Quick EQ question on vocal mix.

[Arkitecht]

Here's the background info:

Finished mixing vocals for a song. Mixed down song and played it through a variety of systems and speakers. The vocals have problems with reverb and delay (call this Mix A). I remixed it with less reverb and delay (Mix B). Mix B, w/o enough verb and delay, doesn't have the "energy" of the Mix A. But the Mix A's vocals were TOO lush w/the wet processing.

So, I EQ'ed entire Mix A through a multi-band EQ. Raised the EQ between 50-140Hz and 8-16kHz. Others were left flat. Now Mix A sounds better and the vocals are not offensive.

Question: I like the way Mix A sounds EQ'ed, but I don't want to EQ the whole song to get it to "sound right."

Is there anything I can take from this EQ experiment to keep the "energy" provided by thickened vocals via reverb and delay but at the same time, properly EQ the mix to bring down the offensive nature of reverb sonics.

I'm wondering if any of you have experienced something like this. I'm not that experienced in the world of recording, so any positive info definitely helps.

Thanks,
Arkitecht

[TheRealRoach]

I'm a little confused as to why you would eq the whole stereo bus to fix the vocal problem, but that aside, you can try EQing the reverb and delay returns, rather than the vocal track(s) that is feeding them. If your delay/verb is too bright then it could definitely make the mix feel overly washy rather than focused. Try reducing the hi's on your return with a hi-shelf, or a gentle lo-pass filter (6db/octave or something). Both will yield different sounding results.

With regards to thickening the actual vocal track, you can try the same trick. If you lower the hi-frequencies of overly bright vocals (lets say -2db above 5k) you will start to notice that your vocals sound more bass-y in the context of the mix. As an experiment you can try pulling out even more and more hi-end and watch what it does to your perception about the lows.

[bryancook]

Originally Posted by Arkitecht

Here's the background info:

Finished mixing vocals for a song. Mixed down song and played it through a variety of systems and speakers. The vocals have problems with reverb and delay (call this Mix A). I remixed it with less reverb and delay (Mix B). Mix B, w/o enough verb and delay, doesn't have the "energy" of the Mix A. But the Mix A's vocals were TOO lush w/the wet processing.

in a case like this, i would try a substantial "pre-delay" on the reverb. this allows you to keep and hear the ambience without losing the impact/punch of the drier vocal. sort of a best of both worlds. pre-delay, in case you don't know, is the space before the reverb starts. delaying the reverb, basically, with no feedback on the delay, just setting the reverb back (to the right)