#1: Vocal Mixing Techniques | With Special Guest Gary Mictian

Stokes Sound

Podcast Summary

In this episode, we bring you Gary Mictian, producer/songwriter, to talk about vocal mixing techniques.

Gary Mictian is a producer, songwriter, and artist, based in London. His unique vision draws influence from vintage pop, dystopian sci-fi, and cinematic sound. He uses modern production techniques to create a fantastic world within a carefully constructed pop song. You could say his songs sound like an explosive blend between Charli XCX and Tove Lo, with a passion for sound design, he loves creating raucous and glitchy features for his productions. He explores the depths of love and heartbreak with an amalgam of nostalgic and soul-laden pop sounds.

Today, you’ll hear about Gary’s daily studio techniques, doing dummy takes, compression, headphone mixing, Gary’s maximum number of takes, nudging vocals, tuning vocals, timing vocals, Gary’s aversion to ad libs, and his interesting use of vocal effects.

Episode Timestamps

• [01:01]
• [02:04] A bit about Gary.
• [03:42] Daily session techniques.
• [08:40] A song from start to finish.
• [09:12] Compression.
• [10:21] Reverb in the headphone mix.
• [14:05] How many takes per verse?
• [17:35] The best DAW.
• [18:09] Nudging the vocals.
• [22:27] Vocal tuning.
• [31:17] Timing vocals.
• [34:43] Pop vocal ad libs.
• [37:31] Stacking vocals.
• [39:33] Vocal effects.

Notable Quotes

• “When the artist comes into the studio, the very first thing I do is to make sure that they’re comfortable.”
• “You’re going to get what you need in no more than 5 takes.”
• “Always serve what the singer actually sang.”
• “If it sounds good, it sounds good.”
• “Every time I have a harmony, I always layer it with the lead.”

Connect with Gary

SoundCloud:Gary Mictian.

YouTube:Gary Mictian.

Spotify:Gary Mictian.

Instagram:@gary_mictian.

Support the show