Using Match EQ on a Vocal.
Hello Music Makers and audio nerds alike. This trick was invented (I think) by my good friend Jordan and it works so frustratingly well that I thought I'd share it with you. Firstly, what is match EQ? For those of you that don't know, Match EQ is a function that some EQ's (Fabfilter Pro Q 2, Izotope Ozone, Logic's stock EQ etc.) have where they listen to both the audio running through the channel your EQ is on as well as a sidechain input of another song, a sample, whatever you want it to listen to! It analyses the differences and suggests or applies changes based on those differences. You might now think of match EQ as though it's some sort of trick that an inexperienced engineer uses to try and cheat a mix to sounding more like a reference track. Yes that is one of it's uses, I sometimes do that to get a master tonally closer to a reference track. But like any tool, it has other uses and provides important information that we can use to our advantage. The way I've been using match EQ recently is on my vocal, and using my vocal-less mix as the sidechain input. What this does is it gives me an EQ map of what frequencies I need to make my vocal sound more like the mix. So I use this information and I flip it on it's head. If the Match EQ is saying that a 4db Boost at 453Hz makes the vocal sound more like the mix then I make a cut at 453Hz instead. And conversely if it's doing a big dip at 1khz then I'd apply a boost instead. Now obviously it's not a perfect solution, I tend to get rid of anything that the Match EQ is suggesting to do in the ultra low end and anything about 5Khz because vocals don't have that much bass, and you'll often see a massive boost. They also don't need all the top end of cymbals or ultra hyped synths, so you might see some weirdness up there too. Where this technique really shines is in creating pockets for your vocal to sit in that vital low mid range and in finding space the upper mids for your vocal to poke through. It helps to achieve a really balanced sounding vocal that has this natural sounding separation from the mix. We usually want our vocals to sit on top of a mix and this technique is an almost foolproof way to help achieve that. So if you have an EQ plugin that allows you to use a match EQ, please give this technique a go. I never want to use it because it feels a bit like cheating. But it works too well not to use, especially if you're struggling with vocals in a mix. Have a great day making music friends!
