@To the Sun It is very common to use a couple of compressors in serial on vocals. The classic chain is an 1176-style (FET) followed by an LA-2A (optical). The 1176 keeps things aggressive and in-your-face while the LA-2A smooths things out. Also, by chaining them together neither one has to work as hard so it can sound more natural, if that is what you are going for. In addition, each of the compressors brings a different sound color to the party. It is usually pretty subtle but can help add some depth. I'm not a fan of side chaining the entire mix based on the vocals. There is no reason to duck something like sub-200Hz for most modern vocals --unless you are going for some kind of pumping effect. If you really want to do this kind of thing, you are probably better off using something like Soothe which is at least only ducking problematic frequencies. That said, if there are major issues with clashing frequencies such that you want to do this across an entire mix, it is usually not a mix problem and it is more likely an arrangement problem. Take a look at moving the offending parts up or down an octave or start muting things until it sounds better. Two classic exceptions to this are kick vs bass and vocals vs electric guitars since the fundamental character of each can sometimes live in the same frequency neighborhood. In those cases, decide which is more important, and cut the other appropriately to make room.

@Draven Grey I'm always blown away by how much functionality Apple packs into Logic...very impressive. I actually have played around a bit with Groovetrack. I find it to work reasonably well but messes up enough that it is usually better for me to just re-record things to make them groovier organically. If the track is perfect except for a couple of flubs, then if I am feeling lazy and don't want to grab my instrument, I may drop into Flextime and see if I can get by with some minor repairs. It is a pretty manual process but at least it gives me control of the details. If I was doing commercial mixing, I would probably be more bothered by these kinds of time sucks.

@Draven Grey Cool jacket! (also, good info...thanks!)

Hey! I'm Don my home studio is just outside Washington DC. My current music project is called Chasing September and it is a vehicle for me to write and record. My vision for this project is to simply make music I am proud of and improve my songwriting, singing, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, arranging, producing, mixing, and mastering. My biggest influence is probably the Beatles and I grew up with classic rock and all of the wonderful excesses of the 80's through the pop-punk movement. More recently, I'm enjoying the DIY ethos of EDM producers and the possibilities inherent in mixing all of the above and seeing what happens! I'm not sure there was a single moment I decided I want to be a rock singer. I always liked singing. The reason I took up guitar in middle school was so that I could accompany myself while singing! However, I never felt like I understood how to produce many of the sounds I hear on the records I love. I guess that is the biggest thing holding me back -- figuring out how to sing vocals that express what the song needs -- whether it is a screaming rock song, the smooth grit of R&B, or a clean sweet ballad. I want to be able to do it all, so I'm trying to learn...it's never too late, right?!?

Challenged myself to write 50 songs in 60 days earlier in the year. I'm working on producing, tracking, mixing, and mastering the best ones of the bunch. Trying to improve my vocals since getting the vocal sounds I imagine onto (virtual) tape is the longest part of my process. I'm hoping to wrap this up by EOY and meet my goal of releasing 10 songs in 2025. Then, I'll start the process again and see if I can get 20 in 2026!

@Draven Grey That would be great. I'm learning and (slowly) improving my production and engineering skills but it is always a challenge to change hats. Sometimes outside ears are invaluable.