Specific help

L

LadiDadi

New member
Hi all
I could really use some tips, a guide, help. I do read through threads and watch videos, but there seems to be something missing or I'm doing wrong. I don't expect to get a professional sound, but when I listen to other peoples demos, they seem miles ahead with identical equipment.

So are there any specific tips for me with this equipment when it comes to recording vocals over a instrumental track.

So what I have currently:
-Laptop with 8gb ram and still no ssd
-Audiobox usb audio interface
-Behringer b2 microphone
-AKG headphones (I have no monitors)
-Standard popup filter with a mic stand
-Instrumentals that are only stereo (not tracked out)
-Studio One, Adobe Audition, FL Studio and Pro Tools (which I'm currently trying to work with)
-A few free templates that I use with PT

Currently Im not in a position to upgrade or pay for studio time.

Edit - added headphones.
 
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Hi - first response is always this one. Can we listen to what your problem is?

You say other people are streets ahead? So we really need to see your kind of existing level. With the software you have you probably have access to most things you need. One thing not in your list is any loudspeakers?
 
I don't have monitors, I use AKG headphones to mix and sometimes I just use the laptop speakers and I would usually transfers the finished mixes to my phone to listen to.

@I would say they just sound a lot better.

I deleted all my songs I did, it was probably an emotional reaction, it is what it is, I was planing on recording everything again from scratch. So I have nothing to upload.

One thing I can add is that, even though I watched quiet a few videos dealing with clipping and loudness, I feel that could still be a problem which makes the finished song sound bad. I put a loudness meter on the master channel and keep it between minus 12 to minus 8. its set up that way in the free templates I'm using.

Some plugins I'm missing I just try and use alternatives.
 
Listening on laptop speakers and cellphones are probably the worst possible things you can do. They, by design, have limited fidelity and range. Listening on headphones is ok for some aspects, but you really need to know and understand how to translate the images in your head to what you will hear from a speaker system in a room.

Trying to mix by reading numbers, a meter or a spec is also a pointless exercise. Unless you can follow what those numbers mean in relation to the sound it's like trying to do a paint-by-numbers picture without knowing each color's corresponding number.

It will help if we know what type of music you're trying to record. Acoustic guitar/singer/songwriter type stuff? HipHop Beatz? Classical piano? Jazz trio? Each has techniques suitable for that style.

The equipment you have should be adequate. You don't need a U87 with a Neve console to do good recordings. Start simply, learning how to properly place the microphone and how to treat a room to control the sound. Move the mic, record it again, and again, and again. Keep practicing. Find a used pair of monitors so you can hear what you're doing. Post some tracks so we can give you some guidance. There's no one correct sound. Just go to some of the mixing threads and see how many different versions of the same song you hear. I was watching a video about Michael Jackson's Billy Jean, and it was said that Quincy Jones did 91 mixes before hitting the final one.

It's a case of "If first you don't succeed...."
 
TalismanRich said:
Listening on laptop speakers and cellphones are probably the worst possible things you can do. They, by design, have limited fidelity and range. Listening on headphones is ok for some aspects, but you really need to know and understand how to translate the images in your head to what you will hear from a speaker system in a room.

Trying to mix by reading numbers, a meter or a spec is also a pointless exercise. Unless you can follow what those numbers mean in relation to the sound it's like trying to do a paint-by-numbers picture without knowing each color's corresponding number.

It will help if we know what type of music you're trying to record. Acoustic guitar/singer/songwriter type stuff? HipHop Beatz? Classical piano? Jazz trio? Each has techniques suitable for that style.

The equipment you have should be adequate. You don't need a U87 with a Neve console to do good recordings. Start simply, learning how to properly place the microphone and how to treat a room to control the sound. Move the mic, record it again, and again, and again. Keep practicing. Find a used pair of monitors so you can hear what you're doing. Post some tracks so we can give you some guidance. There's no one correct sound. Just go to some of the mixing threads and see how many different versions of the same song you hear. I was watching a video about Michael Jackson's Billy Jean, and it was said that Quincy Jones did 91 mixes before hitting the final one.

It's a case of "If first you don't succeed...."
Click to expand...
91 mixes, that's quiet a interesting fact.

Well it looks like I need to get some monitors first, I will search around for some quality cheap ones.

But Im still pretty sure it the vocals, loudness (clipping) and just making it blend together so that the instrumental and vocals are on par and not one louder than the other.

Thanks
 
This https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/behringer-b2-pro suggests the Behringer microphone is pretty good for its price but, look at the bottom of the review and see the comment that it might be a bit 'harsh' in the mid band on some voices. The female voice can be the hardest to get right I have read?

I know funds are low at the moment but the Behringer XM8500 dynamic mic is really very good for it's frankly daft $20 or so. Gives another 'flavour' and dynamics are rarely 'harsh'. And, a spare mic and cable is never out of the way!

Not understanding the "clipping" reference? Never want that except perhaps for an extreme effect. Back to basics, are you recording at an average level of around -20dBFS(24 bits 44.1kHz) in the DAWs? Peaks should go no higher than -8dBFS. Problem is you see, if you have a gang of takes all crowding neg one dBFS that makes mixing very hard as you have to pull everything down.

Rooms are universally awful so Google for "Duvets as room treatment". Monitors? My son has a pair of Presonus Eris 3.5s and likes them. They won't go very loud or very low but are perhaps as cheap as you can go and still get something useful.

Dave.
 
One thing to consider when recording to prerecorded backing tracks, they may be too loud as they are. If they are peaking near the top of the scale, turn them down 12-16 dB. During the recording and mixing process you need to leave yourself a fair bit of headroom at the top of the volume scale (as indicated on your meters). You might have to run your headphone output a bit higher. You can get the final "commercial" volume later.
 
So it could also be the template, the way its set up. I put a few different plugins to measure if its clipping on the master and its not clipping, when I put a plugin on the instrumental track it seems to clip. So Im experimenting with that right now.

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
There should be meters build into your DAW to give you information about levels. Typically, the average level of a track should be around -18 dBFS. That means it should be going above and below that value, but never peaking over about -6. If something is clipping, it's quite a bit too high.
 
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