How To Improve Vocal Quality

L

Lway

New member
Whattup Guys. Ight, So i'm 17, broke, no job, and the only thing I really have to record is cool edit pro, and a SAQ2U Microphone. I know that I won't get amazing Quality or anything, But I really want to get the best sound that I possibly can out of it. Check out one of my raps on youtube that I recorded with it. Tell me what You think I can improve on to make the quality better.

Shady Freestyle (Freeverse) - YouTube
 
You are not too bad... over dub your tracks.. if it is a freestyle you can duplicate the track and nudge one over alittle and then pan em left and right.. try to spit a little clearer, eq, hp filter, compress, use little reverb on one side.... that should get you going... but really it gonna be through trial and error that gets you that sound you want... you can play with pitch alittle to... try out audacity... its a good open source daw that is real simple to use...
 
yeah man, that would probably make it sound a lot better. I'll try that on my next few tracks, see what happens. Appreciate it
 
Jo-Nathan said:
you can duplicate the track and nudge one over alittle and then pan em left and right.. try to spit a little clearer, eq, hp filter, compress, use little reverb on one side.... that should get you going...
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I would not recommend this. I would suggest you record backing vocals over just doubling tracks. Or since it is freestyle, that you just work with the one track. Read through this on doubling tracks:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/gener...d-vocal-track-twice-copy-twice-mixing-334567/

Sure you can double as an effect, but often times it just gives you an artificial sounding delay, can cause phasing, or with panning with create nothing but a weird stereo image.
 
phriq said:
I would not recommend this. I would suggest you record backing vocals over just doubling tracks. Or since it is freestyle, that you just work with the one track. Read through this on doubling tracks:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/gener...d-vocal-track-twice-copy-twice-mixing-334567/

Sure you can double as an effect, but often times it just gives you an artificial sounding delay, can cause phasing, or with panning with create nothing but a weird stereo image.
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True... but for someone just starting out that might not be able to dub perfectly... and with freestyles it isn't a bad way to go... I got an artist that have been making music for 15 years and that is the only way he does it... also a lot of people that spit real fast use duplicate track... mgk, twista.. ect..
 
Word. I feel you guys. Your comments and thoughts are much appreciated. Make sure you check out my pages as well.
 
Relatively easy to set up a studio at home... heres how~

Hey i happened to come across your post... its not too difficult to set up a studio at home you only need a few basic requirements... a relatively fast computer (processor of more than 1 GHz should help), a mic (which costs under $60 for a decent quality one), a pop filter (you can easily get one for around $15) & some foam...

You also need to know the basics of recording good quality vocals - how to avoid distortion (even if you deliberately want that effect), what volume to record them at to ensure a great master, etc..

You can google 'hinazille hubpage' - that is my article collection, i specifically wrote a Hub on this topic as my husband is a producer and engineer and we were getting a lot of queries regarding recording crisp vocals at home...
 
Appreciate it guys. Hopefully what you guys are saying will help me get better quality, which overall will make better music.
 
Lway said:
Whattup Guys. Ight, So i'm 17, broke, no job, and the only thing I really have to record is cool edit pro, and a SAQ2U Microphone. I know that I won't get amazing Quality or anything, But I really want to get the best sound that I possibly can out of it. Check out one of my raps on youtube that I recorded with it. Tell me what You think I can improve on to make the quality better.

Shady Freestyle (Freeverse) - YouTube
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Not bad, vocal just needs some top end sizzle to give it some ...well sizzle. This will make it sound like it was recorded on a decent condenser mic.

Ok, you are in luck. FREE applications ( one is honor ware ) can get you where you want to go.

Some VST plugins are required and a DAW that can host the VST plugins ( CEP cant host VST )

Reaper as the DAW ( Digital Audio Workstation ) to host the VST plugins . It's uncrippled in demo but pay the $40 like the rest of us :)

GET THIS. NO IFS OR BUTS ‘BootEQ mkII’ Its FREE. Play around with the presets to learn the ropes - "sophisticated" is the good starting point for the top end sizzle and tube warmth.

screenshot2.png



Get the compressors from the same dev too if you are feeling up to the learning curve. Or download this FREE pack of VST's and use the one based on the LA2A - the purists in here will bitch it but its very easy to use and sounds good.
MLA2.jpg



It may seem like a challenge to learn a new multitrack DAW but CEP is old news and Reaper is the future - ask around - look it up on youtube. Good news is you can still link to CEP as your audio editor from Reaper. :)



From an equipment standpoint - do you have your mic mounted in a stand ? If so, you can remove the mics pop filter and fashion a pro style filter out of a coat hanger and nylons.


EDIT: Forgot to mention. Also get EpicVerb ( from the maker of BootEQ ) and follow the hint provided on the page.

Tips & tricks
instead of using full reverbaration try the AMBIENCE mode when smaller room impressions are needed – this offers just the early reflections and this is sometimes enough and better for a cleaner mix
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epicverb.png
 
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Experiment! even if you don't get exactly what you want when you start to find out what's not working it makes it a little easier to find out what does. and you might find some really cool sounds or effects along the way!
 
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