Vocal EQ - How to Mix Live Vocals (feat. Jon Thurlow "Shout Your Name")
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- Опубликовано: 20 фев 2019
- Be the vocal clarity hero on your worship team. Learn how to mix live vocals with my simple, proven EQ method.
Watch as I walk you through the steps, and then demonstrate with real live vocal performances from Jon Thurlow's "Shout Your Name," both with Jon's vocal and background vocals.
There are a lot of videos out there on how to EQ vocals, but how many of them are with a song that you would actually play on your worship team? Mixing for worship requires clean, clear vocals that are intelligible and feel great in a big, full mix, and in a quiet gentle moment. Mixing vocals with EQ is the first step in getting clean, clear vocals, and leave muddy vocals behind.
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What's your biggest challenge with mixing vocals? Comment below with your tutorial suggestions!
We have a lead singer that is high and really powerful, should we be cutting some of the 2K moreso? Also wondering about EQ on violin/viola which is miked about a foot and a half above on a boom. Thanks!
Norm Peterson Yes, you can cut really deep on the high-mids, as long as you make your bandwidth (Q) really narrow. If you have another band of EQ, you can also try cutting in octaves (2k and 4K) and see if that gets it. And try cutting less of the lows when she goes harsh. I ride the EQ up and down all the time.
Oh, and make sure she’s staying close to the mic rather than backing off (elbow compressor) so the proximity effect helps you in those sections.
For violins and violas, 3.15k is going to be your scratchy screechy freq range, so a wide cut there helps. Also roll your HPF up to 150 or so.
Old fashioned church setting. Always Live every service with no practice sessions or any heads up to who might sing or play a special song. And with super dynamic preachers with really soft quiet moments and really loud powerful moments. Usually I have a basic medium line for any situation. But the two things that are the most changing and hard to pin is reverb and compression. Got any specific tips or equipment for this situation?
I really enjoyed your insight on reverb, but it is hard to tweak stuff in the 30 seconds of a first verse :)
Attaway Audio 👍🏿
How zit, Majozi here...
How do I eq those preachers that scream into the Mic and have no Mic technique at all, some goes for singers.
"Nobody leaves humming the kick drum."
Classic one.
WOW! I learned more in this 6 minute video than a whole year In college studying audio production. Thank you for the help!
Boom
The best part of this video is hearing these different singers one after the other and really being able to tell how drastically different their voices are. Someone needs a video on this same format for studio recording.
Thanks a lot for this tutorial. May the Lord take you and your ministry into another, new and higher dimension!
All your videos are of great assistance, many thanks!
A little love for us on traditional mixers and equipment. All of my church sound equipment is Peavey brand from 1992-1993 and works very well.
Kind of like a 1980s toyota pickup
@@AttawayAudio lol exactly. Simple and reliable.
Good old king Peavey.. They still around?
Such a wonderful tutorial. Can't thank you enough for sharing your insight and experience. Thank you :)
Thanks so much sir for the wonderful lesson, you are the best teacher for all young mix engineers around the globe
i'm honored Shlur! Thank you!
Thank so much for doing this, love all your lessons, will definitely help with the worship - David from India. God Bless!
You're very welcome! I'm so glad it's helpful! What part of India? I have some friends who live in Kolkata
"No one leaves the church humming the kick drum."😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Im'a tell my drummer that next time he pester's me for volume..
Si true!
Alaaaa....😂
Heavens our A/V guy is heavy into drums and percussion. However, over the last year, our mixes have improved dramatically. I wish I could share the link to our RUclips channel... but if Attaway doesn't mind, I can at least tell you to search for COOL Witness on RUclips and you should find us.
Wow. This gives me new perspective on eq for vocals. Thanks.
cool! Thanks for watching Jaco 🙌
Hello Brother. It's 2023 and your video is still helping. Lord Bless you
Fantastic Teaching James! We've tried it out at our church, with Allen & Heath SQ6 mixer, still exploring, so far it's been good start!
This is how it is explained. Thanks a lot. I keep going back to this video.
You're welcome! Glad it's helpful!
Thank you for all of the super digestible knowledge. I’ve got one that may be fun that I don’t think you’ve covered yet. How to mix vocals when you have a few singers in different registers or octaves. For example, you have 4 singers and a piano. One alto lead, tenor...you get it. Oh, also, I would love to see you create a playlist on mic placements with an emphasis on miking a grand piano! Vocals with a baby grand are by far the most common scenario for me and probably many others from small congregations. You could also add some meat to the playlist with a section on deciphering mic specs and why they’re important. Thanks again!! Super helpful channel for myself and those that I’m trying to educate.
I have a friend with a baby-grand piano, so I'm planning on doing some stuff with that at some point. Thanks for the ideas!
Your Teaching style is so nice. Thank you so much
I like how you are not afraid of setting the HPF and cutting the mid low aggressively. As an amature novice engineer I always think twice about cutting more than 5dB because that's what other people say - don't cut more than 5dB. The result was that this untamed low mid resonance which wouldn't go away no matter what I do. I'm going back to church this Sunday to re-set the EQ for vocals to see how it goes. Thank you!
Exactly! The proximity effect doesn’t just go up 5db, so do what you’ve gotta do. Happy mixing!
Well wide is the Q, so when you cut or boost, it’s how many frequencies are affected on either side of the selected frequency. I think 1.5-2 on the Q is a good starting place for cuts. The mode is kinda related to Q- it’s just the shape of the bell curve, where the V is supposed to mean vintage, like some vintage EQs used, and P means parametric, so you can be a little more precise.
The gain is how much you’re cutting or boosting in decibels. Basically, how much you’re turning that frequency down or up.
Let me know how it goes next time you mix!
Wow! Your videos are awesome! I have a loong way to learn these tools. Thanks for making great contents!
You're very welcome!
Fantastic! Will try this at our next gig
Great video, perfect examples. Every vocalist on the planet should watch this video so they can communicate with engineers. Every engineer on the planet should watch it too so the vocalists won't have to tell them what needs to be done.
Peach brother.
@@AttawayAudio I'm assuming that you meant Preach... although it is a peachy tutorial! 😉
@@btnstudios1978 lol yes... definitely meant preach. Silly autocorrect 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks for you videos....they help!!!
Best vocal eq video I've seen yet! This is exactly what I ultimately finished with on my EQ. I have designated mics for our karaoke sessions as well, male and female. So I don't have to constantly eq for each ha, which I did early on before spending a boat load of time researching sound engineering :D
Thanks for this! Always helps knowing I'm on the right path!
Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear the video has blessed you. Once you get everything setup, life becomes MUCH easier on the sound board!
Very cool! Interesting and helpful. Like the idea of subtractive eq. Thank you.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching Stephen 😀
Awesome video and the track 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🔥🔥🔥
Thank you 🙌 Jon's amazing... you should check out his channel ruclips.net/channel/UCj1ja69H-IGGpE6JGEHjdPw
God bless you Brother I learn a lot thank you very much for your time
+maranathashalom I receive it! It’s my pleasure. Thank you for serving Jesus at your church!
Great video! Thanks so much!
HI, you're so funny in your videos. I'm happy because I'm learning something good and have fun at the same time. Thank you!
Great video! To the point and and very useful.
Thanks Don! Sometimes I ramble. Glad I got to it quickly!
Great works
Pretty cool and informative! Thanks for that
Thanks Pure! 👍🏼
Thank you so much and i love your mixing board
I got spoiled on it... but it's just a tool. The band and the PA still make the biggest difference
Very helpful boss. Thank you 😊
Thank you very much for this tutorial! Being able to see in real time how you make your changes is so helpful!
You are so welcome! Thanks for watching Andrew!
@@AttawayAudio you are a blessing! Thank you! I’m trying to setup a mobile digital mixer rig for my band to take on tour and your tutorials have been so helpful to get things dialed in.
Great content! Much appreciated 🙏
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love your vids taught me alot
Glad they’re helping! Thanks for serving Jesus at your church 🙌🏼
Thanks!!! Very well explained
This was great! In my church we have a mixer but we unfortunately don’t know how to use it well. You can tell when someone sings, the vocals sound dry as if is just for talking.
Thanks for this.
Glad it helped Mario!
Thank you, very helpful!
You're welcome!
Ok thankyou this is great info
Big help for me.. thanks..
Rhythm section is most important part of the mix, vocals second. Great video
I have to respectfully disagree. But if that gets you hired, awesome!
@@AttawayAudio people hear the vocals. They feel the rhythm section. I’m sure you would agree that the majority of your time is spent mixing the drums, no?
Great vid. Thank you
Thanks Mike! 🙌
Honestly, I'm completely new to sounds and I think it would be helpful to do super short videos on one thing, the most basic problems. For instance our church vocals are really fuzzy, just awful online, but fine in the church. The changes you made in this video are helpful, sort of, but as a beginner I couldn't really tell the difference before and after your changes because your original change sounded fine to the untrained ear. I think that's the problem I'm facing with all of the RUclips sound videos, they are all making tiny adjustments that a beginner can't hear. It would be nice to have a series of short videos fixing one problem only, that shows extreme examples for beginners. Thanks for your videos. I'll keep watching.
Not sure what you're listening on but it would be difficult to tell the difference on phone speakers, as most of the changes were to the low end and phone speakers don't have much of that. He also only made cuts, which are a little harder to distinguish than boosts. Cuts are mostly about cleaning it up so it doesn't interfere with other things in the mix. Since the vocals were soloed, you obviously couldn't hear the interference with the rest of the mix.
As for your vocal fuzz, is it just that they don't sound very clear, or do they sound distorted? If the former, you may need an EQ boost around 4.5KHz for added clarity. If the latter, your mix is likely too loud for the stream and is either peaking somewhere along the way, or being overly compressed by the streaming platform.
As for your "untrained ear," I'd recommend spending some time training your ear to different frequencies. SoundGym is a good place to start. Once you have a good idea of what each frequency range sounds like, you can listen to a mix and pick out where the issues are relatively quickly.
Hope this helps!
Nice! Thank you!!
You bet! Glad I can be helpful for you
Thank you!
Thank you so much
Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome!
Those “s’s” when you said background vocals got me 😂😂😂
I noticed that too then seen your comment.. weird coincidence
Thanks so much!
What Desk is that ? Great, clear advice for “go to “ set up .
Hi. I love your videos and find them very informative. I am on a real tight budget at the moment and am using an analogue mixer. I am the only vocalist in my 3 piece band. Could I insert something like a Behringer Ultra-Q Pro PEQ2200 in the lead vocal channel of my mixer for getting a good vocal sound live? Could it be a set and forget type thing if it is only ever going to be used for my voice using my sm58 mic every time? I will be running the FOH mix from the stage while I am performing so would like something that I could hopefully dial in a setting during rehearsal and not have to change it too much. I know all venues are different but I am thinking about some extra eq for my vocal channel. Thanks Dave (UK)
It could be, but I don't have any experience with that, unfortunately!
Thanks mahn...
Awesome Video!
I would love to see a tutorial on bringing a full mix together (like Mastering) and how to make everything fits perfekt. Would be awesome
Keep it up!👍
Well I've got this one for the band: ruclips.net/video/tjC89HiIx9w/видео.html
and this one for vocals: ruclips.net/video/DsgpueqzEdA/видео.html
I'm planning a mixing class that goes more in depth. Stay tuned 😃
@@AttawayAudio perfekt thanks. I will wait 😁
Subscribed. I used to travel and lead worship as my profession and it was always nice when no matter the system, a knowledgeable engineer was behind the board. I've been thinking a lot about getting out there again or at least out of the house (😆🙏🏽) and just wanted to let you know that your videos are inspiring and I pray that your doing well. Blessings my friend.
Side note; allergies sometimes cause me an awesome nasally sounding voice, do you have a eq/effects video to attack this ? Thank you!
Hey thank you so much for your kind words! I pray you are doing well also.
A good sound engineer is invaluable, absolutely! I hope you can get back out there!
Here's a video going over which frequencies you could use! ruclips.net/video/rps_l_YnC6g/видео.htmlsi=isoBDYK0zIG7HcM-&t=527
This is awesome
So glad you like it 😀🙌🏼
Great work 👏
Great video! Very informative. But one thing confuses me. In the female vocalists you took the HPF a lot higher, there was some overlap with the HPF frequencies and the low mid reduction at about 250 of just a few dbs. The problem is that those frequencies were already removed lower than that from just the HPF being moved to 250 Hz. The same for the 2ndd frequency (2) you dropped down. It seems that the notching down of 1 was entirely unnecessary as those frequencies were already removed to lower dbs than the (1). Seems to me that you could have just left (1) flat and achieved the same thing, or am I missing something?
There were several other instances of what at least appeared like repetitive and unnecessary adjustments to one of the parametric bands in the other singers.
Thanks sooo much 🙏 I'm very struggle to Find the Best settings for a live vocal tune
Do you eq the preacher or speaker like if someone just talking? We have the main podium with two SM58 and most of the time have to lower the other mic to get a better sound. Another thing is that when it comes to the speakers like preacher or presider, we have our fader almost to the max while the singers only half. I'm guessing because singers are much closer to the mics. We still use an analog mixer.
Love that shirt!
Sound NINJA!
Great video... Another thought on a video would be on the final level. May too many churches have their worship way to quiet. I've found that a really great mix has to be at least 90db before most of the congregation will start to worship. A simple way to find if you're in the right place is to simply sing along. If you can hear yourself, it's likely too low. I'd love to hear your comments on your technique.
Good point! But it also depends on the size of the room, the noise from the stage, the culture and median age of the congregation. What works for one church doesn't work for another church, and it comes down to what the leadership team wants. Personally, I love it when the music is loud and the congregation is loud. Sometimes you have a loud PA and the congregation doesn't know how to respond or engage, so they just stare like it's a concert or something. Lots of nuances to this topic, but glad you jumped in the conversation!
@@the-art-of-organ-playing No it isn't. You have to be up well over 100DB with a good mix for a substantial sustained amount of time. It's not the DB level that causes hearing damage, it's bad frequencies in the mix.
Thanks 🎉
Excellent video! ♥♥♥
Thank you very much!
I have a tech question, if I may take as much as one minute of your time. When dealing in the studio, with a voice the likes of Robert plant
what is the best EQ'uing approach? thanks so much!
I honestly have no idea! Other than starting with the mic that gets you as close as you can and makes the singer feel the most like "themselves."
Thank you! they are themselves already, pretty much...♥♥♥
The biggest challenge to mix voices - to have nice voices to mix 😅😮
Thanks for this tutorial 🫶
you're right - it all starts at the source
I struggle with having different vocalists on different mics each week. Any suggestions on how to address this, especially with the vocalist that is low and thin?
Do you have any goods books you would recommend for understanding how to eq vocals, instruments and using reverb? For someone who already understands music theory.
This Tutorial is very good but Please can you do the same video for us on an Analogue Console. Thanks my Boss
Thanks for sharsharing ing
Thank you for your video! Do you have any tips for singers that emphasize their "S" sounds?
Hey Debora! Yes - it's called a de-esser. It's basically a limiter that just looks at the highest frequencies and pushes down on them when they come.
Exellent thanks
You're very welcome Ricardo! Thanks for watching
Can you make a video on mixing singer’s IEM mixes? I’m loving your content, man!
I’d be happy to! Trying to find a singer who’ll be a test subject 😀 Monitor mixing for singers is half psychology.
Glad you’re enjoying it here! Happy to be serving you.
Attaway Audio Where are you located? I would love to sing for the video if the logistics worked!
I’m in KC. Middle of everywhere 😂
Can you do a video on floor monitors pls
I have a go mixer prp and aside from volume, cannot see how to change eq. Is there a way to do this?
James unfortunately we do not have a separate IEM mix so I always find it challenging with vocal Eq as if I make a big cut, let's say at 200 or any other frequency it changes in their ears as well, and I could hurt them as well with some freq boosts and I am always challenged to what I want to hear in the house and what it does to their ear mix , so could I reverse that in the aux send Eq to their ears to compensate, so if I cut 200 in the channel input by 4db as an example, could I boost it 2-4db in the ear aux send to them to compensate ?
Depending on your console, you can change the pickoff point, or where in the signal chain the signal goes to the IEMs. I usually pick post-HPF on most inputs as a compromise.
quick question, are you listening to mixer output audio or house (loudspeaker audio)? as you describe the effect of EQ?
Just the dry console feed. On some other videos I mix in some of my lav mic to get the room sound, but I didn't for this one.
thank you!!
You're welcome!
Really useful
Happy to be of service Prasad
nice 😊
How about a video on Sibilance and how to deal with it using eq and how compression can cause it. thankyou:)
Cutting is always better than adding. Good video. There is a crazy sound edit in min 5:50. lol. I automatically cut 6db at the low end to start. :)
thanks!
Thank you sir
You’re very welcome Krishna!
Dear Sir, your demonstration is great. I have an unclear point about Parametric EQ and Graphic EQ. Always we use Graphic equalizer to eliminate feedback. But we don't use parametric EQ to treat feedback in professional way for live band. Can you explain the point???
Graphic EQ can be helpful if you have a LOT of frequency bands that need adjusting. But its actual frequency response when moving multiple bands next to one another is really funky. I actually don't recommend graphic EQs unless you're in a real pinch.
Hi, during live mix are you still listening on headphones or just the house L/R speakers? Is headphones reliable for checking critical level balance of band? I’m using Allen Heath QU24 and every time I use HP to check level balance, the mic is obviously loud all the time, but in speakers it sounds ok already, with the band.
What’s the philosophy behind using headphones? Is it for soundcheck only or always reliable all throughout the mix? I mean is it like balance everything using headphones first (primary) then double check in speakers (secondary) ? Thanks
Nobody else in the room can hear your headphones. So make it sound good in the room 😃
Which mics were used? Some dynamic types such as Shure Beta 58A (or SM 58)?
If so, have you experienced a reduced need for bandpass filters and the amount of gain reduction by the filters in use, when switching to mics like DPA d:facto/2028, Sennheiser e965 or Shure KSM9? They all have a low proximity effect and a very "clear" sound that usually result in a better speech intelligibility than Beta58A's do.
These were probably Beta 87s if I had to guess... a lot of mics are the same, but yes, you're right, some have less proximity effect than others, like the ones you mentioned. There are a lot of other factors in choosing a vocal mic too, but that's definitely one of them. Thanks for the comment!
You are an awesome 😀👍
🔥🔥
wow!!!!
Thanks for this info. How do you prevent a high vocal from distorting?
leave enough headroom. wireless mics can distort internally, too, so you have to watch out for that
This is exactly what I needed.
What mics do you recommend for a female singer with a soft voice and mid range ? And a mic for another female singer who has a stronger voice but sings in a higher tone like soprano ?
Mics I’ve researched so far: Senheiser E835 & E845, Shure SM58, SE Electronics V7, Rode M2.
I’m not sure which microphone would suit which singer? And how to tell... for future additional singers.
Thanks for your help.
Hard to tell without listening and trying different mics. There are so many great affordable options, plus more expensive ones too if you wanna spend a little more.
My wife (an alto) really likes the way the Telefunken M80 fits with her vocal range and style. We tried a lot of mics: Shure SM58, Sennheiser E 945, a few different wireless mics, ... and this Telefunken won out.
@@btnstudios1978
Thanks Bill
I’ll have to check out that one out next. I currently bought the sebheiser e945 and it works perfectly for my singers. But I will definitely keep that one in mind next.
Cheers mate.
I'm with you on the low/mids but in my Rock band where the bass and guitar distortion is heavy I have to sometimes boost 2-3K to cut through the mix and get the vocals on top or the vocals can sound like mush.
glad you found what works for your band! these guidelines only go so far 😃
Great videos. What mixing platform is that?
SSL L200. It's 😍
No body leaves church humming the kick drum😂
thank you
You’re very welcome!
Idk, I sometimes come out of service banging on those air drums 😊🥁🎵
Truth
Each one leaves with something...
Hmmm.... most drummers do. Do I detect a drummer? At least a closet drummer wanna be, right? 😄👍🥁
Question: is there anyway I could get a typed up list of baseline recommended EQ for a full band? I’d like to have it posted for our volunteers to reference.
I'll add it to my to-do list! You could make your own after going through my worship mixing playlist if you're in a rush 😃ruclips.net/p/PLR7hxbYNsHgyhtm-psESzHcOeaIBCrqts
@@AttawayAudio thank you so much for taking it into consideration. I have watched every video (some multiple time) you do a phenomenal job! Usually when I’m watching I don’t sit and take notes like I should. If the list is too much to throw on your plate, please do not worry about it. You have done more for me than I could ever thank you for.
Hello, I am having so much trouble equalizing a macki tt24 digital mixer...I don't know much, but I try really hard, and is so much to do every time we play. I need help, I tried to find videos on that mixer but, they're not great about it...help! don't know what to do!
sir thanks a mill should i put the rnc compressor or voicelive first ?
It depends on what the voicelive is doing! If it's got an EQ that's cutting a bunch, I'd put it before the compressor. But if you're using a lot of reverb, maybe the voicelive should go after compression. Experiment and let me know how it goes!
@@AttawayAudio thanks a million learning alot with u
thanks Man you lost my alot of problem
this was really good, now my question is, is it possible to get all the tutorials for beginners
Check out my Live Mixing Field Guide. www.livemixingfieldguide.com The book and eBook come with a companion course that walks you through the very basics of using EQ and compression.