Answer · Vocals
What's the difference between ducking the pads under the vocal and turning the pads down?
Turning the pads down lowers them for the whole song, including the gaps where nothing competes with them. Ducking lowers them only while the vocal is sounding and lets them come back between phrases. The vocal is clear when it sings, and the arrangement stays full when it does not.
Static and dynamic
A fader move is static: one level, all the time. Ducking is dynamic: the level follows another track. The vocal is the trigger. While it is above a threshold the pads are turned down by a set amount, and when it stops they return. The same idea, triggered by the kick and applied to the bass, is the pumping sidechain effect of dance music, done there far more deeply.
Settings for pads under a vocal
| Control | Setting | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Depth | 2 to 4 dB | Enough to clear the voice, not enough to hear the pads move |
| Attack | 10 to 30 ms | Fast enough to be out of the way by the first consonant |
| Release | 200 to 400 ms | Slow enough that the pads swell back and do not jump |
| Threshold | Below the quietest sung word | So every phrase triggers it |
Done well, the ducking is not heard as an effect. The listener hears a vocal that is easy to follow and pads that seem to stay the same.
When the fader is the right tool
If the pads are too loud in the gaps as well, they are simply too loud. Turn them down first, then duck by whatever is still needed.
A narrower option
A duck lowers the whole pad. If only the pad's midrange gets in the way, cut that range on the pad with EQ, and duck by less.
In Zammoth
Add the Duck device to the pad track and choose the vocal in its trigger menu. Threshold, depth (1 to 12 dB), attack (1 to 100 ms) and release (20 to 1000 ms) are on the device, and its display shows the trigger's level against the threshold with the reduction beneath it. Press SC Auto and the engineer chooses the trigger and sets the four controls from the audio. Or ask:
See the Duck reference and how to sidechain the bass to the kick.
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