I am absolutely dreadful at recording, mixing and everything else - please help

D

Dogwatcher

New member
Hello Everybody, Apologies if I've posted in the wrong place.

I hope all is well with everyone. I'm new to Home Recording. I'm working on recording vocals along with backing tracks, making Youtube videos etc. I'm using Cakewalk by Bandlab, an Edirol UA-101, a Shure BG 2.1, a PG 58, a small M-Audio BX5a as a monitor.

I recorded this god awful piece of work :wtf: (please see attached) and anyone will clearly see I haven't got a clue what I am doing.

I put a bit of compression and a bit of reverb on it. I seem to have even screwed up the sound of the backing track.

Can someone please help me to be able to get some sort of decent sound?

I appreciate any help at all.

Kind regards

Dog.

View attachment Me & Backing Track - Sorrow.mp3View attachment Me & Backing Track - Sorrow.mp3
 
Are you using headphones to monitor the backing track (that you should have imported to a stereo track in Cakewalk) along with the hearing your vocal in the headphones. While recording you should not be using the BX5a monitor (you have just one?), just a pair of headphones (preferably a 'closed back' type to minimize sound leakage back to the mic).
 
If the backing track doesn't have some headroom you need to add it. Lower the track, preferably with clip gain, so its peak is about -12dB. Then turn up the headphones and record your vocal to an average level of about -18dB, leaving plenty of headroom.
 
It sounds like the track is recorded via you singing along to the music coming out the speakers? Tell us you didn't do this and used headphones - and - where is all that hiss coming from?
 
Thanks so much everyone. As clueless as I am, I was wrecking my head, and it kinda dawned on me, hey, that's what they all use the headphones for. Not that I knew that would be a fix, but it will be my next attempt. So my hands are up for starters on using the BX5a Arcaxis.

I just dragged the backing track onto an audio track so not sure if it was mono or stereo but I'm taking your wisdom onboard. I have just one BX5a.

I am going to have to read up on headroom, clip gain but again I am taking your wisdom onboard Bouldersoundguy.

Again, my hands are up. I did exactly what everyone here spotted immediately. I sang with the music coming out of the speaker - big slap for me - the penny is dropping and please excuse my ignorance Rob Aylestone.

The hiss? You mean you can actually hear something that clearly to be able to distinguish it as a hiss? I'm not sure friends but I will get up from my beating and go back again with my newly learned advice. God loves a tryer.

I can't thank you enough for helping me through such a dark period in life. :)

Best regards to you all.

I'll let you know how I get on with my next installment.

Dog.
 
At the beginning it goes silence, silence then suddenly HISSSSSSS then the music starts. Listen to your track. Is the hiss on the track? If it is, then you need to scrap this one and move onto track two and start again. We spen hours arguing about hiss in such small amounts many of us cannot hear. This one sounds like an old cassette tape from the 70s. It's these features you MUST learn to identify so you can control them. The human ear detects the hiss and 'tunes' it out, until you move the fader and the hissy source gets raised or lowered in the mix. Your brain spots this and you hear the change.
 
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