The short answer
Work in this order: clean the vocal, set its level against the beat, control its dynamics, make room for it in the beat, add space, and only then master the whole mix. Doing the level before the cleaning is the usual mistake: a boomy or harsh vocal makes you push the fader the wrong way.
| Step | What you do | Starting point |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Clean | High-pass the vocal, cut the mud, tame the S sounds | High-pass around 80 to 110 Hz; de-ess in the 5 to 8 kHz area |
| 2. Level | Set the voice against the beat | A couple of dB above the beat in loudness; rap and drill a bit higher, R&B and afrobeats a bit lower |
| 3. Control | Compress the loudest words | Ratio 3:1 to 5:1, around 3 to 6 dB of gain reduction |
| 4. Room | Dip the beat where the voice lives | 1 to 3 dB between 1 and 5 kHz, only while the voice is in |
| 5. Space | Reverb and delay | Short and low in the mix; roll the low end off the reverb |
| 6. Master | Level and finish the whole song | True peak at or below −1 dBTP |
Before you start
- Bounce the beat as a stereo WAV with room to spare: peaks around −6 dBFS. If the beat is already limited to 0 dBFS, turn it down before it meets the vocal.
- Keep the vocal dry: no reverb or echo printed into the recording. You can add them, but you cannot take them out.
- Record the vocal clean, never clipping, in the quietest room you have. A phone is fine if the room is quiet and the mouth is a hand's width from the microphone.
- Line the two files up. Start both at the same point, the beat's first bar, so the vocal lands where it should. If the voice drags behind, nudge it earlier until the words hit with the drums.
Step 1: clean the vocal
Three moves, in this order:
- High-pass filter around 80 to 110 Hz. Rumble, plosives and handling noise live below the voice and the beat's bass already covers that area.
- Listen for mud around 200 to 400 Hz and boxiness around 500 Hz. Cut a few dB with a narrow bell where it builds up, rather than boosting the top to compensate.
- De-ess. Sibilance sits around 5 to 8 kHz, and it gets louder once you compress and add brightness, so settle it now and check it again at the end.
Step 2: set the level against the beat
Judge the balance by loudness, not by the meters. A good starting point is a vocal a couple of dB louder than the beat, around 3 dB for rap and drill, a little less for pop and reggaeton, and closer to 1.5 to 2 dB for R&B and afrobeats, where the voice floats in the track. Then use your ears:
- Turn the whole thing down until it is barely audible. The words should still be clear and the kick and bass should still be felt.
- Listen on a phone speaker. If the vocal disappears there, it is too low; if the beat has gone thin, it is too high.
- Check the quietest line and the loudest line, not only the chorus.
Step 3: control the dynamics
A voice moves a lot more than a beat. Compression holds it in place so every word is heard. Start with a ratio of 3:1 to 5:1, a fast to medium attack and a release that follows the phrase, so the loudest words come down by about 3 to 6 dB. Rap takes more, closer to 5 or 6 dB; a ballad takes less. A second, gentler compressor (2:1, a couple of dB) after the first often sounds smoother than one compressor working hard.
Step 4: make room in the beat
A beat is full of energy in the same range as a voice, roughly 1 to 5 kHz. Instead of pushing the vocal louder, take a small, short dip out of the beat there, only while the voice is singing: 1 to 3 dB is enough. The vocal comes forward and the beat does not get thinner when the voice stops. A sidechained EQ or multiband compressor on the beat does this; a static cut works too, if you keep it small.
Step 5: add space
- Reverb: a short room or plate, a tail of about 0.6 to 1.5 seconds, 10 to 30 ms of pre-delay so the words stay clear. Roll off the low end of the reverb (around 250 to 400 Hz) and the top (6 to 8 kHz) so it does not cloud the mix.
- Delay: a quarter-note or eighth-note echo, kept low, adds depth without washing out the words.
- Backing vocals: keep them clearly under the lead and a little wider, with more reverb, so they support rather than compete.
Rap and drill want it short and dry; R&B and pop can take more.
Step 6: master the mix
Export the mix as a WAV with the peaks around −6 dBFS and no limiter on the master bus, then master it: tone, glue, stereo and loudness for the whole song. Mastering will not fix a vocal that is buried or harsh, so check the balance one last time on headphones and on a phone before you export.
Or do it in your browser
OBRA's Vocal + beat tool follows the same order. Drop your beat and your vocal, even one recorded on a phone, with backing vocals if you have them. We line the two up, clean the vocal, level it against the beat, give it space and room in the beat, and master the mix. You can then change the vocal level, space, brightness, de-essing and the room it carves in the beat, and the tool tells you whether the vocal sits where a vocal should. Nothing is uploaded; the engine runs on your device.
Listening is free. The download is $5 / €5 / £5, or included with OBRA PRO.
Mix your vocal over your beat →
If you already have a finished mix, master it free instead: two songs a day, no account.
Keep reading
- Vocal mastering online, free: what mastering can and cannot do for a vocal
- Mixing vs mastering: where the mix ends and the master begins
- LUFS for Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube: how loud to finish the song
Frequently asked questions
How loud should the vocal be over the beat?
Start with the voice a couple of dB louder than the beat in loudness: about 3 dB for rap and drill, a little less for pop and reggaeton, closer to 1.5 to 2 dB for R&B and afrobeats. Then check on a phone speaker and with the volume turned right down.
Can I mix a vocal recorded on my phone?
Yes. A phone recording in a quiet room works. Clean it, level it against the beat and give it some space, or drop it with your beat in OBRA's Vocal + beat tool and let it do those steps.
Why does my vocal sound separate from the beat?
Usually it is too dry, too bright or sitting on top of the beat's mids. A little short reverb, a small dip in the beat between 1 and 5 kHz while the voice is in, and a touch less brightness bring the two together.
Do I master before or after mixing the vocal?
After. Mastering works on the finished stereo mix, so the vocal and the beat have to be balanced first. A master cannot lift the voice on its own.
What do I need to mix a vocal over a beat?
A beat as a stereo WAV or MP3, a vocal recording, and a place to mix them: your own editor, or OBRA's Vocal + beat tool in the browser. Listening is free; the download is $5 / €5 / £5 or included with OBRA PRO.
Is my music uploaded when I use the tool?
No. The engine runs in your browser, so your beat and your vocal stay on your device.