Getting the most out of Cool Edit..

[TOF1987]

I've been using Cool Edit for a few years, but for the exception of effects and noise reduction, I know very little about it. At the moment I have quite good recording equipment but all I do is record from the mic and use cool edit to place the vocals over the track, I'm sure there's alot more I could be doing to ensure better sound quality, so does anyone have any suggestions as to what could bump up the sound of my stuff in Cool Edit?

[LogicDeLuxe]

Read tutorials and practice. Since every recording is different, there is no universal recipe.

[TOF1987]

Are there no general tools advisable for cleaning up vocal recordings? Most of my recordings seem to take the same form, as all I record are vocals.

[superspit]

Originally Posted by TOF1987

Are there no general tools advisable for cleaning up vocal recordings? Most of my recordings seem to take the same form, as all I record are vocals.

Tof.....please take Logic's advise and do read, play, practise with the software...
CEP is an incredible piece of architecture, with some quite complex systems, when you get into it.....you will find fuctions that will make your recordings sound much sweeter, and easier to record.....
It really is great!
So, now that you know there is alot of good shit in there, go look!!!

Spit.

Originally Posted by TOF1987

Are there no general tools advisable for cleaning up vocal recordings? Most of my recordings seem to take the same form, as all I record are vocals.

Sure, there are a lot.

Noise reduction
EQ
Reverb
Chorus
Pretty much every effect can be used to help out vocals or any other recording.

The important thing is getting the vocals to sound good before they even get into Cool Edit. Setup the mic right, get rid of any sources of noise, use proper mic technique, etc. This will make a world of difference.

Using effects, especially when new at it, will usually result in vocal tracks that actually sound worse than before. Or you'll mess with the EQ, and think it sounds great. Then the next day when you listen again you wonder what the hell you were thinking.

It will just make your life much easier to get it right from the start.

Cool Edit/Adobe Audition has one of the best noise reduction effects built in, in my opinion.

Adding some nice reverb (but not too much) can really add a polish to the vocals that weren't there before. For a good, free reverb plugin I'd recommend GlaceVerb.

http://www.dasample.com/index.php?show=glaceverb