How to Get Bright (But Not Harsh) Vocals with Dynamic EQ

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In this tutorial, Danny Echevarria shares his tips & tricks on achieving bright, clear, present vocals in a mix using dynamic EQ without introducing harshness.

[@lucapayetmusic5413]

For those in a hurry: Hpf up to 150 hz -kills mud and rumble (check that vox part doesn’t go below that, so probably go lower with a bass singer) 15 db 10khz high shelf boost (if mic is dark-ish- this mic sounds a bit dark) -this boost is huge though- careful, it can sound good just bc it’s loud. If done too much you can run out of headroom quickly and even clip your mix bus. Take high shelf boost down to 9db Dynamic cut in low mid range : 300 hz - 3db attenuation - lower low mid range makes vocals brighter without having to boost high shelf too much. This cut eliminates clash with fundamental notes of strings (or guitars in other song) and some muddiness, but being dynamic we don’t lose the warmth of the vocals or thin them out too much. Vocals are starting to get harsh Second dynamic cut 3k (harsh high mid range lives in 2k to 5k) - we use a dynamic cut instead of full cut to preserve intelligibility of speech and prescence. Dynamic EQ only cuts freq when it is too much. Tighten q, dial up threshold aprox 3 db of attenuation (-15.8 in threshold)

[@kwameeyiah]

The spectrum in EQ used shows little energy in the highs of this vocal, meaning a dark sounding mic was used to record the vocals so this high shelving boost works, try it with a cheap mic and you get harsh vocals cos they are tuned to be bright already. I cut not boost with a shelf.

[@dannyechevarria8090]

Word! Yeah, if you play back the track and the vocals are already tuned to be bright, then I certainly wouldn't recommend boosting any further. This tutorial was intended for people who are working with vocals that feel too dark

[@enigmazach]

That Nova plugin is incredible, free or otherwise. I use it on every mix.

[@dannyechevarria8090]

Agreed! Really well-designed utility EQ

[@GamingMusicTechAndLife]

Thank you for the video!

[@Warmwinterz]

Great video for confidence. Lets young engineers know you CAN make big boosts and it can still sound good. Use your ears and experiment is the key here. ✌️

[@zaylevelten]

swear this what my mixes been missing fr thanks

[@dawnnyb8347]

The mix police 🤣🤣🤣 that was a good one

[@primorecord240]

Thank this really helps 👍👍🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@gicugiucula3306]

Thanks!

[@billysmart6825]

if I could only use one plugin the rest of my life it would be tdr nova. also never be afraid of a big ole boost, if it sounds better it is better. that 15db boost put the vocals in a1 position. just follow it with a de-esser (to my ears the harshness was due to sibilance not 3k). my basic vocal chain is filtering, corrective EQ, fast peak compression, slow leveling compression, coloring EQ in that order. then the vocal is sent to two parallel buses. one is compressed (A LOT) with no EQ, the other is also compressed a lot but following a tilt shelf of about 6db at 5k. then finally on the aux collecting all of that is a de-esser

[@thompsonstreet]

Helpful idea for to nova. Thanx

[@heavymetalmixer91]

Btw, the EQ GAIN button at the right is an loudness-compensation button, so all the static-EQ moves you do will be compensated on the output. Do you like it?

[@Fire-Toolz]

woah, thats siiick

[@heavymetalmixer91]

@@Fire-Toolz It's pretty good when doing mixbus processing or mastering, but not for anything else IMO.

[@dannyechevarria8090]

I do, and generally I like when plugins have that sort of gain compensation feature, though my experience is usually that I have to do some additional manual compensation to get things to come out truly even. Usually, with an auto-compensated plugin, I'll let it do its thing and then see what the meters in pro tools show, then do whatever additional gain compensation is necessary

[@diogenessbeats7421]

cool thx

[@MikeHeebz]

Thanks for sharing. Peace + Love. Mix On! =)

[@davejohnsonmusic]

You shouldn't lose any headroom if you've gain-matched your output volume on your plugins properly?

[@dannyechevarria8090]

True! What I generally find, though, is that if I have to boost something 12 or 15 dB for it to feel "right," then when I gain compensate on the plugin's output, as often as not it ends up feeling quiet by the time I've got it all balanced. For that reason I tend to prefer a series of smaller, balanced moves that won't require extreme compensation after the fact. That being said, there's always exceptions...

[@kaueravaneda7197]

i guess YT cut off everything above 15k. i have great phones e cant hear the changes of the high end shelving. If you hear, chances that you mixes with visuals are tremendous

[@TjMoon91]

Even if you can't hear above 15k that boost still sounds pretty dramatic to me.

[@ZeeshanIqbal24]

My nova plugin is not showing spectral waves... What might be the reason?

[@alexanderadeyinka9483]

Click and activate the IN button at the topmost left of the EQ graph

[@dannyechevarria8090]

Yup, what he said. It's a feature that has to be toggled

[@proaudiofiles]

Nova Parallel Dynamic EQ: www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-nova/

[@kwameeyiah]

I stopped using this technique because it only works with flat sounding mics like the U87, any cheaper mic will sound terribly harsh. As in my case I make shelving cuts instead.

[@dannyechevarria8090]

I didn't track this song, so I'm not 100% on what vocal mic was used, but I'm pretty sure that Zach recorded these vocals at home with a mic that was substantially cheaper than a U87. Though as a rule, you're right - cheaper condensers tend to be voiced pretty bright - I wouldn't say that's *always* the case. That being said, there are definitely scenarios where I end up cutting high end on vocals too. It all depends on the context and what's going on with the source material

[@dylandaubenspeck3030]

sounds like the old guy from family guy.. lol