Vocal Mixing Chain - GSol Production PDF

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VO C A L M I X I N G C H A I N
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INTRODUCTION With these vocal mixing techniques, you’ll
be able to mix vocals in genres such as
Hey there, I’m Bunmi Solomon, a Veteran
Hip Hop, Rap, Pop, R&B and EDM.
Mix Engineer /Music Producer and Owner
We will discuss the philosophy and
of GSol Production. This guide is going to
mindset of mixing vocals. I will walk you
cover as much ground as possible. We will
through my personal vocal mixing chain. I
discuss:
will be sharing my mindset on why I do
• How to make your vocal sound what I do.
professional.
By the way, all the vocal mixing chain
• The type of effects you should put steps can be replicated in any DAW such
on vocals
as Logic Pro, FL Studio, Ableton Live and
• Vocal Mixing Chains Pro Tools. LET’S GET STARTED!
• Vocal Mixing Techniques
In this Vocal Mixing Chain, We Have:
!
STEPS 1-3
1. Corrective EQ -
remove annoying
frequencies
2. Dynamic Peak
Compression - tame
unruly peaks for more
consistent vocal
3. Tonal Shaping EQ -
bring out presence,
midrange power, and air
STEPS 4&5
4. De-Esser - reduce and
tame sibilance or
harshness
5. Tonal Density
Compression - create a
STEPS 6&7 more compactness in
sound quality
6. Volume - add gain and volume

7. Saturation - warm up the sound and
increase pleasant harmonics
STEP 1 - CORRECTIVE EQ
Remove annoying frequencies.

The first plug-in in the chain is a corrective EQ. And what we’re doing here is to remove any
frequency that might be bugging us in the vocal. And, also we are rolling off the low bottom
frequency around 80hz -150hz, depending on the vocal, also depending on the gender. Once we
are done, we will move up to the next octave up. I will give you some pointers and some frequencies
to look for. Always check around 200hz - 400hz area, that’s where the boxiness lives. And around 1k -
4K area for harsh and honky frequencies. I would generally do a sweep around these spots to find
any annoying frequencies that need to be taken out.
I would recommend being very gentle when you remove these frequencies. The tighter the Q, the
better. Use a very narrow bandwidth, cut between 2db to 6db depending on the vocal.
S T E P 2 - DY N A M I C C O M P R E S S I O N
tame unruly peaks for more consistent vocal.
This is where I would shave off the peaks of the vocal

performance and tame its dynamics. I would assume
that you guys already know what a dynamic
compression does but however, I will give you my
recommendations.
To be able to grab the transients in a vocal recording

especially rap vocals, or singing vocals with a lot of
energy in a fast-paced song, you would want to use a
very fast attack.
Now I recommend an attack time between 3ms, 5ms or

7ms. Couple that with a medium to fast release.
Release settings are usually based on the speed of the
audio signal and the tempo of the song. My
recommendations is anything between 100ms - 300ms
range. And like I said, depending on the tempo of the
song.
S T E P 3 - TO N A L S H A P I N G E Q
bring out presence, midrange power, and air
Tonal shaping EQ. What I usually do at this stage is sweep around to find a sweet
spot in the vocal recording. I will try to give you some frequencies to look out for.
Check anywhere between 1500hz all the way to 10Khz. Between 1.5khz to 2.5khz is
good for a midrange boost. Also between 3.5khz to 10K is good for presence and air
5632
boost. Use your ears to find a sweet spot for your specific vocal.
STEP 4 - DE-ESSER
reduce and tame sibilance or harshness

De-essing is pretty simple. You may check this link on my blog about de-essing. De-essing is
a process that gets rid of the "s"s. It uses a classic compressor to process out the sibilance.
There are quite a few different techniques to try, and several ways to go about de-essing, so
we'll tackle them one by one.
My recommendations: For de-essing, I would check out frequencies in the range between

3.5K all the way to 7K, sometimes 10K. But the usual culprits are normally round 3.5K to 7k.
S T E P 5 TO N A L D E N S I T Y C O M P R E S S I O N
create a more compactness in sound quality
Tonal Density. The definition according to the Oxford Dictionary is: “The quality of a sound associated with the perceived
tightness or compactness of a tone, greater density.” This is exactly what we 're trying to achieve in a vocal production. In
order to achieve this type of quality, we have to set up our compressor in a different way other than the last.
My recommendations: (1.) Attack time: medium slow attack around 20-40ms, (2.) Release time: medium fast, release
around 50ms -150ms (based on the tempo of the song like the last time). (3.) Threshold settings: Pull the threshold all the
way down. -30db / -40db. We need to grab all the nuances of the vocal. Ratio: 2:1 ratio
S T E P 6 - VO LU M E
add gain and volume
This is simple. Turn up the volume

with any gain or volume control you
have.
We added 8db of vocal in this

example.
S T E P 7 - S AT U R AT I O N
warm up the sound and increase pleasant harmonics
Saturation is adding slight form of distortion which creates

pleasant-sounding harmonics. In this case, we are using
Ableton Live Saturation plugin in analog mode.
You may use tape saturation plugins, or transformer or tube

saturation whichever you have available is fine.
BONUS STEP
After you have done all these steps, if you listen and think your vocals still
don’t sound professional, I’d recommend:
1. Doubling up on 1 or 2 of the previous steps for more hyper

processed sound. Use them in parallel to retain some dynamics. 
2. Request a new vocal recording with a better performance. 
3. Hire an expert Mix Engineer

T H A N K YO U
Congratulations, you made it to the end. This tells me that you are
serious about creating a better sound in your music production. I
did put quite a bit of information in this guide but all of this
information is to get you started on your journey to creating the
kind of vocal sound that you love.
Don’t feel overwhelmed. Take your time with each step. They are all
achievable. You will get better at each of them the more you do
them. This will help you grow tremendously; not only in your audio
engineering pursuits, but it will also help you grow as a producer.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to visit

gsolproduction.com and schedule a consultation with me.
BUNMI. S

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G S OL P ROD UCT I ON .

6. Volume - add gain and volume

Remove annoying frequencies.

This is where I would shave off the peaks of the vocal

To be able to grab the transients in a vocal recording

very fast attack.

Now I recommend an attack time between 3ms, 5ms or

reduce and tame sibilance or harshness

My recommendations: For de-essing, I would check out frequencies in the range between

add gain and volume

This is simple. Turn up the volume

We added 8db of vocal in this

warm up the sound and increase pleasant harmonics

Saturation is adding slight form of distortion which creates

You may use tape saturation plugins, or transformer or tube

1. Doubling up on 1 or 2 of the previous steps for more hyper

2. Request a new vocal recording with a better performance.

3. Hire an expert Mix Engineer

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to visit

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