There is a talented music producer and educator, and then there is a highly skilled music producer and experienced teacher. You have exceptional talent in both areas. Thank you, Joe.
Haha, great simple demonstrations of how sound can be honky or nasal. Clarity is a good word for the upper midrange. I might prefer the word intelligibility because if this area is cut too much then it is harder to understand what the vocals are saying. Sometimes people running sound at church or a concert will boost the vocal volume because they can't understand the words when actually they should just have boosted in the 2k-4kHz range to bring out the consonants in our speech. In fact, my understanding is that speech intelligibility was a big concern in early days of the telephone, and the phone companies figured out that their phones and phone lines needed to reproduce accurately at least through the 2k-4kHz range. One nit to pick. The term "nerd" used to be an insult and still today has a subtle insulting connotation for many. Sometimes when people start explaining something in more detail they warn that they are getting all nerdy. It's like there is something negative about being informed or educated. If you know something, you're a nerd, but if you're ignorant apparently that's more cool?!!?? So I get slightly annoyed when people almost apologize for explaining something and saying they are going nerdy. Actually if it's worth explaining, no apology necessary. Explain away with confidence and even pride. The only one that might ought to apologize is the one who turns away from instruction because they don't want to be a nerd but would rather remain ignorant. Teach away brother!!
It’s refreshing to hear someone use the correct opposite of LOUD: QUIET. To clarify for those of you who don’t understand, the opposite of soft is hard. Volume is loud or quiet or any decibel level in-between. I would never tell a singer to sing “hard”. Neither do I nstruct one to sing “soft” or “softly”. Thank you, Joe!
You raise a fair point. Of course one could argue that we English speakers were taught that the pianoforte (eventually shortened to piano) was so named because the term meant soft-loud (piano-forte) and therefore soft is an appropriate opposite of loud. Of course one could also counter-argue that translations often leave much to be desired, that the words piano and forte could be translated multiple ways and hence soft-loud is only one possibility of many and not absolute truth.
thankyou so much for this breakdown, the amount of videos I've watched and I just assumed I "didn't like my voice" or "just dont get 'muddy or muffled", this makes understanding the ranges so much easier
Superbly done, Joe (as are most of your videos). My only offering is that when there is not enough HF in the vocals, I consider it to be "flat" sounding rather than muffled, but that is a personal choice. Oh yea, before I forget - I've found that using a multi-band compressor or eq is extremely handy for soloing each frequency range so that you really get an idea of how each one sounds in a mix. Looking forward to your next video.
Great instructions. The best part of the tutorial is that we get a real tool to troubleshoot vocal mixes. Thanks Joe, always a pleasure to view your work.
Joe - Thanks for this "refresher"... Like you, my mixing efforts are both in and out of a studio environment. What you cover here is therefore applicable to both of these situations. I cannot count the times i have muted a channel to find some annoying sound in a live mix; once you find that "bad-actor", you can begin to make the corrections that you find necessary.... One last thing.... your comment about "in context" - is spot on....!!! A mix is just that - the mix of the whole thing, not just one element. Thanks - Steve Sikora
Best audio engineering channel on the internet, hands down. Learning from Joe changed everything for me a few years ago, and I've never looked back since then. 🙏🙏🙏 Wait, did you just call me a honky? 😂
I currently do both live and stream mixing. These a very different animals. I fell into the trap of setting EQ for our Worship Leader’s headset mic and our lead Pastor’s headset mic [I hate the quality of those]. I just made the mistake of mixing them perfectly for the stream. They sounded rich instead of thin. This last Sunday in the house they sounded muffled. I’m going to have to find that happy medium and work on getting it right in the house first. If only I’d have seen this a couple weeks ago. Ah well, experience gained..
I know you tell us not to mix in Solo, but I also know that you tell us to solo a track on occasion just as a check. And I always do what you tell me to do! haha
This one was GREAT - would be great to go through the various main instruments with the same method - and how they interact or destroy each other. Hat off!
Thanks Joe. Its really hard to watch other producer's videos with all the jumpcuts and subtitles and all the shit happeneing I cant stay focused on what I'm trying to learn but you lay it out how it is and I am learning so much
Agreed. The way Joe explains the concepts is excellent. I found this video very helpful in the way Joe explains the frequency ranges and gives examples of how they sound. And then how to address if certain aspects seem off.
I heard a mic shootout the other day. One thing that one of the mics did was made the vocal fit the mix well. The mic? A Shure SM57. This was going against the likes of the u87 But yeah, I've heard isolated vocals before, and sometimes they sound horrible. I thought it might have been the AI, but a lot of it might be the processing. I love your chart. I'm going to use it. Even though it's more of a live situation, this is going to help me a lot. I'm also going to share this video with some voice acting people because some of them love studying this kind of thing.
Hi! This is a brilliant video and helped a lot. Problem is Im recording female vocal with violin and piano. All similar frequencies. Been trying for days to EQ them so they sound good together and its just getting worse 😢 Would love a video explaining how to do that! 🙏
Thanks for this Joe, will make me stop and think before tweaking the EQ on my next mix. Another place I find these sorts of vocal issues is on vocal reverb. Maybe a topic for a future video?
I mix exactly like that 5 step program. I feel happy there is reassurance / confirmation that I am on the right track. Doing this since the 90's so hey I'm almost there! 😂 👹"there is no end to mixing mwooohaahahaahaa foolish mortal"
Really well explained, thanks for taking the time to do this video. Love the way you deliver concepts so we can understand them and move forward. Cheers!
J'aime beaucoup ton style de montage avec toutes ces illustrations en images qui à son originalité. La qualite paye, tu pourrais faire la meme percé que le youtubeur "ego". Apres c'est vrai que le storytelling rap est assez compétitifs sur youtube.
Probably a stupid question (YUP!): If your song's got a quiet bit and a loud bit, and the snare gets lost in the loud bit, is it normal to increase snare volume in loud bits?
Love these videos and they do help but I feel like in order to really get a grasp on what I'm doing I need someone over my shoulder as I'm doing a mix to guide me. I have a weird voice I feel like, and no matter what I do I'm never satisfied with how it sounds in the mix. I can usually get an instrumental mix I'm content with but as soon as vox come in I feel lost.
hi joe.. love your channel.. long time listener! I'm having issues with my voice at higher DBS when i sing louder and higher.. managing the eq has been quite frustrating. i've tried compressing going into Studio1 and not.. i use the slate mic and VRS8. any immediate thoughts?
Hi! Subscribed! What if you are trying to go for a stripped down production like fire and rain? Where the vocal is right up on your ear and there is only a guitar and piano accompanying in most sections? Here it seems like there isn’t much context to mix against so the mix moves need to be extremely subtle. Have you done any videos on this style of production. “Only a lifetime” by Finneas is another example of what I’m trying to imitate. Can it be done with an simple AT2020 and stock plugins?
One Question ❓ If a Vocal...is preformed in all 05 Range....how to make them Sound as one and how. to make it stand out of others in the World ?. Love BHARAT i.e INDIA 🙏. Anticipating a revert 👍.
Hey Joe. Non related - but I had seen in an older video you had some monitors that had dual cones. I have a narrow spot for monitors and need more bass. Is that why you had those speakers ? What were they ? Thanks !!
Hi Joe! How do I get a feature request to Presonus? I have been having a very annoying issue with recording MIDI in Studio One. I just took a survey from them but they didn't give me any space to write anything. Nobody looks at the forums. Thanks!
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
There is a talented music producer and educator, and then there is a highly skilled music producer and experienced teacher. You have exceptional talent in both areas. Thank you, Joe.
Haha, great simple demonstrations of how sound can be honky or nasal. Clarity is a good word for the upper midrange. I might prefer the word intelligibility because if this area is cut too much then it is harder to understand what the vocals are saying. Sometimes people running sound at church or a concert will boost the vocal volume because they can't understand the words when actually they should just have boosted in the 2k-4kHz range to bring out the consonants in our speech. In fact, my understanding is that speech intelligibility was a big concern in early days of the telephone, and the phone companies figured out that their phones and phone lines needed to reproduce accurately at least through the 2k-4kHz range.
One nit to pick. The term "nerd" used to be an insult and still today has a subtle insulting connotation for many. Sometimes when people start explaining something in more detail they warn that they are getting all nerdy. It's like there is something negative about being informed or educated. If you know something, you're a nerd, but if you're ignorant apparently that's more cool?!!?? So I get slightly annoyed when people almost apologize for explaining something and saying they are going nerdy. Actually if it's worth explaining, no apology necessary. Explain away with confidence and even pride. The only one that might ought to apologize is the one who turns away from instruction because they don't want to be a nerd but would rather remain ignorant. Teach away brother!!
I love how Joe breaks down concepts so they seem so simple and achievable.
I agree! I've learned so much and my mixes have got so much better with Joe's ( and some other's) help on RUclips. Thanks Joe!!!!
I love Joe teaching
It’s refreshing to hear someone use the correct opposite of LOUD: QUIET. To clarify for those of you who don’t understand, the opposite of soft is hard. Volume is loud or quiet or any decibel level in-between. I would never tell a singer to sing “hard”. Neither do I nstruct one to sing “soft” or “softly”. Thank you, Joe!
You raise a fair point. Of course one could argue that we English speakers were taught that the pianoforte (eventually shortened to piano) was so named because the term meant soft-loud (piano-forte) and therefore soft is an appropriate opposite of loud. Of course one could also counter-argue that translations often leave much to be desired, that the words piano and forte could be translated multiple ways and hence soft-loud is only one possibility of many and not absolute truth.
thankyou so much for this breakdown, the amount of videos I've watched and I just assumed I "didn't like my voice" or "just dont get 'muddy or muffled", this makes understanding the ranges so much easier
Joe your tactical and technology proficient with your philosophy.
Simplest explanation of EQ and vocals I've ever seen.
Excellent! You're a great teacher and this video came at a perfect time. Thank-you so much
Joe, you're fantastic
Superbly done, Joe (as are most of your videos). My only offering is that when there is not enough HF in the vocals, I consider it to be "flat" sounding rather than muffled, but that is a personal choice. Oh yea, before I forget - I've found that using a multi-band compressor or eq is extremely handy for soloing each frequency range so that you really get an idea of how each one sounds in a mix. Looking forward to your next video.
Or maybe “dull”
as always... great vid, Joe!
I love joe's baritone speaking voice and tenor singing voice
Great instructions. The best part of the tutorial is that we get a real tool to troubleshoot vocal mixes. Thanks Joe, always a pleasure to view your work.
Fantastic video, we just upgraded to the behringer wing. This is definitely something we need to practice with.
Super helpful Joe. Great teacher. Thanks.
Joe - Thanks for this "refresher"...
Like you, my mixing efforts are both in and out of a studio environment.
What you cover here is therefore applicable to both of these situations. I cannot count the times i have muted a channel to find some annoying sound in a live mix;
once you find that "bad-actor", you can begin to make the corrections that you find necessary....
One last thing.... your comment about "in context" - is spot on....!!!
A mix is just that - the mix of the whole thing, not just one element.
Thanks - Steve Sikora
Best audio engineering channel on the internet, hands down. Learning from Joe changed everything for me a few years ago, and I've never looked back since then. 🙏🙏🙏 Wait, did you just call me a honky? 😂
😅
I love all the visuals provided by Joe, it really helps.
I currently do both live and stream mixing. These a very different animals. I fell into the trap of setting EQ for our Worship Leader’s headset mic and our lead Pastor’s headset mic [I hate the quality of those]. I just made the mistake of mixing them perfectly for the stream. They sounded rich instead of thin. This last Sunday in the house they sounded muffled. I’m going to have to find that happy medium and work on getting it right in the house first. If only I’d have seen this a couple weeks ago. Ah well, experience gained..
Great vid Joe! Thanks so much!
thank you joe!
Excellent video, Joe. Thank you
Excellent!
I know you tell us not to mix in Solo, but I also know that you tell us to solo a track on occasion just as a check. And I always do what you tell me to do! haha
I still struggle with the eq, but after a few videos i began to understand the ranges of frequencies, good start for me 😁 thanks Joe🎉
Genius, thank you.
Big thanks Joe, this just clarifies a lot for me...
You're always great on your contents. You fulfill our mind with new ideas. Thanks a lot!
Excellent tutorial👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👍💯🎯
Great job Joe
Very Interesting And Useful. Well Explained. BRAVO!
Good video, thanks.
This explanation make so much sense Joe
This one was GREAT - would be great to go through the various main instruments with the same method - and how they interact or destroy each other. Hat off!
Great information !! Lots of great nuggets in this one !
Most useful RUclips video I've seen on applying EQ to vocals in a mix, and I've watched dozens. I subscribed immediately and downloaded the mix guide.
a very vivid explanation... thanks
Dang omg extraordinary video
This is a tremendous lesson, thank you for putting it out here for us!
Top notch for a beginner like myself. Good man.
Thanks Joe, as always a big help.
Thanks Joe. Its really hard to watch other producer's videos with all the jumpcuts and subtitles and all the shit happeneing I cant stay focused on what I'm trying to learn but you lay it out how it is and I am learning so much
Everything you mentioned in the video i already knew from years of just playing it by ear . My method is if it sounds good it is good 👍
The ABSOLUTE best!!!!
im just starting out mixing, thank you👍
Great video.... a must for all audio engineers!!! newbies and experienced!
Great presentation! I love your inner nerd. That was extremely helpful!
Very good tip for me. Thanks a lot! I think I‘m going to make a poster out of it and have it at hand every time I mix (vocals).
WOW! This is amazing! I was looking for a video exactly like this!
Great advise I'm always taking in what your saying and it always explained well.
Thank you Joe! 🙏🏻
Thanks joe, these are great workflow tips!
thank you for the knowledge! great video.
Very useful, thanks!
Awesome vid, very insightful, thanks lad!
thank you
Thanks brother, helped me a lot
Great video. Love the suggestion to get a grip of freqencies. Tried several times but going to try your "whole song" idea thanks
Best advice I’ve heard yet. Txs
Agreed. The way Joe explains the concepts is excellent. I found this video very helpful in the way Joe explains the frequency ranges and gives examples of how they sound. And then how to address if certain aspects seem off.
I heard a mic shootout the other day. One thing that one of the mics did was made the vocal fit the mix well. The mic? A Shure SM57. This was going against the likes of the u87
But yeah, I've heard isolated vocals before, and sometimes they sound horrible. I thought it might have been the AI, but a lot of it might be the processing.
I love your chart. I'm going to use it. Even though it's more of a live situation, this is going to help me a lot. I'm also going to share this video with some voice acting people because some of them love studying this kind of thing.
So helpful! Thank you so much!
Hi! This is a brilliant video and helped a lot. Problem is Im recording female vocal with violin and piano. All similar frequencies. Been trying for days to EQ them so they sound good together and its just getting worse 😢
Would love a video explaining how to do that! 🙏
Thanks for this Joe, will make me stop and think before tweaking the EQ on my next mix. Another place I find these sorts of vocal issues is on vocal reverb. Maybe a topic for a future video?
Thanks
Amazing stuff Joe! Love the way you teach!! Ive learnt so much about mixing from you
Outstanding information to digest. Super. Your voice is very clear. Is your mic whats producing your tone or is your natural tone? Thanks!
Your own voice EQ sounds great in this video!
Great tutorial!!
Great tut and perfect timing. Thanks Joe👌
My fav teacher of mixing, i love your method and calm😛
I mix exactly like that 5 step program. I feel happy there is reassurance / confirmation that I am on the right track. Doing this since the 90's so hey I'm almost there! 😂
👹"there is no end to mixing mwooohaahahaahaa foolish mortal"
This is really helpful. Ty. Can u do one for each instrument?
That is a great suggestion.
Amazing info Joe. Many thanks. Love what you do.
Really well explained, thanks for taking the time to do this video. Love the way you deliver concepts so we can understand them and move forward. Cheers!
i love YOU!
J'aime beaucoup ton style de montage avec toutes ces illustrations en images qui à son originalité. La qualite paye, tu pourrais faire la meme percé que le youtubeur "ego". Apres c'est vrai que le storytelling rap est assez compétitifs sur youtube.
Love your vids Joe. You have an amazing voice when you’re speaking and singing.
Probably a stupid question (YUP!): If your song's got a quiet bit and a loud bit, and the snare gets lost in the loud bit, is it normal to increase snare volume in loud bits?
Sure
Love your wristwatch, Joe. What kind is it?
Love these videos and they do help but I feel like in order to really get a grasp on what I'm doing I need someone over my shoulder as I'm doing a mix to guide me. I have a weird voice I feel like, and no matter what I do I'm never satisfied with how it sounds in the mix. I can usually get an instrumental mix I'm content with but as soon as vox come in I feel lost.
Do you have videos like this for Guitar, bass and drums frequency ranges?
hi joe.. love your channel.. long time listener! I'm having issues with my voice at higher DBS when i sing louder and higher.. managing the eq has been quite frustrating. i've tried compressing going into Studio1 and not.. i use the slate mic and VRS8. any immediate thoughts?
What if vocal sounds weak, like you want to add some power to it, which frequencies to operate?
Hi! Subscribed! What if you are trying to go for a stripped down production like fire and rain? Where the vocal is right up on your ear and there is only a guitar and piano accompanying in most sections? Here it seems like there isn’t much context to mix against so the mix moves need to be extremely subtle. Have you done any videos on this style of production. “Only a lifetime” by Finneas is another example of what I’m trying to imitate. Can it be done with an simple AT2020 and stock plugins?
Is it possible to process/EQ your recorded voice to make it sound like it does "in" your head when played-back?
One Question ❓
If a Vocal...is preformed in all 05 Range....how to make them Sound as one and how. to make it stand out of others in the World ?.
Love BHARAT i.e INDIA 🙏.
Anticipating a revert 👍.
Hey Joe. Non related - but I had seen in an older video you had some monitors that had dual cones. I have a narrow spot for monitors and need more bass. Is that why you had those speakers ? What were they ? Thanks !!
Hi Joe! How do I get a feature request to Presonus? I have been having a very annoying issue with recording MIDI in Studio One. I just took a survey from them but they didn't give me any space to write anything. Nobody looks at the forums. Thanks!
yours is good
The muddy sound is centered at 400Hz, in any vocal or instrumental.
Joe doesn't care about views, he likes to teach
I feel it
Think about the frequency ranges from lows to highs like this:
Oo-Oh-Ah-Eh-Ee-Ss.
yeah I always vocalized like that too
I like this idea! Thanks
I love the descriptive language, kinda like guitar buzzwords lol
The vid be more helpful if you'd shown them live what happened when you boost/cut this freqs
Good video I had to learn to use my ears not my eyes they can trick you
It sucks that you didn't put examples. 😅
Always wondered the difference between "boom" and "boomy"
Why don't you eq your vocal too