The Lead Vocal Chain
We looked previously at how the plugins on our instrument tracks have been set to Pre-fader. As an example then, a Pre-Fader compressor on our vocal track would disregard the level of our fader, and just smash any loud vocal parts that came from the track. This is not ideal in the case of a vocal, as it won’t produce as musical a result as we would like. The way we’ve worked around this is by setting up a mono Aux Input to use as our Lead Vocal Mix track. This will allow us to put our plugins on our LVMix fader after the output of our lead vocal fader. Since we’ve already set up the input and output busing for these tracks back in the Getting Set Up chapter, we’re now ready to mix!
Well, almost. Part of mixing is about establishing proper levels relative to other tracks. Like we’ve already seen on our other instruments though, the other part is achieving a specific sound for a given instrument so that it fits well with the other tracks, frequencies, and panning arrangements. To this end, let’s set up a chain of plugins that I find often yields useful results when attempting to mix a vocal. We’re going to place them all on our mono Aux LV Mix track.
I’ll start by putting a 6 band EQ, Desser, and Compressor on my LV Mix track. The EQ I’m using is by Focusrite, and I’m very fond of it. You’re welcome to use the included Digirack EQ3, or any other similar EQ you may have. I find that while there is certainly a difference in quality and sound among the various software EQ’s, the key is to find one that you like, and then use it almost exclusively until you know it’s particular sound and peculiarities intimately. One notable exception to this is that I will follow up the EQ with a Waves DeEsser, as it is a radically different animal from the included Digi DeEsser plugin…but that’s just one opinion. Finally, a Focusrite compressor should do nicely at reigning in initial the peaks and dips of our vocal. Of course, we’ll be doing a full fader ride, but with a quality compressor in the chain as well, a little bit goes a long way...and that’s just how I roll.
MPM003 - Placing a 6 band EQ on our LV Mix track.
MPM004 - The Waves DeEsser.
MPM005- The Focusrite Compressor