicking it better (followed the same steps in your older video but this one is more accurate). I wish you'd do a tutorial on how to make the chorus vocals differ from the verse vocal in the sense of them being fuller using backing vocals, the perfect reference is any Alter Bridge song that's the sound I'm going for.

[@whale_talk]

Great demo

[@acewonda2812]

This was a game changer. Big thanks!

[@allyhellkiller5535]

Just jought everyone of Meldas plugins after demoing them.They changed my misic life.

[@shaunmaqproduction7215]

Thank You Sir ...i understood more when u pull up that EQ7 that was very helpful...

[@riniraw]

Great video, you helpped me so much! You're awesome!

[@giantessmaria]

Love all your very informative videos my friend. Their is so much subjectivity to creativity that I sometimes think we can get caught up with certain 'rules of thumb' kind of stuff. Things that "everyone'' seems to agree on as certain do's and don'ts. So many can't wait to get to an EQ and annihilate those nasty sub 100 hz frequencies. The dreaded 'low end rumble'. Sometimes i can't help thinking those frequencies which we 'feel' even more than hear actually are part of what makes the particular music 'feel' so good... I know when i go to a concert and hear that ultra low bass, way down in those sub 100 frequencies, that literally makes the entire room resonate, it is an awesome feeling! Obviously in most vocal arrangements we don't need those frequencies but in general, i do feel many engineers get carried away with the obsession to eliminate sub-100 hz... Just an opinion.....thanks again my friend!

[@JakeSharpProfoundStudio]

Great stuff, Graham Thanks!

[@fleshtonegolem]

Nice moves! Not much was needed, but boy did it make a difference! ;) Thanks for the video.

[@grumpyoldmaninloft4906]

Great vid, i am learning so much from you.

[@AndrewRealeDrums]

This song has so much potential to have an incredible mix. With less treble on the snare and more low end on the kick this could be amazing. And then compression and final EQ on the master this would be sooooo nice. I love this man.

[@sonnybrasco9735]

Keep up the good work Graham

[@TrueGritProductions]

Seems to me like you could also now add volume since you had a net loss of about 1.5 db or more after the 1.5 boost, -3 cut, and 100 hp filter. Or guess the compressor is going to take care of that?

[@dylanainsworth4621]

Thank you, quite helpful

[@almard232]

Thanks alot.. small moves yet great results. Just one question i see that you had a reverb in the vocal before the eq.. is this a good pracice? usually i do the eq and compression and then i add any other effects i want like delay or reverb.

[@southernaccentfoods]

I would have loved to get those channel strip eqs from Waves, and maybe the DBX 160 compressor as well. Too bad, I won't be using Waves anymore after what they did.

[@fatherofpearlmusic]

Thanks for the video man, very useful reference. Can I ask, do you worry about putting the shelf on when this can boost the sibilance of the vocal too? I self produce my material and i find my sibilance occurs around 7kHz, I'm just wondering if you'd put the top shelf at 6kHz or do you combat that with a deesser later on or even first in the chain?

[@lilphaze23]

Really didn't learn much but how important the Eq is when used correctly. But still, i appreciate the tutorial. Quick tip, i suggest you go deeper for the beginners. So we can further understand this topic. If you do have a video, please, reply with a link. Thanks buddy, once again, thanks for the lesson.

[@adobemastr]

That’s a wonderful song.

[@Kabodnm]

I learned a lot...i would like you to mentor me on the ssl 4000 E channel strip. Not sure whats gravitating me towards it, but i only want to learn that machine first

[@howischris_]

um. channel out first on the bottom right. then hit split on the frequency band. otherwise, the chain will start with compression? am i wrong?

[@ItsNickPowers]

Awesome stuff

[@PetexZen]

Yo Question! How would i create that crisp distortion on the vocals like John Feldmann uses in alot of his newer mixes?

[@passpace10]

very helpful please do more and more

[@Shareef2610]

thanks great presentation

[@teashea1]

most excellent ------ thanks

[@TheDementians]

Thanks man!

[@MONEYMINDSET-ENTERTAINMENT]

Thank you!

[@davidzvonar]

really great result

[@iMrWest]

great video. thankyou

[@carlosalfaro602]

helpful thank you!

[@GRUPOLINAJE]

Hey Graham would you do a tutorial on how u make.. your videos.. ??. like how to Record your voice , screen and the music please..please... that would help so many of us.... because I've search and not many ppl have videos on this.. thanks God Bless

[@fernandoguerra6841]

Nice! What reverb you use for the vocal track?

[@michaelreaper666]

Thanks Graham ....that good !!

[@BrandonSantino]

Well done

[@Hajjmat]

Please if someone knows answer this quickly need help now! Waves central does not detect my external harddrive by some cause (Waves support said it was because it had a different language as name) but i changed it to english letters so it would work. But stil no detection of my drive. Now my question is, do if i download it on another USB drive, do you need to have it in while using the plugins? Im on a laptop with a small amount of usb ports so that would not be good for me.. Ty for any kind of serious answer

[@PassionCentreCanada]

really awesome

[@IgotokmyOwn]

Hi, is there a difference between the mono and stereo modes of the E-Channel? If so, when do know which one to use? Thanks

[@Truth-Speaker13]

Thank you Sir.

[@raal007]

You have a serious knack for teaching bro, congrats.

[@hackerbeatz2220]

Awesome

[@ghazalinternationalnorway6369]

Thats great❤

[@ghazalinternationalnorway6369]

Is it ok to use This plug in as mic pre amp. ( means during Recording )?

[@praktikosmusic]

thank you

[@ghazalinternationalnorway6369]

I have dbx 376 mic pre amp & ssl2 sound card. How can i use both in chain to record vocals?

[@jjjuhg]

important spots for the lead vocals: cut all about to 100 hz, cut a few db maybe at 140, and 200 hz ( use analyser to see where) for the verse could he different than the chorus, between 2 to 5 db, listen and use your ears to decide. During the mixing, engineers come back to lead vocal and fine tune one or db, it's a continuous process. vocals will take half the time of the entire mixing, probably. then you cut cut 1 or 2 db around 600-800 hz ( honkiness) to let the 1 k area shine more. ( they compete a little) you could boost at 1.6 k, but no more than 2 db, depends...on the voice, at 6 k, 12 k or 16 k ( I don't use more than 2 or 3, rarely 5 db) these are the important spots that many engineers focus on.

[@jjjuhg]

on the baking vocals you could cut gently starting at 5 or 6 k. you don't want those frequencies to compete with the lead, they will make too much build up of high frequencies and you also want the lead to remain in the front. and backings also need to be more compressed and have more reverb. this makes them sit right.

[@therealblacksheepproject]

Hey man, can you do a video of how to mix vocals in pro tools first? I’m having trouble making my vocals sound professional. I got a lot of great advice from your playlist that walks you through the whole mixing of a song but I would like more in depth on the vocals please. Some of these plug ins you have on pro tools aren’t on pro tools first. Thanks bro 🙌🏼

[@ColdFrixion]

To my ears, the 8K shelf sounds a tad harsh. For a gentler, more natural sounding air boost, try using H-EQ with a band (Digital 2 type) set to 9KHz, Q set to 2.4 and Gain set to approximately .75dB

[@radhakrishan7384]

very nice thanks

[@lyneicehaynes4922]

I only have a Yahama piano that I can sing with the piano and write a music notebook from Ez Voice because I love singing.

[@jw6588]

Is there any auto-tuning on those vocals? They sound great but it seems like there's a bit of Autotune shiftiness on it.

[@Usenabt]

API 560 is my favourite EQ plugin

[@DonFreshly]

I prefer that EQ also.

[@aarona.dubzperson8245]

NE H Eqp1-A PLUGIN IS MINE

[@hueykhalidX]

Softube's Trident A-Range is great!!!

[@sammytheman8994]

Does the SSL E Channel sound better than a stock EQ like this? Debating on whether to pull the trigger on buying one.

[@Top_TraxProductions]

Great sharing. Tq

[@nunu9849]

Hello! What pre amp and mic do you use for voiceover in this video? Sound good!

[@producerfuji_official]

Question so if your using auto tune which goes first ssl on first or the autotune ??

[@johannesstoppels4136]

suggestion give more emphasis on the plug in names , for the rest great and appreciated.

[@chevokasloring5589]

Do you have to use a Linear Phase EQ when using a Hi Pass cut? Isn't there potential phase shifting when not using a Linear EQ?

[@ceka786]

What kind of Mic and Preamp did u use for this record?

[@utubehound69]

Good chain, but I preferred the bypassed version. It gave your vox more Girth. Thx for sharing you knowledge I wish I had you years ago. I read the Audio Bible many many times as well as Recording Mag maybe two articles worth the price of the Mag. Also Sound on Sound these younger guys have NO idea How Blessed They are to have you & others giving out Sound Advice no pun intended. Oh & the Interfaces & The computers are so much faster & cheaper…Great Mic's can be has for $200 & under. There are Free Plug in's That are even Old by todays standards but sport 64 bit floating point. The Thing is Should I make a Recording just because I can. Thats the Rub so much Garbage is out now. The Record days are over when ppl waited for an Album to drop… now you can get on line before it's Officially release. But I really like what you are doing. The thing about recording Hot is from when people were using 16 bit and the lower you trx are lowers the bit Rate, Thats why so many stuck to that workflow, but w/ 24 Bit there's Much more head room, Thus no Need to Peak the The Gain to Get ALL the Bit rate out of the trx.

[@cyclops4real]

stop using dumb words

[@ddu1212]

Just a question. Do you know of any EQ plugins that give you the precision of modern digital EQs without an EQ graph (just knobs)? All the EQs I know with just knobs are emulations of vintage gear and tend to be more about personality than precision.

+Damien Dubose TDR VOS SlickEQ has an optional display you can never open, and is super precise. It doesn't do narrow curves though (I never need narrow curves anyways)...

[@michaelmarechal4652]

Thanks Graham for this video. I don't see you touching the LM and HM freq, is there a reason? thanks again.

[@flavianhautbois3150]

+Michael Maréchal From what I gathered he want to alter the frequencies of the voice as little as possible so he's going for smart moves: cutting off the unnecessary frequencies below 100Hz, adding come clarity by dimming the 400Hz-500Hz range, and adding some clarity by enhancing frequencies above 6kHz. Small moves (appart from the 100Hz, but there is no "real" frequency there), but huge wins.

[@jabez1409]

I'm having issues with my computer's CPU setting for protools. Low CPU issues on playback and recording. How can I adjust my protools settings?

[@CraigFlowersMusic]

Use Reaper. It's better in every way, in fact it's the best in every way, and not just the fastest but also free.

[@jwillg531]

I love this ved

[@blainegullion5300]

SSL AND CLA together are awesome

[@SoundShockAudio]

yes they really are :)

[@avalanwa]

What key was Graham singing in? Anybody know? Love it.

[@kerbeeThekool]

B flat I think

[@archlich4489]

How wide were those cuts? How wide was that boost?

[@MrAirhis]

do i need to use both or just one?

[@donf3877]

Another huge issue for vocals is the mic. For live use, I have Shure SM58 mics for higher range vocals, whether male or female, and Sennheiser e835 mics for lower range vocals whether men or women. Either one is right at a hundred bucks. A male bass singer sounds like a bullfrog with a 58, but a tenor sounds great. And a soprano is fingernails on a chalkboard with a e835, but an alto sound great. Super hard to cover vocals... Shure Beta 87C, but it's two hundred fifty bucks so I use them sparingly.