Perfecting Vocals on Modern Playback Systems

Summary

This video guide explores how to perfect vocals for modern playback systems, covering crucial elements like mono compatibility, sibilance control, harmonic distortion, and air frequencies. It explains how issues such as excessive sibilance in earbuds, the lack of harmonic richness in clean sound, and missing high-end frequencies in systems like AirPods can affect vocal clarity. The guide offers practical tips, such as using de-essers, adding harmonic distortion, and boosting air frequencies, to ensure vocals translate well across various devices and provide a polished listening experience.

Takeaways

• 😀 Mono compatibility is essential for vocals, especially with portable speakers and devices that sum stereo to mono. Ensure some vocal effects remain centered for better translation to mono systems.
• 😀 Earbuds tend to amplify sibilance due to their frequency response and lack of diffusion from the outer ear. Use a de-esser or FFT editor to control excessive sibilance.
• 😀 Harmonic distortion, often overlooked in modern playback systems, plays a crucial role in creating a fuller, more musical sound. Adding second-order harmonics through saturation can improve vocal quality.
• 😀 Many modern playback systems, including AirPods and portable speakers, lack 'air frequencies' (above 12kHz), making it necessary to boost these frequencies for better vocal clarity.
• 😀 Use MSED or similar tools to test how stereo effects, like reverb or delay, will sound when mono compatibility is required. Muting the side image will help simulate how effects will translate on mono devices.
• 😀 When boosting high frequencies (air), ensure your recording is free of noise. Boosting these frequencies on a noisy recording will amplify the unwanted noise floor.
• 😀 Test your mixes using portable devices like earbuds or speakers to assess how sibilance and frequency balance will translate to the average listener's device.
• 😀 A multi-band saturator can be used to isolate harmonic distortion to the fundamental frequency, avoiding intermodulation distortion and improving the musicality of the sound.
• 😀 Portable speakers and earbuds often have a narrow frequency response and lower distortion levels compared to traditional amplifiers, which means you may need to compensate by adding harmonics or boosting highs.
• 😀 When using exciters (like Fresh Air), they help amplify air frequencies and provide high-frequency harmonics, improving vocal clarity without increasing noise, especially on devices like AirPods.

Q & A

Why is mono compatibility important for vocals in modern playback systems?

Mono compatibility is crucial because many modern playback systems, like portable speakers and phone speakers, sum the left and right audio channels to mono. This causes a loss of stereo details, particularly in effects like reverb, delay, and chorusing. Ensuring that some vocal effects are centered helps prevent these details from being lost when played through mono systems.

How can you test how stereo vocal effects will translate to mono systems?

To test stereo vocal effects for mono compatibility, you can use a plugin like MSED to mute the side image (stereo channels). By introducing stereo effects with sends and then muting the side image, you can monitor how those effects will sound on mono playback systems.

What role does sibilance control play in vocals, especially when using earbuds?

Sibilance control is critical for vocals because earbuds tend to emphasize the high mids and highs, which can make sibilant sounds (like 's' and 't' sounds) harsh or unpleasant. Earbuds also bypass the natural diffusion of sound by the outer ear, amplifying these frequencies directly into the ear canal, which exacerbates the issue. Using a de-esser or FFT editor can help control sibilance and make vocals more pleasant to listen to.

Why do modern playback systems like earbuds emphasize sibilance?

Modern earbuds emphasize sibilance because their frequency response boosts the high mids and highs, especially around the 3rd formant of vocals. Additionally, earbuds bypass the outer ear, losing the natural shaping and diffusion that would normally help to soften sibilance in more traditional listening environments.

How does harmonic distortion affect the perception of vocals in modern playback systems?

Harmonic distortion adds overtones to a sound, enriching its timbre and making it sound fuller and more musical. Modern playback systems, especially earbuds, have low harmonic distortion, which might make vocals sound too clean or thin. To create a fuller, more complex vocal sound, you may need to introduce controlled harmonic distortion through techniques like saturation.

What is the effect of using saturation or distortion on vocals?

Saturation or distortion adds harmonic overtones to vocals, which helps improve the relationship between musical and non-musical overtones. This results in a fuller, richer, and more dynamic vocal sound, as it introduces harmonics that align with the fundamental frequency of the vocal performance.

Why do AirPods and other modern playback systems lack 'air' frequencies above 12kHz?

Air frequencies, or the range above 12kHz, are often missing in modern playback systems like AirPods due to design limitations. The adaptive EQ function in AirPods also significantly dips these frequencies by up to 10dB, making it difficult for listeners to perceive high-frequency details that contribute to the sense of openness or 'air' in a vocal performance.

What can you do to compensate for the lack of air frequencies in devices like AirPods?

To compensate for the lack of air frequencies in devices like AirPods, you can boost the high frequencies above 10kHz in the vocal mix. However, this should be done carefully to avoid raising the noise floor. Using an exciter or EQ with a focus on high frequencies, such as the Fresh Air plugin by Slate Digital, can help introduce the necessary air frequencies without excessive noise.

What is the potential issue when boosting high frequencies on vocals to compensate for missing air frequencies?

Boosting high frequencies to compensate for the missing air range can raise the perceived noise floor if the recording contains noise in those frequencies. It's important to ensure the recording is clean and noise-free before boosting high-end frequencies to avoid amplifying unwanted noise during the mastering process.

How can an exciter improve the perception of air frequencies in vocals?

An exciter enhances the perception of air frequencies by adding high-frequency harmonics, which can mask the noise in those ranges. This approach is often more effective than using a simple EQ boost, as it maintains the perceived clarity of the vocal while avoiding the amplification of noise.