The Secret formula to Mixing Vocals like a PRO

[@MOSULI]

Wow first KZbin mixing tutorial I actually got some good tips from

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Let's Go!

[@stevenleonmusic]

I always use that trick of slapping a compressor on my vocal reverb and side-chaining the vocal back into it. I use a fast attack, 2:1 ratio and bring the threshold down until the vocal starts cutting into the reverb, probably about 5-7 dB. Play with the release and threshold until you find the sweet spot. This is basically DIY ducking for the reverb and helps maintain clarity while allowing the echoes through. It works on delays too although I really like Deelay by Sixth Sample and it has an automatic ducking feature.

[@mikehunt576]

the Howard Benson vocal plug in does it all, literally as well as his amp sim by STL tones, and im talking for anything, including RnB!

[@supertavio2]

​@@mikehunt576 Hey, stupid simple question (sorry), but do you consider this plugin to be really >really< worth it? Like, game-changing, in your own experience? Been considering it for quite some time, but the dollar is like, 5x the price where I live, so I would expect to be using it for a loooong time lol

[@mikehunt576]

@ the Howard benson? yes, the one known original yes, the rest are things you can do with mediocre Ik Multimedia plugs in a daw console, but to get actually marshall character the Howard Benson wins, even over Kuassa.

[@stevenleonmusic]

@ Feel free to take whatever advice you get but in my experience, there is not ever any one singular thing that is a "game changer" that magically improves your work. My mixes from 2024 are better than my mixes from 2020 not because I discovered more plugins in that time; I just spent literally hundreds of hours mixing new songs and getting feedback. I get closer and closer to that "professional" sound I'm after every time I sit down and work on a project, regardless of what plugins I'm trying to use. Nothing replaces good old fashion practice.

[@officialWWM]

Your studio and lighting is beautiful!

[@zackketz]

Dude, I've listened to several compressor sample over the last couple years and never heard a difference and never knew what it did. I didn't care enough to research it. Very simply, you schooled me on it. Thank you!!! Now I know why I need one.

[@rickybarr6007]

Excellent Video and good choice of music to showcase the chain with, a very clean and natural vocal track, you enhanced and retained the natural energy and clarity of her singing without over processing and it sit's right in with the mix. It's what were all aiming to do no matter what style of music were mixing.

[@Vincent_Andrews_747]

Bro phenomenal video and mix!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@qbazewondah]

Using analog emulation plugin to record and mix my vocal in the box is a game Changer for me I love what the Kiive audio and plug-in alliance are giving out there

[@WallyTyler]

One of my go-to tricks when mixing vocals is to add a compressor to the vocal reverb and sidechain the dry vocal signal into it. This technique helps control the reverb so that it "ducks" or reduces in volume whenever the vocal is present, creating more clarity and preventing the mix from sounding muddy. Here's how I typically set it up: I start by adding a compressor directly to the reverb return track (or the reverb plugin itself, if it allows sidechaining) and setting the vocal track as the sidechain input. For the compressor settings, I usually go with a fast attack time to ensure the reverb gets reduced quickly as soon as the vocal comes through. I set the ratio to about 2:1, which is a moderate amount of compression, and then adjust the threshold until the vocal begins to cut through the reverb, typically resulting in about 5-7 dB of gain reduction on the reverb. The real magic happens when you tweak the release time and threshold to taste. A shorter release will make the reverb come back in quicker after the vocal phrase ends, while a longer release will smooth it out and keep the reverb lower for a more controlled sound. It really depends on the song's tempo and vibe, so take some time to experiment and find the sweet spot. This approach is essentially a DIY way of ducking the reverb. It allows the vocal to remain clear and upfront in the mix while still leaving space for the reverb tail to shine through between phrases. It's a subtle effect but makes a big difference in maintaining clarity, especially in dense mixes. You can apply the same technique to delays as well, which can be particularly useful for keeping them from cluttering up the vocal. That said, if you're looking for a quicker solution for delay ducking, I highly recommend using a plugin like Deelay by Sixth Sample. It has an automatic ducking feature built in, which saves time and gives you excellent results right out of the box. Still, if you prefer to fine-tune things manually or have more control over the dynamics, the sidechain compression trick is hard to beat.

[@tranquilityhub227]

Thx dude

[@IntrovertSinceBirth]

This is the ULTIMATE Tutorial! Glad you did step-by-step!!

[@jayemakebeats]

Great presentation. One of the best videos I found on YT showing serial compression and the thought process behind it. Keep up the good work!

[@VanBaylen]

Discovering you literally just now is an immediately revelation in my journey as a self-produced artist.

[@mattt.5895]

This advice was so good I had to like, comment, AND subscribe! Lol. Seriously, thank you for making the world a better place by teaching us all to make better mixes!

[@adynatonal442]

Really helpful, that's how you earn a follower, looking forward to more content like this

[@spaindagoat2190]

I kinda like that delay trick. But another way which you could maybe use in tandem with that is parallel compression. A send with a compressor getting like 20db of heavy gain reduction, and then barely turn it up blending with the original vocal for added thickness. Vocals in your face

[@omarenriquepuente4894]

this technique changed my life no cap

[@nmsage]

Surprisingly looks almost identical to my vocal chain, except sometimes I really love using an LA-2A for records that call for a more sustained, warm tone. Good stuff here! :D

[@diostaylow]

That room is a vibe bro

[@_ConnorEdwardsMusic]

Suggestion: use a high cut on that stereo delay too. It gets distracting.

[@OfficialMalakiPaul]

I appreciate you for this man honestly, So helpful!

[@Charlottesbeautifulcult]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@Endless_Skyway_Adventures]

Funny how we all end up close to this. I do about 3db reduction with a limiter first, and also add a heavily compressed parallel channel too but very similar chain.

[@vierlmao]

6:31 blacky setting is a crazy name lmaooo

[@KingYahuchanon]

Racist.

[@trollingisasport]

The C6 made a huge difference. I'd always been afraid to use multiband compressors but your explanation made it not so scary anymore.

[@jaredcastelo]

El tip del delay para crear la room reverb,es muy bueno me lo apunto! 💯💯💯💯💯🐐

[@drumbyte]

Love how you sidechain your reverb!

[@alexelliott7109]

Man this channel is bringing me good vibes I like it!

[@EstemailIl]

i just found out ur channel and i'm already loving it!!!

[@iEKNOWS_]

Dope video! I’m on that stop mixing phase right now but I’m building everything back up. I really like the limiter on the vocal, I want to try that.

[@MusicFan514]

This is a great tutorial please do one for the male vocals as well

[@bibekpawn6175]

damn that background fire is really fire . will do it in future

[@Kalungaikamei]

This is exactly what m looking for thanks man

[@i.g.806tx]

Great video man! I think the biggest rookie mistakes are using only one compressor and no side chaining the reverb. That can take a great vocal and drown it out

[@kaidoChess]

Great video man

[@dtmdmagician]

Thanks king 🤺

[@uglyfingersmusic]

Nice vocal chain. Mine is similar but I hadn’t tried doing a stereo short delay. Will start implementing that technique

[@paz_wav]

Sounds clean asf, gotta start doing more multiband compression to my vocal mix sound tight

[@JTFuller]

Wow, great video young man..

[@Godisgood137]

This was a great video learned a lot man ❤

[@rafaelkoehnemusic]

thx

[@PRODUCEDBY113]

THANK YOU IZZY!

[@yoshitravelsjapan]

This blew my mind Hopefully it will work on my vocals too

[@mixflips]

Hey Izzy, I can see you're putting in the effort, and that's great, but let me give you some honest feedback to help you improve. The issue here is that you skipped the most important step: fixing the core problem with the vocal before stacking plugins on it (high mids there just aren't under control man). Our job as engineers is simple at its core: 1. Fix any issues with the recording (though not every recording can be saved). 2. Balance the sounds properly before adding anything fancy. Throwing compressors, EQs, and effects on a vocal that isn’t addressed properly first just amplifies the problems, so just stop relying on plugins because you’ve seen others use them, use them with intention and purpose, and never forget that the best tools you have aren’t made by flashy manufacturers, they’re in your DAW and are gain staging and volume control. Master those first.

[@OfficialBarikelo]

Thank you bro so much !

[@gaanduhtunesleaksplugg9198]

Keep going in logic 🔥

[@Corsair1458]

Brother.. EQ and compression.... and then occasional De-Essing.. sometimes not even needed with certain vocalists... and helpful tip from a live sound guy, DUMP anything harsh. Ppl hate it, and over time all that cranking of the highs, ESPECIALLY in a chorus will add up. Try to mix in subtraction only adding if it's color or actually good sounding to you, the engineer/producer/writer or the client

[@sikemusic5012]

Do u got a tutorial On ur tips brother👌🏼

[@Corsair1458]

@@sikemusic5012 nah, I don't have enough ideas for consistent uploads.. but if you got questions, you can def ask

[@Corsair1458]

And here's another top tip.. if you think you need Pro-Q or all of those nice, fancy plugins, you don't. I mixed an entire song of a friend's with only Ableton stock plugins.. they sound GREAT. I recently switched to Logic Pro, and same story.. stock plugins are all I ever find myself really using

[@SIAHJINSTRUMENTALS]

Bro just dropped so much game for yall, it took me 5+ years to figure some of this stuff out

[@Mirio0430]

Appa is sitting on his desk. I trust him.

[@StargateMax]

Am I really the only one who hears the entire video in mono?

[@TheRoseCityRockers]

Love this vocal chain. I'm going to try it on our new material. Subscribed

[@braddtatum]

Excellent video. Thank you! I will subscribe :)

[@oliverbranch777]

Very good video thank you

[@kinvillemusic]

Just always do u fam

[@RedeemedRobert]

Would like to see a tutorial in how you used waves tune

[@franciscomorales9110]

bro, your daw trasnmission is in mono.

[@Apocalipze]

This is such a dope video but it’s country music and I don’t record country music if I did this would be my go to for it can you make a video with rnb or hip hop trap drill or Detroit style music

[@AVDRE_Plays]

The process is quite similar for other genres tbh. Maybe a bit more processed overall tho

[@devinwrightmusic]

Dude, incredible video. Thank you so much. I was the producer who used the exact same chain as you did in the beginning ha ha. Getting more advanced now. I had a question, though, when it comes to side chaining reverb on a bus, can you put multiple compressors on that same bus in order to side chain, the track that you are working with? Since you can only put one source on the compressor. Or do you need to create multiple buses? I feel like that would kind of defeat the purpose of the bus in the first place. Any help would be much appreciated!

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Hey thanks!! Good question, So you can put multiple vocals on that same bus. But what I do is say I have doubled vocals or harmonies i'll put them on a different bus with a different reverb to get a different flavor out of the vocals cause I don't want the doubles to muddy up the main vocal and same with the harmonies. Hopefully this helps!

[@devinwrightmusic]

@@Izzyrealmusicso I understand how you can send multiple vocals to the same bus, however, on the compressor (I use logic too) you can only tell it to side chain one vocal track. Ultimately if busses are primarily used to save CPU power, wouldn’t making a ton of busses with compressors and reverbs on them defeat the purpose of them? Like if I have the main vox and like a harmony or something and I want them to BOTH have side chained reverb how do you do that the most efficiently?

[@GabrielXDrums]

@@devinwrightmusicfor cpu, this is why things like the Apollo exist, so you can run stuff independently of you’re hardwares processing, but yeah to chime in and answer the question, for two vocals just run separate busses, it all truly depends on the song, flavor, mood, context, there is no one “right” method, experience * currently editing drums into some drum busses 🎉

[@yungbevvo]

Y’all overthink mixing… especially compression

[@KingYahuchanon]

It became an art.

[@GabrielXDrums]

Best way to learn it, be a drummer haha I’m always on compressors, it’s a game changer for sure. It’s a “feel” thing kinda like texture, hard to describe but you just know, feel it out.

[@GZprod]

just use rvox if the voice is lost in the mix, in yo face vocal preset tune it to your liking from there

[@ninii2294]

Can you make vst drum like your mixing worship drum ...im realy need that please

[@saramoussa4900]

Thank you so much this is so helpful !!! I'm a total beginner so I don't understand everything you're saying but I'll get to it ahaha, also if I purchase your vocal preset patch it means I'll have access to all the plugins you used ?

[@okswe]

u gotta purchase the plugins separately

[@fgbhezy6841]

Good video 🔥

[@Dweeno]

Hey, Question 1: Did you equalize and compress the vocals on the same vocal track, or did you process them from a bus? Question 2: You mentioned that they typically record with some vocal processing from the beginning. Will the method you demonstrated replace that, given that you are processing the vocals afterward?

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Hey good questions! So with the EQ and Comp I do on the same track, and with the 2nd question, when i'm recording vocals in my studio I process them in this way to get the vocals to sit in the mix just like how others use analog gear to get them to sit in the mix just right. If someone sends me vocals with it already compressed and everything then I do the same process but without a few compressors

[@Dweeno]

@Izzyrealmusic ok awesome! 😊🙌🏽🙌🏻

[@aviralvarshney7892]

bro came through, unexpectedly

[@travissevere1613]

When I do that first delay it messes with the timing of my vocal tracks like the dry signal is gone? But it sounds awesome how it widens the vocal, but the vocal is then off time? Any ideas?

[@JacobDunbar-j1u]

would this also work in fl studio or only logic

[@quientueres1176]

Can you do a list of all the plugins?

[@JTFuller]

MAn, I wanted to watch this again.. Was the room treated when she was doing the vocals?

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Thanks! Yes the room was treated.

[@steviek6484]

Subbed great video. Would love to see your chain for male baritone vocals

[@justincase8731]

mixing aside. please mix those colors man. it’s waaaaaay too saturated and the colors too bright. makes it harder to watch. other than that, super top tips on the audio part

[@Yeneth_Nimnada]

What about acoustic guitar 👌

[@JohsBe]

Who is the artist?

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Skylie Thompson! You may have seen her on American Idol

[@VinyExiled]

3 minutes, 2 plugins deep and we're down like 150$ 500$ if they weren't "on sale"

[@DPTakouMusicPH]

what are the difference between mono plugins and stereo?

[@ryanchristophernunes5005]

Great job - do you have settings for a Behringer XR 18?

[@Vincent_Andrews_747]

Bro it’s not for protools???

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Soon!!

[@lakzs7297]

can i us stero if its for a verse then mono for the hook/chorus

[@svperman_lod]

Honestly I wouldn't, for an overall main vocal it would be best to just do the whole thing in stereo. If you wanna play with mono vocals use them for stuff like harmonies (maybe) or ad-libs. But a really sneaky thing I do is put a delay on the vocal then mono the delay rather than have to stereo or ping-ponging (panning).

[@lakzs7297]

@@svperman_lod thank you appreciate it

[@MonkOfficials]

all track is mono?

[@Certi.2x]

Do you have stock preset vocal chain available as well ?

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Yes! When you get the preset patch it comes with both Stock and Third party Presets

[@Yuki_nve]

good!!!

[@ThisIsVersatile]

Quick question…are you recording the vocal simultaneously or separately from the examples as I notice you’re not using headphones WHICH I WOULD PREFER TO DO so curious to how #ThatsMyWord

[@injokation5119]

i am having low buzzing sounds after 3 compressors

[@isaielrodriguez1660]

Great job on the video!! I would love to see a full mix breakdown

[@joyfull.muzik-production3855]

wow........Great

[@abrahamrodriguezpineda1848]

Suggestion - don’t say “and this is with it on, this is with it off” and pause the comparisons because then you can’t really tell the difference because the interruption was a bit too long

[@future_Victoryofficial]

You have clean input and dry vocals what is the secret?

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Thank you, all it is gain stage, good microphone and good performance when singing

[@gabe.digital]

🔥

[@Jriveway]

yo whats your camera set up

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Its a old camera a Sony A7R mark 2 and I use a log format when filming

[@MixandoAD]

Mano muito bom !

[@officialWWM]

Oh dude, you lost me at Waves Tune. That thing sucks all the soul out of every performance! It makes every singer sound the same :/ I must say though, that vocal sounds awesome. Do you ever use parallel compression?

[@jjose100ify]

I’ve used it for several of my placements (HBO, Epic Games, etc..) and have even used it when i was supposed to use autotune 😂 nobody ever noticed. Just gotta get used to dialing in the settings for each specific session

[@officialWWM]

@ I wasn’t referring to Waves Tune specifically, I was referring to tuning in general! I absolutely hate it, it makes everyone sound the same!

[@jjose100ify]

@ oh man. I can see what you mean for sure. Especially with the super strong settings used in recent years. Being that we don’t have the budgets anymore to spend weeks recording one verse it’s definitely been a game changer especially with more “natural” sounding algorithms like melodyne

[@officialWWM]

@ yes, I understand the advantages of using it and frankly, if you don’t tune a pop song these days, it just won’t sound right. I still hate it though 😂

[@Haash__tag]

Best video but can you tell me the name of that song 😮

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Move On by Skylie Thompson

[@wdkbeats]

Why the audio is in mono?

[@NITA_333]

i just say the same

[@Izzyrealmusic]

screen recording put it in mono 💀

[@lojoroad698]

Does any one know the name of this song and or the artist?

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Move on by Skylie Thompson

[@lojoroad698]

@@Izzyrealmusic Thank you!

[@KingJamesFive20]

🔥🔥🔥

[@kofiassor2164]

NO VOCAL DOUBLES?

[@theonewhoknocks3107]

Would this work for rap vocals as well?

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Yes!!

[@snowitz]

Moral of the story..... Use more compressors, multiband and crush the vocal into the face

[@oupahens9219]

Under 60 Hz there is no mud, there might be rumble though.

[@konamipls]

Nice

[@marksimoni5603]

Can someone like my comment, so I can get back to this video later?

[@user-qr8be8ty6l]

why are you selling the vocal chain if you are guiding us through it in this video?

[@Izzyrealmusic]

Cause if someone can't afford the vocal chain they can just easily copy what I do and build upon it, I want everyone to win and have great sounding vocals. And the vocal chain that I sell is with the third party plugins and one with Stock plugins