Mixing a White MC

[FTdub]

I'm sure the vocal tone is more a function of height and weight than skin or eye color.

 

[bigdmakintrax]

hell man I cant make it black and white but if you wanted to....take someone from their native tongue Ghana and take someone from Britain...completely different voicings and you have a more Nasal speaker as opposed to someone that uses more of the language coming from their chest or gut area....I know you will kill me on this but if you just thinkk there are differences for the most part not huge but there are differences whether is based on historical and generational home languages and tongues could be a reason...

 

[MarkN]

you have to EQ every voice different everyones voice is different ! its not oh well he's black so i'll use my black mastering setting or oh watch out we've got a whitey i'll have to call up my specially prepared wigga preset !

 

[bigdmakintrax]

Thats true, I been backseat rider in a lot of sessions and also mine, there is some toggling but most MC's I know do not want you to fux with their voice they want the vocal dry and natural possible layer 1x on certain words or hook...they sometimes dont react well when you start putting reverb and flange on there.....I heard some of that screw and Trap but thats the purpose why they do that and slow the vocals down.....

 

[StressWon]

regardless if people wanna admit it or not, there are prevelant "accents" that exist amoung many ethenic groups here in the states...

White people as a whole DO sound differnt then black people in the states, people need to quit fronting...
of corse there are always gonna be expections, nobody is saying that a black person cant have a differnt voice, & vice versa,

But on general terms there is a differnce, in his comments if u replaced "white"person with "british" person, would yall be tripping?? I doubt it....

British MC's as a whole sound differnt then american MC's, voice tone its just the way it is etc....
so why are yall tripping bout black MC's and white MC's.

Anyway that EQ info that other cat dropped could be helpful

,,,,ummm, okay, now that we are clear that black people and white people are different,lol,,,,yo, if the dude was serious, then I'LL help him,,,Shwaz man, there's no really "sound freakwncy" that white emcees have. trust me, i mix my own shit down. It's just all levels and EQ'n. I mean YEAH this thread seemed a little ignorant, but I think you were honestly asking a serious question. So, leave the dude alone. lol ,,,,,,,,,,,That shit really was ignorant tho,,,,,lol

 

[FistFulloDollaz]

you have to EQ every voice different everyones voice is different ! its not oh well he's black so i'll use my black mastering setting or oh watch out we've got a whitey i'll have to call up my specially prepared wigga preset !

no fucking duh

its a specially prepared preset for people with less bass and higher pitched voices

which is some black people and other races as well but genarally speaking its usually white people not all but probably majortiy, I REPEAT NOT ALL

at least here in the states but ur in the UK so maybe its diff.

stop being so damn sensitive

it was a legit question, either u can help the dude or u cant but leave the bullshit at home

 

[Hi-Lo]

you have to EQ every voice different everyones voice is different ! its not oh well he's black so i'll use my black mastering setting or oh watch out we've got a whitey i'll have to call up my specially prepared wigga preset !

True but let's be honest here y'all...in general, white people have a lot less bass in their voice, and this does apply to most (read: not all) white emcees (and I remind you all this is coming from a white person). So while everyone's voice does get EQ'd differently, realize that for the most part the EQing and mastering of a "white" voice is going to tend to follow a similar pattern of amping the low end and possibly, as eminem does, layering the vocal sounds to give a thicker and more forceful, bass rich voice sound.

On a separate note from markn, I think this thread says something larger. As a producer, and this is coming from seeing how some of the best in the game have acquired their skill and how they keep their beats knocking year after year, you must STUDY THE GAME. If you just step into the studio and you're not, on a real frequent basis, studying what's on the radio, breaking down the beats you're hearing in heavy rotation, keeping up with the sound of the times, etc, you're basically producing in no mans land. To be a great producer, you have to really, really study how this art form is done. I'm not talking about listening to a beat once or twice. I'm talking about taking hundreds of your favorite beats and saying, "OK, what did he do here?" and breaking down every part of the beat from drums to patterns to timing to variations in the sequencing to the chorus to the bassline- everything. Every time I've sat down and done that, I've come away with all kinds of new tricks and ideas for things to do in my own production... So how does this tie into this thread? Because to even have producers arguing over whether or not white voices get different studio treatments than others suggests that some of y'all aren't really out there getting on the grind with regard to studying and breaking down the game- and that's not an insult to anyone, I'm just trying to wake some cats up. If you want to step up to that next level of production, you've got to be a student of the art, plain and simple. So it really surprised me to come to the forum and see this thread today because anyone who's really studied the work that Dre has done with Eminem (i.e. comparing Em's early stuff to the work he's done with aftermath) knows how much they modulate and thicken his vocals, and should know that the threadstarter was asking a legit question. And again, what was just said is in no way meant to insult any of y'all, its just some honest advice from someone who's familiar with the game. I guess all I'm trying to say is on a board full of producers there shouldn't have been a whole lot of people upset over this question, b/c its completely valid.

peace

 

[FistFulloDollaz]

True but let's be honest here y'all...in general, white people have a lot less bass in their voice, and this does apply to most (read: not all) white emcees (and I remind you all this is coming from a white person). So while everyone's voice does get EQ'd differently, realize that for the most part the EQing and mastering of a "white" voice is going to tend to follow a similar pattern of amping the low end and possibly, as eminem does, layering the vocal sounds to give a thicker and more forceful, bass rich voice sound.

On a separate note from markn, I think this thread says something larger. As a producer, and this is coming from seeing how some of the best in the game have acquired their skill and how they keep their beats knocking year after year, you must STUDY THE GAME. If you just step into the studio and you're not, on a real frequent basis, studying what's on the radio, breaking down the beats you're hearing in heavy rotation, keeping up with the sound of the times, etc, you're basically producing in no mans land. To be a great producer, you have to really, really study how this art form is done. I'm not talking about listening to a beat once or twice. I'm talking about taking hundreds of your favorite beats and saying, "OK, what did he do here?" and breaking down every part of the beat from drums to patterns to timing to variations in the sequencing to the chorus to the bassline- everything. Every time I've sat down and done that, I've come away with all kinds of new tricks and ideas for things to do in my own production... So how does this tie into this thread? Because to even have producers arguing over whether or not white voices get different studio treatments than others suggests that some of y'all aren't really out there getting on the grind with regard to studying and breaking down the game- and that's not an insult to anyone, I'm just trying to wake some cats up. If you want to step up to that next level of production, you've got to be a student of the art, plain and simple. So it really surprised me to come to the forum and see this thread today because anyone who's really studied the work that Dre has done with Eminem (i.e. comparing Em's early stuff to the work he's done with aftermath) knows how much they modulate and thicken his vocals, and should know that the threadstarter was asking a legit question. And again, what was just said is in no way meant to insult any of y'all, its just some honest advice from someone who's familiar with the game. I guess all I'm trying to say is on a board full of producers there shouldn't have been a whole lot of people upset over this question, b/c its completely valid.

peace

Co-sign

 

[Chrono]

True but let's be honest here y'all...in general, white people have a lot less bass in their voice, and this does apply to most (read: not all)

yeah there are physical between races and this question is valid, i think. I noticed that one of the reason's i didn't like my own voice at first was because i sound a lot different than who i listen too generally. People of African decent usuially have bigger bodies and deeper voices ext.. but there are always exceptions: Sadat X and Aesop Rock

i understand why people took offense to this but it's true.. i think it's funny though

 

[FistFulloDollaz]

people in the states are so racially sensitive that it clouds truth or intent sometimes

its just a reflection of the past

 

[Chrono]

people in the states are so racially sensitive that it clouds truth or intent sometimes

dude you have no idea. Usuially people in Tulsa, Oklahoma are rude to other races from the jump. Me i'm an exception and usuially show people that not all white people are like most of them here. Can't tell you how many people have told me ive never met a white kid like you, and then they usuially ended up telling me i was black and not white. The U.S. state of mind clouds truth and intent and comes from our own American history so we'll suffer from it as long as Politics ignores it. Politics won't recognize it though and we'll have to heal the long hard way. it's all phenomenon of cause'n'effect, balance, and mathmatics.

its just a reflection of the past

it's a lot more than a reflection. parents give their children what they know and just because slavery is abolished don't think that at sunday dinners some families don't get racist to some degree. I don't play it anymore (as far as letting societies bullshit effect me) emotionally.. if someone wants to label me let'em i don't care i got shit i need to do an no-one i don't know personally is going to waste my time on their bullshit and iggnorance

 

[Formant024]

You can say whatever you want, but it's all in a good ear and proper eq'ing and knowing what gear to use. Black vocalist may have a lower frequency range but not in the range of the likes like pavarotti and that's a big fat white italian. So it's also a crappy statement in general cuz no voice is alike. There's a good clue how to deal with though, take your time and have a good listen while freaking the eq untill it falls into the mix.

 

[Fade]

I'm glad this thread is on track. Just remember not to turn this into a racial thing. Help with his question, that's all we're asking. Thanks.

 

[Chrono]

Help with his question

i've been writing things down the info is valuable if i could eq instead of bying a 'vacume tube' mic amplifier

 

[Shwaz]

I am disappointed with many of the people that responded to my post. If someone called you on the phone could you tell me most of the time if it was a white person or a black person on the other line? Of course you could, someone may slip by you, but on the whole.

The reason you could tell is because there are some vocal characteristics that are inherent to a large part of each race. These characteristics require a different handling on the boards, which is what I am interested in.

Thank you to those who responded in an appropriate manner and provided your thoughts. FistFulloDollaz in particular. If you have any more tips or techniques on the topic I am still interested.

 

[Chrono]

I am disappointed with many of the people that responded to my post.

that's understood. illmuzik is a family entity that is constantly learning

we're all begining so don't be dissapointed just yet, we got brilliant minds stuck on an animal planet so you should know this.. what country are you from? people look for reason's to kill here. that's our nature

 

[Sanova]

don't be disappointed. just go back and read ur first post and see the humor in it. In a way it seemed like u were joking, i think the wording wasn't clear enough.


but the white mcs i know, just layer their vocals over a few times to build depth and presence. add a reverb for body and then dynamically filter it to clean it all up. just try some things out along those lines. hope i helped.

 

[J Cro]

It really depends on the person. I, myself, am white. However the men in my family have deep voices, but we don't sound like RBX. Even though it is a deep vocal tone, it is still different. It even differs between me and my father, he is more gruff and I am more clean signal.

It all depends on the particular voice. So start experimenting.

 

[Formant024]

Yo, getting the vocal down is a basic ability that doesnt need special treatment by means of extra signal processing. Key is to use as less as possible, if the vocal needs more sub to justify the acoustic source ( vocalist's true audible pressure range ) you might consider rearranging your mix to give the vocal more headroom ( if it's the lead vocal ). When your mix seems balanced out you start eq'ing in a subtle matter (initial positions) or by isolating notches in the frequency bands.

 

[FistFulloDollaz]

Yo, getting the vocal down is a basic ability that doesnt need special treatment by means of extra signal processing. Key is to use as less as possible, if the vocal needs more sub to justify the acoustic source ( vocalist's true audible pressure range ) you might consider rearranging your mix to give the vocal more headroom ( if it's the lead vocal ). When your mix seems balanced out you start eq'ing in a subtle matter (initial positions) or by isolating notches in the frequency bands.

you always need extra signal processing when mixing any vocals no matter the person, mainly eq and compression, I personally like to use a gate also

if not you'll have parts throughout that are louder or lower than others and less audible


are u saying just record and adjust the gain up or down?