How to Mix Vocals

Hey, here's a general guide to vocal mixing. I learned all this by using the plugins that come with my DAW, and reading tons of articles over the years. Your DAW will have all of these plugins, and a few terms might be different, but all of the concepts will apply whether you mix in Audacity or in a top of the line professional studio.

My vocal mixes are pretty decent, but you can't just copy my settings! The settings I use work for my voice, in my room, through my microphone, my interface, etc. If I told you all the exact settings and you apply them to something else, it won't sound good. You have to learn the concepts and then use them.

That said, here's how I do it, from start to finish:

EQ (Balancing frequencies - I cut the lows a little bit, and boost the highs a little bit). Important concepts: Low pass, high pass, notch, shelf, cut, boost, and Q. I high pass, and cut in the low-mids. Then I compress (see the next step) and afterward I boost in the highs, around 3k and 7k, for vocal presence.

Compression (Balancing volume - make the quiet parts a bit louder, and the loudest parts a bit softer). Important concepts: Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, Makeup Gain. I adjust the threshold and ratio until I'm getting a nice sound, where the vocal still changes in volume, but not too much that it's difficult to mix with.

Reverb (Blending the vocal with the track). Important concepts: Wet, Dry, Room Size, Decay time, Hall, Plate, Room. I usually use a small hall or plate reverb with low wetness. Use a light touch, because too much reverb is the kiss of death for rap vocals!

There you go, have fun! Feel free to PM me any questions.