Vocal EQ Tips

One of the most common areas I address with those new to recording is equalization. It’s not surprising that this is a roadblock for many aspiring engineers simply due to the fact that with all of the controls and adjustments that are available, it’s easy to feel like you need to make use of EVERYTHING. This is not the case, the numerous options that are available are simply there to provide flexibility to compensate for the recording source, the engineers preference and any other of the innumerable issues that can arise in a recorded track. In this installment, I’m going to continue to focus on the usage of this tool on vocals.

Not to break tradition, I want to start with the disclaimer that, as with just about everything in a studio, equalization is very subjective. At the end of the day, what sounds good to your ears is correct. I have spent a lot of time studying and practicing learned EQ techniques, and I can tell you, the best education that I have received is spending time critically listening to the music that matches the style I’m working on and working to emulate that sound. In most cases, we are not trying to reinvent the wheel, just trying to attain a good sounding vocal that rides in the correct place in the mix. What I will share with you here are some of my most common practices as I am mixing vocals. I’m also writing this from the perspective of the current trend in vocal presentation, which is a crisp vocal from the top down with a much less obvious bottom (especially true with female vocals).

Depending on the style of music, one of the first things I’m working on is cleaning up the bottom end frequencies of the mix. Knowing that there is a lot of room for “mud” between kick drums, toms, bass, guitar and vocal sibilance, I work to make the vocal track stand above those instruments. Generally speaking, I begin with a high-pass filter on a vocal initiating a gentle roll off between 250 & 125 Hz (Know that if you are going for the “big” male vocal, this may have to be adjusted). With many microphones mid-range frequencies are accentuated, the next place that I’m looking is at these frequencies. Generally, these are the frequencies that will “argue” with my guitar tracks. Typically providing a gentle cut in the mid-rage will remedy this. Finally, to get the “crisp” sound, I work with my higher frequencies. I will usually slightly boost 8-ll kHz, which adds the breathy crispness. Use caution doing this, as it is very easy to make your vocal track too “brittle”. I spend the bulk of my EQing time on the high-mid frequencies with the desired end result of making the vocal ride perfectly on the top edge of the mix. While the above is greatly over-simplified, it is a good point of reference.

The more time you spend working with your equalizers the more comfortable you will become making the right adjustments. It’s just like anything; practice makes perfect. Find what you like, listen to as many reference mixes as you can and work to make your mixes sound similar.

I love to get your input and tips as well, feel free to share. As always, I’m happy to answer questions or provide my opinion.