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Mix notes
Plain-English guides to vocal chains, EQ, compression and getting a finished vocal out of a home studio.
Ableton vocal chain: build one with stock devicesA complete vocal chain from Live's own devices, saved as an Audio Effect Rack you can drop on any vocal.
Auto-Tune settings for rap and singingKey, scale, retune speed and humanize: how to get the hard trap effect or a natural correction, in any tuner.
How to de-ess vocals: settings, frequency and placementFind the sibilance frequency, set threshold and range, place the de-esser right and avoid the lisp.
How to make vocals sit in the mix (not on top of it)Vocal floating on top of the beat, or buried under it? Eight fixes, starting with the ones that aren't plugins.
How to make vocals sound professional: 10 fixes that matterThe ten things that separate a demo vocal from a finished one, in order of impact. Most of them aren't plugins.
How to mix adlibs: effects, panning and levelsAdlibs should sound different from the lead. Levels, panning, filters, delay throws and the effects that make them pop.
How to mix rap vocals: a step-by-step guide for any DAWFrom the raw take to a vocal that sits on top of the beat: tuning, EQ, compression, doubles, adlibs and delay throws, in any DAW.
How to mix vocals in FL Studio, step by stepRouting, a vocal chain in the Mixer, stock-plugin options, adlib tracks and effect sends, the FL Studio way.
How to record vocals at home that are worth mixingGear that matters, free room fixes, mic distance, input level and how to record takes that mix easily.
How to use vocal presets (and are they worth it?)What vocal presets can and can't do, how to install them in your DAW, and the five adjustments that make one fit your voice.
Logic Pro vocal chain with stock pluginsA full vocal chain from Logic's own plugins, which compressor models to use, and how to save it as a channel strip setting.
Podcast vocal chain: clear, consistent spoken voiceNoise cleanup, EQ, compression, de-essing and loudness for podcasts, YouTube and voice-over. Simpler than a music chain.
The best vocal chain for hip-hop, by styleTrap, raw, melodic and aggressive: four hip-hop vocal chains with real plugin orders, and what makes each one work.
Vocal chain order: the plugin order that actually worksWhere Auto-Tune, EQ, compression, the de-esser and reverb go, and why the order changes the sound. With a real rap chain, slot by slot.
Vocal compression settings: ratio, attack and releaseStarting ratio, attack, release and gain-reduction numbers for rap and sung vocals, plus why two compressors beat one.
Vocal delay settings: slapback, synced delays and throwsSlapback, tempo-synced and ping-pong delays, delay throws, and a BPM-to-milliseconds chart you can copy.
Vocal EQ cheat sheet: frequencies for rap and singingThe vocal frequency chart in one table: where rumble, mud, boxiness, presence, sibilance and air live, and what to do with each.
Vocal reverb settings: type, decay and pre-delayWhich reverb type, how long, how much pre-delay, and why you should EQ the reverb, for rap and sung vocals.
Vocal saturation and distortion: crispy, gritty vocalsSaturation types, where they go in the chain, parallel distortion, and the recipe for crisp or gritty vocals that aren't harsh.
Waves StudioVerse and StudioRack explainedWhat StudioVerse and StudioRack are, what's free and what isn't, and how to load a .xps vocal chain preset in your DAW.