Vocal recording with Instrumental

M

michaelyau

New member
Hi, this question might have already been asked by someone else but I'm still not clear about it.
I would like to know what the best way to record vocal so that it blends well into an already-mixed instrumental.
I use Mixcraft and USB Producer Microphone for recording.

Using Mixcraft, I have seen people use a duplicate instrumental track, one Pan to the left and the other to the right, then I don't know what they do. (probably input a EQ).
Concerning The vocal depending on the vocalist singing, if volume too low, it'll need a boost so the volume sounds more by either inputting a Reverb and compressor; also a limiter so the volume wouldn't peak to the point that it crashes.

In addition, I also have issues crashing the sound on high pitch notes. I don't want to pull the microphone too far cause the volume will be too soft at lower notes.

Can anyone tell me the best setup for adjusting the sound/vocal effects, and how to dealing with high notes recording?

Thanks
 
EQ, reverb and compression are the tools to use to help blend the vocal into the instrument tracks, but there's no easy 1-step solution. You dont' boost volume by either reverb or compression - you turn up the gain. The fact that you are using a USB 'Producer' mic (whatever that is) won't help - obviously there are issues, not sure what you mean by 'crashing the sound'- clipping, maybe?.
 
with the high notes, move back a bit from the mic, make sure you aren't clipping and try and adjust your singing so it sounds more even.
 
mjbphotos said:
The fact that you are using a USB 'Producer' mic (whatever that is) won't help
Click to expand...

M-Audio 'Producer' USB mic.
I use mine mainly with my iPad but it's not 'awful'. Fair play, it's not great either.

I think it's especially important to develop good (or at least consistent) mic techniques with USB mics and I for one always get better results with my other mics that require a preamp.
 
Mixing vocals to a backing track is hard. It always sits on top.

One trick that i use and I think it helps is to EQ a bit from the mid range of the instrumentals so the vocals can kind of sit in ( 1.5 to 2 db). So like a smiley face.

Also use a glue compressor to gel them together in the master track.
 
First, I would advise you to mix in mono. It will make it more difficult to get it all to sit together, but will force you to make smart EQ choices to make it work.

Then, really it's all about EQ, compression, and then volume automation. I would do EQ first to make sure things aren't interfering with each other. Then I would probably stack a few compressors to make the vocal more consistent and make the consonants stand out a bit (use a de-esser if the sibilance gets worse). Once you've gotten this sounding good in mono, open it up to stereo and it should be starting to sound pretty good.

I find that vocals often need at least some volume automation. I usually automate the volume up and down in sections rather than riding a fader, but whatever works for you.

As far as clipping the input, just record at a lower volume. There are lots of people out there who will tell you that you should record at the hottest level you can without clipping. That was true back in the tape days, but it is not true anymore. A 24-bit digital signal has plenty of headroom. Turn your gain down on your interface and record with your average input level around -15dB or -20dB. If you're still managing to clip, record at an even volume. Don't worry about the soft notes being too quiet. Between the stacked compressors and the volume automation, you can fix that and make it a consistent volume.

Hope this helps!
 
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