Clear Vocal Delivery: 2 Methods to Kill the Mud
Tired of muddy vocals killing your mix? 🎤 Let's dive into two approaches from mixers Marc Daniel Nelson and MixedByAli that'll help you get that clean, professional sound you're after. 👉
Produce Like A Pro
Smooth out a vocal with dynamic EQ and de-essing
Marc Daniel Nelson demonstrates how to smooth out a vocal using dynamic EQ and de-essing, focusing on reducing sibilance and unwanted frequencies. He starts with the Waves DeEsser to tame the harsh sibilance around 5-10kHz, followed by the FabFilter Pro-Q 3 for dynamic EQ to address additional sibilance and honkiness around 500Hz and 100-250Hz. Nelson emphasizes the importance of careful de-essing to avoid making the singer sound unnatural, and uses a wider bell curve on the EQ to subtly reduce low-mid muddiness. By addressing these issues before applying compression and further EQ, Nelson ensures a clean, balanced vocal that integrates smoothly into the mix.
Universal Audio
Add presence and remove muddiness to push the vocal upfront
MixedByAli adds presence with the UAD SSL 4000E Channel Strip to push the lead vocal upfront. This is achieved by boosting 8kHz with the high band and dipping 300Hz with the low-mid band. The high boost uses a bell curve instead of a shelf for a more focused and pronounced effect. Cutting the lower mids gives the impression of a brighter sound by unmasking the higher frequency components. To prevent the vocal from becoming too thin, a low-shelf boost around 350Hz is added.