vocal recording quality need help

[lyricalmaster]

hie guys

i am kinda new to the forum and i am trying to set up a very small home studio. My major problem is that i do not know thw basic equipment needed for me to be able to produce good quality vocal recordings.
I am running on a budget and i have only my computer and fruity loops, acid and a bunch of other basic softwares, plugins and sonud samples. I have worked on specifically beat making for about 3 to 4 years and i am now trying to integrate the beats with the vocals.
i have done some staff but the vocals are coming out pretty bad because i could just connect my mic to the comp with an old version of some asio drivers and then record.
I need help on how to produce very clean vocals and which basic equipment should i buy cause currently i am still a student.

thanks

LM

 

[mikeh]

Many (perhaps) most people prefer a large diaphram condenser mic for vocals. This type of mic normally requires a mic pre (pre-amp) which also provides phantom power.

There are many affordable condenser mics and pres - too many to recommend one in particular (it is a matter of application and preference).

Another consideration is the room you record in. There can be a lot of reflections as sound bounces off walls, etc - a mic (in particular a condenser - which tends to be much more sensitive than a dynamic mic) can pick up all those reflections - and that can compromise the recorded sound. This is why people learn about room treatment, etc.

Hang out at the mic "room" on this site and we the many threads. There is also a lot of internet info with a basic search such as microphones+vocals.

 

[mikeh]

Double post (edited) - Sorry!

 

[TimOBrien]

Quality vocals (or ANY sound) = good quality recording chain from mic to preamp to interface to monitors.
Garbage in = garbage out

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My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad:

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...ce&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info:
http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books:
http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) not quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and suggestions:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com
Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $40 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($20) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)

 

[reddavid]

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $40 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)

Cock OS. I can't tell whether it's because I'm drunk or just incredibly childish that causes me to find that funny.