Lou's 'Fat Tracks' Recording Tip

by Lou Lombardi, Do you want to really beef up your lead tracks? Are you jonesing for that huge vocal sound? Maybe you're having trouble getting a track to "sit" in the mix without sounding tacked on. This is a common problem with vocals.

Try this:

Using the track copy feature in your software make at least 2 copies of the track. EQ each track differently. Make one track very bright, leave one flat and create a track EQ'd with a lot of bass. Don't be afraid to get drastic with your settings.

Now you have three frequencies that you can simply access by working your faders. If it is sounding a little

 thin, blend in the "bassy" track. Too dark? bring up you "treble" track, etc...

You can also experiment with varying degrees of pan and effects. Try creating a track that is soaked in verb and then just barely blending it in with the others. If there is a certain frequency that you just can't seem to hear create a track just for that one. Then blend it in as needed. I have songs with ten or more tracks all EQ'd and effected differently...very fat!

You can apply this technique to other instruments as well. A cool thing to do with the kick drum is to create 2 tracks. EQ one for "snap" and one for "thump". You can have both sounds and simply mix them to taste.

This yields a much more of the "three dimensional" sound that you hear on most recordings today.

This isn't a "cure all". There are lots of other factors to consider, but I have found this technique to be very helpful.

Experiment...have fun!

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