Mix and master drill vocals in your browser
To mix and master drill vocals, put your vocal and your beat side by side in Lyro’s studio, which runs in your browser. Start the vocal on the “Vocal, clean” preset and the beat on “Beat, under a vocal”, balance the two, then master to the Loud target (-10 LUFS) and export WAV.
Mixing and mastering run on your own device, so they cost no credits, on every plan.
At a glanceDrill
| Tempo (BPM) | 138 to 145 for UK and New York drill, felt in half-time; Chicago drill is a little slower |
|---|---|
| Keys | minor keys, often C# minor, D minor or F minor |
| Feel | half-time with hi-hats in a 3+3+2 grouping, displaced snares and gliding 808s |
| Signature sounds | gliding 808 bass slides, hi-hats grouped 3+3+2 with displaced snares, and a cold minor-key piano or string motif |
| Song form | usually 4 to 8 bars of the melody alone, the drums and 808 dropping under the hook, 16-bar verses, and an ending after the second hook with little or no outro |
| Vocal preset | Vocal, clean |
| Beat preset | Beat, under a vocal |
| Master target | Loud, -10 LUFS |
How it goesThree steps
- Drop in your vocal and beatLyro reads the tempo, so the waveforms snap to the beat grid and timed effects land on the beat.
- Shape and balanceStart from the suggested presets in the table, then adjust the low cut, EQ, compression, reverb and delay until the drill vocal sits where it should.
- Master to a target and exportPick the loudness target, compare before and after, and export WAV with its loudness and true peak shown.
Tips for this genre
Drill vocals are rapped tight and rhythmic, often deadpan, with short ad-libs between lines and punch lines left exposed when the beat cuts out. Melodic drill adds sung hooks.
- Use more compression than you think and very little reverb; save a short delay for the last word of a bar.
- Where the beat drops out for a punch line, check that line on its own and raise its clip level so it does not fall away.
Where the limits are
- This is a mixer you operate, not an automatic mix; the presets are starting points.
- It shifts pitch but does not correct it: apply pitch correction (auto-tune) before you upload, if you want it.
- It has no de-esser and does not load third-party plug-ins.
- Phones have less memory than computers; long projects with many tracks belong on a laptop.
Questions
What loudness should I master drill to?
Start at the Loud target, -10 LUFS. Drill masters are loud and the drums are busy; the Loud target keeps the vocal on top of the hi-hats. The studio shows the measured loudness and true peak when you export.
Does mixing or mastering cost credits?
No. The studio runs in your browser, so nothing is sent to a model while you mix, and it costs no credits on any plan.
Can I mix a beat and a vocal I made somewhere else?
Yes. Upload any vocal and beat, or stems, and mix them in the studio. You need the rights to what you upload.
Can the studio auto-tune my vocal?
No. It shifts pitch by semitones and fits a clip to the project tempo, but it does not correct pitch. If you want that sound, apply it before you upload.
Related
More for this genre: A beat for your vocal, A vocal for your beat
Other genres: Hip-hop, Trap, R&B, Pop, Afrobeats, Reggaeton, Rock, Acoustic folk, Lo-fi