Music Production Guide

06 - Vocals

Purpose

This page helps build vocal sounds that are clear, tasteful, emotionally convincing, and appropriate for the song.

The vocal should usually be the emotional center of the track, even when it is heavily processed.

Main Rule

Get the performance right before building the chain.

A great vocal sound starts with:

  1. Delivery
  2. Mic position
  3. Take quality
  4. Editing
  5. Cleanup
  6. EQ
  7. Compression
  8. Space
  9. Character layers
  10. Final polish

Plugins should enhance the vocal, not rescue a weak performance.

First Vocal Decision

Before choosing plugins, decide what the vocal should feel like.

Useful targets:

  • Intimate
  • Commanding
  • Dark
  • Detached
  • Seductive
  • Haunted
  • Cold
  • Human
  • Synthetic
  • Cinematic
  • Dry
  • Spacious
  • Aggressive
  • Elegant
  • Vulnerable

Pick one or two. Do not try to make the vocal feel like everything at once.

Vocal Roles

Role Job
Lead Vocal Carries lyric, melody, and emotion
Double Thickens or stabilizes the lead
Harmony Adds musical support
Background Vocal Adds width, response, or lift
Ghost Vocal Adds atmosphere without becoming a clear lyric
Processed Vocal Becomes a texture, hook, or synthetic layer
Delay Throw Adds movement at phrase ends
Distorted Layer Adds grit, danger, or aggression

Each vocal track should have a role.

Track vs Send vs Parallel

Main Vocal Track Inserts

Use inserts for processing that should directly shape the lead vocal.

Typical order:

  1. Cleanup if needed
  2. Tuning if needed
  3. Corrective EQ
  4. Compression
  5. De-essing or dynamic EQ if needed
  6. Tone/color if needed
  7. Final small EQ if needed

Aux Sends

Use sends for shared space and effects.

Typical sends:

  • Short room
  • Plate reverb
  • Hall reverb
  • Slapback delay
  • Tempo delay
  • Delay throw
  • Parallel compression
  • Special effect return

Reverb and delay usually belong on sends, not directly inserted on the lead vocal.

Parallel / Duplicate Tracks

Use duplicates or parallel auxes for effects that should not damage the main vocal.

Good uses:

  • VocalSynth layer
  • Distorted vocal layer
  • Doubled vocal
  • Whisper layer
  • Ghost vocal
  • Heavy compression
  • Telephone/filter effect
  • Reverse reverb
  • Wide background effect

Keep the main vocal stable. Put the weirdness around it.

Lead Vocal - Fast Path

Use this when writing, sketching, or trying to keep momentum.

Main Vocal Track

  1. RX cleanup only if there is an obvious problem
  2. FabFilter Pro-Q 4 corrective EQ
  3. UAD 1176 or LA-2A compression
  4. De-esser if needed
  5. Light tone shaping if needed

Sends

  • One reverb
  • One delay if needed

Optional Layers

  • Subtle double
  • Low-level VocalSynth texture
  • Delay throw on selected words

Use When

  • The song is still being written
  • The vocal is not final
  • You need the vocal to sit quickly
  • You want to avoid getting lost

Lead Vocal - Produced Path

Use this when the vocal is central and the song is worth finishing.

Main Vocal Track

  1. RX 12 Advanced cleanup if needed
  2. Tuning if needed
  3. FabFilter Pro-Q 4 surgical EQ
  4. 1176-style compression for peak control
  5. LA-2A-style compression for body and smoothness
  6. FabFilter Pro-MB only if needed
  7. De-esser if needed
  8. Final tone EQ if needed

Sends

  • Short room or ambience
  • Plate or hall reverb
  • Slapback or tempo delay
  • Delay throw
  • Optional parallel compression

Parallel / Duplicate Layers

  • VocalSynth 2 for synthetic shadow layer
  • Trash or Plasma for grit on duplicate
  • Doubler for width/thickness
  • Filtered ghost vocal for atmosphere

Vocal Cleanup

RX 12 Advanced

Role: Utility / Fixer
Fuss: 3
Priority: A

Use for:

  • Mouth clicks
  • Lip noise
  • Hum
  • Buzz
  • Clipping
  • Background noise
  • Bad edits
  • Plosives if needed
  • Breath cleanup if needed

Use before mixing when possible.

Cleanup Rule

Fix distractions. Do not sterilize the vocal.

Some breath, texture, and imperfection can make the vocal feel human.

Vocal EQ

FabFilter Pro-Q 4

Role: Core Tool
Fuss: 2
Priority: A

Use for:

  • High-pass filtering
  • Removing mud
  • Reducing boxiness
  • Taming harshness
  • Dynamic EQ control
  • Gentle tone shaping

Starting Points

High-pass:

  • Start around 60–90 Hz
  • Raise only if rumble or low junk is a problem
  • Do not thin out the vocal unnecessarily

Mud / low mids:

  • Check 150–350 Hz
  • Cut only if the vocal feels cloudy or boomy

Boxiness:

  • Check 400–800 Hz
  • Small cuts can help if the vocal feels trapped or nasal

Presence:

  • Check 2–5 kHz
  • Boost only if the vocal needs clarity
  • Cut if the vocal bites or feels shouty

Air:

  • Check 10–14 kHz
  • Be careful with bright modern pop sheen
  • For darker baritone vocals, use less air than instinct suggests

EQ Rule

EQ in context. A vocal that sounds slightly dark alone may sit perfectly in the track.

Vocal Compression

1176-Style Compression

Best for:

  • Controlling peaks
  • Adding urgency
  • Bringing the vocal forward
  • More assertive vocal presence

Starting points:

  • Ratio: 4:1 or 8:1
  • Attack: medium-fast
  • Release: fast
  • Gain reduction: around 3–7 dB on peaks

LA-2A-Style Compression

Best for:

  • Smooth body
  • Leveling
  • Warmth
  • Vocal density
  • Polished classic vocal control

Starting points:

  • Aim for 1–3 dB gain reduction after peak compression
  • Use more only if the vocal needs obvious leveling

1176 into LA-2A

Use this for a polished lead vocal.

Order:

  1. 1176 controls peaks and adds immediacy
  2. LA-2A smooths the body and holds the vocal in place

This is a good default produced vocal chain.

Vocal Space

Reverb

Use reverb to place the vocal in a world.

Common choices:

  • Short room for closeness
  • Plate for classic vocal polish
  • Hall for cinematic distance
  • Dark reverb for moody synth-pop
  • Bright reverb only if the arrangement needs lift

Best tools:

  • UAD EMT 140 / Eventide SP2016 (plate)
  • Lexicon PCM / UAD 480L (room/hall)
  • UAD Capitol Chambers (chamber depth)
  • Valhalla VintageVerb (fast lush/vintage vocal wash)
  • Eventide Blackhole / Tverb (cinematic/dramatic)

Delay

Use delay for rhythm and depth.

Common choices:

  • Slapback
  • 1/8 note
  • 1/4 note
  • Dotted 1/8
  • Ping-pong delay
  • Filtered delay throw

Best tools:

  • Eventide H3000 / UltraTap (premium pitch+delay, throws)
  • Strymon El Capistan (tape echo)
  • iZotope Cascadia, Logic Delay Designer

Vocal Character Layers

VocalSynth 2

Role: Special Effect / Character
Fuss: 3
Priority: B

Use for:

  • Synthetic shadow vocal
  • Vocoder-like layer
  • Robot backing texture
  • Ghostly electronic double
  • Depeche Mode / art-pop style processing

Best use:

  • Duplicate the vocal
  • Put VocalSynth on the duplicate
  • Blend quietly under the main vocal

Trash

Role: Character / Special Effect
Fuss: 3
Priority: B

Use for:

  • Distorted vocal duplicate
  • Aggressive phrase
  • Industrial texture
  • Dirty background vocal
  • Transition effect

Best use:

  • Duplicate track or parallel aux
  • Filter heavily
  • Blend quietly

Plasma

Role: Fast Path / Character
Fuss: 2
Priority: B

Use for:

  • Fast vocal density
  • Subtle saturation
  • Presence enhancement
  • Energy without building a complex chain

Vocal Sound Paths

Intimate Lead Vocal

Target:

Close, human, emotionally direct.

Main moves:

  1. Good close take
  2. Light cleanup
  3. Gentle EQ
  4. Smooth compression
  5. Short room or plate
  6. Minimal delay

Dark Baritone Lead

Target:

Controlled, masculine, dark, present, synth-pop.

Main moves:

  1. Close controlled delivery
  2. RX cleanup if needed
  3. Pro-Q 4 cleanup
  4. 1176 into LA-2A
  5. Dark plate or short room
  6. Subtle delay
  7. Optional low-level VocalSynth or Trash layer

Electronic Vocal Layer

Target:

Part human, part machine.

Main moves:

  1. Duplicate lead or backing vocal
  2. VocalSynth 2
  3. Filter or EQ
  4. Reverb/delay if needed
  5. Blend low

Ghost Vocal

Target:

Atmosphere, memory, shadow, emotional depth.

Main moves:

  1. Duplicate or record soft layer
  2. Heavy reverb or delay
  3. Filter highs/lows
  4. Pan or widen if needed
  5. Keep quiet

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