Fixing A Harsh Vocal with Darrell Thorp!
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2020
- ➡️➡️Click here to learn more about how Darrell Thorp fixes harsh vocals: producelikeapro.com/blog/fixi...
Darrell is an incredibly producer, mixer, recording engineer, and nine-time Grammy-winner, who has had the opportunity to work with many acclaimed artists throughout his career. He has worked with Paul McCartney, Radiohead, Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, Beck, Nigel Godrich, and many more.
Today, he is going to show us some of the techniques he uses to smooth out harsh vocals!
To smooth out harsh vocals, Darrell uses multi-band compression. There are several plugins available that offer multi-band compression, so there is one for everyone, no matter what kind of sound you want! One of Darrell’s personal favorites is the Oeksound Soothe, but try a few out and find the one that works best for you!
To smooth out vocals, Darrell opens up his plugin of choice, and starts to look for the high peaks that he can visually see would be causing problems. He listens to the track and compresses where he needs to in order to smooth out the vocal the way he wants to. Watch the video below to see exactly how he does this!
In addition to using these techniques on vocals, Darrell applies them to electric guitars, acoustic guitars, piano, cymbals, and more. He has found all kinds of applications where things are extremely brittle and harsh, and need to be thickened up with plugins in order to give them some more life and not be so pointy.
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What techniques do you use to fix harsh vocals?
I don't use any vocals. That is the best fix for me since I'm a noob producer.
Actually I use very similar techniques, first I EQ, if EQ does not solve the problem I try dynamic EQ, if it does not work, then multiband compressor, but now I also own soothe, so that is my last resort :)
Actually saturation can also remove some harshness too, I learned that from you Warren :)
DSEq by ToneBoosters
Nick Chase 😂😂😂
In addition to EQ, I use SoftTube Tape starting with the LV Smoothing preset and tweak from there. You have to be careful to level the output gain, though.
Please remember, there's a free dynamic eq: TDR Nova.
Thanks! Yes, it's a wonderful Free plug in!
Or reaxcomp if you need a wider band
I seriously use it on almost every mix. depending on what it needs, its either TDR Nova or Waves C6. I haven't gotten into Sooth yet but I really want to.
Wow. That was an epic win for Soothe. But I'm very happy I got to see all of those steps. My ears are starting to pick up things they never could before. I blame Warren Huart for that.
Yes! Thanks Bobby! I agree 100% my friend!! Glad to be able to help my friend!!
Thank you so so much!! There's so many videos out there about mixing vocals but they always have super simple examples where the voices dont have a lot of dynamic or are recorded perfectly. This was super helpful!
Best channel to learn solid information! Hands down!
Wonderful Warren.. We need some more of these videos, Very helpful! Big up Darrell!
Thanks ever so much JamrockVybz!
I always struggled with this particular topic, but this video made it very easy to hear and identify what harsh sounds like, and gives me a better understanding of what I'm looking for to erase from the mix. Extremely helpful. Thanks!
Amazing video ! Thank you so much Darrell and Warren!
Pro MB literally just saved my life.. Stock settings. Straight on there. Perfect.. Thanks man !
Would love to see a video dedicated to the pros/cons of EQ before vs after compression!
Great! Yes, I've definitely done many of those videos, however, yes agreed a dedicated video would be great!
Yeah some situational EQ>Comp vs Comp> EQ would be great.
@@gpr4eva marvellous idea!
Loved this video! Very helpful
Thanks ever so much Liam!!
Incredibly helpful Video because I‘ve been looking for a good method to tame rather harsh female vocals. So this is quite perfect! Thank you guys!
You're very welcome Benjamin! Yes, Darrell does great work!!
Huge interview and tips thank you!
It's a kind of magic, magic, magic ! :) THX for that video!
Thanks ever so much Mario!
Thanks again for another great video! PLAP best channel and community ever! Thanks Warren, you're the best, and thanks to all the other wonderful producers and engineers who take time to teach us!
Amazing community!
Thanks ever so much Michael! You Rock!!
@@iwantappledumplings6187 thanks ever so much!
Right on time!!! ✊🏽
Thanks ever so much Morris!
Very important to learn and understand definitely! Awesome work as always man!
Thanks ever so much RC32!
@Frank Lee thanks ever so much my friend!
@@Producelikeapro Always happy to watch my man!
Thanks Darrell great and useful video!
Thanks ever so much David!!
Wow what a great tutorial ! And wow, Soothe really kills it, what a great tool !!! 🤘
Darrell Thorp is cool as sh**. Easy to understand and he's not hiding anything. Loved this one Warren.
Thanks Darrel! Great insight
Some great techniques Darrell! Cheers Warren!!
Agreed amazing!
Thanks ever so much Mr Oregon!
@@harmonystudios1182 thanks!!
Very interesting video, thank you Darrel and Warren. I have never thought that esses can be perceived differently in different languages and are more or less important. It is a very interesting insight.
Hi Marc, yes, I learned that the hard way myself when mixing Spanish singers!
Great stuff! I love the 1176.
I love Darrell's whole demeanor and the way he puts this across. Spot on. Regards this vocal. I felt I could hear a couple of "whistle tones" on the high notes in the unprocessed vocal. I think Soothe almost completely zapped them.
Hi Steve, agreed, Soothe does seem to perform some miracles!
I wonder if he used the 1073 driven hard going into the Rev. A 1176 if he would need to use so much multi band compression/dynamic EQ. I learned from CLA that driving the frequencies that sound good into a Rev. A 1176 set at Input: 30, Output: 18, Attack: 3, and Release: 7 at either 4 or 8 as the Ratio it tames alot of the harsh frequencies and even deesses for you while adding excitement to the vocal. Idk if that works just with SSL EQs into a Rev. A or it its universal. I havent tried it since the SSL into 1176 works so well. It might be a fun thing to experiment with
Amazing! Will there be more of these videos with darrell? VERY interested in a video on drums!
Great video!
Thanks ever so much Tim!
Really nice video, thank u so much for this knowledge. I usually like to start with Sonnox Dynamic Eq, then i try some subtle compression with CL1B Mk2 looking for warmth, and finally use Decapitator for thickness. De-essing process to me is the final step, and it depends to the final result after Decapitator. By the way, in the parallel comp moment, i like to use CLA-76 waves's black or white rev. depending to the context, . This whole process really works to me.
I think we can all agree that the moral of this video is that if it was recorded harsh, it'll stay harsh no matter your gear haha, great job however!
So how do we record it less harsh ? besides obviously try to pronounce the words the best we can ?
Good lesson, thanks! A lot!
Thanks ever so much Brian!
Outstanding!!
Soothe wins, winner winner chicken dinner, Priceless. Thanks for the video, Great Stuff!
Soothe2 is a very Nice plugin! I think it is a real gamebraker.
I would like to see a video by producelikeapro about cakewalk by Bandlab for years called sonar. 😉😎
Thanks ever so much Peter! Great idea!
@@SteveStockmalMusic thank you!
Very good tips but would have loved to also hear the vocal in the context of the mix👍
His face when he puts Soothe, was hilarious... hahahaha :)
Haha indeed!
Soothe always needs the oversampling on imo. I always hear the grittiness from the artifacts without it on.
Thank you Darrell, 🙂
Thanks Audrey!
Once I heard this and call it the right name there is no going back. Now there are many plugins that do the same, but this is not being a part of my PCD, I constantly hear the resonances. :)
Oh wow! I followed this religiously at the same time I was mixing a vocal for an artist. I checked how each step/technique sounded on my recording (of her voice and together with the rest of my mix.) WHAT A DIFFERENCE! Thank you. She has quite a strong and harsh voice. (Perhaps I chose the wrong mic...) I encourage you guys who view this to look at it as a guide to follow along to with your own project. Lucky me the singer I recorded sounded quite similar to the artists in this video.
That’s amazing to hear!!
My fight against harshness is that I tend to use mics that are not as "modern". I've also added notch filters to most of my LDC that cut the problematic freq in each mic to get a smoother response. Everything you can do post is always good but I don't rely on that because I might not be mixing it.
Thanks ever so much for sharing!
What a pro!!
It has been a very long time since I have heard that phrase winner winner chicken dinner lol learned a lot from watching this thanks much appreciated 🙏🏾👍🏾🙏🏾
I'm new to this but the breathing sounds intensified in the Soothe compared to the first adjustments you made. Did you also EQ or add a noise gate after applying Soothe?
What microphone would have helped? I am struggling with the same exact thing. You helped the problem a lot but it is definitely still there.
I like this dude
Haha me too Sam!
I wonder if he used the 1073 driven hard going into the Rev. A 1176 if he would need to use so much multi band compression/dynamic EQ. I learned from CLA that driving the frequencies that sound good into a Rev. A 1176 set at Input: 30, Output: 18, Attack: 3, and Release: 7 at either 4 or 8 as the Ratio it tames alot of the harsh frequencies and even deesses for you while adding excitement to the vocal. Idk if that works just with SSL EQs into a Rev. A or it its universal. I havent tried it since the SSL into 1176 works so well. It might be a fun thing to experiment with.
thank you
How did people deal with harshness back in the analog days? Manual EQ automation?
The multiple analog stages and tape saturation certainly mitigated much of the harshness back then.
Hi Elias, many things contributed to analog equipment giving what some people call 'warmth' (I find the word confusing!) ultimately Tape, Tubes and very importantly transformers helped that reduce harshness.
@@ytnsanw yes, exactly! Well said!
It's a bit complicated to explain cuz the history of gear. See, when all of this analog era was getting bigger and bigger one thing happened to gear. If you think about it recording to tape have the tendency of create dark aka "fat "tracks. When tape came along it brought other problems like hiss noise. The trick was record everything with exaggerated amounts of high frequency and later on playback reduce the same amount. A process known as emphasis and de emphasis. I think. So what happened? Well, Cymbals companies, microphones companies and amp companies started to introduce this high frequency on lots of the new gear. Then it came the digital era. When ppl stared turning audio into 1s and 0s what you think they found out?...a horrible mess of high frequencies. This is where the say "digital is harsh" came out. The reality is Digital is not harsh rather honest. So to answer your question... Back in the days harshness was not a real problem cuz tape used to tame this annoying freq. Now that we have digital it became an issue. That's why ppl love more the tape sound. Warren correct me if I'm wrong. Please 😬
I still till this day don’t understand what soothe does and I have it in my preset library
woow... professional studio
Yes, wonderful studio!
What are some of the tells in a vocal that influence the decision to use either compression or EQ? I know in many cases, both are utilized, but how do you know when high frequency content ought to be cut vs compressed?
Absolutely gorgeous voice
Agreed
Would you recommend the choice of mics that would help ?
As a french guy, I need to say that when he talks at the same time as he plays the vocal track it's quite confusing xD
It was difficult to follow the talk track in the beginning because I was gawking the wall of hardware in the background. :D Great Video, Thank You.
Thank you
You’re very welcome
This chain had other applications for taming harsh acoustic instruments? Might be some hope for my otherwise OK string library. The CC translation for the French vocals is hysterical. "Blu Emu Flaps!".
Soothe sales just started blowing up since Darrell Thorp started doing these videos.
Haha that's quite likely indeed!
Soothe is life.
Haha nice
Soothe is workhorse!!!
Yes! It is
Soothe is Bad Ass, sounds so natural
Yes, wonderful!!
Damn! My ears!!
Haha
i think you should play in context of track. imo for alotta beginners i think its important. i understand cause i mixed around 30 songs so far but if i wouldve watched this before i ever mixed i wouldnt of understood this in the context of the mix. squeezed dynamics are good but i think it makes more sense in the context. ive actually used 3 compressors back to back to back and it doesnt sound lifeless. but it all has to do with song your mixing vocals and how dynamic the vocals are. also when a track is in solo compared to in the context, i think people are being taught bad habits when it comes to mixing if what i said makes sense. imo
Serious gear porn here. Trident A-Range EQ's?.. please..
Haha yes, indeed!!
Indeed, I'm starting to expand!
Dan B hahaha
WHAT'S THIS THING YOUR CONTROLLING TO YOUR LEFT?
Very helpful video... thanks for creating. But my wife (in the other room) said that was the most irritating vocal clip she's ever heard! Lol
Filtered Waters My wife said the same - albeit slightly stronger 😵 - just before I read your comment. I’m now wondering about male v female hearing ranges and what effect for a sound engineer. Wife and I are in our sixties. I can barely hear the harshness. I guess my wife is hearing it clearly because if I exaggerate harshness in a mix my reaction is 🤮
For a hip hop artist with a lot of 1-2.8khz what mic do you recommend (budget friendly)?
People love SM7’s for Hip Hop. Check out this interview with Hip Hop/Rap vocal master Anthony Cruz ua-cam.com/video/nKfBbCP2mDY/v-deo.html
@@Producelikeapro i don't know what I mentioned hip hop in particular. But I work mainly on Reggaeton and that genre has both singing and rapping. And definitely I'll watch that interview.
I checked all my speakers and hear a harshness in the high end that's always there, like a brittle distortion. Is it just me? It never goes away. Maybe it's in my monitoring chain?
Thanks for all the great videos, Warren! I've learned so much!
Totally agree. Really high up there, sounds like some sort of distortion, but it drove me crazy
No, no, you right, the harshness was always there....it never left..with Soothe it helped but as she continued singing it came back harsh...never smooth and pleasing....Sometimes engineers get so careful...that the original may sound better...
What I find really difficult to fix is when the singer does high pitched notes with loud volume. It's like there is no low end... only that high note. Awful.
These tips will help control the super high end which will allow some of those lows to return.
arrangement and a good band can make this issue a non-problem.
neovxr Adding to this: Harmonising a fifth below (as in a fifth an octave down) and an octave below and inaudibly (in the mix) putting them below the lead might also help
@@_Alex_Sander interesting trick - I'll have to remember that one to try out. Cheers!
@@neovxr How would that have fixed a harshly recorded vocal?
Wow, what a vocal 🤩 to sum the video up: buy Soothe 😄
does someone know the name of the song? Thanks !!! (Soothe is simply fantastic btw!!!)
Would also like to listen to more from this singer. It sounds awesome!
It seems to me that he kills all the brightness and then brings it back with the parallel track xD
I'm curious to know who that woman was. That voice sounded familiar. I'm also French.
Pretty amazing. The vocal sounded like shit before you treated it. Thorp has some skills!
I reckon the Soothe took it just a tiny bit too thin....well it did on my phone speaker, anyway!🤣
Yes, the depth can be dialled back
For some weird reason Soothe always sounds a little unnatural to me... It's almost too perfect? I don't mind a tiny bit of harshness here and there, but Soothe seems to eliminate it completely. Very heavy-handed tool wich obviously have it's use, but it's one of those things that can ruin your mix when overused (such as Ozone, Neutron etc.)
I've fallen into this trap many times and my mixes still suck partly because of this.
Soothe?? Gimmie!
Yes! Amazing!
Question: Am I the only one who hears that 850 hz dominating the whole recording in the lasting tones? I would work on this in the first place. All the 2500 Hz treatment is just... mh... ok... I dont really hear a problem there... what do you think?
Might be your monitoring, are you using Adams monitors? With the exception of the A7X they all tend to have additional low mids and mids.
@@iwantappledumplings6187 It's not ADAM monitors lol. Have you even ever worked on all Adams making such a statement? Listen again, if you dont hear it :D IT's a standing wave @853 whenever she pushes the sustaining tones... (checked with multiple monitors and headsets)
Needs mor compression.
This is a great video and very informative, but also why this polo.
Audio mixing is funny. Taking out a frequency only to add it back again with a different EQ 😂
So for parallel is it just a copy of the original with the fatso on it?
In this instance, it could be any kind of processing running in parallel and then summed back with the original
Is it just me who hears harmonic distortion on the vocal track? The mic or pre was being pushed too hard and there’s nothing else to be done but to mask it, my go to technique in this case would be to straight up have the vocal recorded again properly.
Yeah, i'm listening with hi-res headphone and definitely hear a distorted tone in the vocal. A surgical cut will be needed to rescue this vocal
I found it really irritating too. Using Beyerdynamic DT770 with my smartphone, not so high end...
would've been better if we heard the rest of the tracks with the vocal
'so kheema blue lima flaps
it falls so d by
David also flies
leave a weird on ebuy
in Daniel food by
wandered over guys'
The automatic subtitles trying to figure out the lyrics
don't see the point to mix vocal in solo... What could sound harsh in solo, could fit really well in the mix.
It's a tuition video and the best way to demonstrate properly is show people in solo.
@@harmonystudios1182 exactly!
Hi Ct Ld, when teaching, especially for beginners it is important to demonstrate in Solo so they hear the changes, however subtle.
Much smoother with the smooth. Lol
Smooth with Soothe!!
@@Producelikeapro definitely! Lol
@@jasonsimmons7479 haha
@@Producelikeapro Warren you're the best!
👍🏾
8:00
TL;DR: Oeksound Soothe.
Thanks!
1:10 wops
winner winner chicken dinner haha :)
so what i gathered from this is just buy soothe lmao
Winner winner chicken dinner 😂😂😂
Ok. Then I use multiband around 3.8k. Getting better. Compress before EQ. Another multiband. Let’s try soothe just for shnitz and schmiggles. Wait for it. Wait for it... Soothe wins!
Goes through 4 different EQ's first, then pulls out a compressor: "I'm a big fan of compress then EQ." lol.
First plug in was a Multiband Compressor, second was EQ, third was De-esser (single band Compressor) 4th was EQ, 5th Compression, then another compression. So oder was Compression 1st, then EQ, then Compression into EQ etc. Sorry if it's not clear to you that a Multiband compressor is frequency controlled compressor and that a De-Esser is also a frequency controllable compressor.
He literally uses Compression each time before EQ J g!
Those are compressors first before each EQ
@@Producelikeapro I did not get the impression, within the context of the video, that you were talking about multiband compression and de-essing when you pulled out the 1176 and said " I like to compress before I EQ." I see those more as EQ tools.
Anyway, not here to nitpick I just thought it was funny. The channel is awesome. Thanks for the vid.
@@Jg-be7it thanks for the comment! Multiband Compression is definitely compression broken up into bands rather than a whole.
Don't like her voice. However it would have been nice to hear it i context of the mix also. Great video
Great to see that not all top mixer get the best sounding tracks. What I found from listening to som CLA stuff is that the tracks he gets usually sound really good from the get go. I'd love to see tutorials with the top guys mixing a song with the really shitty tracks normal people often get. Instead of just wanking over top recorded tracks from top recording studios in their tutorials!
erand droory those tutorials would probably need to be done by the assistants to the top mixers ;)
I didnt like the soothe in this case. It takes away too much of the character and energy in my opinion.
To my ears: soothe does NOT win! :)
So... Soothe wins.
You didn't actually fix it. I thought you were gonna fix all that ringing harmonics in her low registry. All you really did was get her voice upfront.