How to Fix Harsh Vocals (When EQ Alone Isn't Enough)

Getting crispy yet smooth vocals is hard. It can feel impossible to get it right without the vocal sounding too harsh or too dull. So here's a technique you can employ on any vocal, or synth / instrument, to get a smoother sound.

[@amitabhaelliott]

Or use DERES. Done.

[@sounds-sights]

there are definitely problems that dynamic resonance plugins like deres or soothe are really good at solving, like when there's a specific resonant frequency or two that are making the vocal sound harsh or otherwise unbalanced. but in my experience if the vocal is generally well recorded, but the problem is there's just too much difference between the bright parts and the rest of the vocal (too much dynamic range), solving that with deres is a bit indirect vs. broad treatment with a mulitband compressor, or even just a normal compressor. it'll probably work, but it might sound less "natural" since all of those other frequencies are what makes a persons' voice sound like their voice, and it's way easier to screw that up with a tool that's designed to mess with those relationships at a really fine grained level. hope this helps!