Top 5 Tips for Mixing Vocals in your Home Studio!

When it comes to mixing vocals, many home music producers get scared. But, it's not that hard. Here are some tips that you can follow to improve your vocal mixing and make them sound better.

1. Comping Vocals

This is the first thing that you should do while mixing vocals. Vocal comping is a technique where you use best parts of different vocal takes. This allows you to get the best possible vocal takes with the least amount o1qf errors. This means that you have to record multiple takes and recording will take some time. I would recommend recording at least three to five takes but more is better. On the other hand, you also have to make sure that you're not overdoing it. Give some break to singer if they are not able to do multiple takes in one go.

2. Remove Unwanted Noise

This is the first thing that you should do after recording vocals. Use a denoiser to remove static background noise. Also, look for any unwanted noise that might affect the listening experience of the listener. Unwanted noise becomes a huge problem after the vocals are processed. So, this is the firs thing you should do after recording the vocals.

3. Use EQ

EQ is the most important tool when it comes to vocal mixing. Use EQ to eliminate the unwanted frequencies. It is common to start by removing the unwanted low end from the vocals. After this, use EQ to enhance the frequencies which makes the vocals sound better. It is common to use a high-shelf filter at around 5000hz as makes the vocals sound more airy and upfront.

4. Compression and Vocal Riding

The vocals in the mix should sound balanced and should not be too quiet or too loud when not needed. So, you have to balance the volume of the vocals so they don't pop out at some places or sound too quiet in other. It is common to use a compressor for this. A compressor compresses the loud parts and adds gain to the quit parts. It is also common to use a vocal rider. Vocal riding means manually adjusting the volume of the vocals by automating the fader position in the DAW. Manually creating fader automation can be time-consuming. So it is common to use a vocal rider plugin that does the job for you.

5. Pitch Correction

This is the last most important thing that you may need to do to make the vocals sound better. Pitch correction helps the vocals blend more with the overall texture of the song. This does not mean that you need to be aggressive with the pitch correction. Even small amount of pitch correction can make a huge difference.