The Andrew Scheps "vocal air" trick is a parallel vocal chain built from three processors: a Pultec EQ that cuts the lows and boosts the highs, an LA-2A compressor set to limit high frequencies, and a second Pultec that puts the lows back. The result is a thin, airy, de-harshed brightness you blend underneath the lead vocal so it cuts through a dense mix without EQing the vocal itself.
Matt Ross-Spang learned the chain from Scheps and used it on Dr. Dog's "Fat Dog." Here is how to build it.
The chain, step by step
Set this up on a parallel channel fed from your lead vocal, never as an insert:
- Pultec #1: reshape the vocal. Cut a large amount of low end and boost a large amount of top. You are deliberately making a thin, bright, wrong-sounding vocal.
- LA-2A: tame the boost. Turn the high-frequency emphasis control (the knob on the side) fully toward high-frequency sensitivity, so the compressor grabs hardest at the very brightness you just added. This is what keeps the air smooth instead of harsh and sibilant.
- Pultec #2: restore the body. Boost back the low end you cut in step one, touching nothing on top. The lows travelled through the chain uncompressed and land back where they started.
What comes out is pure, controlled air. Blend it under the main vocal until the lead gains enunciation and presence, then stop.
Why it works better than an EQ boost
Boosting 10 kHz on a lead vocal brightens everything: sibilance, breath, harshness, and on combined recordings (like the "Fat Dog" vocal, which shares its track with an acoustic guitar) every other sound on the track. The Scheps chain generates the air on a separate channel, compresses only the air, and lets you dose it with a fader.
It is also automatable. Matt notes he does not use it on every mix, but when a certain line needs to poke through the drums, he rides the air channel up for just that phrase. The main vocal sound never changes; it just gains reach.
When to reach for it
- The vocal disappears in dense choruses but sounds right in verses
- The singer's tone is dark but EQ makes the track harsh
- The vocal shares a track with an instrument you do not want to brighten
- You want modern-record air on a source captured through dark gear
FAQ
Do I need real Pultecs and an LA-2A?
No. Any Pultec-style EQ plugin and LA-2A emulation work. The concept (EQ into frequency-sensitive compression into inverse EQ) is the trick, not the hardware.
How loud should the air channel be?
Lower than you think. Mute it and the vocal should feel duller and further away; solo it and it should sound absurdly thin. If the mix sounds brighter overall, you have gone too far.
Can I use this on other sources?
Yes. Acoustic guitars, drum overheads and full mixes all take the same treatment, though it earns its name on vocals.
See Matt blend the vocal air channel into a real mix, and thank Andrew Scheps in the process, in the new Inside the Mix series on Dr. Dog's "Fat Dog."
