![]() If a rapper has a very percussive delivery, with lots of hard consonants, lower the threshold and use a slightly higher ratio (say, 4:1) to clamp down those harsh transients. On the input meter of the compressor, you’ll generally want the needle to hover around the peaks of the transients-sometimes right on the line or sometimes a little below, if you're trying to compress a little harder (which is good for really thin/harsh voices that need less high-end and more warmth). Start with a low compression ratio, about 1:5 to 2:1. It’s not super fancy, but it has a unique color, especially once you start turning up the makeup gain. There are many compressors that can do the job, but my personal go-to compressor for controlling vocal dynamics is the Waves Renaissance Compressor. Once you even out the vocals, bring in the compressor. Waves Renaissance Compressor Download Now on Reverb Sometimes, you may need to go even lower, around 1kHz to 1.5kHz, if there is a piano or other instrument that is mixed too loud. Use your ears-if loud hi-hats at 7k or the claps at 2.5kHz are stepping on the words, scoop around those frequencies. Again, this will depend on the beat and the vocalist, but generally speaking, a dip somewhere around 2.5kHz to 7kHz should be a good starting point. A plugin like the FabFilter Pro-Q works great for hearing and visualizing these areas.Ī rapper’s bite and the clarity of syllables will come from transients and other high-frequency information. Some rappers will have a deep voice, some have a higher voice, so where exactly you should dip the beat’s frequencies will change. The body of a vocal sound, where the warmth and weight resides, will be found in the low- to upper-mids (about 300Hz to 600Hz). But you can still use an EQ to carve out some spots that interfere with the vocal’s body and articulation. If all you have is a stereo instrumental track (what used to be called a "two-track"), it will be harder to make room for the vocals without affecting a lot of instruments within the beat itself that maybe you don’t want to touch. The goal is to keep space open in the low-mids and high frequencies so that the voice has room to sit within the beat, not on top.įabFilter Pro-Q 2 Equalizer Download Now on Reverb While I’m doing this, I keep in mind that the vocal is going to need some of the space that’s occupied by the other instruments. But for me, I always end up changing the mix of these instruments once I add the other elements of the beat anyway. Some people like to start with drums, bass, and vocals-that's cool too. ![]() If I do have the stems, I generally like to mix the entire beat before adding the vocals. ![]() But either way, there is one thing that remains the same no matter which format your working with: Make room for your vocals. Of course, having the stems-separated kick, 808, bass, clap, hi-hats, etc.-will allow you to have greater control over the music. If you are working with vocals on top of an instrumental, there are two main ways the beat will look: either with tracked-out stems or as a single stereo file (like a wav or mp3 file). You may ask, "But what does the beat have to do with mixing rap vocals?" Everything. Here are just some general rules of thumb when mixing rap vocals that you can try for yourself-coming straight from the horse’s mouth. Some are more accurate, some not-you just have to take them with a grain of salt and try them for yourself.Īs an engineer who works at Studio 11 here in Chicago, a studio that has specialized in hip-hop and rap for more than 20 years (having worked with a young Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Crucial Conflict, Lil Durk, and more), we pretty much have it down to a science. That’s because everyone has a different way to do it. If you search online for "how to mix rap vocals," you will be scrolling through pages and pages of people telling you all different things.
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