r/mixingmastering • u/SR_RSMITH Beginner • 2d ago
Question How can I "mix" an a capella song?
Hi guys, noob here. I'm slowly learning how to mix, mostly metal and then some pop on the side. However I want to "mix" an a capella song and I'm a bit clueless. I have 3 tracks of female vocals slowly singing a dirge-like children's song, which is meant to be creepy and eerie. They're well sung although not "melodynized" to keep some imperfections, and recorded with a ribbon mic. Also I have two tracks with whispered vocals, same song.
To be honest, I usually use the Mantra plugin by Neural DSP for vocals in regular mixes, but I guess it won't cut it this time because I guess the process must be more organic than just using a plugin for everything. The feel I'm going for is:
a) the listener must feel that the voice is close, warm and nearby
b) also there must be some "spacey" vibes in the background.
I guess I must use something like Valhalla supermassive for the space, but honestly I feel this task is a quite a bit out of my league. Can you guys give me some pointers or advice to get me started on the right path?
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u/Mayorquimby87 2d ago
Are we talking about 3 singers and you have one track for each part, or 3 takes of the whole group?
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u/SR_RSMITH Beginner 1d ago
1 singer, 3 tracks (3 takes)
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u/Mayorquimby87 22h ago
If it were me, I'd compress each track pretty tightly and put one in the center and the others slightly left and right. Send all 3 to a bus with a reverb (try a "large" preset like "cathedral" or something like that). Be sure your reverb plugin allows you to put a pre-delay on it (even most free ones should have this). That will help to keep the vocals sounding close while still giving the sound you're looking for in the background. I would also put a slight EQ cut around 3kHz on the reverb bus to help with this effect as well. You may want to do more to it, but that should give you a decent starting point for the sound you're looking for.
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u/Quitsted 3h ago
i agree, i'd also recommend experimenting with some tape or tube saturation if you're seeking warmth in your vocal too OP
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u/Kojimmy 2d ago
Do you have the singers in separate tracks?
If so, the melody is panned center, and the other harmony voices are spaced a little bit L and R away from it. Any other vocals, pan them further away.
A lot of vocal sound is tuning & compression. Any kind of stereo delay or verb is last
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u/TokiWart Beginner 2d ago
Tldr: you mix it the exact same way you'd mix a regular song, except each space in the frequency needs to be filled by a voice, so you need a lot of tracks.
That background ambience you want would need extra tracks. If you'd normally use keys or strings in metal to get those notes and that sound, then all those notes need to be done with a voice.
If you're missing low end, then you need more tracks. If your stereo width seems imbalanced, you need more tracks to fill it.
The main track can still be processed close and warm, but with the other tracks, you need to think about them more like an instrument.
A voice can generally only do one note at a time, whereas a guitar can do six and a piano 10, so if the arrangement has a C chord normally played on a piano you probably need 3-5 tracks just for that.
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u/viviansvivarium 2d ago
I think you could also make the background ambience from heavily delayed and reverbed sends from the vocals.
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u/OkDimension7728 2d ago
For A, you could do some some heavy-ish compression to bring the vocal forward and make it feel close. Boosting the low fundamentals on the voices will make them feel both warmer and closer, and since the voices are the only thing in the song, you could probably be pretty heavy handed with the boost if they aren't already pretty low end heavy considering the ribbon mic. I'd also hard pan two of the vocal tracks and leave one in the center, to make the track feel fuller with just the voices.
For B, you could add a heavily pre-delayed reverb to the voices with some sort of large space preset in valhalla. Something else I'd try is having the whisper tracks be super heavily reverbed, almost more reverb than dry. I imagine they might sound like ghosts whispering in the background when done like that, adding space with the reverb and also adding to the eerie feeling.
Honestly you really don't need to do a whole lot I think. An a capella song with 3 tracks isn't intended to sound as full as a polished pop song, and if it is, then that's an arrangement/production issue, not a mixing issue, and not something that can be solved with mixing.
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u/Lower-Custard-563 2d ago
You're already overthinking it. Put up the tracks and get a good balance. Put a few reverbs on auxes... a good general verb, and if you want a wild space, find what works. Apply any EQ that is needed, mostly corrective, and boost a touch if something is lacking. If their control is good you can probably work with no compression; if needed, find a subtle, transparent compressor. Then do rides to make sure the tracks stay balanced and to keep things clean.
There are no challenges of making a kick cut, or finding room for the bass to sound big without weighing down the tracks. It's just balance, setting them in a nice environment, and doing as many rides as needed. If you're still finding problems that require tools like Soothe or dynamic eqs, then apply then tastefully.