How to Mix a Pop Song - Part 9 - Track Sharing

In order to sort out different parts on the same track, you have two options. You can either (a) automate your mixing desk so that the correct settings "kick in" at the right part of the song, or you can (b) duplicate the track and use different settings with the same track coming through two different channels. On a conventional analog system, option (b) is easy - you just use a patch-cord to plug the track into two different channels at once. On some high-end PC software systems you can do this too (in software), but not always. In some PC systems you might end up having to duplicate the track in order to get it to come up two different mixing channels.

Option (b) is by far the easiest in terms of the amount of work you need to do. Although "automating" the same channel so that it suddenly changes settings at the relevant part of the song seems "clever" and "neat" and is therefore appealing, it is also a lot more time consuming and can often be quiet difficult. By putting the same sound through two different channels you can play around manually, without automation, to your hearts content which is much easier, and the only automation that you need to worry about is the automated "mute" that switches from one channel to the other at the relevant parts of the song.

On an entirely PC based system however, you may find that option (a) is better, as it might make more efficient use of your CPU's resources, because each extra track or channel tends to use up more CPU power. One workaround for this CPU power consumption problem might be to "render" the settings for the two parts and mix them down to one track, saving the originals in case you need them in future.

Summary of Adding Main Parts

The key thing when adding the main parts is to not take a "prescription" approach that blindly follows any "rules" you think I've outlined above. You should make sure that you really understand what each of the parts are "saying" and how they interact with each other. That will help you decide both the sound and the stereo positioning. Use your ears, and look at the controls only if you think you've done something wrong or if you want to remember the settings for a future session, and remember - there are no rules - it is really only how the thing sounds in the end that matters after all this - not the theory of how you did it - and above all, please remember that the above comments are just intended as helpful hints and suggestions, and feel free to disagree and go against them as you see fit.

Perhaps you might have totally different approaches in mind, so feel free to experiment as much as you like. Remember though, as time goes on your ears will get more and more tired and you will be less able to make sensible decisions, so work as quickly as you can, and don't spend too long on any one instrument - it will drive you to the point of mental breakdown if you do.

Also, don't be afraid to use quite extreme compression on some of the lead parts if you genuinely believe it sounds right to do so. I've often been amazed at how much compression some parts seem to require, but yet in the overall sound of the mix, heavy compression if often not particularly noticeable (unlike final "mix compression" which is very audible if overdone). Make sure that the compressor isn't permanently compressing though - otherwise you're not getting the best out of it. On the quiet sections of a performance there should be little or no "Gain reduction" showing (it's obviously very helpful if the compressor has a "gain reduction" meter). If the "gain reduction" lights are always on, then you have almost certainly got the "Threshold" control set way too low - unless you are deliberately using the compressor to add "punch" in which case its excusable. Otherwise, a compressor with the threshold set too low is starting to act more and more like a simple volume control and is a waste of time.

Adding Percussion

You don't have to add percussion after the main parts, sometimes it makes sense to do so before - when you've got drums, bass, and any pad parts in place. It depends on the song. Personally I often like to do percussion later on in the mix because you can get a better perspective of what the percussion is really adding to the mix. It also gives you a break after doing the drums and bass which have probably already given your ears quite a pounding.

The guidelines are similar to the lead parts; listen to what each part is "saying" and that will help you get your stereo placing. Some things will be intended to be almost part of the drum kit (such as cabasas, tambourines, and maracas, which often work in conjunction with the hi-hat). Other things are quite separate (like timbales) and deserve to be featured for only very short stretches at a time before they become boring.

You don't have to use all the percussion when mixing - in fact it is generally best not to do so.

The reason for this, is that when recording percussion, people tend to be overgenerous. They put lots and lots in "just in case" on the grounds that "it can always be taken out in the mix later". This isn't unreasonable, so bear it in mind, and consider using automated mutes on the mixing system to just bring in the percussion at particular sections that need a little more "colour" adding to them.

When EQing percussion, remember that if you want to get more top end, removing the low and mid will give you a more smoother sounding top end than simply cranking the high-frequency EQ up. It isn't that one is necessarily better than the other - they just produce different results.

For example, things that go throughout the entire song, like perhaps congas, cabasas, maracas and the like, normally respond to subtractive EQ (removing low and mid, rather than just boosting high) for a smooth sound - otherwise they tire and strain the ears. But things which are featured only briefly - such as timbales - benefit from the extra "thwack" that high-boost alone provides. Additionally, in the special case of something reinforcing an important drum beat - such as tambourine beating in time with the snare - such a sound can benefit from the extra energy that pure high-frequency boost gives, and make it stand out against the drum it is competing with.

Generally speaking, for most percussion it is not at all unusual to have to remove a fair bit of low-end to get the percussion to "cut through" the mix. Bongos and congas - no matter how well recorded - usually need to be "thinned out", in order to be properly heard on a busy pop mix.

Our old friend - the "small" reverb - is of particular importance when mixing percussion. To get a truly spectacular effect, try being generous with the small reverb, and try making the percussion sound like it is "outside" of the bounds of the rest of the mix - so that it sounds, further back, yet bigger, and "surrounding" the rest of the mix instead of being in the middle of it (unless of course, you are trying to get a 70's disco sound, in which case leave the percussion fairly dry). If you do this "wide spacing" using short reverb, it is often most effective if it is used only on some parts of the mix (like a percussion break) - if it is like this for the duration of the track it can be tiring on the ears, and distracting to the rest of the mix.

Balancing the levels of the percussion is a tricky business, and best done at fairly quiet levels on small monitor loudspeakers, otherwise there is a risk that one thing (like a handclap or tambourine) will dominate the final mix.

The Big One - The Lead Vocal

Ironically, after all the effort you've put into everything so far, there is one musical "part" which if you screw it up, everything is lost.

All the time and money spent doing everything else is just money down the drain if you can't get the vocal right.

So what are your objectives?

Primarily, you are trying to ensure that what the vocalist is saying can be heard. I don't (just) mean physically heard, but emotionally heard. That has a substantial impact on the kind of things you will want to do to the lead vocal as part of the mixing process.

Secondly, you need to get the vocal to "fit in" with everything you've been working on for the last few hours. Hopefully, if you've followed this article so far, you'll remember that everything has been mixed with at least a little of everything always present, so you should have been listening to the vocal - at least to some degree - all the time you've been mixing so far. If you haven't, then you may have a very nasty surprise when you fade it in. It may sound, tonally, quite different from everything else, and you will realise that much needs to be done to the sound to get it to "gel" with everything else.

But shouldn't the lead vocal be "pure"? Should it not be unaffected, uncompressed, unEQ'ed, with just a little specially prepared reverb?

Well, try that for starters. It might work. If so, well... erm... that was easy... skip the rest of this section!

In all likelihood though it won't be. If you've done a good job of the mix so far, then everything should sound very impressive and polished, and the vocal will probably not sound as stunning as everything else.

There are - needless to say - so many different ways you can approach the lead vocal that an entire book could be written on the subject. But here are some tips anyway:

• Consider using a different reverb for the vocal that you have not yet used on anything else on the track. Normally, reverb on the vocal benefits from much less "damping" than general-purpose reverb, and - if you can - try taking some low-frequency out of the reverb return or send. Both the vocal, and it's reverb should be clearly audible above everything else in the mix, without being overly loud. Generous pre delay on the vocal reverb is often very effective, as it makes the reverb sound like it is reflected off the back wall of an auditorium, or off a mountain or canyon. Be careful not to overdo the vocal reverb, as it can sound either somewhat dated, or just plain tiring to the ears.
• You may have to "thin out" the vocal a little, and add some very top end to give the vocal a little polish, and you might also need to use a de-esser to counteract the effects of this EQ. You instead might consider using an Aural Exciter processor effect to add more top end without sibilance, or try playing the vocal through a Dolby encoder (as if it is recording) which will make it brighter. "Switching off the Dolbies" on playback was a standard technique on both lead and backing vocals in the analog days.
• If the vocal needs compression, then expect to spend a fair bit of time doing it. The lead vocal exposes poor compression, so it can take much time to get the settings right. You are trying to get the vocal "present" for the duration of the song, without it sounding squashed or restrained - the vocal should (normally) - sound spacious and open, and able to move freely. An over-compressed vocal actually sounds claustrophobic! (naturally though, this can sometimes be desirable). Sometimes however, you might find you need to "expand" a poorly recorded, over-compressed vocal in order to put some "life" back in it. If you thought setting up a compressor is hard, then try setting up an expander to correct an over compressed lead vocal! Believe me, you won't want to over compress a lead vocal when recording one in future after that experience!
• I often use chorus on the lead vocal. What? Is that legal? Well, yes it is. I'm not talking about swamping the vocal, or making it sound like it's been double-tracked - I'm talking about just the weeniest, weeniest amount of very slow chorus at a low level. The level should be so low that the chorus effect itself is inaudible. Instead, the effect is that the high frequencies sound fuller, and the vocal sounds "bigger" and more powerful in a way that is hard to describe. You need to try this to understand what I mean. Just very, very faint chorus on very subtle settings - hardly even there at all.
• Sometimes, using an "old-fashioned" equaliser such as a "Pultec" or other valve-style equaliser can let you change the vocal sound, without making it sound like it has been deliberately equalised. I've personally known a Pultec "rescue" a mix that seemed doomed because the vocal didn't fit with the rest of the track no matter what was done, but two minutes with a Pultec and the vocal was perfect. This is no guarantee though.
• Generally, use only the highest quality effects and processors on the vocal. If you've used them up already whilst mixing, consider hijacking them back for vocal purposes, and reworking the other instrument using a spare, unused, cheaper effect unit.
• Using a delay with fairly generous feedback - either on the beat, or perhaps in triplets - can be very effective on a vocal. Often it works well throughout the entire track, other times it works best when you just "spin off" occasional words at the end of particular sentences. Be careful doing this, or it will sound too "corny".
• Make a final check on the vocal sound, and make sure that it doesn't sound too "effected". The human ear is especially sensitive to vocals (we hear the human voice every day more than probably any other sound), and vocal parts can reveal poor processing or poor choice of effects very easily. When this happens, it sounds like the vocal is somehow "crumbling apart" and it somehow sounds "bitty" (even on an analog system!).
• Vocal levels should be set whilst monitoring at a very low level - make sure the lyrics are clearly audible at all levels.

Backing Vocals

Backing vocals need to sound like a tightly controlled block of perfect harmonies. Normally what's on tape isn't anything of the sort.

So how do you fix them?

Firstly, assuming that you have individual backing harmonies recorded on separate tracks, the first thing is to get them to blend together so the harmonies create a pleasing effect. You need a bit of a "musical" ear to do this, so experiment a bit until you get a result where a nice "chordal" sound is produced. Listening to them as a group by themselves, without anything else in the mix, is (unlike other parts) usually the best way to get started. Make a little stereo mix of them, with reverb on each part individually. This is because certain harmonies within the group may need more reverb than others. You can add some "small" reverb as well as long in order to give them each a bit of individual space, but - often that's not a good idea - because you are trying to get them to gel together into one harmonious lump, not sound like a set of individuals. The spatial "spread" you try to give them in stereo is much more about creating a nice "blocky" sound than separating the harmony parts.

Normally, the levels of the backing vocals don't fit together. So compress them to death! Yes - it's OK to do this on a pop track. Feel free to go quite mad. The backing vocals will usually be at quite a low level in the mix and so the compression will either not be noticeable, or will even enhance the sound! You want them to be a rock-steady block with little or no dynamics. If they need dynamics it is (unlike other instruments) best to compress them like mad individually so that they fit together properly, and add any dynamics by hand using automated fader movements on the stereo backing vocals as a whole.

If the backing vocals don't sound "thick" enough, or simply sound out-of-tune (a common problem), then adding some chorus to them is often a good idea. If you have a "true stereo" chorus try setting the chorus return (or the send) so that it is in reverse - i.e. Parts on the left hand side, have a chorused sound to the right, and vice versa. This creates a nice stereo sound for the backing vocals without getting too much separation on the individual performers themselves. Check them in mono to make sure you haven't added to much chorus (you normally don't want them to sound "effected" as such) and the other reason is to check that you still get a nice "chordal" sound on the backing vocals when the mix is played in mono.

To help thicken them up some more, either try using an "Exciter" effect such as the Aphex Aural Exciter or try Dolby encoding, or simply add some very top end (12 kHz), using a de-esser if necessary to remove any sibilance introduced.

Finally, consider compressing the stereo mix of backing vocals as a whole as well. Yet more compression!! - Have I gone completely mad?? Not at all. Compressing the group has a different effect than individual compression, and often both are needed to get that "brick wall sound" that makes good pop backing vocals sound spectacular.

If you are using a PC based system, you might now have to "render" the backing vocal mix in order to get some life back out of your CPU!

If the backing vocals are already "premixed" to stereo, you either have to hope that they were combined using the techniques above, or instead, try adding EQ, reverse-stereo chorus, EQ, Exciter, compression etc. to the stereo track as a whole and see if that helps. When working with a "premixed" stereo set of backing vocals, you will often have to use midrange EQ with a narrow bandwidth in the middle of the note ranges of the harmonies, to "bring out" or "suppress" harmony parts that have not been correctly mixed together.

What? Did you expect a little thing like backing vocals to be easy? :-)