You've probably struggled with making the vocal fit within the rest of the mix.

You've spent all this time getting the instruments to sound great but for some reason the vocal just sits on top of the mix and just sounds...bad.

If that happens to you, here are two solutions that might work:

1. Mult the Vocals and Process Individually

If your lead vocal needs to sound different in the verse and the chorus, you'll need to process them differently. Instead of trying to find a "one sound fits all" solution it's usually easier to mult the vocals into a "verse vocal" and "chorus vocal" and then apply different processing. 

This gives you the opportunity to process the verses differently. The verse vocals might not need as much EQ and could do with a different reverb treatment to create contrast between the two parts of the arrangement.

Conversely, the chorus vocal might need more EQ'ing to make it fit with all the other instruments if the arrangement is busier.

2. Use Multiband Compression to Tame Specific Frequencies

Sometimes, no matter how boxy, honky or sibilant a vocal sounds, EQ just doesn't cut it.

What you can do then is to use a multi-band compressor to target those frequency areas so that when the singer sings louder only those frequencies will be compressed. 

That way you can be less heavy-handed on the EQ while still getting the sound you want.

Compression and EQ Go Hand in Hand

Although EQ is incredibly powerful, it doesn't always work the way you want it to. That's why EQ and compression go hand in hand to make powerful and punchy mixes where all the instruments can be heard separately the way you want them to sound.

It's also why I include the Compression Masterclass with one of my EQ Strategies packages. If you know how the two work together then you'll be much closer to creating killer mixes.

Kern Ramsdell of Home Recording Weekly did a review of EQ Strategies a while back that I always like sharing with people. Here it is:

"Bjorgvin knows what we need to know, and he shares it all, in easy to understand, easy to digest bites. Bjorgvin explains filtering, boosting, cutting, notch filters, bell curves, and “Q”, how to “sweep” or find frequencies that need cutting, and so much more, and all of it in very good detail, with audio examples. “EQ Strategies for EQ’ing a song”...This important video is an hour of deep EQ teaching, so please do not skip this part! Bjorgvin opens up a real multi track session and goes through the tracks, one at a time, and explains exactly what each EQ is doing. Bjorgvin begins with a quick “before and after” play, without EQ and then with EQ, just to demonstrate how powerful EQ really is. The difference is nothing short of incredible. Bjorgvin is a great teacher, too, and that really lends to the level of training that is unfolding here inside EQ Strategies. If you are trying to wrap your head around EQ, how to apply EQ in order to get way better tracks and much better sounding complete songs, EQ Strategies is what you are looking for."

If that sounds good to you then grab your copy here:

www.EQStrategies.net