Archives: Articles
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Five Budget Condenser Mics That Hold Up on Lead Vocals
I've tracked lead vocals through everything from a borrowed SM7B to a $4,000 tube condenser, and the mics I reach for most in my…
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Comping Vocals Without Killing the Performance: A Practical Workflow
Comping is where a lot of vocal takes go to die. Not because the editing is bad, but because the editor chases "perfect" and…
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Comping Vocals Without Sucking the Life Out of the Take
The first time a singer hears the comped vocal, they lean into the talkback and ask: "Is that... me?" Not in a bad way.…
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How to Coach a Nervous Singer Through Their First Studio Take
The singer is standing at the mic with both hands wrapped around the coffee cup I gave them, and they haven't sung a note…
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Getting a Nervous Singer Comfortable in the Booth: 7 Things That Actually Work
The singer is on the other side of the glass. Take three was great, take four was worse, and now she is apologizing before…
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Waves Vocal Rider Review: Does It Actually Save Your Fader Hand?
I still keep Vocal Rider on my lead vocal bus. Not because it's magic, but because it does one narrow thing well: it rides…
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Do You Really Need a $3000 Condenser to Track Vocals? A Cheap vs Expensive Mic Test
A singer brought in a vintage Neumann U 87 last month. It sat next to my usual workhorse on the stand, and we tracked…
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FabFilter Pro-Q 4 Is Here: What the New Dynamic EQ Does for Vocal Mixes
I pulled Pro-Q 4 into a vocal session the week it landed, on a song where the singer had one stubborn resonance around 300…
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FabFilter Pro-Q 4 Is Here: What the Update Means for Vocal Mixers
I have not had Pro-Q 4 in a session yet, and I want to be honest about that up front. But I have mixed…
