Reply To: Voice mixing - Aretha Franklin now and past

[face (chris) JantonParticipant]

The Aretha Franklin cover of the Adele song is kind of unfortunate (to my ears). It sounds a lot like a "pop" production of a song trying to emulate the Adele performance. The Adele performance has (what we would be led to believe) a typical singing of a song. Freely expressed, nicely done. I wonder if that track is one of the songs that Andrew Scheps mixed?

Anyway, the early Aretha song has a much free-er voice. Sounds like she's not trying hard, she's just doing what she does...
Probably no "compressor" on the early tune, more likely a "leveling amplifier" like an LA2A, but far more likely a Sta-Level. Recorded into the amplifier, no need to compress during mixing...

I am a big proponent of having professional singers (think college-trained, big gift like a Rolex for graduation) owning a proper microphone, pre-amp, leveling amplifier to take with them everywhere - just like I would always bring my own tubas for recording and performing.

Build a lunch-box or a small 6U rack with "the right stuff" and just do it.

I guess it's all up to our ears. I would like to un-hear the 2016 Aretha recording. Sigh.