How Do I Record Songs Better/Sing Better?

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elliottlover

New member
What I do currently is I use this mic:

Samson — G-Track

and I use Reaper. I just record a single track with me singing and playing and don't edit it. I put the mic about 30cm away from me at about guitar level and point it towards me.

I have had lessons on guitar in the past but have been self-taught for the last few years.

I have never had singing lessons, and it shows.

I'm not happy with my recordings. I have some original songs I'd like to record, and I think the ideas are good, but they just sound awful when I record them.
 
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Listen..........I'm going to assume you know your result here is not stellar. Get closer to the mic or use two mics (one for your voice and one for the guitar) if you're not going to record your guitar part separately from your vocal. Get the volume right and then listen to it again. When you sing..........mean it.........don't hold back. If you're bad your bad.........but that's no excuse to not give it your all. You may find that putting more effort into your singing will improve it..........or not..........but you'll know for sure.
 
I'd first look at your gain staging, I couldn't imagine your monitoring signal is strong enough to let you hear yourself to hit certain notes, vibratos etc. If your new to recording please read up on the very basics such as gain staging, it will help and save you a lot of time in the long run. Also keep working at it if you are displeased with your results and keep in mind most musicians are their own worst critics.
 
elliottlover said:
How Do I Record Songs Better/Sing Better?
Click to expand...


Ahhhhh....the question everyone here is always trying to answer, even the guys that are already good at it. :)

To use the classic joke to answer your question....

"How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" - a young musician asking for street directions.
"Practice, practice, practice." - the wise-ass answer, and one that applies to your situation. :D
 
My advice for your vocals would be..... Maybe get a bit closer to the mic like others have said, turn the gain down and just get that bit closer. And physically, try
to sing using your diaphragm, so it kind of feels like your singing from your gut. This will give you more power and more control.
You may have already, but try looking up "chest and head voice", this will help you in knowing what part of your body you are using when you are singing.
Hope this helps.
 
Start out with some basics. Google 5 minutes to a better mix. Set of videos from Graham Cochrane to give you the basics. 31 5 minute videos on a lot of the basics....
 
This question reminds me of an old Marx Brothers skit. Someone asked,"How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" Groucho replied,"Practice. Lots of practice!" LOL! I'm not making light of your question, but feel that you probably already know the answer. It's like anything else in life, it's study and practice. There are no easy ways. Why are you just recording one track? Why not two? Good luck. And remember that the way to your particular "Carnegie Hall" is to PRACTICE!
 
Thanks for the advice everyone, and for not biting my head off about my awful cover :)

My family agrees that I need to work on my singing. Some say it's just the volume, some say I need to work on articulating the words and hitting the notes first time rather than trying to find them mid-song.

I was considering getting these mics and this cable:

Behringer C-2 Studio Condenser Microphones (Pack of 2): Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

HDE® 10Ft/3M Xlr Female To Usb 2.0 Cable - Black: Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

and then running the mics as usb mics through reaper (one for voice, one for guitar). Would this help? They're small diaphragm mics, and I heard that I need small diaphragm (my current g track is a 19mm large diaphragm mic).
 
OP, the problem with that set up is, the USB converter cable is technically converting your analog signal (mic input) to a digital signal. Now for 7 pound, how well do you really think it will convert? Verses on the cheaper side, Lexicon Lambda Studio, Lexicon has a good reputation, has all of the essentials you need for 77 pounds. Add some decent mics and you are set. I am not saying this is the interface to get, but seemed pretty good price and hits all the marks for a good entry level interface.

Point here is, if you go the route you are talking about, the USB converter cable is going to provide less than good conversion. Look for an interface, decent mics. Even if the mics are like 50 pounds, they will still sound better than good mics using your XLR to USB cables.

Other I am sure will provide further guidance as well.
 
Please do yourself a favor and at least come to THIS level. I know this is used kit, but it will at least put two microphones into your system with phantom and have some actual preamps and AD/DA. If you are buying two of those cables, its 15 1/2 quid. I know this is almost 50, but it seriously will help...
 
elliottlover said:
Thanks for the advice everyone, and for not biting my head off about my awful cover :)

My family agrees that I need to work on my singing. Some say it's just the volume, some say I need to work on articulating the words and hitting the notes first time rather than trying to find them mid-song.

I was considering getting these mics and this cable:

Behringer C-2 Studio Condenser Microphones (Pack of 2): Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

HDE® 10Ft/3M Xlr Female To Usb 2.0 Cable - Black: Amazon.co.uk: Musical Instruments

and then running the mics as usb mics through reaper (one for voice, one for guitar). Would this help? They're small diaphragm mics, and I heard that I need small diaphragm (my current g track is a 19mm large diaphragm mic).
Click to expand...

Good thing you are asking before buying. You can't run two USB converters at one time into your computer (without some complex finagling) - the DAW will only see ONE USB audio device at a time. Save your money up an dget a decent audio interface.
 
I'm not sure you really want small diaphragm mics. They are usually very flat, unforgiving and more suited for overheads, room mics and ensemble recording. Typically, a vocalist would use an LDC or a dynamic mic. The LDC will have peaks or presence in the frequency range that better complements the singer. Which one exactly to get is a crap shoot. Everyone is different and will hear mics differently. No one can tell you which is the best mic for you, but can definitely tell you which mic works best for them.

An LDC mic will pick up the room you are recording in, so it is best practice to find the nicest sounding room to record. Or treat your room to remove most reflections across the audio spectrum. I personally have used an MXL V57M which can be found on eBay for cheap.

MXL V57 | eBay

The LDC can also work nicely on your acoustic. If you're just going to stay with acoustic/singer type songs, you can get decent results with one mic. So do what others have suggested and get an audio interface worth the money. You might have to save up for a while, but it will be worth the wait. One mic, one audio interface, and a decent room to record in can take you far. But alas, it doesn't stop there.

Practice your singing a lot. More than just singing, you have to do focus'd practice. Listen to yourself and figure out how to achieve the vocal tome and pitch control you need.

And have fun with it.
 
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