how to mix vocals to a beat on a stereo track?

[k2m]

hi guys,

just as the title says. i am to mix some tracks for a hiphop artist and he brought me his beat as a stereo track and we did record his vocals over it.

i never have mixed vocals like this...perhaps some of you have some ideas? i would not like to have it sound like the vocals sit "on top".

any help is appreciated

[brian_delizza]

It always seems to be very easy or very difficult to achieve. In this situation you don't have control over all of the elements, which is no bueno in my book. On the other hand, if it is a great mix you should't have too much trouble. The problem I find is a lot of people love to squash the living sh*t out of their beats.

As for helpful advice? Try a couple different techniques, see which complements it the best and work for there.

I really don't think I can get any more vague, but, well... um...

[NesNeedsGear]

if there were easy answers to mixing, Alvin Speights, Dave Pensado and even our own Tony B would all be gettin paid .

I'd estimate 95% of hip hop "producers" (drum programmers and beatmakers to be more technical) don't know SH*T about mixing their own stuff. So, it's up to you to analyze how compressed the elements are.

Then, compress until you hear all the words intelligibly (given the artist IS intelligible) when mixed with the beat. might take more compression than you like, might be just right. it's up to you and your ears.

[djui5]

Try to find a verb that sorta matches the "fx" sound of the beat, and adjust the settings to the tempo of the song. Should blend in decently. Also, automation is your friend. You want it to be heard, but not buried or on top. 90% of this is automation (or you could slam it with a compressor if your lazy)

[cap217]

I have found that mixing this way usually turns out good. When I had a smaller studio in the city I had 90% of my work brought to me this way. And I even listen to some stuff now and it sounds pretty good. I usually even got mp3s and it turned out good still.

I compress the shit out of the vocals, I mean 10:1 3 times over with up to 10 db of reduction. I also boost the mids and lows to fit the track and the in this case you are mastering yourself so just let the vocals mix in the song and then master the completed track. What I mean is, the vocals usually sound amazing compared to the 2 track, so if you have to make the vocals sound a littly crapy. Then make the complete mix sound good!

You would be suprised what tracks I mixed, even for B level major label rappers and I got 2 tracks,,,, its crazy!

[LCD]

Originally Posted by cap217

You would be suprised what tracks I mixed, even for B level major label rappers and I got 2 tracks,,,, its crazy!

Like who?

[qubi]

I've read about ME's that "remix" the 2track mix by multing it to 2 or 3 pairs of stereo tracks, then create 3 different frequency ranges (lows/mids/highs). I've tried it a bit myself with pretty good results. It obviously won't completely fix a bad mix, but gives a bit more flexibility, and may help tailor the music a bit more in order to fit in the vocal. Also, its easier to bus some similar reverbs to certain frequencies (such as just the highs or mids) of the music as well as the vocal (as mentioned earlier in this post) to get the elements to gel a bit more.

best of luck!

[cap217]

I did a release for Paul Wall a while back, I got some other tracks from E-Class for some of his artist.

[No4PCs]

Originally Posted by djui5

Try to find a verb that sorta matches the "fx" sound of the beat, and adjust the settings to the tempo of the song. Should blend in decently. Also, automation is your friend. You want it to be heard, but not buried or on top. 90% of this is automation (or you could slam it with a compressor if your lazy)

Also i think hear the mix in a mono speaker, home hi-fi and inside the car ! To check the "in face" vocal/backtrack co-relation v olume balance ...

[djui5]

Originally Posted by No4PCs

Also i think hear the mix in a mono speaker, home hi-fi and inside the car ! To check the "in face" vocal/backtrack co-relation v olume balance ...

[abit]

It all depend on what type of track U got.
They all different. Some of them just a garbage soundwise.
And vocalists/rappers all different.
And ppl have different gear, mics, pres.
Uknow?!

Some track may just glue to vocal and that's it.
Especially when there is a place in the track for vocal.
But some may come out not as smooth as U wish, but still be OKish.
All tricks mentioned here will help.
3 and even 4 band compression is cool way to mass with.
Decent monitoring, room, blah, blah.
U are very limited here.
Just try to do your best.
Don't shy to use reference tracks.

[k2m]

thx 2 all for your great help. i have been thinking about using the approach of multing the beat on 2-3 tracks and mess around with frequencies and even panning to get some "room" into the mix where i can put the vocal in.

the track ist not well mixed, but isn't the worse i've heard, so i will just give it a shot and hope, that the vocals won't sound far better than the beat.

thx again.