Completely Clueless Recording Vocalist Help

[pianist02]

Well, that thread title might be slightly misleading... I am a mostly clueless.

Lately I've been involved in a situation where I am sent an audio track to add vocals too, then, I have a friend with a home "studio" and head over there to record. I say studio, but it really seems to be a mixer, a mic, and a pair of headphones. He is gracious enough to let me use it from time to time and edit it all together. The end product sounds acceptable.

The big downfall is that time is very limited. Working around his schedule leads to short sessions and hoping you got it right..

I would love to be able to record at home. At most I would need to be able to record a piano and vocal. I do have access to some professional grade microphones(I have no idea what model they are, I think they are Shure mics) so those aren't the concern at this point.

I was looking at getting the Zoom H4n, thinking I could use the available mics to me, as well as it's on board mic and it seemed really simple to use. I don't know if we are allowed to discuss prices on here, but my budget is roughly 300ish and that fits it. The other advantage is that it could double for use with some of the film equipment I use (though that really is a distant concern, but it would be nice). I am not sure how I would "hear" the track I am sent to record on or how I would layer it. I guess I would put on a pair of headphones, push play, and sing into the mic and then layer them together?

The only other recording would be vocal/piano performances which I assume I would need 2 mics for..?

I was pretty much set on the h4n being the best option, then I stumbled across this board, and I feel like I am starting over. For use with a laptop, and given the above budget(cheaper is also great!), what would you recommend? Stick with the Zoom idea, get some USB interface for the laptop? Do I even need a "mixer" ? I have a friend that has a pro tools setup and he is willing to edit the tracks if they are recorded, so any basic software for getting it on the computer should be sufficient at this point.

I would prioritize my preferences as 1) Audio Quality 2) Price 3) Ease of Use

I have a lap top with Vista 64 on it. I really appreciate any help. I was recently involved with(and won) a contest to have my vocals featured on some of the tracks that will be featured on a website and the back and forth has got me thinking it would be very convenient if I could do some of this stuff on my own.

I appreciate any feedback!

 

[moresound]

First off welcome.
Now the zoom just might do it for you but you will still need a program in your computer to edit your work for you don't want to relay on the goodness of others all of the time.
May I recommend that you down load reaper, it is free and easy to use.
You will not need a mixer if you go the other route but you will need a analog to digital converter, I guess in your case a two channel unit will do ya there are a multitude of different ones out there and I'm sure that someone will chime in with the best bang for the buck but for the most part they are in the $150. range.
Aside from this you'll just need to put in the time to get good at what your doing in the world of recording.

 

[bunt]

The Zoom H4N should be fine. It's real easy to use, cheap, records to a .wav file, uses a standard SD card, and has a USB port so you can upload & download from your computer. It comes with software for your computer... mine came with SONAR, but reaper is great too as moresound suggested. Umm.. actually reaper is better, but costs $60 more unless you want to stiff the creators.
The H4N will multitrack. You can plug in outboard mics if you want. You can monitor through headphones direct from the H4 or you can use actual monitors if you upload to your computer.
The SONAR software has a mixer and some effects... compression, EQ, etc.
For the piano/vocal recording, you can still use just the onboard mics if you want... just lay down the keyboards, (stereo, chan. 1 & 2) then after that, multi-track the vocal over the top using the same onboard mics thru channels 3 and/or 4. Then plug it into your computer (USB) and mix it using the SONAR (or whatever they are supplying these days) then burn.

By the way, it's a great little field recorder too... is what I use mine for

 

[AbuseTheMuses]

fully agree (I'm kind of a zoom fanboy though) the 4n is a good all purpose recording tool. You can do some stuff on it as your only piece of gear, or you can use it to feed more advanced setups with USB and software (Audacity/Reaper) but as a simple basic need to record thing that sounds nice (yes good mics) it can get you started layering.

 

[pianist02]

Thank you so much for the feedback!

It sounds like the H4n is the way to go, unless someone thinks otherwise.

With this setup, how would I play the track back I am putting the vocals on?

When I record at the "studio," I hear the track back through headphones and I can also hear myself. Would I be able to do the same thing here?

 

[moresound]

Now that's a whole other can of worms! I have to go for now but someone else will chime in on the issues of latency and how to defeat it. If not I'll be back soon.

 

[bunt]

Thank you so much for the feedback!



With this setup, how would I play the track back I am putting the vocals on?

When I record at the "studio," I hear the track back through headphones and I can also hear myself. Would I be able to do the same thing here?

The instructions that come with the H4 will tell you how to playback the track your vocals are on... and lots of other important things. Read them first, then start.

Yes, you will hear the track back through your headphones while you sing the next track which will also come through the headphones. It's all in the instructions. You can download em before you buy the machine if you like. Just go to the zoom website

BTW, I think they are shipping Cubebase software now instead of SONAR (Cakewalk), but if you prefer cakewalk, write em an email and they will provide either through a download

you won't have latency probs with the H4... it's just like any other multitracker

 

[pianist02]

Everyone is so helpful. I really appreciate it.

I went ahead and uploaded a sample clip of what I'm talking about on youtube. I was sent the piano track, and then I went and recorded the vocal. Do you think with this setup I will be able to come close to the audio quality of the vocal? I don't think the piano part sounds terribly clear.

It's a rough demo. I have such limited access to record, everything is about a 30 minute shot at it then we're done.

Anyway, if you can get similar quality using the zoom h4n and the onboard mics or perhaps another mic, I will likely put the order in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZa9khyc0qM

 

[bunt]

Keep this in mind... You're talking about a $249 multi track recorder with mics & software included.

You'll have some proximity issues recording a piano with the onboard mics, and I don't know how the piano was recorded on your demo, but it sounds like someone stuck a mic in the same room, then played. The H4 can do at least that well. use a couple of good outboard mics and you'll be able to position them better. The vocal sounds like it has lots of reverb applied... so tough to make a comparison, but the H4 will do a very good job in line with it's price.

 

[pianist02]

Well, I've received the H4n and with my great technical prowess I was able to get the clock set.

Surprisingly, I was also able to import the wave file to overdub on. I also was able to hear the track and me while recording. I consider this a great success.

Now, I have the dumbest of questions(remember I said I was completely clueless)... how should I orient the H4n when recording? I realize that is the most basic of questions, but it somehow seems important

I looked through the manual and I saw they had one picture where the device was "horizontal" pointed at the instrument (in this case my voice) and then another one where the front of the device (with the display) faced away from the recording source and it was oriented vertically. Any tips on that?