What to do with vocal tracks

[rpb123]

I have an alternative rock song with a single vocal track. Besides getting the volume level right, the only thing I did to the track is add some reverb. Are there typically more processes than this involved with mixing the vocals? (Such as Compression or anything like that)?

[GregV]

Usually Compression and EQ are used... But if you used a great mic, preamp, and the singer has a fabulous voice, you may not need EQ at all. It's up to your ears.
Compression helps to make the volume levels more consistent. Loud words get quieter, quiet words get louder. But if you've already gone through and adjusted the level to be consistent throughout the song, then you may not need compression either.
However, compression can also help to give words more "attack" so that they grab the listeners' attention better. So it may be worth experimenting.
Try a gentle ratio (2:1 or 3:1), with a "soft knee", and adjust the threshold so the amount of the effect is pleasing to your ears. If that doesn't work, play with each setting, one at a time, so you can hear its effect and find the "sweet spot".
But again... Maybe you don't need at all.
I hope that helps. Good luck!

[simon.a.billington]

The above tips are good.

Music is difficult, because it's all relative. Techniques used to produce great sounding tracks could vary widely from genre to genre and every engineer has their own preferred methodology could vary widely.

Here is a short list or questions you should ask yourself about the track...

- Are the vocals too hissy or noisy?
If so, it could probably do with some Broadband Noise Removal or Silence Removal
- Is the vocal close enough in pitch to the music?
If not, you may require Pitch Correction
- Does the timing sit well with the music?
If not, is it the backing track or vocals that need Timing Adjustment
- Are the vocals boomy, honky, nasally, or sibilant?
If so, it most likely needs Subtractive EQ or or Deessing.
- Is the overall volume of the vocals fine?
If not, they probably require Compression.
- Is the overall volume okay, but intelligibility is difficult with the music?
If so, It probably requires Additive EQ or Transient Enhancing
- Is the overall energy level okay?
If not, consider Compression or Harmonic Saturation
- Do the vocals sound like they are occupying the same space as the music??
If not they probably require a bit of Delay or Reverb

There are several ways to achieve these desired effects, and some methods or plugins can, in fact do more than one of these tasks.

Tape emulation for example could add more energy by slightly compressing and adding harmonic distortion to a signal, it could also lift the bottom end a bit which is great if you don't have any boomy vocals and could do with a low end lift.

Another example would be a Channel Strip that offers many of these tools as a one stop solution.

You can try starting off with presets and systematically go through the above list and try to step by step get closer to your ideal sound.
Alternatively, this can be even more simplified by using the Signature Vocal Series from Waves.

http://www.waves.com/bundles/signature-series-vocals

It's worthwhile waiting for specials though so you don't have to fork out to much for this stuff. But even before you think about spending cash, download a demo and drop it in your mix and give it a bit of a workout. Try a few and compare results.

There's also nothing stopping you from adding additional processing on top of what these plugins do too.

Oh and word is they have a new Signature Vocals by Garbage engineer/producer Butch Vig, but it won't be out for a few months yet.

http://www.sonicstate.com/news/2015/...s-vocal-sound/