The Complete Guide to MIX VOCALS Like a PRO

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The Complete Guide to MIX VOCALS Like a PRO
If you need help producing professional sounding vocals… Today is your lucky day!
I’ve compiled some of my most helpful tips into a one-stop resource that you can use to improve all aspects of your vocal mixing.
Enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments!
Timestamps :
0:00 Intro
0:54 VOCAL REVERB
2:40 VR - Reverb Tip #1
3:05 VR - Why you shouldn’t use reverb as an insert on a ch​​annel
3:45 VR - Reverb Tip #2
4:55 VR - The “Abbey Road” Reverb EQ method
8:10 VR - Reverb Tip #3
10:50 VR - Using sidechain compression on reverb
13:20 VR - Reverb Tip #4
16:20 VR - Compressing before reverb
17:00 VR - Reverb Tip #5
19:32 VOCAL COMPRESSION
19:49 VC - Overview of vocal track
20:57 VC - Tip 1 - EQ & De-essing before compressing
21:44 VC - Tip 2 - Attack & Release
22:24 VC - Attack defined
22:44 VC - Release defined
23:03 VC - Attack & release in action
26:29 VC - Tip 3 - Using clip gain automation
31:42 VC - Tip 4 - Using more than 1 compressor
31:59 VC - Compressor 1 focusing on peaks
33:11 VC - Adding a second compressor to smooth things out
34:31 VC - Before and after compression
35:23 VC - Tip 5 - Use Dynamic EQ
37:46 VC - Bonus Tip - Overdo it and then back off
38:28 VOCAL EQ
38:42 VE - Strategy 1: Evaluate the vocal
40:40 VE - Strategy 2: Clean up the vocal
40:50 VE - How to clean up the vocal
46:00 VE - Strategy 3: Enhance the vocal sound
46:25 VE - Adding “air” to the vocal
48:06 VOCAL DELAY
48:16 VD - Tip #1 - Slapback Delay
49:26 VD - Slapback delay settings
54:16 VD - Tip #2 - ⅛ Synced Delay
58:56 VD - Tip #3 - EQ Your Delay
1:01:36 VD - Tip #4 - Add a reverb
1:04:16 VD - Tip #5 - Use Vocal Throws
1:06:06 VD - Tip #6 - Use different types of delay tones
1:10:23 VOCAL SATURATION
1:11:23 VS - Tip #1 - Adding warmth with console emulation saturation
1:16:23 VS - Tip #2 - Using saturation in parallel
1:18:08 VS - Tip #3 - Filter the signal before saturation
1:20:33 VS - Tip #4 - Using multiband saturation
1:22:40 VS - Tip #5 - Using saturation on effects
1:25:05 VS - Bonus Tip! - Add saturation to backing vocals
1:27:42 VOCAL NOISE
1:27:54 VN - Tip #1
1:28:39 VN - Gate vs Expander explained
1:28:59 VN - Gate vs Expander example
1:31:19 VN - Tip #2
1:31:59 VN - Addressing vocal breaths in a song
1:34:19 VN - Tip #3
1:35:44 VN - Detect Silence in Cubase
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Website: mixdown.online
Compare CUBASE Versions: new.steinberg.net/cubase/comp...
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Some of the gear and plugins I use in the studio:
►►WAVES PLUGINS DEALS with the following link: waves.alzt.net/c/2353421/2868...
CUBASE 12 sweetwater.sjv.io/XxQVe5
STEINBERG LICENCE KEY sweetwater.sjv.io/6bBJNN
DAW CONTROLLER Presonus Faderport 16: sweetwater.sjv.io/5bXnGn
STREAM DECK amzn.to/3OFVHaO
MONOGRAM CC monogramcc.com/shop/
SPEAKER CONTROLLER sweetwater.sjv.io/gbvG75
MICROPHONE sweetwater.sjv.io/b3WVKB
POP FILTER geni.us/8AnqW7A
STUDIO MONITORS:
KALI Audio IN-8 sweetwater.sjv.io/XxQVBM
HEADPHONES:
Verum1 V2 www.verum-audio.com/
Austrian Audio Hi-X65 sweetwater.sjv.io/vno7MN
Beyer Dynamics DT770 sweetwater.sjv.io/LPzQ6O
STUDIO MONITOR CONTROLLER sweetwater.sjv.io/gbvG75
VIDEO FILMING GEAR
Video gear shared in this video
CAMERA geni.us/My8h
CAMERA PRIME LENS geni.us/Pu7i
CAMERA MIC geni.us/zBCdmg
LAVALIER MIC geni.us/DdQTq
CAMERA LIGHT geni.us/2fruo
VIDEO LED LIGHTS geni.us/259YYN
LIGHT STANDS geni.us/ARrDmz3
SOFT BOXED geni.us/L2XAmoq
RGB FLOOR LIGHTS geni.us/KwL7

[@tronlady1]

I still don’t get how amazing people like this make any money by providing TONS of exceptional free content such as this???

[@tradedetailedfx]

Hello Chris, you are one of the most major reason why i come on youtube, not because i am looking for what to watch and pass time......... i always set my notebook before i would press play to watch your videos........thanks alot God Bless You More.

[@BigSmoak]

Let get this video 1 million views and likes for the great effort that Chris Selim put into this video to educate us about mixing better.

[@HaHaDK]

Been mixing for 25 years, professionally for 15 years, and I managed to learn a lot from you in this video ♥ Thanks buddy

[@CampbellDownie]

What a fantastic video, thanks so much for putting all this together, this is now in my favourites and will be jumped into time and time again no doubt at all. thanks again

[@kliggy]

thankyou you're such a great teacher, and i love all the hurt you put behind your lyrics and vocals. i feel that's the true connection to music. i'm sorry for all the hurt you've been through, but you really turned it into something special and beautiful

[@danielverakis9399]

Excellent. Excellent excellent!!!

[@benjaminkaufman5484]

You really so GOATed for this ... extremely helpful and well explained stuff and it's crazy to have so much packed in one video. Helping me opening some internal doors right now and taking important steps ahead - thank you!

[@Inco_nnu224]

This is now my go to guide. Thank you sir 🙏

[@danielnwachukwu8688]

A literally LEGEND!!!

[@dspoet1]

This video taught me so much for mixing rap vocals. Cheers!!

[@contraspower6302]

Amazing 🔥🔥🔥 learnt alot

[@chrisrose1508]

I love the side chain compressor on the reverb. I’ll have to try that.

[@PatrickObiang]

BRAVO!

[@unclejohn8520]

the best vocal mixing guide

[@mixdownonline]

Glad you think so :-)

[@cl9826]

This is so true

[@fabianrr]

Thanks 🙌

[@ryanyates8885]

I've been trying my hand at mixig for years now and watched countless tutorials. The stuff I make is wildly different to what you are working with here but still, I've learned a lot and been reminded of some of the basics here. Thank you 🙏🙏

[@BrainDeadTX]

Great video, thank you!

[@themotownboy1]

Thank you so much! These videos are so informative and useful! I am now a subscriber!

[@aliongamal]

Thank you, Chris. Nice and useful video. I follow you from Egypt

[@mixdownonline]

Thanks for watching! What father is originally from Cairo :-)

[@gpayne9448]

such a good video very helpful and clear to understand and follow, thank you!

[@singh3dmovies531]

thanks big bro

[@itzxhinemusic4395]

You are the best chris 😊 God bless you and I pray God give you long life and good health ❤ you are very constant and stable on your truthfulness in your lesson 🎉🎉

[@DreamsongsProductions]

Excellent video. Everything you'll ever need is here...

[@mixdownonline]

Much appreciated!

[@farfymcdoogle3461]

Wow that was super detailed and helpful! Some of the realest mixing tips I’ve ever seen. Took notes and can’t wait to learn more from you!

[@mixdownonline]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks!

[@muhamedaliismaili]

I love this video! Thank you Chris for taking time to do this kind of video. I love to mix and produce vocals especially. Thanks once again.

[@mixdownonline]

My pleasure!

[@DaveHankMusic]

Wow! Great to have all these in one place. Thanks, Chris.

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@mcsweet1966]

Another GREAT gift from Chris :)

[@mixdownonline]

Yeah man! Thanks Michel!

[@surgerywithoutknives2353]

Chris … this is in-depth and it’s a real treat … many thanks !!!

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@markleyland2661]

Great video Chris, lots of helpful tips here, as always!

[@mixdownonline]

Glad you enjoyed it, Mark!

[@donaldj.lecher2989]

Well done, Chris! A great way to topically organize your videos and catalogue everything at the same time. I'm a member of Chris' Mixdown Online Community. I would highly suggest viewers invest in the membership of Chris' community when he opens it up. Keep it up, Chris!

[@mixdownonline]

Awesome, glad you like this video concept, and also to suggest MCC as a MCC member! thank you!

[@MrC63777]

Thank you Chris. Both you and Dom have a world of info and tips for cubase. Thank you sir sending much love and respect from Australia.

[@mixdownonline]

Much appreciated! Thanks for watching!

[@BFehL262]

thank you.

[@soundroomstudiosproductions]

Dear Chris (Sir), Please reduce your vocal level compared to the tracks level you show when you upload a video. All the time after we listen to the tracks you played, when your vocal comes, relatively it is too high volume to listen. We manually reduce the volume on KZbin when you speaks. So please keep the tracks level much higher more than to your narration level. Thank you for this massive video. This is a complete guide for the vocal mixing. Recommended channel for every one.

[@mixdownonline]

Noted! Thanks for watching and for recommending my channel, you're the best!

[@colossalcolosseum9555]

I’ve learned so much within the first 13 minutes. Very much appreciated you taking your time to put this together man. God bless you!

[@mixdownonline]

God bless you too, Thanks!

[@mozizo11]

Great Tutorial Chris ! just to add 1 more tip i use lately. i like to cut all the breaths from a vocal track and have it on a separate "breath track " so i can control its volume , and more importantly its more natural and smooth without all processing of EQ compression saturation etc on the main vocal track

[@mixdownonline]

That's a great idea! I like this!

[@mingyangchen8830]

Thanks Chris！You are amazing!

[@mixdownonline]

Thanks, and you're welcome!

[@mystikrebel1089]

just what i needed so good timing

[@mixdownonline]

Excellent!

[@MajikMuzq]

I learned sooooo much and with such an ease!!! Thanks 🙏🏾

[@mixdownonline]

You're so welcome!

[@petelance]

Thank you for this Chris! Super useful stuff. Love your videos - are always clear and easy to follow. Top man. Thanks!

[@mixdownonline]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy them!

[@michaelmos7497]

🎉 Absolutely great, big and very helpful tutorial!!!! Thank you, Chris 🍀👍🏼

[@mixdownonline]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching :-)

[@masoudbeats6600]

my best mixing Master❤

[@mixdownonline]

Thanks ✌️

[@perfasting4342]

So very helpful! Thanks!

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@excellentsoundsest8549]

very cool stuff chris

[@mixdownonline]

Thanks for watching :-)

[@richpro_muzik]

Thank… I really enjoyed the tutorial ❤❤❤

[@mixdownonline]

Of course!

[@thomasmeffert5871]

Mega, vielen Dank Selim!!!

[@mixdownonline]

Thanks

[@hammaroad]

Great channel 🇯🇲💯💯💯

[@mikeh.2766]

Great Stuff Chris! Adding many of these new tips (new to me) to the arsenal of skills I've been using thanks to your teachings in the Ultimate Cubase Mixing Masterclass. I'm not even a flicker of life on Spotify, but at least I know what I put out there for friends and family is the most professional I've ever created. 👍😁

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome, Mike! Glad you enjoyed the course and that it was helpful!

[@Crownlan]

Cool! Definitely to watch and put into practice! 🤩👍🔝 Thanks for sharing! 😊

[@mixdownonline]

My pleasure 😊

[@Crownlan]

​ @Chris Selim - Mixdown Online Pleasure is all ours. You have a great way of explaining things, and your workflow is remarkably clean. As you know, vocals are a very interesting topic for us. 😉 So we are taking good notes! 🙌🤩

[@vibemaster1808]

Thanks sir I appreciate

[@mixdownonline]

Of course!

[@billesposito2112]

Chris this is an all you need complete guide to pro vocal production. Your love for your craft just pours out of you. Very easy to listen too and follow. Thank You very much. This is exactly what I needed . Ive been singing professionally for decades but only in the digital recording realm a couple years. Got great mics and software ( UA Apollo /Pro Tools/Luna) but lack the knowledge to get truly pro vocal recordings. This will be my guide . Thanks Again much appreciated.

[@mixdownonline]

Wow, thanks! Glad you like this video :-)

[@Elixirmusiques]

Très chouette tout ça, merci Chris!

[@mixdownonline]

Ça me fait plaisir!

[@missepicmandy]

Pretty epic actually. But I like sometimes a bit dry vocals. I like to use Valhalla reverb and sometimes convolution reverb from eventide or lexicon

[@foritiswritten]

Chris, this is an absolute master class. Everything is organized and practical. This is very helpful for everyone not just beginners. The only thing that isn't here is vocal tuning. Well done 👏👏👏

[@DanielStefanescuStudio]

A good singer does not need vocal tuning my friend. And the ones who need vocal tuning in reality they need to practice singing more. That's my opinion...

[@foritiswritten]

@@DanielStefanescuStudio Every performer whether you're playing an instrument or using you're own voice, you will have off days. Not every time you are perfectly tuned and the same goes for all acoustic instruments. Even drums need to be tuned. Practice will make you consistent but it doesn't mean your tuning will always be perfect. This is why vocal tuning on releases is necessary, because each vocal take is different, and the best vocal takes are not always well-tuned. If you don't believe me, just have a listen to your favorite pre-90s songs.

[@cristiansimon8171]

Nice video thank you!

[@mixdownonline]

Glad you liked it! Thanks!

[@josrud8939]

wow that's nice sir. You really explain everything. Like that

[@josrud8939]

c'est bien, c'est bien. J'aime l'approche. Merci beaucoup

[@ravindusanjana6781]

Thank you very much Chris !! Learned a lot from this.....

[@mixdownonline]

That's great!

[@cubasemixing]

woa thank you i love you

[@kearneyBee]

This is great

[@mixdownonline]

Thanks!

[@vloggingpractice8077]

Fantastic video with valuable informations! Just Abbey Road Reverb trick alone adds value to mixing vocals😊

[@Corleone01_]

1:23:59 nice

[@vineshramdahin7611]

Hello Sir. Am a great fan of your's. You are such a good teacher. You have a great skill to teach. Could you please make a video on processing vocals in a movie please. 🙏🙏🙏

[@kenselcer]

Thank you!

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@kenselcer]

Thanks again. What should I do?

[@lecksound7078]

Thank you very much I enjoy your mix I want to ask you a question ❤

[@yams900]

That was excellent ! I watched the whole lot, from the beginning all the way to the end. So much information ! I will watch it again, this time break it down to smaller chuncks and take notes :) I’m a complete beginner regarding any kind of mixing, so it’s a bit information overload :)

[@mixdownonline]

Awesome! You can definately come back and use the Timestamps in de video description to find your way around the video. Thanks!

[@kMaxRx]

I learned so much from this

[@mixdownonline]

That's awesome!

[@MiBofotograf]

Thx, this is great.

[@mixdownonline]

You"re welcome!

[@MiBofotograf]

How do i do that?

[@mixdownonline]

Sorry, the "prize" message was a Spam...I deleted it and report it

[@jalalfaruque9527]

Thanks for this awesome tutorial. Please make a guitar video like this. If you have done already pls. share the link.

[@glebyanovich2550]

Very cool tutorial!!! Thank you!!! But I can't find any key command in description(

[@187g]

noob here, firstly i love what you do, many thanks to you. secondly, when you EQ a reverb wont that apply an EQ (low and high cuts) to the main vocal as the whole net result/effect is going to reflect on the vocal/audio when playing it ?

[@ricotibo7161]

allo Chris! Eric de québec. very good video. J'aurais un bon sujet pour une vidéo pour le vocal. Comment bien mixer le vocal quand par exemple pendant les verses le chanteur ne chante pas trop fort et que pendant le chorus il se laisse aller et chante plus fort. Je pense que je ne suis pas le seul avoir de la difficulté à avoir un son uniforme. thanks. and continue your awsome video.

[@nacjanc1159]

nice

[@wariedl12]

Dear Chris, thank you for this great video! One question: how do you make the wave curve visible in the automation lane?

[@mixdownonline]

That's a Cubase Pro feature... kzbin.infor2T8mLryglk?feature=share

[@djrapstar]

at 14:50 are you blending the fx channel with the original send chan?

[@rturner2095]

Thanks! Mixing vocals can be the MOST challenging process. No two vocalists are the same. Not even identical twins.

[@mixdownonline]

So true! Even the same singer can sound different from one song to another, depending on the key of the song...Chanllenging, yes, and at the same time, it's what makes Mixing fun to do :-)

[@DariuszBlasi]

Excellent video! What was that french song again? Really like it :)

[@mixdownonline]

The Artist name is Peggy Polito. Not sure she's on streaming services though

[@jkhoopster75]

Great trick! Thanks! I also learned a couple INSANE tricks recently from Nick Mavromatis episode on vocal production. It’ll be worth your time.

[@MatuofficialTV]

Great video. But, which keyboard are you using man? It looks like it's backlit and I've been trying to get one.

[@lavidaloca7635]

Thank so much this change my mixing a lot can you do a detailed tut on back up mixing

[@mixdownonline]

I can do so, for sure!

[@lavidaloca7635]

@@mixdownonline thanks so much Chris. Love from Nigeria. You don’t know how much this help an indie artist like me

[@craigwilson36]

if you placing reverb directly on the vocal insert. In theory couldnt you just use the mix knob and it would be fine?

[@brokensilence6790]

[Compression]: I thought that release was how long the compressed audio stays compressed and not, as you put it; 'Once the signal goes above the threshold point, it's time for the compressor to stop compressing'. Surely, if that were the case, the release would never trigger, as the audio is already compressed to be below the threshold by the attack (?). Am I missing something? I thought I'd got compression fairly well sussed, but now I'm back to confusion.

[@mixdownonline]

Let me try it this way, the Release is the time it takes for a compressor to restore the gain after gain reduction has been applied.

[@agraciotti]

what is the name of the song with the french vocals? you said you would put the name on the description but you didn't :( this song is SO cool! I'd like to listen to it on its entirely

[@mixedbymikael]

Is this cubase? I was deciding what to get to complement my setup. This or pro tools 🤔🤔

[@musicbyuros]

The ink that we are missing is how you make decision how much to cut eq on delay for example,do youn boostit max and they check out or ? then how much feedback do you like ? do you again boost ti as a send to maximum and then check it or ? also with cuting eq for vocala,and other nobs on compressor how you know that this is now good and enough !!! how do you actualy play with nobs and what do you do before and after to get results youy want ! PLEASE MAKE THIS KIND OF VIDEO !!!

[@musicbyuros]

by the way thanks very much :)

[@muhamedaliismaili]

One more question. What kind of keyboard du you use with Cubase?

[@mixdownonline]

Just got a Bluetooth Logitec computer keyboard

[@davidroland456]

Pls give us vocal presets and templates pls

[@RenanBEreanSound]

Thank you Chris, what a masterclass to study

[@mixdownonline]

Very welcome :-)

[@jimroseplano437]

Lp@@mixdownonline

[@swapnilpradhan5417]

I have a hard time setting vocal level in my mix it gets too loud !!

[@newman2374]

Mono plugins ? all

[@DanDavidsonMusic]

What headphones are those Chris?

[@mixdownonline]

In these videos, I used the Austrian Audio Hi-X65 and the Verum 1 open back headphones kzbin.info/www/bejne/b5mtnIuLd8p-btU kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGKze5qAqbOIfZo

[@zoozeonja158]

You are a great teacher╰(*°▽°*)╯

[@mixdownonline]

Thanks!

[@heiseye4139]

why did I never think to Sidechain my reverb

[@MohammadSalah1979]

bluss You

[@Scott-369]

cubase automation doesn't work perfectly. In a full mix process some time's daw lose automation reads.... I think is very big problem and they didn't fixing this.... Yamaha doesn't know very good about daw's... Old Steinberg is better than....

[@TheChromaticz355]

What kind of test makes it pro? Music is subjective! A bad recorded vocal but well performed will always win over a great recording and bad song singer!

[@rogercabo5545]

Unfortunately sounds like the guy doesn't open his mouth while performing. Articulate? Anyways interesting vlog. 👍