Mixing Dua Lipa's vocals with Josh Gudwin

[@mixwiththemasters]

Full video available exclusively on mwtm.org/jg-electricity

[@OdeMalikIdrus]

His Pro Tools session look like a war zone.

[@idontknowwhatmyusernamesho5540]

Fr, shit gives me anxiety just looking at it

[@yvesjean4472]

😭😭😭😭

[@luiscoast23]

Agree 🙈

[@n.q.o]

Lol🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@chip715715]

@Zaesar Music I like more track vs automation lol

[@matiasrengel3143]

It is very important to understand that Dua Lipa's vocals are recorded in a good room, with a good mic and preamp. It goes to show how little you have to do in the mix if these things are taken care of.

[@InfamousAWJ]

The better the recording, the better the mix.

[@Flairis]

@@InfamousAWJ so hard to get this across to people fr

[@InfamousAWJ]

@@Flairis Which is a SIMPLE concept. My dad has a label and I’m the COO. We never push production problems on the engineer. His only focus should be mixing and mastering the damn song and nothing else.

[@Flairis]

@@InfamousAWJ yeah sometimes people be sending audio recordings that came from the amazon jungle w all that background noise 💀💀

[@InfamousAWJ]

@@Flairis 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@LeifCoffield]

what a chill guy, these free insights into tracks of this calibre are absolutely priceless

[@popuchinha]

true finally a good and detailed video

[@neils9420]

priceless, and excellent elaboration got inspired so much!

[@Leotique]

it's cool he shows us all this, but you can't do much with it, except you've got a great studio mic setup and a skilled singer like Dua.

[@wmpx34]

@@Leotique I agree, to a point. All the plugins in the world won't save you from a shit recording. But it's still useful to see the approaches and thought processes of other people, because it causes me to reexamine what I'm doing and notice if I want to make some changes to my own workflow that I hadn't thought of before.

[@Leotique]

@@wmpx34 yes, it's always great to have extern inputs, or else we won't evolve music skills-wise.

[@Lemaylo]

"i like to separate them out, eq them differently, effect them differently" my dual core cpu: ok

[@moiliosis5423]

Lmao man

[@lughar]

1,6 ghz take it or leave it

[@tshepomoanakwena5453]

LOL

[@ectyka]

😆

[@badszn2012]

SAMEEE BROO SAMEEE

[@jrapp654]

Step 1: Have a perfectly recorded vocal session

[@niamousai]

Haha....well said

[@YellowDogAnimations]

Lol yep

[@cassetteo]

@SSG Playboy also remember you won’t make any money doing it

[@seanjones9389]

@SSG Playboy best advice I’ve ever seen for a newbie

[@petewl2532]

@i am from India orrrrrrrr just do it for the enjoyment of it - beats putting the TV on.

[@nate_creates]

One of the key takeaways here is to do your processing in very small steps. Each plugin only makes slight changes, but they add up to a polished sound. Useful and informative video!

[@MirandaMulkey]

You're so right!

[@heythere6983]

I feel these are mostly advertising for plugins and they act like they don’t use real gear. These albums cost millions for a reason, not bc of plugins

[@Zydepoint]

@@heythere6983 the plugins they use are digital emulators of real, physical effects... it's not advertising, it's literally professional mixing

[@WillyJunior]

@@heythere6983 Huge misconception. Serban Ghenea mixes fully in the box and his mixes are the best in pop music.

[@hithere4289]

@@heythere6983 Hi Hey There. Fortunately we are in a stage in history when digital plugins are fully able to do what analog gear can :) there are great mix engineers out there that mix fully in the box

[@johnsaras1]

This is one of the best mixed albums I’ve heard in 10 years. You can hear every detail of everything. Perfect balance of bass and mids.. should be a reference track for mixing pop going forward. I thought it was mixed by Andy Wallace. Great work!

[@svengali5862]

Agree , although this song has the lows a bit too compressed (because of the production) , you can't go wrong referencing dua lipa. "New Rules" is one of the best pop mixes of all time

[@johnsaras1]

I thought it was Future Nostalgia album. Probably same difference

[@svengali5862]

@@johnsaras1 Yeah probably is , my bad , not that important tho :)

[@JanooProductions]

The other day we were talking with other producers about good mixings albums or artists in general, and we all agreed on Jamiroquai music is also very very well mixed (and we talking like 15 years ago ?)

[@svengali5862]

@@Journeymanlive Pretty much everything you just said is false except for Josh being great lol

[@wmsproductions]

Amazing how similar the EQ is like color grading but for audio.

[@TheBlashMusic]

100%

[@VICKERY-]

Yes absolutely

[@spiritparty]

I always think about those comparisons, and saturation is like that as well even has the same name in both

[@Leotique]

same design...it's like chopping vocals = chopping a carrot

[@PetrisonRocha]

I always see highs as blue and lows as red in my mind

[@suitcasethestudio]

never seen someone sidechain a vocal using the signal of the kick! Thats a great way to emphasize the groove over the vocal

[@jay2dee.809]

6:38 when the artist wants reverb on his subbass

[@WillyJunior]

LOL

[@GDMartin]

ok so what the fuck... this is the most sauce mwm and behind scenes engineer shit ever.... dude is so humble, yet so sauce

[@0oTHEJACKo0]

That's what not many people get: What makes a good mixer? -> Someone who makes the recording better. When a song sounds shit or it sounds dope, that's not solely the mixers responsibility. His/hers is it to make it better. Many people don't get it. This guy makes a great recording even greater!

[@TMFxROCK]

that’s kinda obvious mate

[@0oTHEJACKo0]

@@TMFxROCK you would be impressed how many people think that. Many customers ;) To assess a mix you always need to listen to the dry recording first to compare it

[@briandavidofficial]

The tenacity to splice out tiny parts of the vocal to treat with a different EQ is remarkable.

[@theskycouldfly]

I assisted Goody back in 2009, dude is still on fire

[@ethan1937]

That's awesome to see a professional doing the separate track mixing for minor tweaks. I've always done it that way and felt like a noob because Idk how to use busses

[@ericktellez7632]

you should learn to how to set up proper busses and send tracks for effects though.

[@domancayoutube]

buses are lame

[@svengali5862]

Josh Gudwin , besides Serban is probably the best engineer out there

[@SebastianJeri]

dont forget Jaycen Joshua 🔝. These guys are probably my top 3 (in any order)

[@svengali5862]

@@SebastianJeri I absolutely LOVE Jay , but if I'm being honest , Serban is a level of his own , the rest can go as they please :) That's the reason I'm watching these vids , HOPING someday Serban will find it in his heart to bless us mortals with an INTERVIEW at least :D

[@SebastianJeri]

@@svengali5862 Mmm I wouldnt be that sure, but of course Serban has a killer sound! And Im pretty sure Serban will be teaching some great stuff on this series! (or at least i hope, so..)

[@nelsonrivera9635]

@@SebastianJeri don’t forget CLA :)

[@svengali5862]

@@SebastianJeri No he won't trust me :D

[@ashkanaref4056]

He looks like a cool guy, Wish i had friends like him

[@JanooProductions]

man, Dua Lipa mixings are nothing but GOLD! Gudwin is so good

[@avodroxx]

Godwin

[@realspitter2727]

Gadwin

[@Boysoundtechniques]

4:13 "To shape my vocal" Now that's a passionate producer

[@milim3135]

So much just on the vocals.

[@djentlover]

It's often hard to see just how important the vocals really are

[@jamesreidngbicol]

Modern pop music

[@MM-vs2et]

@@djentlover nah, it's easy to see the significance of vocals, especially and primarily on pop music. To 95% of the listeners, it will be the only aspect of the song that they pay attention.

[@ChrisCarmona]

0:21 Him: "Or you can go into.... Dua- *right* ?" Me: "Riiiiiiiiight....." 🤨

[@stevehansen4755]

I produce/mix for a living (20 years). What I would like to know is the total number of hours that went into recording/mixing/mastering this track. A heavily procuced track for me can run up to 20 hours. I'm guessing this track got maybe 100+ hours of attention. I would love an actual answer to my question if Mix With the Masters knows. Thanks!

[@svengali5862]

I'm pretty sure Josh finished this mix in between 8 and 12 hours. When you're have 20 + people working on a project before it comes to you , and when your assistants basically mix half of the song for you , it goes pretty quickly. Phil Tan once said that he mixes a song in 4-6 hours usually. DJ Swivel said he mixed "Closer" by Chainsmokers in 4 hours

[@stevehansen4755]

@@svengali5862 Thanks, so if this track had 20+ people working on it, it could have easily taken over 100 hours of attention from start of recording to completed mix. Maybe 200 hours..

[@svengali5862]

@@stevehansen4755 It probably took 5 to 7 days to make this song , anything over that is complicating things

[@stevehansen4755]

@@svengali5862 ok thanks. So figuring 16 hour days times 6 days about 100 hours like my original estimate. 😊

[@narco73]

wikipedia says they spent over 2 months writing and producing.

[@DANY-vv3pl]

He worked a lot in high frecuency control just with a good deeser and lil bit of multibandcompresión its nice

[@joeferris5086]

I was surprised to seem him boosting in the mix. If i did that id get sibilance in the master

[@thomasjorennielsen]

Really cool of him and mwm to just put this out there for free!

[@rhoten8039]

Genius production. Buttery vocals. Allstar engineering.

[@MattShockley]

Wow what a timely video! Thank you so much. Incredible song and production and absolute dedication to making killer music

[@keanelimusic]

His DAW looks like engineering specs for a mission to Mars

[@dalvynoficial]

Wow this guy is one of the engineer who use more plugins, if you see all the tracks right there. One of my favorite tho 👌

[@cateador12]

This is the first "Dua Lipa's mixing vocals" that is a real Dua Lipa vocal video. Thx 4 not scamming out

[@jamesrivera3426]

“So, I’m jumping right into Dua” 🤨😳

[@Blaze22F]

I would too tbh

[@adilcmusic]

That beard though, this is actually sick.

[@noah3665]

Josh is such a boss, I came for some mixing advice and realized we almost do the exact same plugins and order in the chain. I'm shocked and relieved

[@effector3659]

and so...?

[@NikolajChristensen]

Great insights - and easy to follow as well. No bullshit - just meaningful stuff. Thanks!

[@wesleyleigh4063]

Seems like such a nice dude. Engineers always seem so interesting, I wonder got him into it to begin with.

[@jordanminter7576]

6:34 damn why Mark have to do him like that 😂😂

[@wadewilliams1892]

As Jon said here in the comments, having amazingly recorded vox via a world class mic and chain means less processing. Plugins try to make it sound as good as analog equipment ⬆️⬆️

[@OverdriveMusic]

Now he has his own preset on Soothe 2.

[@iceyloui1593]

Yeah, I didn't really learn much from this but it was fascinating watching him work.

[@hassanpushe5819]

The vocals sound perfect before adding any plugin to them.

[@ruleset]

So today we're gonna mix Dua's vocals As you can already hear her voice is perfect we don't need to do anything here

[@backwoodmenace]

Love Dua it’s great to see the mixing process

[@kianlowe1410]

Please do Harry styles vocals

[@thomasjorennielsen]

Holy moly we just got the sauce y’all

[@mixwithmanni799]

I usually use at least 3 different compressors on the vocal lead track. Good to know that I’m not crazy 😜

[@Hershthaprophet]

Did anybody else try scrolling on the video to see what else was in the session or was that just me? 😂

[@golfmanbil]

Fantastic information and examples!! very well done Thank you

[@Chigüiro_Herrera]

Those tracks are literal squares, damn.

[@youaintasbadasyouthink]

Normalize zoom view, they're not actually brickwalled lmao

[@GRILLARECORDS]

🏁🏁🏁

[@preedzyprod6298]

these guys are the G's who does the thing

[@francomatiasmarron1274]

Awesome stuff, but once again, they never tell you how they recorded the vocals in the first place.

[@kucklaman]

with a microphone

[@cipa857]

Pretty sure they plugged a mic and started getting some takes?

[@Ray-lx8le]

Pretty sure he means what type of mic, what pre amp was used, was it compressed before going in etc

[@nambams]

Most often a 47 or 251 or C800G or equivalent, into a 1073 or 1084, with a CL1B after it. Sometimes he uses a GML eq for some light tweaking too.

[@felipepestana]

Because he is the mixing engineer, on huge projects those professionals are different people so he won't have much input on that regard. And this KZbin channel is Mix With The Masters, so it's focused on mixing. That being said, a good insight on recording a track with this level of quality is surely appreciated

[@rofbeats10]

Great content. This helps a lot in how the professionals work and what are their priorities.

[@tmayk_]

No hate, guys. 7:43 - the release is on Auto mode, so it doesn't matter how many ms u put

[@prodbydmaterialz]

Best Producer, Engineer In Industry Rn 💯

[@emilianorodriguez9763]

he uses a track ball ... respect

[@ricerice245]

finnially met someone with a crazy session like the ones i spent 35+ hours on

[@DjHoysauce]

Soothe is apparently a must have 🤔

[@SebastianJeri]

Totally worth the money!! :D

[@kevinblack836]

Or you can grab DSEQ

[@embersinsnow]

Life-changing, to be honest.

[@mistermusicenterprise3148]

@@kevinblack836 Deseq is a beast. Best one

[@HandsUpDK]

Crazy good mix

[@oldguitars]

Interesting approach, but jeez, basically 5 different EQ/Comps for every other syllable. Excessive.

[@vikkipakki]

Josh: "...or you can go into Dua" Me: I wish.

[@sus6890]

Thanks🙏

[@mymama12314]

My laptop looking at his plugin usage: 👀

[@mannyalv4435]

Let's not forget that these vocals were most likely tracked and recorded with expensive gear before it even got to dis guy to mix.

[@trenthays7]

I know for “Don’t Start Now” Ian recorded Dua’s vocals with an SM7B into an Apollo. Her vocal performances are just nuts.

[@MrSpencerMcIntosh]

Gear isn’t everything.

[@mannyalv4435]

@@trenthays7 do you know that to be a fact fact? Sure there was nothing else that the microphone was running through before going into the Apollo because I've had the Apollo with an sm7b and I've had the Apollo with an outboard gear and the difference was noticeable

[@mannyalv4435]

@@MrSpencerMcIntosh I know talent comes before gear but good gear does make a difference it all depends on your dedication and what you're trying to accomplish I guess

[@trenthays7]

@@mannyalv4435 Pretty sure that’s correct. Ian is very simple and minimalist when it comes to outboard gear. He definitely said that he recorded it in his studio with an SM7B with her sitting on the couch behind him. I watch all of his streams and he doesn’t use much hardware at all. It’s possible there was an external preamp involved but, I don’t remember him mentioning it.

[@labrostheace8329]

wow saw this one after CLA vocal tutorial and Zdar Legend videoz.. Day and Night and I am not suggesting anytin bad for Josh but one can really tell good from master level...plugins and real machines and desks...

[@QuincasMoreira]

"I'm jumping right into Dua" :D

[@Dbwj-so6mu]

0:22 is better lol

[@madlopherliy]

This chain is super warm♥️♥️🫂🔥

[@K3dzz]

I'm confused, by the waveform these vocals look they've been heavily limited before even the main mixing stage? It also seems odd they didn't record/print the vocals on separate tracks?

[@bf4lvr]

He has have the waveform view maxed out so they appear bigger

[@SebastianJeri]

Does someone know whats the difference between the "Inside The Track" series and the "Deconstructing A Mix" series??

[@ErickT_MX]

Inside The Track: Open an already finished / released project. Deconstructing: The mix made 100% from scratch (all faders down). Longer, more time consuming for a busy engineer, but you can watch carefully the process step-by-step.

[@SebastianJeri]

@@ErickT_MX Thank you bro! 🙌

[@ToHerbiarz]

Thanks!

[@d.o.b.]

Thanks For The Info👊🏾💥💚

[@OhMyGardenRock]

Don’t know man but the “Esses” pop out like crazy don’t they? And btw so frustrating to see these guys doing all the basic stuff but getting results like that because the recording is perfect. Great channel tho love it

[@kodakeller6353]

That’s pop music for you, they like it bright. It’s not really “harsh” though. Some of those really high end $10,000 or more microphones they use on these artists have a ton of high end information but it’s clean and not so harsh. Either way, you don’t wanna take too much out of that out of pop vocals.

[@heythere6983]

Post Malone’s Motley Crue is harsh af

[@darrenlawn3302]

Pop is mastered for people with hearing loss driving in covertable cars. It is ear piercingly sharp. Why cant they have a separate master for high end stereo?

[@tshepomoanakwena5453]

best one yet.

[@stolenkey]

Engineers don't get enough recognition

[@amernamrood]

Does he just create a send reverb & delay since he doesn’t have them on the chain?

[@Psi.rodrigoalvarez]

What pluggins do you consider Classics for a mix? The Ones that you have to have

[@mattje27]

Can anyone explain to me what is soothe doing? I watched the video but can't really understand whats happening there

[@horriblemind]

It detects resonances on your recording and brings them down, kind of like a dynamic EQ but which has a thousand times more bands and which works automatically. The great thing about it is that if set properly it will only affect resonances and will not damage the rest of the recording (unlike a conventional static EQ).

[@mattje27]

@@horriblemind great explanation, thanks

[@horriblemind]

@@mattje27 cheers!

[@gurav100]

I am feeling good at least I am able to understand what josh sir is doing

[@AngusMurray]

That's amazing!

[@SHMUPS]

Put on so many fx that it comes out a little better than it went in

[@abramjethrofelisanpolinar3279]

Lesson: if you got good room and mic, it is already 70% done, all you need is just compress and eq that sht

[@michaelhimes5217]

So, if he is having to pull out so many annoying frequencies, is there a better mic choice to start with?

[@32rush79]

why would you want to process each vocal track seperately? what benefits does this have

[@Mar2beatz]

If i can only be that perfect to get some nasty takes on my vocals as Lipaaaa

[@mehmetcemunal]

How is soothe different than a multiband dynamics plugin? I tried and couldnt get what the difference is. -serious question-

[@Nathalyaaaas]

can someone explain minute 6.20 how did he achieve this effect on the vocals

[@bojanpetkovic1491]

How much RAM does this guy have? All of it

[@dehoutbaas7488]

who is tapping the "T" key voor zooming in on the waveform?

[@itssamanthavasquez3]

as i’m in. school for Recording Arts at Full Sail University, it definitely is inspiring to watch these videos! I watched too way before I started school, but wow it’s definitely sooooo SO much to learn..extremelyy technical (which I knew obviously, but even wayy more) & just a lot to take in & remember. I remember the first time looking & working on Logic..I was like omgg this looks very confusing omgg but slowly getting there lol only been a few months in 🫶🏼🤍

[@etiennemiemczyk7081]

Old school with that giant ball mouse.

[@casinomann]

How about reverbs and returns?

[@nahhumusic]

Hey can someone explain to me how these vocal tracks (as well as Justin's in another video) look so "square"? I mean it looks like a distorted guitar, which is very interesting! Should my vocal stems look like that before I start to mix the song? I'm trying really hard to understand the sauce behind pro standards...and a big part of the magic looks to be done before mixing! Huge thanks to the person who will stop by to answer :)

[@wmpx34]

Pretty sure he just has the waveform display jacked up to the maximum. It's not affecting the audio, just the display of the peaks.

[@nahhumusic]

@@wmpx34 oh really? what's the reason to do that? isn't useful to see peaks? Thank you for your answer

[@wmpx34]

@@nahhumusic I honestly don't know why he has it like that.

[@nicholasmarch3286]

thats just how it looks zoomed out all the way.. if he was to zoom in on the specific tracks they would look more like normal dynamic waveforms

[@ctrlaltcreate3827]

All the above answers are true but not the main reason. Really it’s because the vocals are incredibly compressed.

[@SayedHasanat]

what a powerful PC

[@warnutztheloser]

That ssl plugin is insane!

[@_b_e_a_n_s_]

him working in light mode hurts me

[@Andrew-vr9hr]

1:53 Dude I do the same thing!!

[@kembowhite1903]

How come people end up having so many chanels? at most I have 20-35 but he has like 80+

[@helpingheany]

Man producers be doing too much to make these artists shine. They need to have some fun. It ain’t fair.

[@theostene4444]

Hi, how can I find the right masterclasses for myself on your website? You have so many that it gets overwhelming. I also don't know who most of them are who is teaching in the masterclasses so its hard to choose. I want to watch masterclasses that gets specific and actually teaches tricks instead of just showcasing basic stuff that I cant take anything from. (I really want to learn new advanced tricks, from pop music and deep house. Those are my genres) Could you help me?

[@josephschmizzo1595]

he doesn't really tell you anything in this video and doing exactly what he does isn't going to mean anything unless you have a vocal that's recorded extremely well in a great room w a great mic. Look at how loud, limited and clear her vocal already is before processing...her vocal is a perfect brick of audio...most of us aren't working w that.

Awesome!!