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Automating the star of your mix - A guide to mixing music - Part 110

Today we'll see how to automate the most important track of your mix. This is usually the vocal track, but it might as well be a solo instrument. The true star of your song deserves special attention when it comes to automation. After all, everything else is meant to showcase it. Do note that to make both writing and reading easier I will call this star instrument "Alpha" in the following paragraphs.

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The devil is in the details

I’ll assume that you have already done the functional automation for the alpha track and jump right into the artistic side of things. In my book, the first thing you should do is roughly automate the volume of Alpha according to the different sections of the song you’re mixing. In other words, taking the classic verse/chorus structure, you should increase the volume during the choruses and reduce it during the verses to respect the basic logic of emotional rollercoasters applied to music.

Next, you should take the time to automate it more precisely so you can reveal the details of the Alpha track. In other words, ride the fader. Many newbies skip this step completely. And yet it is precisely this procedure that really enables your Alpha instrument to shine, making it more dynamic, more lively, in a much more natural way than a compressor would, for instance. And the best part is that this ride is completely free – except, of course, for the price of your DAW – since automating the volume fader doesn’t require a plug-in. Why not give it a try then?

Vocal Automation 2

Don’t hesitate to take out the magnifier glass and enhance the smallest details that you deem appropriate, like a particularly moving sigh or a captivating string rubbing with the fingers. Also make sure that the discourse of Alpha is perfectly intelligible at all times: bring down the notes or words that are too loud and bring up the ones that are too soft. Finally, attenuate with great care any unwanted noises, be it a sibilance, unpleasant mouth noises, too powerful plosive sounds, etc.

All this might seem tiresome and time-consuming, but trust me, it’s worth it. You’ll see that not only will you be more comfortable the more you do it, but also that your Alpha track doesn’t really need that much processing, be it compression, de-essing, etc. And the overall mix will be very grateful!

To finish, here’s a summary of my own personal automation process:

  • Functional automation for each track, usually “drawing” with the mouse
  • Artistic automation for all virtual mixer channels, in real-time as long as possible, even if it takes several run-throughs
  • Artistic automation in detail for the Alpha instrument(s), preferably in real-time due to the “live” aspect of it, taking advantage of the Touch automation mode, but always open to any eventual retouches with the mouse, if need be

This is by no means the only way to do it, but I hope it helps you find the automation workflow that works best for you.

← Previous article in this series:
How to automate your mix
Next article in this series:
Automation - A case study →
  • Wally Wood 15 posts
    Wally Wood
    New AFfiliate
    Posted on 01/01/2017 at 04:22:42
    So how would you recommend automating the lead vocal in connection with the compressor placement? It seems any automation of the vocal volume would send a louder signal to the compressor and thus changing the way the compressor handles the signal.

    Also, is there a "recommended amount" to increase the volume of the lead vocal?

    Thanks for an interesting series.
  • Nantho Valentine 336 posts
    Nantho Valentine
    Author
    Posted on 01/04/2017 at 02:56:29
    Hi Wally, and happy new year !

    There will be no problem with the automation of the vocal volume regarding compressor as long as you're automating the volume fader of your track which is post insert effect in most DAWs.

    As for the recommended amount, I'm afraid there is no answer to that question. The only guideline should be that every words has to be clearly understandable.
  • Medway 1 post
    Medway
    New AFfiliate
    Posted on 02/06/2017 at 07:31:37
    Solid advice there. Some of the initial work can be done with rider type plugin such as Waves produces but it's always nice to touch that up with real human input later on.

    I would add that using some clip automation and probably save a lot of the manual fader riding too.

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