Over to you Gary....
As mentioned earlier, the response to the course Aaron and I recently created has been incredible.
I'm getting excellent feedback from Indie Songwriters, Producers and Engineers every day; hungry to learn more about improving their mixing and mastering ability so they can make more money through licensing their music. I can tell you now, after having collected information from around the world; the biggest needed and wanted by Songwriter/Producer/Engineers the world over can all be summed up in one word: Mentoring.
Luckily, I have extensive experience - both being Mentored and in Mentoring others - and count Mentoring others one of my strongest passions. So I am very happy to help you in any way I can to Mentor you in your career as an Indie Songwriter/Producer/Engineer, so that you can share your music with the world and make more money through licensing.
With the approach of Mentoring in mind, I've made the final installment of this 3 part series quite detailed. This is the approach I take with individual critiques and with the course itself so that you truly do get Mentored on Audio Production.
Let's start where we left off in Part 2, where we covered how totrack (record) vocals correctly. Now that you have your vocal track recorded, how do you edit, mix and master those vocal tracks in your home studio so it sounds like it was produced in a Major Studio? (Note: Further details are covered in the course "How To Produce Music That Will Get Licensed And Make You Money
," and if you have your own specific questions not covered in this blog series, you can get those questions answered with a Free Skype Consultation offered with the course. You will also receive 3 free detailed production critiques in writing by myself of your recordings. I am finding that besides being able to answer people's questions, priceless research information is simultaneously being compiled on what Songwriters, Producers and Engineers need and want, thereby allowing us to expand our ability to help the music community.
(Questions 1, 1A and 1B Were Covered In Part 1)
(Questions 2, 3 and 4 Were Covered In Part 2)
5. Now That I've Recorded My Vocal Tracks Properly, What Can I Do To Edit, Mix and Master Those Tracks To Make Them Sound Like They Were Produced In A Major Studio?
Ok, here is where we really roll up our sleeves and where you can learn some excellent secrets and apply some tricks and tips used by top pros - right there in your home studio
Let's first talk about Analysis.
Analysis is the first of four steps in the "assembly line" of mixing. The four steps are:
a) Analysis, b) Editing c) Effects and d) Relative Placement (precise volume, meticulous EQ'ing and exact panning) within the entire mix.
After d) comes Mastering.
How does one do a correct Analysis of a vocal track recording?
In order to fully understand how to do an analysis of your vocal tracks, one needs to first have an understanding of the Final Step; Mastering. If you don't grasp at least fundamental understanding of Mastering Techniques, you may not see the full picture and grasp the exact purpose for each action taken during the Mixing process. Also, if you DO understand something about what happens to your vocal tracks in the Mastering Process, this will help you start to experiment with confidence in trying out your OWN approaches and signature styles to mixing vocals the way YOU want to hear them. These steps will show you basic tools and how to use them. But for you to become a craftsman with these tools, you need to experiment and try things out for yourself. A musician sent me these great quotes: "If it sounds good, it IS good." - Duke Ellington, and "You can teach the Science, but the Art has to be learned." - L. Ron Hubbard
So let's talk about what happens to vocal tracks in the Mastering Process. What I'm about to tell you applies to 98% + of all mastering sessions. There are a few exceptions -- a) The Mastering Engineer hears a mix and realizes that it's perfect the way it is. Rare. But it does happen from time to time. Or b) Where a Mastering Engineer ends up using only very very slight, almost imperceptible processing on a track (again, because of the exceptional quality of the mix). Rare again.
So, let's talk about what happens to 98% + of all mixes when they go to the mastering engineer and how this affects mixing the vocal track. Due to mastering EQ, multi-band compression, limiting, mid-side technology processing (See #* for more about Mid-Side Technology), reverbs, stereo widening, Exciters (very slight specific amounts and frequencies of distortion added to create punch, brilliance, presence and warmth), and other effects, the vocals will end up sounding a bit different on the Master than it does in your Mix. But how different exactly? Usually, compared to the Mix, the Mastered version of your vocals will sound:
A bit louder than they are in your mix.
A bit brighter than they are in your mix.
A bit punchier than they are in your mix.
A bit more present than they are in your mix.
AND, any effects you have added to your vocals will also sound a bit louder, brighter, punchier and more present - such as Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Flanger, etc.
So, if you spend a lot of time in your mix trying to make your vocals sound louder, brighter, punchier and more present than good pre-mastered levels, you will end up with vocals that end up sounding TOO loud, bright, punchy and present. Annoying even.
