13-08-2014, 06:21 AM
Another quick idea came to mind... If a vocal feels muffled, sometimes it's because there's other stuff going on in the same frequency region, but obviously you know that. Now assume it's a complicated mix like this song... You've made all of your arrangement adjustments and you're pulling all the stops for the final vamp out. And some instrument occasionally masks the vocal in passing. Eq, vocal rides, automation... All sorts of potential solutions for this.
But if it's like I mentioned and just an occasional issue for a small section of the song, a really elegant solution is a simple widening delay configuration. I prefer tempo based for metronomic styles like this because it snaps into place and complements the drive. You set up two delay taps... One panned hard right, the other panned hard left. Give them slightly different delay times.. For a fast song I'll often use 2 eighth notes for one tap and 1.75 eighth notes for the other. This can for a short time "unveil" the vocal if you low pass much of the clarity on the delay channel.
Mixing is all about areas of light and shade- contrast. The delay configuration I just detailed serves two purposes... It widens monophonic tracks, which really brings a vocal to life. It also gives you the opportunity to contrast your lead vocal track with a very low clarity version of itself almost subliminally, which can liven up your vocals without any nasty processing artifacts. Another use got the same configuration... Go even more nuts on the low pass filters and increase the delay times... It will sound like a distant echo, which creates great depth and helps catapult the vocal to the front of the mix!
Obviously if the masking issue is continual throughout the song, you're better off using traditional mixing methods and arrangement edits, but this delay trick gives youuch more flexibility if you're not over-relying on it.
But if it's like I mentioned and just an occasional issue for a small section of the song, a really elegant solution is a simple widening delay configuration. I prefer tempo based for metronomic styles like this because it snaps into place and complements the drive. You set up two delay taps... One panned hard right, the other panned hard left. Give them slightly different delay times.. For a fast song I'll often use 2 eighth notes for one tap and 1.75 eighth notes for the other. This can for a short time "unveil" the vocal if you low pass much of the clarity on the delay channel.
Mixing is all about areas of light and shade- contrast. The delay configuration I just detailed serves two purposes... It widens monophonic tracks, which really brings a vocal to life. It also gives you the opportunity to contrast your lead vocal track with a very low clarity version of itself almost subliminally, which can liven up your vocals without any nasty processing artifacts. Another use got the same configuration... Go even more nuts on the low pass filters and increase the delay times... It will sound like a distant echo, which creates great depth and helps catapult the vocal to the front of the mix!
Obviously if the masking issue is continual throughout the song, you're better off using traditional mixing methods and arrangement edits, but this delay trick gives youuch more flexibility if you're not over-relying on it.
I'm grateful for comments and suggestions. Thank you for listening!