How To Mix Screaming / Growling Vocals in Reaper

Are your growling vocals sounding like crap? You've come to the right place.
Disclaimer: This is MY way of doing stuff. There are tons of other roads to follow, but this should help you out.
First off, you do NOT need a fancy microphone in order to record good sounding growling vocals. If you are on a budget, get a Behringer XM8500 or a similar SM58-knockoff. It sounds more than good enough for this.
1. Get a pop filter, or put a sock in front of your microphone.
2. Have your vocalist step back from the microphone. The proximity effect will mess up your vocals on dynamic microphones especially.
3. Dont bother treating your room acoustically, it won't do much for what we're doing here. I have recorded like this in acoustically horrible rooms with no problems.
4. Make your vocalist wear headphones, dont use speakers, because they will blend in with the recorded vocals and create lots of mess.
When you have happily recorded your vocals, it's time to make what sounds like shit sound good. First off, put a limiter on your vocal track. I'm using the W1 limiter in my video here, which you can easily find by googling. When you have set your threshold and ceiling to your liking, move on to adding a de-esser. Find the annoying S-frequencies and kill them. Add delay or reverb; I hate reverb, so I mostly use delay. Make the delay sound over-the-top when soloing the vocals, your won't hear your delay as well in the finaly mix anyways. Finally, add an EQ and cut the frequencies below approx. 40hz, in order to avoid any problems with runaway bass frequencies from the vocals.
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I own everything in my backing track / instructional / original song videos, including the audio recordings, editing and photography used. All software used has been purchased legally.
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[@SolkanStudiosTV]

Dude this was relatively simple compared to other videos on this topic but this is absolutely great, thanks so much!

[@jirehjamesasis7851]

best, & fast mix tips for screaming vox i've found so far!!!!!!! good job!!

[@kylehart883]

This video is still working man. I tweeked it a little and its got my mix sounding right. Thanks a ton!

[@ozzygm3178]

Great video. Thank you for introducing me the Limiter, that thing is a life saver!

[@xmilo93]

Thank you for this video, Explained better than alot of videos on youtube. My band used an Audix i5 and used your technique and it sounds great.

[@DrSMILE-xc1dp]

So far best beginner tutorial for recording metal vocal especially for REAPER

[@goodmorninglimboband]

Good tutorial man, really helpful. Reaper isn't the most user friendly interface. Keep them coming!

[@davidfiori9031]

Reaper is the absolutely the easiest to use and I no every DAW I miix for a living hood you still with Reaper

[@BigDeeEsco]

This definitely still holds up. Thanks a bunch!

[@maryiasiutsova]

THANK YOU! Thanks to this video, my growling started to sound!!!!! Thank you very much!!!!

[@gastongabrielsosa8968]

Thank you man! I took several tips from you, good job! you got another subscriber ;D

[@Grayback666]

Thank you so much dude, this changes everything for me !

[@IWantTo0wnMyLife]

Fy faen, det var en bra video. Tusen takk. Det er den første hjelpsom og relevant video jeg har funnet. Også kult å finne en video laget av en Nordman haha. Skal prøve teknikene snart.

[@fathomrum]

not a bad mix but it still sounds like the delay is a little too strong.

[@dal_riata_music]

Aaaaah big socks...........those were the daze! Great vid man!

[@eddyray666]

Thank you so much. This was Excellent.

[@MerakiGrace]

The storm is coming!

[@BillyQvarnstrom]

Thank you! I learned some good stuff here.

[@metalguitarstuff]

I'm using Reaper. It's really cheap and extremely effective. The trial version is free, too.

[@Breeboi_j]

Spitfish doesn't show up in reaper as a plugin.

[@patchedeye78]

the video is the heaven and mouse sound is the hell

[@falseprophecy666]

That seriously sounds like Ryan Strain!

[@Fridgebass]

Very helpful, thanks man.

[@One0fthenine]

That backing track is bad ass

[@Raymx3]

How you get that awesome guitar tone and guitar/bass/kick mix??

[@MindlessVocalists]

that was extremely helpful, thanks a bunch ^^

[@lloydrobinson9810]

this is a awesome video thanx man

[@Archferumphis]

Very useful guide!

[@theextremistmetal]

Thank you! very instructive, you earn a sub

[@kiess_richards]

Really Helpful! Thanks

[@MrBreakcake]

Very nice this has helped me alot thank you so much, cheers from Sweden ^^also where can hear the full song?

[@samuellchacon1442]

Please tell me everything I have to download.. The mix downloads...

[@andrewcook4159]

Hey man could you do a video specifically on compression in a metal track using reaper?

[@MikaTarkela]

Great tutorial!

[@musishoon7950]

can i get a link to all the plugins used?

[@MaxFonsecaOfficial]

Dude, I can't mixing like this... Could you send me the project? do you use some amp simulator for guitars? Thanks.

[@oronalul1364]

what is the name of the song? sounds pretty badass

[@TheAlleviate]

hi , so in this video u used Behringer XM8500 Dynamic Microphone , is it ?

[@vermillion8656]

This helped me realise I'm actually bad at vocals LOL

[@s.t.5590]

Lol how?

[@ragingjr6865]

I can't wait til it's confirmed that i'm terrible as well!

[@isnajiaffarjanjalani7445]

The de essing part would be really hard for beginners. I recommend you use other de-essers with presets like fabfilter DS

[@mvarge]

thanks for the tips

[@espaciopluraldelpensamiento]

Hey! Whats the name of your band?

[@darkflamesquirrel]

Is Shadowmind your band? I stumbled upon the bandcamp page I think I found my new favorite band! Reminds me of classic metalcore era of Killswitch and It Dies Today and that Trustkill Records roster. SO good!!!

[@metalguitarstuff]

+DarkFlameSquirrel yep, thanks!

[@Nemeroth13]

Hi ! Does Røde Nt1-a work well? Cuz that's what i got available...

[@metalguitarstuff]

Yes, it will work very well. You just have to try it out and see for yourself. Those kind of microphones pick up a bit more room acoustics than an SM58, so it will depend slightly on your recording room. But there is no doubt you can make it sound good.

[@BiiiC]

I know this is an old video.. but did you use amp sims or real amps here? If so, what amp sim and settings etc? also do you happen to have a recording template for reaper? I am trying to get my guitars to really show up in a mix and yours sound AMAZING.. anyways good stuff!

[@metalguitarstuff]

Im using the 5150 amp model in the axe fx standard with a v30 impulse

[@mr.funtime9694]

I know this video has been up for a long time but I'm just getting started myself lol I noticed the vocals were clipping still at the end after all the adjustments, is that not a problem with the final mix or will you have to make a few more adjustments to get it to stop?

[@metalguitarstuff]

Yeah I wasnt really paying attention to the clipping back then. But still, I dont really care about clipping as long as it sounds good. Only audio nerds will disagree anyways.

[@mr.funtime9694]

@@metalguitarstuff Thanks man! I appreciate it and the killer video! It's gonna make recording my vocals a lot simpler 🤘

[@NicolasCavigneaux]

Very instructive video. Are you using monitoring speakers? Which one? I'm a bit low on budget but would like to have something usable to begin with guitar mixing.

[@metalguitarstuff]

These days I'm only using Behringer DT770 headphones because of noise issues in my dorm room. In the past I used Fostex monitors, which are okay monitors for the price. Don't get too hung up in the gear stuff, as your mixing skills and knowhow are 100% more important. Don't listen to the audio nerds.

[@musishoon7950]

what skin is that? where can i get the link?

[@metalguitarstuff]

Reaper 3xx skin

[@franklinmetalvox1293]

Whenever i record screaming vocals (behringer xm8500) it always sounds really bad eq wise unless i through podfarms tubescreamer and eq the mids out. What do u think the problem is? All the instruments sounds great and eq'd like other modern metal songs.

[@metalguitarstuff]

That's really hard to tell without hearing it. I've used the exact same microphone, and as long as it's working fine, it should sound excellent. Have you tried using a pop filter, and keeping at least a foot of distance between the mouth of the vocalist and the microphone? Other than that, the problem might actually be the vocals themselves. Does it sound the same with other vocalists?

[@franklinmetalvox1293]

Metal Guitar Stuff I stood back about a foot and that helped tremendously, thanks. Do you think the xm8500 is worth upgrading to the mxl990?

[@metalguitarstuff]

FranklinMetalVox No, stay with the XM8500, it's more than good enough. The MXL990 will only pick up more room noise and make mixing harder. The XM8500 is very good for growling vocals.

[@franklinmetalvox1293]

Metal Guitar Stuff alright thanks! You save me 100 bucks

[@Giofergom]

Mixing 101 Rule #1 Avoid Clipping.

[@birdbraINCorporated]

But if you _did_ clip, can it be fixed? Without just re-doing it, I mean.

[@laura-sophiemohr4178]

not really. it is distorted when it comes in. you cant erase distortion that happened before the daw

[@corymcleod934]

wouldn't you want to deess before compressing? I would think the S sounds would stick out more before compression and be easier to cut. I guess i should just try switching between them to find out. Great video though, I'm just now getting into mixing and vids like this help a lot. thanks.

[@nobodyx215]

hey Cory McLeod did you ever test that out? Really interested to know your results :)

[@MotionlessInMike]

nobodyx215 Same, since it'll be a while before the mic cable comes in the mail. :0

[@nickfizzle1212]

i haven't tried, but i feel like compressing before hand would make the s sounds MORE noticeable, therefore making it easier to find the best frequency to cut them out from

[@cythedd]

Cool

[@triplesixmafia]

Sounds like melodic death metal.

[@ind.vocalist2839]

I cannot find out how to put the downloads, like the limiter, onto Reaper...anyone help me out?

[@djfunkymatt]

find your VST folder (mine is C:\Program Files\Reaper\Plugins\FX). Make sure the .dll file for your new plug-in is in that folder. Restart reaper. Explore Options>Preferences>VST in Reaper for more options.

[@ind.vocalist2839]

I actually found out on my own, but thank you so much! Yeah it took awhile and I wish it was easier because it's a pain in the ass. Thank you so much though

[@eh5665]

Thanks a lot especially for using free plugins in your tutorial (so that I don't have to buy plugins to experiment) but a little bit more detailed video would be better. This one is pretty superficial.

[@eskilre342]

mann, kan du sende meg noen tips på messenger om growling og screaming?

[@eskilre342]

Eskil Røe

[@TylerSocholotuik]

Interesting technique. This probably wouldn`t work for clean vocals though because they would be very distorted with a threshold that low.

[@metalguitarstuff]

Playing around with the threshold does the trick. If it sounds good, it sounds good :) As you have probably noticed, I don't do things by the book... I just do what I think sounds good.

[@natethomas3347]

I dont really agree when you said "you cant make a poor vocalist sound good" you ever hear chelsea grin or bring me the horizon live? They kind of suck but in the studio they sound awesome... thank god for mixers and producers!

[@MightBeCale]

There's a video with Eyal Levi, Chelsea Grin's producer, mixing one of the tracks with Alex. It kicks in with a high scream and Eyal straight up starts laughing because it sounds so dumb, lmao. Tom Barber that's with them now is a fucking absolute beast though.

[@RobertMunteanu105]

I would give you two likes if i could :)) thank you ! you helped me a lot

[@matter509]

your voice is too low.

[@Reaper666Cobra]

Sounds a little like traitors

[@Reaper666Cobra]

Vocally anyways

[@PipSqueakGaming]

no it doesnt

[@diarrheapool]

I can BARELY HEAR YOU

[@GramOfMayo]

bad technique dude. your recordings are clipping you recorded your vocals wayyyyy to hot. you will never get rid of clipping on vocal tracks with high recording levels. and when you compress with the limiter you are taking away the sound.. listen closely to it you can hear it. your ears probably aren't tuned to it. load a limiter on a full song and squash it like that it will mess with the kick and snares. don't get into nasty habits like that

[@metalguitarstuff]

+GramOfMayo yeah Im pretty much self taught in this stuff, so its not perfect

[@GramOfMayo]

The heavier set dude is the tutorials you want to watch, I learned alot from him

[@Kudabear1]

My guy your takes are mad clipping I'm not taking advice from you lol

[@mojostudio]

yet another video about mixing and your narration vocals are way too fucking quiet....