Quote:
|
Originally Posted by dcollins Bright track, dark vocal.
Bright vocal, dark track.
Probably the toughest things to deal with.
DC |
I thoroughly agree. And many solutions are bandaids, but here are a couple of things I've done with some success. Again, I've communicated with the producer first and a remix was not possible:
M/S EQ... I think that's the first thing that mastering engineers would turn to in that situation. If the snare drum is right down the center, though, it can be a conflict, in which case it's possible to turn to....
A compressor on the M channel band limited to handle either the snare or the vocal, depending on the goal.
The way I handled the track that needed high end but also contained a harsh, slightly distorted vocal was to find a "sweet spot" in the Weiss DS1-Mk2 that miraculously (literally) picked on the vocal without much touching the track. It was a very powerful solution, you could listen to and watch the Weiss picking on those harsh vocal peaks while the brass, percussion and keys were clear and open. Attack and release on the Weiss were critical. Momentary gain reduction in the Weiss on some peaks in the song was a much as 3 dB, yet it did not produce any artifacts; it helps that I had it working in about a 1 octave band around 4-5 kHz. The EQ was in front of the Weiss, I honestly did not experiment with the reverse, and it would be worth a try (in my copious free time :-) to see which order of patch is the most effective. And I didn't use any MS manipulation at all!
I've used similar "tricks" to control sharp, bright percussion that needed control while still being able to brighten the rest of the track. In the old days of LP, the acceleration limiter could be used to "sweeten" the vocal or control sibilance with "minimal" effect on the track. Today, with the Weiss dS1-Mk2, the ability of the device to be "surgical" in the midst of a complex track has to be heard to be believed.