# "S'es" on Lead Vocals

**URL:** <https://community.mwtm.com/t/ses-on-lead-vocals/7913>\
**Category:** Mixing\
**Created:** [July 4, 2024, 6:34am UTC](https://community.mwtm.com/t/ses-on-lead-vocals/7913 "2024-07-04T06:34:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mix\_zone](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.mwtm.com/mix_zone/32/79_2.png) [@mix\_zone](https://community.mwtm.com/u/mix_zone)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2024, 6:34am UTC](https://community.mwtm.com/t/ses-on-lead-vocals/7913/1 "2024-07-04T06:34:31Z")

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Hi Tom, thanks for sharing your expertise here. To me you have a very identifiable “S” sound on your lead vocals, which I find to be quite bold and present with exciting attack, yet with lovely tonality and control. Usually when a vocal sound has a great top end up high, the “ss’es” can end up being quite sizzley, hissy, grainy and digital sounding, but your “ss’es" are very real and natural sounding. Is there anything specific that you are doing to consistantly achieve such an engaging “s" sound in your vocals? Any tips would be much appreciated. cheers

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**Author:** ![Tom\_Elmhirst](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.mwtm.com/tom_elmhirst/32/326_2.png) [@Tom\_Elmhirst](https://community.mwtm.com/u/Tom_Elmhirst)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 1:36am UTC](https://community.mwtm.com/t/ses-on-lead-vocals/7913/2 "2024-07-08T01:36:34Z")

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nothing anyone else isn’t doing i dont think  
clip gain is brilliant for this so if i’m going into a compressor they’re not being boosted…sometimes 2 dessers doing different frquencys  
soothe is useful too…then i might use something like the UAD pultec EQ at the end of the chain to bring back the highs…its a constant push and pull scenario when i’m mixing. if you over dess the vocals lose excitment  
also i remove most high freqs to any dky/reverbs so NO SSSSS go to fx  
another trick i like is using lo-fi and just pull the freq slider to 33k at the top…works wonders!!  
hope that’s helpful  
tom

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**Author:** ![mix\_zone](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex013/user_avatar/community.mwtm.com/mix_zone/32/79_2.png) [@mix\_zone](https://community.mwtm.com/u/mix_zone)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2024, 2:40pm UTC](https://community.mwtm.com/t/ses-on-lead-vocals/7913/3 "2024-07-08T14:40:44Z")

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Super info, thanks Tom !