An “old-school” approach to vocal mixing is to “ride the faders.” This technique incorporates real-time mixing, in which you adjust the levels during the performance, rather than setting them during sound-check and tweaking them after. Riding the fader is risky if you’re not entirely proficient, as mistakes can’t be undone. However, for an experienced mix-engineer, this approach saves time and allows for a more intuitive mix process, in which adjustments occur in response to the performance, rather than the recording. In expensive recording studios, any technique that saves time is a valuable one to learn.
This is the safer option, as you can take as much time as you need to set the mix. You record all of the vocals at a uniform level, then make mix adjustments on playback. You only “print” the mix when you’re ready. Digital audio workstations, software programs that approximate the function of a recording studio, make it cheaper for home producers to spend more time mixing vocals.
Mixing consoles have an array of channels, most of which are used for recording audio. However, the bus channels are for routing multiple audio to one location. This is inherently useful as it allows you to send all of the vocals to one fader, permitting you adjust the volume of and add effects to all of the vocals in one go. Before you begin sub-mixing, it’s essential to mix the individual levels so they sound good to your ear. Once you create a sub-mix, you can’t undo it. Sub-mixing is particularly useful for vocals, as you can mix, edit and add effects to the lead, backing and harmony vocals using one set of parameter controls.
Typically you add effects after you’ve mixed, with the exception of compression, which you add during the mix and in some cases, before the recording. Compression is a dynamic effect that tempers spikes in the volume. With compression on the vocals before mixing, you don’t need to worry about fading down particularly loud parts. The compressor does that for you. The intensity of the compression depends on the threshold and ratio settings.
Mixing without effects is typically preferable. More intense effects, such as chorus, delay, phase, Auto-tune and pitch-shift must only be added when the levels are mixed correctly. Otherwise the dynamic subtleties that mixing would ordinarily tease out are hidden behind a wall of digital trickery. Once you’ve balanced the levels, add effects to taste.