Vocal recordings

[DJtony]

just wanna ask if all programs sound the same for vocal recording? i have acid and fruity loops...
when i record vocals in acid the vocals sounds different from when i record in fruity loops...
wich programs do you guys perfer for recording vocals...

 

[LDB]

just wanna ask if all programs sound the same for vocal recording? i have acid and fruity loops...
when i record vocals in acid the vocals sounds different from when i record in fruity loops...
wich programs do you guys perfer for recording vocals...

It's not so much the program, most do a descent job. It's more about the mic, mic pre amp and the sound card. All three need to be of descent quality. U only get out what you put in!

Record at a pretty high level WITHOUT peaking. I don't care if it peaks for a millisecond, scrap that joint and DO OVER. In the digital realm ANY peaking what so ever is your enemy. In the analog realm some peaking can be a good thing. Record vox as hot as you can get them without seeing red. You can do some LIGHT compression/gating of the vox going in but don't push it. You can always compress them some more during mix down.

 

[misscc803]

As mentioned it all depends on what you are putting in. Also it comes down to knowing levels, eq, and the ability to determine the correct levels for a person's vocals. I have done recordings on a shitty laptop and a walmart hand held microphone. Didn't have an interface either but you know why my recording sounded good? Because I knew how to adjust and what I needed to bring quality to the track. if you go to my website www.ccproductions803.webs.com and watch the Atlantic Broadband commercial I did you probably will be amazed at how it sounds. I recorded that using a Walmart microphone, Behringer MX2004A mixer, and a shitty Dell LS Laptop. The company thought I used protools to record with but guess what I DIDN"T. I used Audacity. Its all about just knowing how to work with what you have. I hope something I have said helped you.

Nicole

 

[2GooD Productions]

As mentioned it all depends on what you are putting in. Also it comes down to knowing levels, eq, and the ability to determine the correct levels for a person's vocals. I have done recordings on a shitty laptop and a walmart hand held microphone. Didn't have an interface either but you know why my recording sounded good? Because I knew how to adjust and what I needed to bring quality to the track. if you go to my website www.ccproductions803.webs.com and watch the Atlantic Broadband commercial I did you probably will be amazed at how it sounds. I recorded that using a Walmart microphone, Behringer MX2004A mixer, and a shitty Dell LS Laptop. The company thought I used protools to record with but guess what I DIDN"T. I used Audacity. Its all about just knowing how to work with what you have. I hope something I have said helped you.

Nicole

Oh, there you are. And just when you were gonna get the MIA Illmuzik Award. I wonder who will get the nomination now.

 

[2GooD Productions]

Record at a pretty high level WITHOUT peaking. I don't care if it peaks for a millisecond, scrap that joint and DO OVER.

Take that as Gospel. You should try and maintain the non peaking attitude for all instrument/vocal tracks.

 

[LDB]

If you record at the right levels faders will be coming DOWN as opposed to going UP! Treat your mix as if you were adjusting an EQ. Cut first and boost only for clarity or presence!

 

[Icemanbeats]

actually, software does change how ur sound sounds.. u'll notice logic gives a more analog sound than cubase.. pro tools is probly the one to use for that industry standard sound..

ur recording massively depends on ur mic and pre-amp and compressor and tube amps and valve amps and reverbs and eq and mic leads and room acoustics ;p but probably something less obvious - the DAW/recording software has an impact too

 

[samuelock]

i disagree, iceman. all DAWs sound EXACTLY the same. all the programs are doing is 1s and 0s. your analog to digital conversion [how your mic signal gets turned into data for your computer (i.e. a mixer, interface, pre-amps)] is what affects sound. once it's in the computer, the only way to change a sound is to apply plugins. the only reason it may sound different is if you record at different levels into the program.

 

[2GooD Productions]

I agree with iceman, the resulting wav will depend on the DA converters that the software uses.
And as different software uses different DA algorythms there will be differences in the resulting sound.

 

[eldiablo]

check your bit rate too

 

[Macky]

I agree with iceman, the resulting wav will depend on the DA converters that the software uses.
And as different software uses different DA algorythms there will be differences in the resulting sound.

lol

like someone said its a just bunch of 1 and 0...
Only difference to sound can be from AD converter (mic-preamp-soundcard). Bunch of digital 1s and 0s can't sound better or worse on any software when its a just bunch of 1s and 0s. Also maybe and just maybe u can find difference with soundcards DA converter but with software u can't.
With ur theory even winamp or mediaplayer will have differeint sound cos of theirs algorythms...

And for that guy who said Logic have more analog sound-looooooooool (no diss tho)
How can software sound more analog?
If u have a software that affects the sound in any way ur software suck.
Im in professional sound "business" 6 years now, and 15 years making music and i never heard difference between idk Adobe Audition and Protools...

 

[Macky]

Oh and "the resulting wav will depend on the DA converters that the software uses"

Software don't have DA converters... Ur soundcard does.
Again u have a mic (analog)-preamp(analog) and soundcard/interface (AD converter). Soundcard converts analog to digital (1s and 0s). Then it goes to software that doesn't record sound, it records digital (1s and0s) signal. At playback or whatever software sends digital signal to soundcard and soundcard converts it back to analog. So u see software dosn't even work with sound just with digital signal so it can't affect sound in any way

 

[UNORTHODOX]

I actually read an article that basically explained that in the digital realm you want VERY low levels to get air warmth etc. Recording Hot will drive you into the wall faster during mixing. Mixing also should be around -12db. I'll see if I can find the article. It made great sense.

 

[7thangel]

mic, pre, ad/da, booth/iso and control room acoustics (monitoring the sound), monitors (again, monitoring the sound), levels (pre and daw levels), technique, mic placement, and patience/time.

the last one is usually sacrificed first when folks book time and it continues when they want to record immediately and quickly with only a passing acknowledgment to getting the vocals sounding right before the recording. this maybe due to that old ditty 'fix it in the mix', where they think you'll be able to do wonders, not only with rushed vocals with a million layers and doubles (with no time to do real edits) but with the squashed mp3 2 track which you had to convert to wav as well.

 

[thedreampolice]

"VERY low levels to get air warmth etc"

What are you kidding? What the hell is air warmth? If you are recording at 24bit hit that sucker hard! There is more than enough headroom there to handle the occasional peak. 16bit is another story and you want to keep the peeks down. But I will tell you this I record and mix as HOT as possible and every real engineer I know (and I do know quite a few and a few with both grammys and platinum records) do the same.

 

[dacalion]

What are you kidding? What the hell is air warmth?

HAHAHAHA! This one may have to go down as a quote in the sig area. LMAO

dac

 

[Shonsteez]

Chris is right, you want to come in as hot as possible without clipping. -3db is a nice safe zone IMO. I record in 24 bit about 50 percent of the time which clearly offers more headroom like Chris mentioned.

7th made a really good point too - dont rely on fixing your problems in the mix later. With the right signal chain and proper gain structure you can render near perfect results in regards to what your going for before even touching the plugs in your DAW.

In respect to Unorthadox tho - I think he just didnt know how to describe what he was talking about, no reason to bag on the dude tho....

 

[thedreampolice]

For sure, sorry Unorthadox was not trying to put you down. It just sounded strange.

 

[blakjustice30]

lol

like someone said its a just bunch of 1 and 0...
Only difference to sound can be from AD converter (mic-preamp-soundcard). Bunch of digital 1s and 0s can't sound better or worse on any software when its a just bunch of 1s and 0s. Also maybe and just maybe u can find difference with soundcards DA converter but with software u can't.
With ur theory even winamp or mediaplayer will have differeint sound cos of theirs algorythms...

And for that guy who said Logic have more analog sound-looooooooool (no diss tho)
How can software sound more analog?
If u have a software that affects the sound in any way ur software suck.
Im in professional sound "business" 6 years now, and 15 years making music and i never heard difference between idk Adobe Audition and Protools...

*I've recorded in Sonar 6 & 7 (which I like most), Cubase, and protools and the sound is the same on all of them. The difference is some plug ins give your music a different feel, but now with the emergence of VST's and the like, finding good plug ins is pretty common. Just like making music, you can use a MPC, Reasons, FL Studio, or a Phantom or Motiff, the difference is the ease of use and what you enjoy creating with. I can use my FL studio and use all kinds of Synths & Pad plugs and you would think I have a $200,000 studio. Master your craft.

 

[Macky]

U all have very good points here. Anyway all tutorials and ish on net are really old now. And they was all made with 16 bit recordings in mind. Now with 24 bit recordings u can record how ever u want. Cos of sound to noise ratio with 16 bit u needed to record as hot as possible. Now u can record however...