Vocal production is both satisfying and stressful as it isn’t always easy to get a lead vocal sitting right in a mix. Often simple approaches yield the best results. In this article, we recommend several articles we’ve published in the past highlighting some of the best tools to use for in-the-box vocal production as well as free tutorials showing you when and how to use them.
Below are three main plug-in categories used widely in modern vocal production. The following are listed in order many producers arrange them with mixing a vocal, starting with…
Pitch Correction
Pitch correction plug-ins are key in modern music production enabling artists and producers to fix tuning issues in recorded vocal performances fast. There are two common applications of pitch correction being the creative T-Pain/Cher hard tuning effect and surgical approach for gently tuning melodies in extremely transparent ways.
Check out our article Our Top 10 List Of Tuning & Pitch Correction Plug-ins You Should Consider Trying In Your Mixes in which we highlight a number of powerful tuning and pitch correction plug-ins to consider exploring in your next vocal production.
The two most common ways of using pitch correction plug-ins are to either produce the over processed T-Pain/Cher effect or to sculpt melodies in extremely transparent ways that sound almost inaudible. In this article, we highlight a number of powerful tuning and pitch correction plug-ins that you should consider trying in your next mix.
EQ
EQ is probably the most commonly used sound processing tool ever used widely for correcting tonal issues, enhancing sound and adding character. When talking EQ we often use all kinds of terms like bright and dark, warmth and harsh, bassy, middy, toppy or lacking in bass, middle or highs. Processing a vocal with EQ is an important first step to getting radio-ready vocals in a mix. Often high pass filters do a lot of the heavy lifting here though EQ shelves are just as important as they help to colour our vocals to compliment the overall tone of a mix.
Check out the following two articles. One discusses different types of EQ and their main applications in production. The other suggests several EQ plug-ins widely considered as very capable tools for adding top-end air in applications such as vocal production.
EQ plug-ins come in all shapes and sizes. Many are surgical, parametric style EQ’s, others are emulations based on legendary analogue gear with a raft of cool EQ’s sitting somewhere between. Would you be able to guess them all before reading this article?
Air is the term often used by mix engineers when they want to add some sparkle, sheen, clarity, shimmer, shine or focus to their tracks, mixes, or masters. Applying a just smidgen of top-end brilliance often goes quite a long way in realizing the full tonal potential of a mix.
In this video review, Pro Tools Expert Team Member Julian Rodgers tries the new Sonnox Dynamic EQ. Using a vocal from "Floodlights" by Corinna Jane, he uses the Dynamic EQ to tame harsh upper mids and control stray plosives.
Dynamics Plug-ins
Dynamics processing plug-ins are also essential tools in vocal production. Compression being the main staple, dynamics plug-ins also come in a few different forms including de-essers and gates. Often a blend of these three dynamic tools are needed to complete a vocal mix.
The articles below suggest several dynamics plug-ins to consider in a vocal production covering analog compressor emulations, easy-to-use dynamics, and plug-ins with smart machine learning capabilities.
In this article we take a look at several simple to use dynamics plug-ins that we feel can make mixing easier. The following suggestions do not feature any emulations of analog outboard gear. Instead, we chose to feature plug-ins with fresh designs mind for modern audio production workflows.
In this article we suggest a selection of cool compressor emulations along with free tutorials demonstrating each in action for you to check out if you feel the need to use a different style of compressor from your DAW’s stock compressor.
In this article we suggest a number of alternatives to regular compressors which all do the job of dynamic processing very well, though not all process audio in the traditional sense of a compressor, which makes many of these good alternatives to traditional compressors. Some preserve dynamics, which can reduce audible compression artefacts, whilst others are more geared towards providing the effects of compression but within a GUIs that are super simple to use, which can save users valuable time in the mix.
POWAIR from SoundRadix is a very cool plug-in. However being a SoundRadix plug-in it does things differently. Because of this it can be confusing. If you are yet to try POWAIR and are wondering what the fuss is about watch the new introduction video from SoundRadix with Dan Worrall.
Learn How To Mix Radio Ready Topline Vocal Tracks
Having all the plug-ins you need to mix radio ready topline vocals is only half the story. It is just as important knowing not only when but how to apply them. Below are several free 4 part video tutorial series which show you how to apply pitch correction, EQ, dynamics processing and effects such as reverb and delay in a vocal mix.
In this article we explore four different ways you can use to process the dynamics of your lead vocals. Each of these approaches can be used individually on a lead vocal track, you could also blend several of these together to produce great sounding vocals in your next mix.
In this four part free video tutorial series, brought to you with the support of Waves, we show you four plug-ins that can quickly transform your vocal tracks into radio ready mixes. In this article we will be taking the same vocal performance and working on it four different ways to help you hear the differences in sound and style between the four plug-ins.