#17 Recording and Mixing Vocals | With Special Guest Aidan Duncan

Podcast Summary

In this episode, we bring you Aidan Duncan, LA-Based Mixing and Recording Engineer, to talk about engineering, recording, and mixing vocals. 

Aidan Duncan is a mixing and recording engineer in Los Angeles, CA. He has assisted mixing legend Dave Pensado out of Fab Factory studios in North Hollywood. Spending 4 years with Dave perfecting his craft and helping artist’s visions come to life, he learned the key factors to making it as a top tier mixer. Now, he caters to artists such as Wizkid, Chris Brown, BNXN fka buju, Marc E. Bassy, Dillon Franics, Big Freedia, G-Eazy and many more.

Today, you’ll hear about how Aidan records different genres, the quality of vocal recordings since the start of the pandemic, the new Melodyne in Pro Tools, nudging vocals, mixing and recording, using automation, and hear what Aidan wishes he’d known sooner.

Episode Timestamps

• [01:06] About Aidan.
• [03:21] Aidan’s vocal chain.
• [09:16] Aidan’s genre focus.
• [10:03] Recording different genres.
• [14:12] How vocal recordings have changed since Covid.
• [17:15] Working with vocal coaches.
• [21:52] Pro Tool’s new Melodyne.
• [28:12] Tuning vocals.
• [36:30] Nudging.
• [41:19] How long is each session?
• [43:09] Mixing and recording.
• [45:10] Automation.
• [50:10] What Aidan wishes he’d known sooner.

Notable Quotes

• “You’ve got to make the artist is the most comfortable.”
• “I always try to think of autotune as an effect.”
• “There’s no normal working in this industry.”
• “Automation is key.”
• “Knowing how to communicate is huge.”

Connect with Aidan

Website:www.aidanduncan.com.

Instagram:@the.aidanduncan.