Mixing Choruses?

[classthe_king]

How do you guys give it that special "sound" to make it stand out from the verses? I'm a little lost myself.

[B.A.D.]

use a different reverb setting and one extra layover

[classthe_king]

And when you say layover you mean...another set of vocals?

[B.A.D.]

And when you say layover you mean...another set of vocals?

yup... depends on the hook... but most of the times this is the case, watch out for the mixing and volume of it tho

[Tash8]

There's no specific way, it all depends on how you want it to sound with the beat. You can record three different vocals and pan them (left, center, right). You can record one vocal and duplicate it and pan them. Add reverb, maybe chorus or flanger or other fx. I usually love adding a delay to my choruses that way they have no breaks or silences as well.

[B.A.D.]

There's no specific way, it all depends on how you want it to sound with the beat. You can record three different vocals and pan them (left, center, right). You can record one vocal and duplicate it and pan them. Add reverb, maybe chorus or flanger or other fx. I usually love adding a delay to my choruses that way they have no breaks or silences as well.

yeah, but some vocals might get off beat if you dont do that correctly. also, its not really necessary to pan them, unless you want to create a stereo effect. but other than that... its a bit dumb to do it that way.

but yeah, like tash said, no specific way, depends on where the song brings you... what I also like to do is add an acoustic duet chorus effect on the low freq vocal and add flangers to the high ones..

but yeah, it all comes down to the song

[Xray]

Record 3 layers of vocals if your song requires a powerful voice, chants or just singing. Pan them if it suits the beat. It sounds more powerful if you don't. Don't duplicate vocals, that's just stupid and lazy. I usually mix my chorus just like my verses with less or no reverb. Punch-in to record, add delay at the end of the hook and maybe add some filter or EQ. But it all depends on the beat. If it's a mellow or laid back beat then a single layer is all you could need. If it's a much more up tempo or energetic beat then you're gonna need a set of powerful vocals so you'll obviously need a few layers. But mixing is the least of your worries, it has to be performed well for it to be decent. And don't add too much. It doesn't even matter if it stands out or not. If the overall song sounds right then that's all that matters. Sometimes you can't notice a hook because it blends in perfectly.

[Tash8]

yeah, but some vocals might get off beat if you dont do that correctly. also, its not really necessary to pan them, unless you want to create a stereo effect. but other than that... its a bit dumb to do it that way.

Why do you say it might go off beat? I don't agree that it's not necessary to pan them, if you want a wider chorus so it stands out from the verse, you could pan them. Why is it dumb?

[Tornado]

Generally, you'd want to have 3 vocal layers for most choruses, a different EQ setup from the verses and mess with Reverb/Delay although it all depends on tracks. Some tracks will suit a chorus that is mixed similar to the verse, some would need additional stabs, some tracks which has a more congested production will need more effects to make it stand out, but best thing is to experiment as depending how your chorus is, you made need to change it, especially if you have different parts to it.

[classthe_king]

I fucking hate choruses

[Scrubz]

You need atleast 3 layers minimum IMO to get it to stand out and sound powerful. Also changing the pitch of a layer really helps it stand out as well. "chorus" effect work really well in hooks, same with adding reverb and some well placed ad libs. It's all about messig around with it and see what sounds best for you. Also don't forget to pan the layers so u get a full sound.

I use to hate hooks too but it's all practice.