Mixing Vocals

[@yawns3004]

Hands down the best beginner friendly, yet pro quality tutorial I've seen. Wonderful work

[@sageaudio]

That's great to hear - thanks for watching!

[@dante4053]

the amount of work and help that you've been doing for the community is appreciated man, keep going !

[@sageaudio]

Thank you so much! Glad these videos are helpful - they take a while to make lol

[@maxborosiuk3570]

It’s very complete set of steps to adjust the vocal I was discovering step by step by myself before. Super nice job done by summarising it all in one video. 👏👏👏😎

[@sageaudio]

Thank you! It's a good process for sure - I usually find this method works in more cases than not.

[@shakebraza196]

​​@@sageaudioir please answer why some people use two microphones while giving speech one condensor collar mic and another dynamic. Thank you.

[@Weshko]

Danke! Most serious youtube channel ive seen with the best visualisation / infos everything is on point!

[@sageaudio]

Awesome! Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!

[@mao_ec666]

Great video, greetings from Ecuador!

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching!

[@LightSkySounds]

thanks for the informative video! i was expecting to watch a good handful of videos to refresh some knowledge on vocal mixing, but this video might just be the only one i need for now! thanks again!

[@LightSkySounds]

highlights (for personal use): note that every vocal and mixing context is different so make changes depending on what you want (to your discretion) 3:48 getting rid of unmusical freqs 4:38 other common frequencies that can be attenuated - somewhere around 250hz; 750-1200hz eq first dynamic processing (de-esser, compression, saturation) next wet effects (room reverb) next 15:16 processing order 16:17 time for some more creative processing effects! send the vocal to another channel for parallel processing to avoid messing with the original for example: - parallel delay with sidechain (to minimize the delay's presence when the vocal is more present) - stylistic ducked reverb ("ducked" as in the sidechaining explained before) 19:07 final eq with everything processed on a bus in this example: - lows were further attenuated - air was added to the highs (high shelf) - "clarity" was added with a peak at ~2.5khz - mid/side eq was also considered!! on the side, the highs were boosted to brighten them in the stereo space, and the vocal clarity range (~2.5khz) was attenuated to maintain that clarity (avoid the side from clashing with the clarity) 20:35 readjusting the gain staging in the context of the mix 21:10 last step!! creative automation this is what parallel processing is great for, as it allows for an organized workflow in terms of automating creative effects

[@EdgarsBukovskisMusic]

Sage audio! You are just crazy

[@sageaudio]

Haha thanks for watching this one!

[@promickeyartist]

I downloaded the preview of my sample that you mixed. You only changed the dynamic of the guitar and thats it! And it sounds amazing! Thank you,Sage Audio! You are the BEST!

[@sageaudio]

That's awesome! Great to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks for sending it in!

[@PorshiaVonne]

I LOVE this tutorial 🤗 thank you so much 💜

[@sageaudio]

That's great! Thanks for watching

[@LJ-ie8wj]

Man, I tell you, I really want these guys to release some templates of effects or something I pay straight up. Love what these guys are doing.

[@sageaudio]

Thank you for watching! We have a lot of templates with our membership - but nothing that's a "template file" so to speak, more like a guide. Maybe we'll branch into this in the future!

[@1loveMusic2003]

Clip gaining is the most important step in my mind. It can reduce sibilance and hard consonance while preventing compressor pumping from inconsistent GR.

[@sageaudio]

I agree! I think clip gain is underused, but a really helpful form of processing.

[@themixuniversity]

These guys are experts at explaining the process. Great video. Thx.

[@matthewmicheal1922]

❤❤ wowww cool professional quality tutorial

[@infinitystratos5292]

Nice video where you really presented a good guide to mixing vocals. From the beginning with clip gain to the end with the addition of effects like reverb and delay. I think to go through all these steps and master them you really have to take quiet your time. I'am looking forward to the mastering course.

[@sageaudio]

That's great to hear! Thanks for watching and letting me know what you thought about the video. Looking forward to sharing the mastering course soon!

[@MocaMontana]

good video i think a tips n tricks video on vocal effects would be really cool

[@sageaudio]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing this idea! Like creative effects, or any type of effect that isn't talked about too often?

[@healeydavid3080]

Great stuff - this is proper and really helpful in unlocking the door to each step of vocal processing.

[@sageaudio]

That's awesome! Thank you for watching!

[@Tiebuaudio]

Thanks for summarizing these steps. It is really tough mixing vocals to sit in a mix, it seems very simple to me now. Thanks

[@sageaudio]

That's great to hear! Thank you for watching!

[@Lilslugx]

Best video ever! Very detailed..thanks Sage Audio

[@sageaudio]

Thank you so much!

[@HJ-mx2rt]

This knowledge you're sharing is sooo amazing. Bless you brother. I hope you will make your dreams come true!

[@sageaudio]

Thank you so much! Great to hear it's useful

[@bernieasis159]

Best vocal mixing tutorial

[@sageaudio]

Awesome thank you!

[@golfmanbil]

Fantastic Tutorial!! Thank You I would have paid for this information and demo for sure. Can't wait for your Mastering Courses Great Job Sage😃

[@sageaudio]

Thank you so much! Great to hear your thoughts on this one! Looking forward to sharing the course soon.

[@promickeyartist]

I think that the best way to mix nearly any genre is to just ad limiter to nearly every instrument (and some compression if needed). Then,you are gonna lower the volume of every single track on your mix,so that you can hear what is going on with each track more easily. And then lower down or turn up the volume of each track while listening to the mix,in a similar way Rick Rubin does it. Conclusion: Limiters and good volume experimentation will greatly enhance your mix. EQ,compression,saturation,panning and channel mixing play a smaller role for the final mix,they are basicaly decoration for the music.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts! I definitely mix differently than what you've described here, but if it works for you then that's what matters!

[@promickeyartist]

@@sageaudio thanks. But how do you mix your music And is there something i can do to improve my music?

[@sageaudio]

Mainly the way I described in this video! I organize everything, usually start with EQ, and then follow with compression, saturation, and last up use time-based effects. I don't use limiters on individual tracks or busses and leave that for mastering. That said, the way I mix is definitely not the only way - great results can be achieved a lot of different ways. So I'd say keep mixing the way you are mixing if it's a process you enjoy and makes the most sense for you!

[@promickeyartist]

@@sageaudio Thanks. I knew that my music improved in quality a lot when i used limiter on nearly every track,but i will follow some of your advice,cuz you are the GOAT(Greatest Of All Time) when it comes to music mixing!

[@promickeyartist]

Sage Audio,i sent you my Rock Sample. I cant wait to see the results

[@sageaudio]

Thanks!

[@OKFCPrez]

Thanks for another great video. I'm really excited to learn more about the audio instruction you're planning to offer.

[@sageaudio]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed this one - looking forward to sharing it! We'll keep everyone up to date on when everything is ready.

[@bousettaelmostafa8713]

Thank you very much sir...i miss a lot your vidéos...

[@sageaudio]

Thank you for watching! We're uploading a little less now, so it should be easier to stay up to date on them.

[@rome8180]

Logic has a clip gain tool now. I really like to set that as my secondary tool. So then I can quickly adjust the gain of a region simply by hovering over that region and holding down command. I find that a lot more efficient than dragging the gain up and down in the region inspector.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for letting me know this! Is this in the latest update? I'll have to check it out and see if the version I'm using offers that.

[@rome8180]

@@sageaudio I think it's either the newest version or one back.

[@Chadvilletv]

You should be teacher at the university fr 🙌🙌🙌❤️

[@sageaudio]

Thank you so much!

[@whostroubled]

Sage the 🐐 but why is ur vocal channel strip in stereo vs mono??

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! Probably because of the reverb at the end of it - it converts the mono track to stereo.

[@PatrickObiang]

BRAVO!

[@sageaudio]

Thank you sir!

[@pooriapouria]

Hello. Thanks for the video. How upward compression is different from expanding? I've searched around quite a lot but didn't get any convincing answer.

[@HeartMere]

Nice video!

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching!

[@aobeats3641]

awesome ❣

[@mikylemusic]

how would this translate on a 2track beat?

[@sageaudio]

Use the same methods, but EQ the beat to blend in with the vocal. If you attenuate 250Hz on the beat, the vocal will sit on top, but if you amplify 250Hz on the beat, it'll help blend the 2

[@zoch_music]

What about for metal vocals, can we see what’s different for heavier genres?

[@sageaudio]

Maybe in the future! For now, I think these steps still work well, but you'd likely use a dryer setting, so less delay and reverb. Additionally, more distortion would be helpful. Good metal vocals typically start with the mic choice as well - a dynamic mic tends to work well for hard rock/metal vocals due to how it'll naturally compress the sound. SM7B is a good choice.

[@zoch_music]

@@sageaudio that’s the exact mic I use 😁

[@sageaudio]

Haha awesome! Then I think you're set!

Türkiye'de bu tarz kaynaklar çok az. Keşke kanalınızda Türkçe dublaj olsaydı.

[@sageaudio]

Altyazılarda otomatik çeviri işlevimiz var! 'Ayarlar' simgesine gidip 'altyazılar'a tıklarsanız, otomatik çeviri işlevini bulacaksınız. Bu yardımcı olur umarım!

[@thamilanban]

Thanks for this

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching and leaving a comment!

[@nishikhen]

at the beginning, did you say "making and mixing music"? Making???? I'd love to hear your stuff

[@sageaudio]

I do make music! But that's separate from what I do here. Thanks for watching!

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

Hi! Great content! I just subbed. Side note: as a new subscriber, I find myself a bit frustrated that there are no categorized playlists, to better learn an array of information within specific sub-topics, instead of looking through the entire library. But, thanks for the great information. Please be well.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching and subscribing - I appreciate it! We used to have playlists but got rid of them when they got too convoluted. Maybe we can revisit it and see if there's a better way we can use them. Thanks!

[@sekritskworl-sekrit_studios]

Thank you so very much for considering it,@@sageaudio . For many of us learning a new topic (especially those of us struggling with ADHD). It can be difficult to 1) Figure out key terms/words which can be used to extrapolate impactful questions which convey what we want to ask, because we do not know the "jargon" of a field. And having things together can give us a greater pool to absorb related information from, so that we can gain enough knowledge to raise intelligible follow up questions... OR seek other videos to dive deeper. Again, thank you for your time. And pausing to aid us in our quest for knowledge.

[@davidhellegouarch1622]

Niiice, thak you for sharing this, it's very inspiring ! When do you mix vocals ? First ? Last ? After drums ?

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! I usually start with vocals and then blend the mix around it - that said, I often go back to the vocals when mixing other instruments to make small changes.

[@ygu0320]

wow... Thank you so much!!

[@sageaudio]

Thank you for watching!

[@alienu616]

I should take off auto tune before doing this?

[@sageaudio]

I would print the auto-tune first. So tune it, export, import the tuned vocal, and work on it from there.

[@alienu616]

@@sageaudio i'll give it a try

[@uNhlanhlakaSithole]

Listen to Amaarae-Water From Wine. That's probably the best engineered modern song you'll hear. 0:39

[@sageaudio]

I took a listen - you're right, the production sounds great. Thanks for sharing!

[@chefcurry8983]

Question? Whenever you add a bunch of high-end saturation on your Masters you always say you like to use oversampling. Is that the same with vocals? Because I boost aggresivly at 15k+ on fabfilter saturn for hip hop vocals? Should I be using the oversampling on the vocals high end saturation if its aggressive?

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching - yes you should use oversampling in this situation.

[@derEichorn_hochbegabteMeinung]

Can u talk about Equipment? I mean which Mic, Interface are u using and u can recommend?

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! Most interfaces and microphones made today will work well! You can get a great sound with affordable interfaces and microphones. As for specific ones, I can't say what would fit what you're doing exactly, but a decent cardioid condenser microphone is a great first mic to buy for recording. The Rode NT1A is a great affordable option, but you can't go wrong with a Neumann if you're looking to invest more in equipment.

[@PharaohLawLess1]

Thank you for this video

[@sageaudio]

Thank you for watching this one! Hope you've been doing well!

[@369beatz]

Can you do a reverb mix, the correct time calculation bcoz have seen many videos teaching difference things. Am a bit confused on the calculation

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! Timing reverb is a little tricky, but the best advice I have for it is this: Divide 60000 by the tracks BPM to get 1 Quarter Note in milliseconds. Then use multiples of this number for a longer time, or divisions of it for a shorter time, for example: 60000/120 = 500ms. 500ms x 4 = 2000ms. In this example, 2000ms or 2s is 1 whole note. What makes it tricky is that even though the reverb tail may still be going, it may fall below our threshold for hearing before that full-time. So maybe we time the reverb for 2 seconds, but since the mix is busy, we only hear the reverb for 1.7 seconds. This is where you'll need to use your ear and adjust the time until you can hear it for the full desired time - how you adjust it will depend on the track, reverb settings, and more, so again, you'll have to listen carefully. Hope this helps!

[@369beatz]

@@sageaudio Thank you very much 🙏🙏

[@flamersss]

Couple things. 1. So Zero Latency is best for EQ’n vocals ? 2. If im using an 1176 as my first compressor , l usually have my release at 7 and bring my attack up until my vocals opens up a bit more, is this correct way to do it ??

[@sageaudio]

Sorry I know this isn't a helpful answer, but it all depends. I say stick with minimum or zero latency on the EQ, since there isn't a good reason to use Linear Phase. As for the 1176, the attack and release will depend on the sound you want to achieve - quick attack and release settings on an 1176 will distort the transients, making it sound punchy and aggressive. But if you adjust the attack and release, you can find a good balance that suits your particular mix, and the sound you're going for. So, I'd say if it sounds good then it's right!

[@phamducthong6082]

I really admire your videos. Can you make a video about mixing orchestra? Specifically, musical instruments such as Violin, viola, cello, v.v... ♥️♥️♥️

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! Maybe in the future - I have a long list of ones I want to make, but I can see if this one would work as well

[@dftweedie3021]

At the static mix where you've just set levels and maybe a little panning, after you've mixed your vocal against the presumably raw tracks, do you run through the vocal again once you've also processed the other tracks? It would seem otherwise that as the frequencies of those tracks change through processing the vocal will sound different in the mix.

[@sageaudio]

Yes! Whenever you change the processing to other tracks you'll need to reassess your vocal, and determine if the changes made to other instruments augment or negatively affect the vocal. In this example, the tracks were closer to being raw, but we're at a good enough spot to start mixing the vocal.

[@dftweedie3021]

Thanks @@sageaudio I know that just like top down or bottom up mixing, some prefer vocals first and others drums first and vocals last. With your workflow I think I'd do vocals last as you could tweak a music bus and a drum bus with last in bus chain eq, and then route a vocal bus and the others to your mix bus.

[@EdonisKastrati-m3p]

U THE MAN

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching!

[@HJ-lt2fu]

I drop by here again working on my music school project. Your video always helps me a lot. If possible could you make video about reverb compression? Im not familliar with this concept. I thought little higjt cut and low cut on reverb would be enought. But i dont why people use compression on reverb and how. (I was taught we use it especially when we working on quiet ballad song because reverb tends to come out from high frequency. Is it always bad we leave dynamic on reverb or delay? ). Always thanks to you! :).

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching and it's great to know that these videos have been helpful! In this video, I'm using compression solely to attenuate the reverb at the start of a vocal phase. This way the reverb isn't too noticeable until the vocalist stops singing. By side-chaining the dry vocal, and setting the compressor to an external side-chain setting, the compressor attenuates the reverb whenever the vocal starts. The reverb then becomes louder after the vocalist finishes singing that phrase.

[@sosekxoxo]

won't room reverb be better on the send channel?

[@sageaudio]

That would also work well! I'm using an ambience reverb in this video for a similar purpose.

[@andrealoverde8771]

Really great tutorial but what about parallel compression?😊

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! You can use that - it's typically a preference thing (I don't use it on vocals too often) but it can be helpful, especially if you want to automate compression.

[@GgWhyfye]

Who is the artist? Song?

[@devinkei1469]

Oversample any saturation plugins or any aggressive compression settings to avoid aliasing 👍

[@sageaudio]

Very true! Thanks for sharing that point and for watching!

[@mwaves4152]

For reverb and delay bus do you need to add compression after when parallel compressing and can I share my mix and get tips on how to improve?

[@memeswillneverdie]

No you don’t “need” to, try it, if you like it, do it, if not, don’t.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! You don't need to add compression if it's not needed, or if you'd prefer to have the effect be more noticeable. It's one of those subjective things, but I wanted to show it since it isn't talked about too often.

[@Sub-zero0]

Song name? I'll watch all your videos and try every single tip. Live you bro.

[@sageaudio]

Sorry I can't remember the name. I appreciate you watching!

[@pepe-hp5or]

hello sage audio, pleas tell us what dy special dynamic tab on the bottom of Saturn two was. What did exactly did u do there? :)

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching and for reaching out! I used a "Envelope Follower" and linked it to the drive dial. So whenever the incoming signal, in this case the vocal, has a large amplitude spike, the drive dial would decrease in value.

[@pepe-hp5or]

@@sageaudio thank you very much

[@nicooviedo6426]

Hola, podrias hacer un video de cómo lograr un sub bass grande y profundo?

[@sageaudio]

This one might be helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6CWonlmZZqdqs0

[@sgfdancecompany]

Great video, formy ears sounds a bit over process and with some artifacts after so many stages of processing.

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!

[@SnoopDoggBlast]

This is a great video! But who also thinks that the vocals still sound a little dull?

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts! What's shown here is more or less a safe starting point for mixing vocals - I'd imagine that viewers can take the ideas shown here and make them more exciting for sure. Would you make it brighter? Or we're you thinking more reverb/time effects would help the vocal?

[@Ryan_3gRi]

the mixed vocal in the music imo is still a bit muddy and harsh, but thanks for sharing

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@Fuegoat]

What do you use to edit the videos

[@sageaudio]

Final Cut! Thanks for watching!

[@OOOMMM]

Top❤

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching!

[@beneditchukwuowne1825]

Greatbjust great

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching!

[@fdgggfh24]

Please don't take 300$ for the mastering course 🙏😅 I'm looking forward to it! Great content as usual!

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! Looking forward to releasing the course!

[@promickeyartist]

Actually,can i show you my short rock instrumental mix,then you can give feedback about my short mix? You know,what is good and what is bad with the track? I will send it to you for few days.

[@sageaudio]

Thank you for that offer! But at the moment we don't offer a service like that. We still offer a free mastered sample of your mix - so if you send that to us via out website, it may be helpful in figuring out what (if anything) needs to be changed about your mix. Here's our website - www.sageaudio.com/register

[@promickeyartist]

@@sageaudio Thank you. Expect my sample for 2 days max.

[@freddymassaki7152]

👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@mealcomposer]

Sage Audio

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching!

[@kp.53]

❤

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching!

[@maomao180]

Sounds very mid tbh, no tuning on that performance is kinda cringe too

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for watching! Some tuning would've been helpful, but I wanted to focus on just the sonic aspects (although in the future, I'll probably tune before showing these types of steps.)

[@snail8320]

Very bad

[@sageaudio]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts - sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the video

[@MrKingclaude1]

VERY COMPREHENSIVE TUTORIALS!

[@sageaudio]

Thank you! And thanks for watching!

[@Lilslugx]

Best video ever! Very detailed..thanks Sage Audio

[@sageaudio]

That's great to hear - thank you for watching!