Vocal production is both satisfying and stressful as it isn’t always easy to get a lead vocal sitting right in a mix. Often simple approaches yield the best results. In this article, we recommend several articles we’ve published in the past highlighting some of the best tools to use for in-the-box vocal production as well as free tutorials showing you when and how to use them.

Below are three main plug-in categories used widely in modern vocal production. The following are listed in order many producers arrange them with mixing a vocal, starting with…

Pitch Correction

Pitch correction plug-ins are key in modern music production enabling artists and producers to fix tuning issues in recorded vocal performances fast. There are two common applications of pitch correction being the creative T-Pain/Cher hard tuning effect and surgical approach for gently tuning melodies in extremely transparent ways.

Check out our article Our Top 10 List Of Tuning & Pitch Correction Plug-ins You Should Consider Trying In Your Mixes in which we highlight a number of powerful tuning and pitch correction plug-ins to consider exploring in your next vocal production.

EQ

EQ is probably the most commonly used sound processing tool ever used widely for correcting tonal issues, enhancing sound and adding character. When talking EQ we often use all kinds of terms like bright and dark, warmth and harsh, bassy, middy, toppy or lacking in bass, middle or highs. Processing a vocal with EQ is an important first step to getting radio-ready vocals in a mix. Often high pass filters do a lot of the heavy lifting here though EQ shelves are just as important as they help to colour our vocals to compliment the overall tone of a mix.

Check out the following two articles. One discusses different types of EQ and their main applications in production. The other suggests several EQ plug-ins widely considered as very capable tools for adding top-end air in applications such as vocal production.

Dynamics Plug-ins

Dynamics processing plug-ins are also essential tools in vocal production. Compression being the main staple, dynamics plug-ins also come in a few different forms including de-essers and gates. Often a blend of these three dynamic tools are needed to complete a vocal mix.

The articles below suggest several dynamics plug-ins to consider in a vocal production covering analog compressor emulations, easy-to-use dynamics, and plug-ins with smart machine learning capabilities.

Learn How To Mix Radio Ready Topline Vocal Tracks

Having all the plug-ins you need to mix radio ready topline vocals is only half the story. It is just as important knowing not only when but how to apply them. Below are several free 4 part video tutorial series which show you how to apply pitch correction, EQ, dynamics processing and effects such as reverb and delay in a vocal mix.