WEBCYAN
New member
I have been thinking about this alot lately.
what is the difference between a recording sounding like an ameteur did it or a pro.
I have a hobby of looking up bands on mp3.com and just seeing how good they are. Some are great. They use minimal gear but the sound is as good as any band with a record deal. Others clearly have good equipment, but the songs are weak and sound like they are by an ameteur.
After studying up on this a bit I think that one very large factor in creating a professionally sounding song is range.
The question I see repeatedly is how do you give a song that "big sound". Usually an ameteur recording will be way too echoey, harsh, and full of way too much treble or bass that makes it sound muddy.
The key is to record and utilize as many tones as you can. If you sing in a very low bass tone, play your guitar really deep, and have overwhelming bass guitar and bass drums playing then your recording will suck. Same goes for everything being too trebly.
The key is to use everything and play it off of each other.
There's a reason for the bass guitar. It offsets the often treble filled guitar. Its the same reason we have cymbals. To inject a high level of treble to counteract the bass drum and guitar. The vocals should help to make the tone more dynamic rather than droning in with everything else.
Some singers have a naturally very trebly voice. A good example would be someone like the lead singer of Coldplay. His voice has good mid tone and a pretty high level of treble.
If you listen to Coldplay's song's(not yellow, its overplayed) they complement his voice well. Theres lots of mid tones and bass. Theres only sparse treble in the form of piano.
Other singers have very bass like voices. Someone like the lead singer of Godsmack. His voice has quite a bit of mid tone and leans toward the bass end. As a result the guitars in that group are played with quite a bit of treble. More than usual. If they had increased the bass anymore then it would really hurt the music.
Other singers have very mid tone voices. Jay Gordon of Orgy has a very solid clean mid tone voice. He can hit the highs and the lows, but his voice has more mid tone than anything. As a result the guitars and synths are very trebly, and the bass is very....bassy.
Treble filled guitars doesn't mean playing only high notes. You can play a low E. All it means is that the treble is turned up on the amp.
I discovered that I have a very mid tone sounding voice. Im now employing this in writing songs. As a result my music is way better sounding. It has that big sound and is hard to seperate from the pros.
Also, I just ran across this tip yesterday and figured yall might be interested.
If you drink very hot (not too hot, or it will burn) water or tea before and while you're recording vocals then your tone will be very sharp and clean. It will clear up any muddyness in your voice and even helps to expand your vocal range.
I heard about that but didnt really beleive it, that is until I tried it out. I shocked myself. My voice sounded way better. Wayyy better.
What it does is relax your vox chords so that you can make transitions easier and hold the same note better.
what is the difference between a recording sounding like an ameteur did it or a pro.
I have a hobby of looking up bands on mp3.com and just seeing how good they are. Some are great. They use minimal gear but the sound is as good as any band with a record deal. Others clearly have good equipment, but the songs are weak and sound like they are by an ameteur.
After studying up on this a bit I think that one very large factor in creating a professionally sounding song is range.
The question I see repeatedly is how do you give a song that "big sound". Usually an ameteur recording will be way too echoey, harsh, and full of way too much treble or bass that makes it sound muddy.
The key is to record and utilize as many tones as you can. If you sing in a very low bass tone, play your guitar really deep, and have overwhelming bass guitar and bass drums playing then your recording will suck. Same goes for everything being too trebly.
The key is to use everything and play it off of each other.
There's a reason for the bass guitar. It offsets the often treble filled guitar. Its the same reason we have cymbals. To inject a high level of treble to counteract the bass drum and guitar. The vocals should help to make the tone more dynamic rather than droning in with everything else.
Some singers have a naturally very trebly voice. A good example would be someone like the lead singer of Coldplay. His voice has good mid tone and a pretty high level of treble.
If you listen to Coldplay's song's(not yellow, its overplayed) they complement his voice well. Theres lots of mid tones and bass. Theres only sparse treble in the form of piano.
Other singers have very bass like voices. Someone like the lead singer of Godsmack. His voice has quite a bit of mid tone and leans toward the bass end. As a result the guitars in that group are played with quite a bit of treble. More than usual. If they had increased the bass anymore then it would really hurt the music.
Other singers have very mid tone voices. Jay Gordon of Orgy has a very solid clean mid tone voice. He can hit the highs and the lows, but his voice has more mid tone than anything. As a result the guitars and synths are very trebly, and the bass is very....bassy.
Treble filled guitars doesn't mean playing only high notes. You can play a low E. All it means is that the treble is turned up on the amp.
I discovered that I have a very mid tone sounding voice. Im now employing this in writing songs. As a result my music is way better sounding. It has that big sound and is hard to seperate from the pros.
Also, I just ran across this tip yesterday and figured yall might be interested.
If you drink very hot (not too hot, or it will burn) water or tea before and while you're recording vocals then your tone will be very sharp and clean. It will clear up any muddyness in your voice and even helps to expand your vocal range.
I heard about that but didnt really beleive it, that is until I tried it out. I shocked myself. My voice sounded way better. Wayyy better.
What it does is relax your vox chords so that you can make transitions easier and hold the same note better.