Mixing Lead Vocals
Now that we’ve got the drums, bass, guitars and folk instrument tracks cleaned, balanced and panned, let’s take a deeper look at mixing a lead vocal. First, some theory.
MPM001. Our mix up to now. Let’s move on to mixing the vocals.
Resolution: The power of a dB.
I know what you’re thinking, a “resolution” is something you break every January after New Years. Well I’m with you Mr. Know-it-all, but that’s not what we’re talking about now. No, the resolution we’re looking at is all about getting your mix down to the point that balance, fade, and pan is so perfect, that mixing at a greater resolution is the only place left to go. A great engineer once told me that once you get a mix down to the point of 1/10th of a dB adjustments, it’s ready to go out the door. I’ve found his advice to be perfectly, er, sound, and a great goal to shoot for whether you’re just learning how to mix, or you’ve been doing it for years.
Just like any great musician has to practice for countless hours to be able to learn, hear, and reproduce the subtleties and nuances that create mind-blowing performances, you’ll find that the more you practice at mixing, the more discerning and sensitive your ears will get. Whether the tracks your mixing start out sounding like the wrong end of a garbage truck, or it’s a group of A-list session players that can be mixed with a two by four, nothing beats practice for developing your new found mixing skills. Like the old fishing adage, a bad day mixing is better than a great day working.
When you’re getting this close with your mix, you’ll start to feel things poking out just a little too hot, or back just a *tiny* bit too far, and a small .1-.5 dB adjustment will put it right in the pocket. It’s a great feeling to get, and worth pursuing on every mix.
MPM002: Muting the BGV mix (right) & the Lead Vocal channels