>Step by step

1. Putting vocals first

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You should have already completed the admin parts of vocal editing before working on vocals in the mix: that means deciding which vocal takes you’ll be using, sequencing and editing on your timeline, ensuring your clips have clean fades and that any clicks or pops have been removed. 2

When you add EQ plugins to your vocal chain(s), add a high-pass filter to your vocal tracks from the start. This won’t change the character of your sound but will make sure that there are no subsonic frequencies that will interfere with the balance of bass or other instruments. 3

Mix your lead vocal track against your other instruments in the first instance to get a rough balance. You should fully focus on getting the desired sound with your lead vocal through corrective EQing, volume balancing, compression and any other processing to suit your track.

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I always duplicate the lead vocal track to make a separate, fully wet reverb track. I talked about this in depth in my vocal reverb tutorial (issue 301): but you might also want to add another duplicate using another effect, to be used purely as low-volume level atmosphere. 5

For all of your vocal tracks, you should be careful with regards to phasing. Sound waves with the same frequency and phase will be constructive to the overall sound. Sound waves with different frequencies and phases can detract from the overall amplitude. 6

You can hear when phasing occurs as the sound is much thinner. There will also be a visual representation when comparing the waves on your timeline. Some DAWs let you do a phase inversion flip of one of the tracks, but otherwise you can nudge a clip on your timeline until the waves are in sync.

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Once you’re happy with your lead tracks, listen through your backing vocals and adlibs one by one against the lead vocal. Listen out for any other corrections that might be needed. Are the harmonies working? Does anything need tuning? Are the backing vocals doing their job and making the vocal sound full?

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Repeat the corrective and enhancement process with these supporting vocal tracks. Listen to each of the vocal components in isolation but also bring in the other instruments one by one. Pan the supporting vocal tracks to where they sound most effective, using the full stereo width.

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With supporting vocal layers, you may also wish to duplicate them for the purpose of adding effects to the duplicate track. The volume on these copies might be turned down quite far just to create subtle body or atmospherics to a track.

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Remember that you’re treating the vocals as an instrument like any other, so be willing to experiment with how you can enhance the vocal delivery and mood of the track with your layers and the effects you use (if you choose to use any). Of course, think about the genre you are producing for and what works well.

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Make sure the vocals are balancing well against the other instruments in the mix. Tweak the levels, panning and EQ of your instruments to make sure the frequency spectrum is covered and no instruments are masking each other. Vocal clarity should be a priority, but don’t lose the other elements of your mix.

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Use compression on your vocal chain(s) to glue the various vocal tracks together. The amount needed will be entirely based on your track’s qualities. For contemporary music you’ll typically apply more than acoustic, for example. You might also try using sweeteners such as an exciter plugin to give the vocals an extra sparkle.