Right click on the clip and go to ‘Clip Gain’ and ‘Show Clip Gain Line’.ĭepending on how consistent you want the vocal to be and how much time you have, you could apply clip gain automation by the section, phrase, word… or even syllable. One technique is to cut the vocal into individual clips and manually adjust the gain of each section.Īnother technique is to use the ‘clip gain line’ to draw in your automation.
#Waves vocal rider on piano pro#
If you use Pro Tools, there is a great function called ‘clip gain’. So, there are several benefits to pre-plugin gain automation, but how do you do it? Plus, automating the gain will allow the vocal to consistently sit around that -18dBFS sweet spot. The vocal will sound great as soon as you bring it into the mix, which will increase your confidence and ultimately lead to a better mix. Gain > Plugins/Inserts (top to bottom) > Pre-Fader Sends > Volume Fader > Post-Fader Sends > Outputīy automating the gain at the beginning of the mix you’re also going for the big wins early on. To help you visualize this, here’s the standard signal flow for a channel in your DAW: This works better than automating the volume fader to tame the vocal, which is at the end of the channel and AFTER your plugins. You can easily achieve this by automating the gain at the beginning of the channel and BEFORE your plugins. In this case, the compressor wouldn’t have to work as hard to control the dynamics, so the vocal would sound more natural and musical.Īdditionally, adjusting the settings on the compressor would be much easier. What if I automated the level of the vocal before the compressor? I continued searching and experimenting, until one day I stumbled upon a much better solution that immediately improved my vocal mixes. The threshold will never be quite right, because the level coming into the compressor will be all over the place. This means it’s still possible to over-compress the vocals, or at least struggle with fine-tuning the compressor. Volume fader automation is great, but on vocals there is one small problem… this type of automation comes at the end of the signal chain, AFTER the compressor and other plugins. I quickly discovered that most engineers use detailed volume fader automation to manually smooth out the vocal. The Little-Known Automation Trick For Killer Vocals That’s exactly why I stopped entirely relying on compression and started looking for better ways to tame the vocals. The human voice is incredibly dynamic, and a singer can go from a whisper to a shout in seconds. When your vocals sound professional, the mix becomes more musical, emotional and accessible. Get the vocals right, and the whole mix will improve. Let me tell you – that element exists, and it’s the vocals. If you knew what that element was, you would focus the majority of your time there, right? Imagine if there was one element of your mix that could make or break your song. That’s when I started exploring other ways to control the dynamics of the vocal… The Most Important Element of Your Song When I tried to create the same level of consistency with compression, the vocals sounded over-compressed and lifeless. Every single word needs to be clear, audible and loud.
That’s when I discovered something…Ĭrazy levels of consistency are required for vocals that sound modern and radio-ready. I spent hours comparing my mixes to my favourite records, focusing on the dynamics of the vocals. The vocals I produced never quite sounded like the songs I heard on the radio. In most cases, I felt that the vocals were consistent enough to sit on top of the mix.īut I knew there was something missing.
#Waves vocal rider on piano free#
Listen to his approach to vocal mixing – it’s different than mine, but it makes total sense – and then go check out his site for all kinds of awesome free content.įor years I used compression alone to control the dynamics of vocals.
Not only does he have a great knowledge of real world audio strategy, he’s a great teacher. Today my buddy Rob Mayzes of Musician on a Mission shares a super practical and powerful technique to getting upfront, and consistent vocals. The good news? There are many techniques at your disposal to help, including one that doesn’t even require compression. This is something that I’ve had to learn the hard way over the years. Here’s a little bit of mixing advice for you: no matter how awesome your mix is, if the lead vocal doesn’t shine through and sit beautifully from start to finish, you don’t have a good mix.