I like to use a nice amount of compression to get the vocal to sit nice and clean on the beat. You might add a little top-end, or you might want it to sound dark and grimey???
As for backing vox, be creative. Sometimes on even a Dr. Dre produced song I'll hear the backing vox blended center with the lead (most of the time these days in his latest records). Other times there will be a "chorus" delay to give a "stereo spread" feel. Whatever sounds best for the song. If the instrumental beat is pretty centered in the mix, it might sound good to have some background/dub vocals spreading left right to fill the "stereo field". Even if the rapper dubbed a little "yea" or soundbyte...pan that left or right. It's cool to keep the little ad-libs a vocalist might do as he/she's prepping to drop their verse. Sometime's it's not. These are production decisions only you can make. If you want to know some techniques to bring your ideas into fruition, ask and the good people in here will respond.
Thanx man that's what i thought... Cause what i did was give the main 2 vocals a soft pan and kept the adlibs centered.. Not on all mixes that i do that i kind of mix to where it sounds the best... I just making sure i was going about it the right way far as goes of compression how do you set the vocal compression for rap vocals without giving it that rock and roll sound to it... Cause the main reason for me cause i did use compression on some stuff it sound like that we were ready to open up for a rock group.... Check out the first song on http://www.mp3.com/tmagik check out the songs and tell me how the mixes is and the overall quality/
You might want to keep your main vocals centered and pan your adlib/dub/backgrounds. The main vocal will have more power and presence down the center right in the sweet spot.
That would definitely by my first instinct as well. If it is truly an interactive duet lead with lots of cutting back and forth between voices (as opposed to just handing off from one verse to the next) I might pan the leads very slightly (no more than 11:00 - 1:00) to give a sense of spacial relationship between the lead voices.
thanx i don't do it all the time but someone told me to do that so i had to ask.. On The mixes on http://www.mp3.com/tmagik i kept the mains centered and the adlibs panned hard... Another question should the adlibs be soft or hard panned.... :roll:
Originally posted by Danny K.: I've found that sometimes if you pan thsigs too hard they almost disappear in mono.
Yes...I'd apn vocals that are key (i.e. important) no more than 50% L&R. But then again I come from the RicKRuben school of very dry, in your face and punchy...
If my entire mix is like a circle, then I want the lead vocal sitting powerfully right at the center or a little above. At the top of the circle I want my Hi-Hats sparkling, my higher freq pads that might "swirl" around on top of the mix. I want the attack on my kick drum sitting somwhere in the center as well so the vocal hits off of it. The bass stays locked at the bottom. My background vocal either stays center to blend with the power of the lead, or they get panned for "wider" effects. This panning depends upon how much "stuff" is already wide in the mix.
Comments
I like to use a nice amount of compression to get the vocal to s
I like to use a nice amount of compression to get the vocal to sit nice and clean on the beat. You might add a little top-end, or you might want it to sound dark and grimey???
As for backing vox, be creative. Sometimes on even a Dr. Dre produced song I'll hear the backing vox blended center with the lead (most of the time these days in his latest records). Other times there will be a "chorus" delay to give a "stereo spread" feel. Whatever sounds best for the song. If the instrumental beat is pretty centered in the mix, it might sound good to have some background/dub vocals spreading left right to fill the "stereo field". Even if the rapper dubbed a little "yea" or soundbyte...pan that left or right. It's cool to keep the little ad-libs a vocalist might do as he/she's prepping to drop their verse. Sometime's it's not. These are production decisions only you can make. If you want to know some techniques to bring your ideas into fruition, ask and the good people in here will respond.
Thanx man that's what i thought... Cause what i did was give the
Thanx man that's what i thought... Cause what i did was give the main 2 vocals a soft pan and kept the adlibs centered.. Not on all mixes that i do that i kind of mix to where it sounds the best... I just making sure i was going about it the right way far as goes of compression how do you set the vocal compression for rap vocals without giving it that rock and roll sound to it... Cause the main reason for me cause i did use compression on some stuff it sound like that we were ready to open up for a rock group.... Check out the first song on http://www.mp3.com/tmagik check out the songs and tell me how the mixes is and the overall quality/
You might want to keep your main vocals centered and pan your ad
You might want to keep your main vocals centered and pan your adlib/dub/backgrounds. The main vocal will have more power and presence down the center right in the sweet spot.
That would definitely by my first instinct as well. If it is tru
That would definitely by my first instinct as well. If it is truly an interactive duet lead with lots of cutting back and forth between voices (as opposed to just handing off from one verse to the next) I might pan the leads very slightly (no more than 11:00 - 1:00) to give a sense of spacial relationship between the lead voices.
Littledog...I'm doing that panning right now on our latest track
Littledog...I'm doing that panning right now on our latest track. The vocals are going back and forth switching off measures between the two leads.
Yet another case of weak minds thinking alike! :D
Yet another case of weak minds thinking alike! :D
thanx i don't do it all the time but someone told me to do that
thanx i don't do it all the time but someone told me to do that so i had to ask.. On The mixes on http://www.mp3.com/tmagik i kept the mains centered and the adlibs panned hard... Another question should the adlibs be soft or hard panned.... :roll:
I've found that sometimes if you pan thsigs too hard they almost
I've found that sometimes if you pan thsigs too hard they almost disappear in mono.
Originally posted by Danny K.: I've found that sometimes if you
Yes...I'd apn vocals that are key (i.e. important) no more than 50% L&R. But then again I come from the RicKRuben school of very dry, in your face and punchy...
"How do you mix down Rap Vocals?" Ummm ... all the way down ...
"How do you mix down Rap Vocals?"
Ummm ... all the way down ... :p
But RecorderMan.... You ARE Rick Rubin... :D :D :D :D
But RecorderMan.... You ARE Rick Rubin... :D :D :D :D :D :D
If my entire mix is like a circle, then I want the lead vocal si
If my entire mix is like a circle, then I want the lead vocal sitting powerfully right at the center or a little above. At the top of the circle I want my Hi-Hats sparkling, my higher freq pads that might "swirl" around on top of the mix. I want the attack on my kick drum sitting somwhere in the center as well so the vocal hits off of it. The bass stays locked at the bottom. My background vocal either stays center to blend with the power of the lead, or they get panned for "wider" effects. This panning depends upon how much "stuff" is already wide in the mix.
a must: aural exciter - real or plug in. any model.
a must: aural exciter - real or plug in. any model.