Idiots Guide To Vocals @ Home

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gt2008

New member
I was wondering if any experts on here would care to share some insight/technique with a complete novice to home vocal recording and mixing.

Here's what I'm looking for:

I record with a Rode NT-1A Condenser mic; Lexicon-Omega Preamp; and Cool Edit Pro 2.0. I apply pre-mixed instrumental tracks into "Track -1" and begin recording my vocals into "Track -2."

I have some good studio monitors, as well, but whenever I record and mix-down, I'm always sounding too "seperate" from my instrumental. If anyone can share, from A-Z, and in very lamens terms (please assume terminology is all Greek to me) the entire process you feel I should be going through, I'd greatly appreciate it!

I thank you in advance, and again, I do greatly appreciate it!
 
Maybe the instrumental tracks...
- are eq'd very different from the vocals making the vocals seem thin
- have way more/different reverb on them making it hard to match the reverb on the vocals thus the two sound distant from each other. Try using dry backing tracks.

:)
 
ido1957 said:
Maybe the instrumental tracks...
- are eq'd very different from the vocals making the vocals seem thin
- have way more/different reverb on them making it hard to match the reverb on the vocals thus the two sound distant from each other. Try using dry backing tracks.

:)
Click to expand...

I appreciate the insight. The backing tracks I don't really have a choice over persay. But something I did gather from your thoughts, I should try and make my vocal reverb mirror the reverb on the instrumental track? Interesting.

I don't know what eq-ing is or how to eq. I simply hit record, record, try and find a good pre-set reverb or vocal effect, hit "mix down all waves" ...normalize to about 92% usually, and that's it. I'm a total novice and need a good hands-on guide with all lamen's terms, even "eq."

I do appreciate your insight!
 
by the way, to get an idea of my sound, it's at myspace.com/gtpromo for examples of how good or bad or indifferent i sound. : )
 
Hey GT, please don't take this the wrong way, but if you don't know what EQing is, you definitely need a book. There's a really good one available written by Jeff Strong. He takes you through all the different possible scenarios for recording at home. You don't have to read the whole book, just the parts that pertain to what you want to accomplish.

I think it's called Home Recording for Dummies or one of those kind of books. I bought it myself a few years ago and it really helped me to get started.

Recently, I tried to put my vocals to another person's pre-recorded tracks and it didn't sound good at all. I had a difficult time blending it in. I think it has to do with some of the suggestions IDO gave here. It's not as easy as doing everythiing from start to end.

Good Luck,
 
Thanks! And, I understand and don't take it the wrong way. I was simply seeing if someone on here was sort of a "Godfather" type of person of this stuff and might pop-out some cliff-notes that can help me improve my processes; versus purchasing a book full of overwhelming knowledge.

So you're the second person to suggest it may be too difficult to blend someone's pre-recorded instrumental track with fresh recorded vocals. Interesting. i guess I have to blend it the "best I can" then, and go from there.
 
I understand exactly how you feel... my vocals NEVER EVER mixed well with the rest of the session. Mic placement is WAY more important than you think.. even pointing the mic up or down will give you a range of different types of sound out of your voice. Try playing around with the EQ and placement... maybe you dont have enough space or air in ur vocals to fill the mix either. I would recommend a book as well ;)
 
I guess I'm either naive or lazy. <lol>

I was just hoping for an example someone might provide of their vocal recording process in terms of what I have. Of course though, read a book!
 
You have to find the sweet spot in your room.
If you have found it, you do not need EQ.
Put on your head phone, take your mic, sing and walk around the room until you think you have the best sound. That's probably the sweet spot. If you found it, mark it!!
A tip: be sure that it is NOT pointing towards your PC or any noise making device. If so, you have to put your PC somewhere else.

Oh and if you're having a hard time giving your vox a place in the mix, try to keep the other instruments away from it. Use panning and reverb to give the instruments another place in the mix.
 
If you are using a condenser in an untreated room it picks up the sound of the room as well. (obviously)
That isn't so much of a factor with other instruments because you are close micing them or using direct inputs.
So the vocals end up sounding like they were recorded in a different room. If they are in fact recorded in a different room the problem is magnified.

I started getting much better results recording vocals when I switched to a dynamic mic since it doesn't pick up the room as much.
I'm looking forward to getting a nice condenser when I get my room treatment done but for now my Sure beta 58 does the job quite nicely. My vocals sit much better in the mix than they did with my MXL 990, might have to do with the fact that the MXL is a piece of crap though.:)
 
i'm most likely not going to re-invest in my ventures until I've maximized know-how of what I've got. interesting advice, though, and I thank you!
 
Actually, vocals are seldom recorded in the same room as most of the instruments, so that's not it. Same with reverb.......most vocals out of pro studios have a different reverb on them than the various instruments. As far as finding the sweet spot in the room....great tip for recording any acoustical instrument, but with vocals the usual approach is to eliminate room sound. Most vocal booths are very dead, and other approaches include reflexion filters to try to eliminate room sound back to the vocal mic, and the poor mans approach........ sing into a closet full of cloths. That's not to say that no one does or should deliberately use room sound in vocal recording, but it's far more common to keep them dry till mix time.
So what is it then? Start with dynamics. If the backing tracks are all mixed and compressed with very even dynamics, then the vocal probably needs to be too. On the other hand, if the backing tracks are very dynamic, and the vocal is squashed, that's a mis-match in the other direction. The first case is probably the one that applies. Try putting a compressor on your vocal, starting out with a ratio of about 4:1, with a fast attack and a slow release. Adjust the threshold down till the vocal starts to sit better. The volume of the vocal will decrease as you do this, so adjust accordingly with either makeup gain on the compressor, or the track fader. Don't make the vocal too loud relative to the instruments. Leveling out the peaks and the dips with the compressor, and then adjusting it's overall level to sit inside, not outside the mix is what you're after.
Eq is another thing to consider. Since the backing tracks are already mixed, you don't have as much freedom to carve a space for the vocal. You can to some extent, but not on an instrument by instrument basis. Any EQ you do to the music will affect all instruments at once, so be careful. You may have to concentrate more on EQ'ng the vocal to fit the music. Go easy and try to cut frequencys that stick out or conflict with the music, as opposed to boosting.
Now match the sense of space with the mood of the song. It may be reverb, or maybe a short delay. It could even be nothing, though that's unlikely.

Listen to the vocal treatment of similar material. Try to identify what makes it work, and how that's different from what you have going on.

Good luck.
 
Robert D said:
Actually, vocals are seldom recorded in the same room as most of the instruments, so that's not it. Same with reverb.......most vocals out of pro studios have a different reverb on them than the various instruments. As far as finding the sweet spot in the room....great tip for recording any acoustical instrument, but with vocals the usual approach is to eliminate room sound. Most vocal booths are very dead, and other approaches include reflexion filters to try to eliminate room sound back to the vocal mic, and the poor mans approach........ sing into a closet full of cloths. That's not to say that no one does or should deliberately use room sound in vocal recording, but it's far more common to keep them dry till mix time.
So what is it then? Start with dynamics. If the backing tracks are all mixed and compressed with very even dynamics, then the vocal probably needs to be too. On the other hand, if the backing tracks are very dynamic, and the vocal is squashed, that's a mis-match in the other direction. The first case is probably the one that applies. Try putting a compressor on your vocal, starting out with a ratio of about 4:1, with a fast attack and a slow release. Adjust the threshold down till the vocal starts to sit better. The volume of the vocal will decrease as you do this, so adjust accordingly with either makeup gain on the compressor, or the track fader. Don't make the vocal too loud relative to the instruments. Leveling out the peaks and the dips with the compressor, and then adjusting it's overall level to sit inside, not outside the mix is what you're after.
Eq is another thing to consider. Since the backing tracks are already mixed, you don't have as much freedom to carve a space for the vocal. You can to some extent, but not on an instrument by instrument basis. Any EQ you do to the music will affect all instruments at once, so be careful. You may have to concentrate more on EQ'ng the vocal to fit the music. Go easy and try to cut frequencys that stick out or conflict with the music, as opposed to boosting.
Now match the sense of space with the mood of the song. It may be reverb, or maybe a short delay. It could even be nothing, though that's unlikely.

Listen to the vocal treatment of similar material. Try to identify what makes it work, and how that's different from what you have going on.

Good luck.
Click to expand...


dEMERS!!!!!
 
Yep, I'd try compression, and once you get the levels between backing/vocals you could mix them down to one track, and then compress that. That should make it sound more together. I'm just a beginner too, thats my guess, someone correct me if that is totally wrong!
 
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Yep, I'd try compression, and once you get the levels between backing/vocals you could mix them down to one track, and then compress that. That should make it sound more together. I'm just a beginner too, thats my guess, someone correct me if that is totally wrong!
 
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