📑 Sections (7)

6. Automation and layers

Adjusting the vocal phrase by phrase so no word gets lost, and placing doubles and harmonies on the vocal bus.

The compressor took care of the broad strokes, but a song changes all the time. What makes every word understandable is the adjustments by hand. It sounds like a lot of work, and it’s much less than continuing to try plugins.

Vocal automation

Automate the volume with the band playing, from start to finish.

  • Phrase by phrase: raise what gets lost and lower what jumps out, by 1 or 2 dB. If it needs more, adjust the event volume first.
  • Final words: the last sounds of a phrase tend to drop. Raise them a little.
  • By part: verse closer and chorus a bit higher, depending on the song.

Automate the sends too:

  • More delay at the end of a phrase or before a chorus.
  • More reverb on a chorus or a long phrase.
  • Less space on an intimate verse.

The layers

Doubles

  • Two doubles, panned left and right.
  • Between 6 and 10 dB below the lead, as a starting point. They should add size without you noticing they’re there.
  • More high-pass than the lead, at 120 to 200 Hz, so they don’t get fat.
  • Careful sibilance: trim it more than on the lead, or cut it outright on the doubles.

Backing vocals and harmonies

  • Spread to the sides and lower than the lead.
  • More reverb than the lead, so they sit behind.
  • Slightly heavier compression, so they form an even layer.

The vocal bus

Send the lead, doubles and harmonies to a vocal bus, with the effects apart.

  • Gentle compression: ratio 2:1, 1 to 2 dB of reduction, so they sound like a group.
  • A single fader to move all the vocals, if the balance changes.

Clean vocals and growls

When they alternate, keep them on separate tracks and match them by ear, not by the meter: a growl usually measures higher and sounds less clear. Growls take more compression and fewer highs.

🟠 Better to set it now· in mixing

Volume automation is what finally makes the vocal understandable, and it's the last step before closing the mix. Specific effects are optional.

Processed vocal bus for this sectionPending — this one is on you

When you have the vocal mixed, export the chorus vocal bus of the guide song with all the processing, to prodmus_frontend/public/audio/voz/estribillo-voz-mezcla.wav.

Format: WAV 24-bit / 48 kHz, with peaks near −6 dBFS. Together with the raw take, it enables the raw vs. mixed A/B.

Common mistakes

What NOT to chase yet

Quick path: closing the vocal

Quick path

  1. Listen at low volume and note where the lyrics get lost.
  2. Automate those phrases by 1 or 2 dB, with the band playing.
  3. Raise the ends of phrases a little.
  4. Doubles panned, 6 to 10 dB below, with more high-pass.
  5. Harmonies spread, low and with more reverb.
  6. All vocals to a bus with 1 to 2 dB of compression.
  7. Automate the delay in two or three specific places.

Expected result

Expected result

Every word of the song can be understood, on whatever speakers you have and at low volume, with the vocal up front and the layers adding size without calling attention to themselves. With that, the vocal is mixed. All that’s left is seeing what mastering does to it.