Well when it comes to mixing and EQing vocals, I am a complete noob. Can anyone give me any good tips when it comes to mixing and EQing death metal and black metal vocals?
Help! Teach me (mixing vocals)
- Thread starter sallieritus
- Start date
Zombietakeover
Member
MetalWorks
Member
I was having some issues with a Death Metal Vocalist when trying to find a nice EQ setting and in the end I did a Cut in the mids and it cleared up nicely.
In the end I boosted in the low mid (probably around 200Hz, cut in the mid to high mid area (between 500-1KHz?) and boosted in the highs (5KHz).
I believe my Q was set around 2.
But different things work in different scenarios.
Experiment.
In the end I boosted in the low mid (probably around 200Hz, cut in the mid to high mid area (between 500-1KHz?) and boosted in the highs (5KHz).
I believe my Q was set around 2.
But different things work in different scenarios.
Experiment.
Zombietakeover
Member
fatalforce
Member
Personally, I don't usually EQ vocals. Try different things out yourself. Usually a nice mic and light compression should do the trick. Maybe even a hint of reverb depending on the style of music.
Be sure to do things that sound good to you. Not just what people tell you. I can't stress that enough.
Be sure to do things that sound good to you. Not just what people tell you. I can't stress that enough.
The most common thing that I do is do a high-pass at 250Hz, immediately. From there, depending on how warm the vocals need to sound, I will cut anywhere from 500-1k, varying on how deep I go with each vocalist. Almost always roll off some high-highs, like a low-pass at 12kHz, and then boost around 5k for some air if needed. Compress to taste and since the area that I have setup for vocal tracking is pretty dead, I'll add some light room verb to give some depth. More if needed, for like black metal and such...but then I will go with some delay and maybe use some verb as well to get desired effect.
Usually for comp on the vocals I go with around 20ms attack, 130ms release, threshold accordingly, and about 2.5:1 ratio, or more, but these are the general starting points. For heavy screamers I will compress the shit out of them, 4.0:1 ratio and 15ms attack, -40 threshold. Just squash it like crazy.
~006
Usually for comp on the vocals I go with around 20ms attack, 130ms release, threshold accordingly, and about 2.5:1 ratio, or more, but these are the general starting points. For heavy screamers I will compress the shit out of them, 4.0:1 ratio and 15ms attack, -40 threshold. Just squash it like crazy.
~006
ahjteam
Anssi Tenhunen
Highpass at 100-250hz and lowpass at 12-15k and compress to hell (Waves Rvox is nice!) usually is enough for vocals for me. If hissing is harsh, I use a de-esser or three to tame it down.
I use EQ before the compressor if there is a problematic frequency and if it doesn't sit in the mix (eg. too much mud in the mids) I EQ after the compressor, otherwise I just let it be. Then a slight amount of reverb and delay mapped to the tempo of the song and thats it.
I use EQ before the compressor if there is a problematic frequency and if it doesn't sit in the mix (eg. too much mud in the mids) I EQ after the compressor, otherwise I just let it be. Then a slight amount of reverb and delay mapped to the tempo of the song and thats it.
I alway find a boost around 3k brings out the distorted part of the throat. A low cut upto about 200hz and stack 2 or 3 subtle compressors untill it's tight. Some ppl use distortion, personally i hate that. Some ppl put a touch of delay in thier too. If you have one put a tube plug in thier to add a touch of grain, it'll help even things out, better than standard distortion.
